t seems CRM technology is until you know exactly what these
the buzz in business these are you’ll have trouble dealing
days. And it’s no wonder with the remaining 9 items.
customer relationship management
is a powerful tool when 2. Web-based, Client based –
implemented correctly. So what smaller companies may do better
CRM solution should you choose? with web based services which
take care of storage, updates,
Whether you are in a retail and anything else related to
industry, financial services, software. On the other hand
high tech, telecommunications, client side software resides on
computer or any other business to your computers and you have full
be successful you need to have control of it.
better customer service than your
competition. 3. Budget and the Total Cost of
Owning – determine your budget
This can be a much bigger task before you start doing your
for small or medium size software research.
businesses who may not have the
resources available to them. A 4. Room to Grow and Expand - it
billion dollar industry is going is important to ensure that you
to have all the resources. But at have an idea of what type of
the end of the day they have to growth your company will
both accomplish the same thing. experience in the future and the
software choice should account
There are ten things to consider for that.
when evaluating your CRM
software. 5. Rapid Deployment – how fast
can you install, train, and get
1. Company Goals and Strategies – your CRM package up and running
without it there is not CRM
6. Customizable for your Business solution.
Needs - you should choose Your CRM needs need to meet the
software that allows you to individual requirements of each
customize to your specific company. There are many factors
company needs. you need to consider when
choosing your CRM solution but
7. Works with Existing Systems – not are all equal in value and
If you have other software in you will need to determine the
play such as Microsoft Office or importance of all ten items.
Outlook you will be benefit from Different size businesses are
software that integrates with it. going to have different scales of
importance.
8. Vendor Reputation, Product
Reliability - It’s important to Always give attention to both the
purchase your CRM software from a technology and business
reputable vendor so that you can objectives. Too often business
depend on product support, objectives get forgotten about
upgrades, and anything else you and the technology gets too much
might need. attention. Remember this is an
equal partnership and rather than
9. User Interface Meets User the business fitting the software
Needs — It is critical that the the software needs to fit the
software work for the company and business.
fit their plans not the other way
around so buy because it fits What CRM solution should you
your way of doing business. choose? These ten points will
ensure you choose the right one.
10. Functionality – Of course
functionality is required because
About the Author:
Sayed Ally, is the lead CRM Analyst. His company provides, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Sayed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email: aSayed@cqsolutions.com.
Read more articles by:
Sayed Ally
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