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Good CRM/Contact Management software?
I'm looking for a CRM/Contact Management tool to aid in our Remote Support/Consulting. I would love to find a tool that has some of the following features:1) Daily/Weekly/Monthly To Do List for support reps and mgmt overview. 2) Automotic scheduling of calls/emails based on a previous occurence (ie. automatic task to contact customer 3 weeks after previous contact). 3) Alerts for pass due appointments and tasks. 4) Data extraction capabilities. 5) Single customer database. 6) Phone integration. 7) Email integration.
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6 Answers
you didn't define the size of the company that you want this CRM for. There are many progams available today, and most all of the features you mention are standard in any good CRM application.
If your company is small, many of the Open Source products could meet your needs, and you simply install them on your hosting platform, which will give you web access to them from anywhere.
Sugar CRM and Vtiger are two good examples of products that can meet your needs right out of the box. Of course, you can customize these, and most others, to your hearts content.
There are others like Maximizer, or Salesforce.com that are readily available and very easy to implement as well, and both have add-ons for your growing needs.
My suggestion is to jump in there, and do a search for CRM. You will find many, and you will find forums discussing their pros and cons. Try one out on a trial basis - and see how they work for you - it will help you learn the features, overcome any anxieties about the different products, and build a comfort level to help you evaluate the products that are out there and which one fits your needs best.
Microsoft CRM 4.0 has most, if not all, your requirements. there are 2 flavors: on-premise or hosted solutions (per user cost). I have been using CRM for almost a year. All of our sales folks like because it's a web application, can be accessed @ any time integrates greatly with MS outlook (to do's, track emails, etc) some of our sales uses CRM instead of Outlook since it has an built-in email tool (limited but OK). hope that helps
You need to plan ahead when looking for software like this.
Your requested features are pretty standard, but there's a slight mix of project management features in there as well - with a hint of automation desire. Finding a proper CRM system can be hard simply because of the fact that there is so many, and each caters to specific needs of certain types of companies.
As a small business, I'd suggest you plan ahead by considering what other types of software you may need. For example, if you're getting some form of customer support management, perhaps you may need some type of task management/reminder (you're already needing the to-do portion of this) or invoicing software. If you think this may be an eventual step you'll take, I'll tell you now to avoid making the mistake of getting too many separate applications. When you do this, you create integration issues and high costs. If you were to get an all in one business management application, you could avoid the integration issues entirely. Many business management apps out there (Ie: WORKetc) combine all of these features together to bring higher efficiency and more simplicity to these processes.
Cheers,
David
The functions you’ve listed are pretty standard in most good contact management solutions and certainly in the leading CRM applications (although you may need an add-in for phone integration with some solutions).
If both now and in the short/mid-term, the features you’ve listed are all you’re likely to need, then a good contact management solution, such as Sage ACT! will meet your needs.
If in addition to the features you’ve listed you’re likely to need integration with other systems, such as accounting software, or you are likely to need some more complex configuration, customisation or workflows to meet your business processes, either now or in the future perhaps you should be looking at one of the CRM solutions. User numbers are also a consideration - some CRM applications are better than others at handling high numbers of users. Type of user licence model, such as concurrent and named, can also affect price, and some CRM solutions are more economic with lower user numbers, others a better choice with a larger user count.
To give you some product names, if you prefer a hosted or cloud solution, then SalesForce or Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online (various subscription levels are available to suit your requirements and budget) are usually in the mix. If you’re looking at on-premise deployment, Microsoft Dynamics CRM (which is available as an on-premise solution as well as hosted/cloud), Sage CRM, GoldMine, SalesLogix are usually among the choices. There is a whole list of others – and budget, IT infrastructure, resources, your particular vertical and what you’re trying to achieve from your system are all factors in choosing the right CRM solution as well.
A trial is a great idea, but before trialling any CRM product, I’d recommend you get the provider to give you a demo and overview of the product first. This is so you get an understanding of its features and how it works and then you’ll get much more out of the trial itself.
One of the best ways of choosing the right CRM software for your organization is to talk directly to an independent CRM consultant or CRM specialist and discuss your aims, objectives, budget and so on. Usually within a phone call they’ll be able to assess your requirements and recommend one or two products most likely to suite what you’re looking to achieve from your contact management or CRM solution.
Hope this helps
Peter
www.concentrix.co.uk
If you are looking for an easy to use CRM, I recommend you Zimplu CRM, you can also use it for free for your first 4 users, you only pay starting from the 5th.
CRM is essential for growing businesses, but it is important to carefully select your CRM partner. This blog article “Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake : 7 Points to Consider Before Selecting Your CRM Solution” has advice on selecting a CRM solution. » Commence CRM Blog
http://www.commence.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/20/dont-make-a-crm-buying-mist...
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