In depth analysis of a CRM solution

The ideal CRM solution is the one that leverages your existing technology, can be upgraded with ease and keeps your Cost of ownership within acceptable limits. At the same time, it should minimize risks and drive profits.

Does your CRM solution do all this? No? Then maybe you need to reconsider your business plan.

The 360 degree view

I cannot emphasize on the importance of getting a 360 degree view of the customer. This 360 degree view should be available across all departments in the organization. Believe me; this is not as easy as it sounds.

The 360 degree view should show you complete information about all past customer interactions in a graphical interface. You can start off with the most important departments that need customer data and then add other departments subsequently. The CRM should have multi department and multi channel capabilities.

Room for Improvement

The needs and demands of the customer are constantly changing and the smart business will change and adapt with it. Your CRM should offer you a platform to automate critical customer tasks and also analyze these processes for their effectiveness. If they fail to deliver, you should always be able to modify them with ease. Once again a cross departmental system is needed to maximize its effectiveness.

Your employees

When you are constantly thinking in terms of your customers, spare a thought for your employees. It is these guys who run your business. They need a CRM system that they can easily adapt to. A certain level of personalization must be allowed within the system so that they can get it to work the way they want to. Automation of tasks that are performed commonly is a great addition. In addition to the above, employees should have access to effective support material .

Apart from the above mentioned traits, your IT requirements are something that you need to consider.

CRM: Are you making the right choice?

It is imperative that you make the right choices as far as CRM is concerned. Venture out into the market and you will be greeted by hundreds of vendors offering CRM solutions for your company. But how do you make the right choice? How do you know whether a CRM solution is the right one for you? What do you need to look for in a CRM solution? Is it scalability? Is it flexibility or maybe its functionality?

The first step

Most companies make the mistake of selecting a CRM product and then tailor their needs around the product. However, to maximize the effectiveness of the CRM and to ensure maximum returns, the opposite should happen. You should be able to completely customize the CRM around the needs of your company. Start off by deciding whether you need an on premise CRM solution, a hosted one or a combination of the two.

Functionalities on offer

What functionalities does the CRM offer? Does your business require real time interactive analytics? Then the CRM must provide precise insights about historical trends that have affected customer behavior in the past and might affect it in the future. Your complete decision making ability rests on this functionality. Without it, your organization’s predictive analytics will be hindered.

The Vendor

Before you jump off and buy a CRM application based on its cost effectiveness, spare a thought for the vendor. The vendor must have the necessary technical expertise and skill to help you achieve your desired business goals. There must be constant support available 24x7 to clients. Always remember that the very success of your organization depends on the choice you make. So make an informed and right decision.

The features that we mentioned are the most basic ones that you need to look for. There are many more such hidden features that can give you a new insight into customer relationships. Are you aware of them?

Rise of the CRM Juggernaut

When CRM arrived it was looked upon with contempt. Not many companies were open to the idea of creating an enormous customer database and then utilizing it to enhance customer relationships.

Only the biggest and technically advanced companies were willing to experiment with CRM applications.

But in the last few years, CRM has become a tremendous force which is now propelling business into an altogether new direction. Terms like ROI (Return on Investment) and timely quality deliverables have been redefined.

Today, CRM is heading into an all new zone and more and more companies are now turning to CRM to rise in this extremely competitive environment.

Meeting Objectives

However, a recent report says that only about ¼ of all CRM applications meet their deliverables. This means that simply having a CRM system in place doesn’t really make your position any safer.

The CRM system has to be tailored to suit your company and more importantly you need to work towards understanding how you can use the CRM to improve your business.

The main aim of a CRM application is to create a customer centric work force that will attain greater profits. It is NOT an automated system that will work on its own and create profits for you.

Choose wisely

If you are a new company entering the market looking for a CRM application, then keep a few things in mind.
• Make sure that you choose only a CRM system that meets the needs of your business.
• Apart from this, you need to choose from a hosted or on site CRM. This will bring in your budget into the picture.
• What is the scalability of the CRM application? Does it allow room for growth?

Keeping these factors in mind will help you make a wise decision.