CRM 100 Success Secrets - 100 Most Asked Questions on Customer Relationship Management Software, Solutions, Systems, Applications and Services. Gerard Blokdijk

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СКАЧАТЬ CRM Products Better than Proprietary CRM

      Software?...........................................................................................161

      Defining Outlook CRM for Newbies ............................................162

      What Goes Into a Good Sales CRM Product? ............................. 164

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      CRM Software Example - the Act!

      CRM Product

      Act! is the name of a leading customer relationship management (CRM) product that can help both individuals and corporations become better at managing their customer relationships so that productivity goes up and profits increase too. Act! is a product from Sage Software.

      With Act! around, you can organize data about your contacts, manage tasks daily, and improve communication with your

      clients so that productivity goes up. With a total of 2.7 million people using it and 41,000 corporate clients satisfied with its use, you will not find it hard to believe that Act! is THE top CRM software on the market today.

      You can use Act! in various ways to get your CRM jobs done.

      For one thing, Act! can be used in combination with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Word so that you can use the functions of both Act! and these programs seamlessly. If you are the type who needs close coordination with contacts, then Act!

      might be the perfect program for your needs.

      Sage Software made Act! an easy, user-friendly product that can be readily deployed out of the box or even customized specially for your business requirements, as deemed necessary. This means you need not go out of your mind trying to figure out complicated programs from other manufacturers with Act! around to help you.

      It also leaves you with more time, energy and mental resources intact that you can devote to making your core business function better and more efficiently which is what any CRM product worth its sale price ought to be able to do in the first place.

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      What is the Best CRM for You?

      Best CRM is not an individual product or software system that you simply buy, install then start running daily. Best CRM

      translates to optimal Customer Relationship Management which is more of an organizational philosophy than just a business function.

      In short, Best CRM is a way of life that the members of your organization have to espouse.

      That being said, it is possible to derail any CRM efforts by choosing a CRM software system for your organization that does not function well. Thus, it is equally important to balance using the Best CRM practices with use of the best CRM software you can get with your budget.

      You should look at the functionality of the CRM system you are aiming to get before you decide to get it. In plain words, can this CRM software help you secure the optimal CRM results you were aiming for? If it does not, you should stop looking at how cheaply it is being offered to you and scout around for a better one instead.

      Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the system

      under scrutiny well, with emphasis on how this system can help make customer relationship management easier. If the system is all bells and whistles but no substance, then you should drop it and look at other options. A cute system is not going to help you as much as a highly functional system.

      Ask for the opinion of others you trust who know what you will be using this CRM system for. Sometimes, others may see another angle to the system than that which is obvious to you. If they will be using the system with you once it has been deployed,

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      then it becomes more important than ever to get a good CRM

      system.

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      Getting Optimal Use Out of Your Preferred

      CRM Application

      In Customer Relationship Management (or CRM), you need

      to make sure you know what your priorities are and that the CRM

      system you are angling to get is best for your needs. This means analyzing what the key function of your business is, and how the CRM system can help you optimize your pursuit of that key business function. Only when you know this clearly can you start canvassing for the most appropriate CRM system you can get.

      It is often quicker, more efficient and less risky to let a team of CRM specialists handle the research about and search for the right CRM application, than to involve a whole bureaucracy. There is a reason why private companies let project teams handle specific tasks they save big bucks this way. Also, there is less room for lengthy arguments on a small team of experts compared to a larger group of not-so-experienced users.

      The size of the CRM specialist team will depend on how

      complicated and how vast is the scope of CRM application to be sought after. You may then proceed to trying to figure out how the CRM system chosen is to be customized for use in your particular organization. (This, incidentally, is the most complicated step of all, because the team has to reconcile the functions of your business with the functions of the CRM system itself.)

      One that lengthy and arduous step has been finished, your organization now has to come up with a feasible training program so that the other members of your organization gain expertise in using this CRM application you have selected and deployed in the organization.

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      How to Choose Between Competing

      CRM Applications

      Customer Relationship Management (or CRM) is a broad

      field of discipline and the number of CRM applications being introduced into the market can be quite confusing to sift through.

      So how does one choose between competing CRM applications then?

      One reason making a choice between competing CRM applications has gotten harder in recent years is because customers have gotten smarter and more difficult to please lately. Whereas basic CRM in the past may have been as simple as just creating a mailing list, nowadays, CRM has to both please a specific customer need and be efficient at that function as well.

      This means your ideal CRM system needs to be flexible

      enough to be scalable for use in varying degrees of magnitude, competitive enough to function for you well on a daily basis, and precise at managing CRM for you so that the key function of your business is not confused with the CRM function.

      Unless your organization is willing to pay for a customized CRM solution produced by CRM specialists on an as-you-need-it basis, you will probably have to settle for out-of-the-box CRM

      applications to make your choice from. This also means that at some point you may find it hard to use certain aspects of your СКАЧАТЬ