Understand CRM

About CRM

What is CRM Software? - CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a piece of software that allows people from within (and outside) an organisation to get a view of customers’ profiles, buying patterns and other useful customer-centric information... [Read More]

Functionality of CRM - Among the many benefits of CRM are a number of functions that will benefit not only sales people but also business managers and marketers. They will be able to have far greater visibility of successful campaigns, sales revenues and, more importantly, the ability to analyse the reasons for success or failure... [Read More]

The Future of CRM - CRM is here to stay because of the many benefits that such a system can deliver. If anything, the use of CRM is set to expand especially with the onset of better mobile technologies... [Read More]

Why CRM - The purpose of CRM is to be able to track a customer’s lifecycle; from the initial lead (or source of contact) through to the sale and thereafter for support and services... [Read More]

Types of CRM - Hosted CRM is delivered by a third party organisation, i.e. your personnel will access the CRM software via the internet. This means that the software and your data will essentially reside on another organisations’server... [Read More]

Benefits of using CRM - CRM helps your organisation get a better insight into the behaviour of customers, such as when they typically buy, what they buy, discounts offered and so forth... [Read More]

Disadvantages and potential pitfalls - Data is stored centrally so it is important to keep a backup copy. If there are any issues or a problem with the server then this could be a disaster unless the necessary information can be retrieved... [Read More]

Buying and installing CRM

Five steps to successfully buying a CRM system - Identify the needs of your organisation and the users. It is vital to gain feedback from key personnel and departments, e.g. sales, marketing, service and support and HR if a company has an HR department... [Read More]

Simple steps to installing a CRM solution - It may be necessary to use your suppliers’ consultants to make any changes or modify the system in order to meet your exact requirements... [Read More]

CRM case studies

Coming soon.

Questions and answers

What is CRM? - CRM means Customer Relationship Management. It is a software package that stores all information about your contacts and customers... [Read More]

Why do I need it? - It will allow you and your colleagues to access information quicker and more easily... [Read More]

Is it something that I can install myself? - It is very possible to install CRM yourself but naturally this will depend on your requirements and numbers of people using it. It can get quite complicated so you may wish to take advice... [Read More]

What is CRM on demand? - On demand or hosted CRM is a service provided by a third party company whereby you can access your information via the web... [Read More]

< Read more questions and answers.

In summary about CRM

CRM systems are a very effective method of improving efficiency and maximising revenue potential from your customer base.

It is also a great way to be able to analyse your customers’ information; and plan and change your organisation to meet trends and changes.

Ultimately though, the biggest drawback is that unless personnel enter the information regularly and accurately, the system will be a waste of money and the information it provides will be wrong. Simply put, garbage in = garbage out!

Glossary

Mobile technologies - This is a term used for technology or devices that are portable, such as mobile phones, PDAs and laptop or notebook computers.

PDA - Personal Digital Assistant. A hand held computer that can be used to store contact details, calendar, send e-mails as well having the ability to use word-processing, spread-sheets and presentations. Many PDA’s these days can also be used as mobile phones.