How does a company know which system is the right choice and what are the features that differentiate them?

Many CRM software small business are very powerful and helps run a company. The CRM system is easy to use, very quick to implement and effective as well as flexible from the start. This type CRM system is used to created profiles of existing long term customers and helps to target the business with sales and marketing labors.

The CRM software small business also ensure that correspondence like email, fax and direct mail is completed in a timely manner and to operate smoothly. The CRM systems allows for information to be readily available at any time specified so all employees of the company are informed of the status of customers and the company. This system allows for easy and regular communication between the company and customers.

New leads and business are generated online. Simple CRM gathers this information for the company who has chosen them as a CRM provider. The web data capture features is used to store the leads and creates a profile on each potential customer. Sales tracking is also another feature of the  CRM solutions around the world. This is a good feature to analyze the conversion rate.

Sales managers can employ the CRM system to outline all steps involved to close a sale so the sales force can concentrate on the needs of the customer.

Another good option is the Common Sense CRM that integrates with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. This option is a good choice for companies that run on a lower budget. This is also another very flexible option. Common Sense CRM allows companies to be more productive and improve relations with customers and by letting customers achieve more.

The Common Sense CRM has a very good interface with Outlook as well as Microsoft Office and is very easy to use. It provides a good contact management system. This system allows the level of productivity to increase faster than other systems. This systems also does not require training. A real Simple CRM Software!

So the first thing you need to do, before you even start considering how much to invest is to understand the needs of your company TODAY and where do you see your company in the next 5 years. Considering the grow of your company is vital, specially if you are capable of understanding that implementing a CRM software solution is not something you should take lightly. Changing of CRM application in many companies, can take sometimes week of full time work.

To give you an example, that was my first contact with CRM applications. I was working for HP/Compaq dealing with the Customer Support for Unilever international, in HP HQ in Dublin Ireland. The idea was to migrate all the data from the CRM of Unilever (over 100.000 employees) to a Prodigy CMS platform. the result? Over 55 staff working non stop for more than 2 months. Why so long? Because the requirements for the CRM application where in fact huge… this wasn’t just one CRM tool, this was the backbone of the whole Technical support of Unilever..

So that’s why I don’t believe there is ONE top CRM software, instead there are many excellent companies that produce different types and levels of CRM products for different needs. What is your need? Speed? Security? DB capacity? Affordability? Support? or may be training… well, all these points need to be consider before you browse or Google trying to find different companies.

Always trust companies and CRM sellers than have the honesty and the madurity of telling you if an application is simply to big for your needs. Always trust a company that explains you clearly what kind of software they sell, and when their solution is the precise one for you or not.

Remember, don’t buy a Ferrari if you just want to go from your home to the market. Be smart, do your research and you will find the CRM that is right for you.

Web based CRM software is a fantastic idea that can give you a lot of advantages vs conventional normal CRM software. When I talk about normal CRM software I’m talking about a CRM that is installed in your machine, so that means that the copy of the CRM is in your PC. This means that if you change of PC you need to reinstall the CRM.

With a web based CRM software it is different you can actually go to any computer and work straight away. Usually you login in a secure url or IP and then you will be able to log and create tickets and resolve your customer cases. Pretty cool isn’t?

Well, there is a catch, To start obviously with WEB based CRM Software or any web based CRM tool, if you loose internet connection, that means that you are cut from the world and you will not be able to work anymore. Second, you need to understand that you are accessing the web based application via your browser and that means that you are at the mercy of security updates, different versions of browsers, bugs and potential problems not with the web based crm application itself but with the browser you use to read and access the solution.

This may sound like a silly and small point but oh boy it is a pretty serious point to consider, later on in the next weeks, I will be talking a bit about some web based CRM reviews and how many of them were a waste of time and others instead were simply amazing.

When you have a CRM software you really want to understand that having a problem, or a bug, can destroy the way your business goes. Now, this is the most important point, when you decided to go for a hosted CRM software, then you need to really be able to control and understand what hosting is all about. This means that you need to be able to have direct access to that hosting services.

Potentially already  that may  already scared you, but what I need to explain is that hosted CRM software usually come with a very complicated backend, this means that you are the one in charge of watching over your own database and be sure you are doing everything ok, to prevent that database from getting corrupted.

Like in any other hosted application, once you are dealing with a live environment, you need to be very careful regarding how you treat your application.

Here are some quick advices about how to deal with hosted CRM Software applications

1. If you decided that the hosted CRM software is the right application for you, use a proper hosting. YOu really need to consider if you are better by hosting it with a hosting reseller or to hosted in house. My advice is to let the experts deal with hosting. So hire a professional hosting virtual server.

2. Backup, backup, backup. Do it all the time, have a regular discipline of backing up, this will help you to avoid dramas and future problems.

3. Have a production server and a little server in standby . I usually have 2 servers, sometimes one smaller and cheaper to rent (shared hosting) for my hosted CRM software applications, so in case things go to hell with one, in less than 3 to 4 hours I can have small server running.

So what do you consider a simple CRM software? The first thing I need to do is to clarify something, a simple CRM software doesn’t mean a poor CRM software. Just because it is simple, like KISS, keep it simple stupid, it doesn’t mean you will not find power, flexibility and a professional product behind the application. All the opposite. I believe the most powerful CRM applications, are the ones that are simple.

So here is my top 5 list of things you need to consider to be able to classify a CRM application as simple.

1. Easy installation and migration of data. This mean you can install the application with a PHD and you can import and export data fast.

2. Non hassle training. Does include a video for training? a demo production account? what about a good step by step idiot proof manual?

3. Easy to find menu of GUI . A good User interface is basic, the fastest it is for us to find where are we going the more simple, the better.

4. How easy is to retrieve and update info? This is one o the most important ones….

5. How easy to is to generate reports and to change the preferences in the CRM application?

Remember: you really want something simple, because the CRM helps you to deal with the problems of your clients, so the last thing you want to have is problems generated by your CRM software. Don’t you think?

Well, part of my job was that, I used to work all day with different CRM tools and then just try to advice companies wich CRM software was the ideal for their working enviroment. So how do you compare crm software? Well, to start I used to work with a very basic list. I believe in using KISS with CRM (keep it simple stupid).

1. Flexibility. I like CRM applications that are flexible, I love when I can install and unistall plugins, addons and extra modules to my CRM tool. This means that the people that created understand that not all working enviroments are the same.

2. Support. With many applications you want to know that you have a support team behind. I have used excellent CRM applications where I can berely find any type of support from the vendor or producer. So what is the point then in using that CRM tool?

3. Speed. Let’s face it, this is a CRM, and our customers require speed. Any good CRM application needs to load fast, work fast, retrieve fast. It is all about speed, speed and speed.

4. Database. where is the data of my customers stored and how safe is this info kept.

5. Equilibrium between value and features.

As you can see comparing crm software is a complex task, but if you understand that not all CRM software are ideal for your organization , you will have an easier path ahead.

Regarding Pharmaceutical CRM software I will not name brands of software companies, but there are mainly 2 clases of Pharmaceutical CRM software options out there, the ones that produce a big CRM tool and then they sell little customizations or addons for each industry and the companies that mainly just work in the pharma field.

Obviously I will stick with number 2, and the reason is quite obvious: I want the experts to work with me, I want to use what the experts in MY field are using. Don’t get me wrong, option number 1, is valid, but you are purchasing your application from a software brand, that does a lot of stuff and for sure they will not be an expert in all the fields and industries. Usually this addons will not adapt so well to all the companies and the companies are not extremely flexible based on the high cost of changing their applications.

So go for the companies where the pharmaceutical field is their main field of IT expertise , trust me, deep inside you can’t go wrong. These companies will speak your language and they will listen to you (very important!) because they know that the future of their customer relation tool depends on your feedback and word of mouth. If you are not happy, you will tell other peers and that will affect their reputation in your field.

Usually CRM applications are solutions that can over complicate themselves and by trying to give to many features they can forget that sometimes we just need the basic of what a Customer Relation Management tool does.

A long time I go I experience this problem when I used to train some small business owners in dealing and managing their time, while working together in their CRM Software small business, and many of them usually use to request an application that could work in a flexible scenario and give them the easy capacity to train staff quickly.

My advice regarding CRM Software small business tools is to trust companies that are willing to offer you a trial and a money back guarantee in case the application or the software is not what you where expecting from it.

But do your homework when you are looking for the CRM software for your small business, just because you are smaller than many big fishes, it doesn’t mean you don’t need something robust to help you deal with your clients problems,

Enjoy!