Customers Find Good Value In Commence CRM

Posted by Commence on August 23, 2010 under Customer Success | Be the First to Comment

Getting an early start in the CRM software industry may have helped Salesforce.com to become a leader in the Hosted CRM space, but another CRM solution provider is making a statement of their own, paving the way for some intense competition in the small to mid-size business sector. 

Better known for its on premise desktop CRM software, Commence Corporation has been providing contact management, sales force automation and marketing campaign management solutions to small and mid-size companies for more than two decades.  The company introduced a web-based hosted version of their popular CRM software and is gaining notoriety.   With an outstanding track record for performance, reliability and world-class customer service Commence is a strong competitor and becoming a favorite among smaller businesses looking for a flexible hosted CRM solution with productivity tools that are easy to use.

“Commence web CRM has an impressive and unique user interface that makes the product very easy to use and navigate” says Gary Sanders of OK! Magazine.  “The product’s Home Page or Dashboard is completely customizable by individual or job function.  This allows each user to create a dashboard to the way they work.  The value here is that you can place the functions you use most right on the home page, such as today’s calendar and activities, e-mail, sales opportunities, leads, reminders and even an interactive sales funnel.  We hadn’t seen this in any other CRM solution.  This flexibility enables people to conduct 90% of their daily activities without ever leaving the Home Page and has really improved productivity.” 

Commence Home Page

Karen Deneau, Director of Marketing with Center for Film Studies, needed CRM software that her staff would feel comfortable with.   “When selecting a CRM solution, you worry about utilization, but we were confident that our staff would adapt well to Commence CRM and they have.   We also liked that Commence is modular in design, which allowed us to select only the functionality we required. We weren’t forced to purchase a package with a dozen features we would never use.  Commence’s strength clearly lies in its ease of use.  Within two weeks we had marketing campaigns out the door and leads captured from our web site were integrated directly into the Commence CRM system.  The staff at Commence was also extremely helpful in ensuring that we quickly realized value from their solution.”

Key Differentiators

Commence’s modular design provides the flexibility to start with basic CRM functionality such as Account and Contact Management, E-Mail integration and Sales Pipeline Management, then add additional features such as Quoting, Marketing Campaign Management and Project Management when you’re ready.  Integration to disparate systems can be achieved via an Application Programming Interface or API, and Commence CRM supports the majority of popular Mobile devices.

Another key differentiator of Commence CRM is the product’s lead qualification and sales reporting capability. The leads module includes an automated business process that scores leads based on pre-defined criteria, then color codes them based on how well defined they are.  This capability is unique to Commence CRM, and ensures that your sales team is working on the most qualified opportunities and not chasing tire kickers. 

Lead Scoring Screen

Reporting

The reporting engine offers three levels of data analysis.  A set of pre-defined reports for sales management, marketing and customer support can be viewed with a single click and modified just as easily.  A built in report writer allows you to create customer reports against any field in the database, including custom fields.  Lastly, Commence CRM includes a pre-built set of graphical and analytical reports for all sales activity, marketing, lead generation and customer support.

Reports

Commence offers the freedom of choice to deploy CRM software on premise or as a hosted web based solution and offers a level of functionality traditionally only provided by enterprise level solutions. Commence products are distributed around the world in more than 22 countries and 35 different industries.  The company’s track record for providing high quality reliable products and outstanding customer service make it a solid choice for growing businesses.

About the Author:  Jim Smith is the founder and managing partner of YCHANGE INTERNATIONAL,  a management consultancy specializing in helping small to mid-size businesses expand or execute a turnaround strategy.  Jim is a commissioner for the Housing Authority of Portland, Oregon and serves as a member of the newly formed economic cabinet of Portland. Jim is a motivational speaker and trainer and lectures on Customer Relationship Management in the areas of sales, marketing, business and leadership.  He is an avid blogger on www.ychange.com/ychangeblog.

CRM — An Industry In Distress

Posted by Commence on June 25, 2010 under CEO Corner | 3 Comments to Read

CRM Herrrreeee, Get you CRM… Sounds like you’re at a ball game and listening to the peanut & popcorn vendor doesn’t it? You’re not.  This is the new sound of an industry in distress.  Just a few years ago Industry analysts had stated that Customer Relationship Management would be one of the fastest growing sectors of the software industry, and software manufacturers listened.  There are now several hundred providers of CRM software vying for your business and many of them will do almost anything to get it.   Most people would agree that increased competition is always good for the consumer, but in this case, I’m not so sure.

Some CRM providers are offering their software free, while others offer lengthy trials or money back guarantees.  Some are even offering the ability to get started immediately by simply entering your credit card over the Internet and voila, instant CRM.   Are these low cost, get your instant CRM marketing programs working?  I think so, but for whom?  Most of the vendor’s are struggling financially and industry statistics continue to indicate that more than 70% of CRM solutions fail to get properly implemented or utilized. This statistic has gone virtually unchanged in the past ten years, even though web-based CRM solutions were supposed to address the difficulties associated with traditional desktop CRM software, which were labeled as too hard to implement and too hard to use.  So what’s the problem?

What’s causing the failure?

I have been engaged in the sale and implementation of CRM software in dozens of small to mid-size companies and I believe there are three components that are responsible for so many failed implementations and poor utilization.

1. The Traditional Selection Process is Flawed
2. Lack of Executive Management Involvement
3. No Sales Leadership -Failure to understand the Core Competency of the Staff

1) The Traditional Selection Process is Flawed

Most companies continue to select software products the same way they did twenty years ago. They gather a small team of people to survey different departments and document what each department requires in their CRM system, and then create their master list of features.  Some highlight the ‘must have’ features from the ‘nice to have’ or optional ones.   Then they research and contact a number of vendors, watch a product demonstration, and place a check mark next to each feature the vendor offers.  At the bottom of the checklist they total the score and “lo and behold”, the vendor with the most points has the best CRM solution for their business.  If there is a tie in the number of points, then the lowest cost provider wins.  Seems simple enough, but this is a flawed process for the following reasons.

2) Lack of Executive Management Involvement

The executive management team knows better than anyone else the challenges they face.  They must take an active role early on in the selection process and properly communicate the core business requirements to their team. On numerous occasions I have experienced situations where the executive management comes to the table very late in the process with a uniquely different prospective on what the business is looking to achieve with the implementation of a CRM system.  This only serves to embarrass if not alienate the selection team who has wasted valuable time and may have narrowed down two or three vendor selections based on completely different criteria.  In several instances management did not get involved in the selection process at all at all except to approve the expenditure.  The process should start top down not bottom up.

3) No Sales Leadership – Failure to Understand the Core Competency of the Staff

Software does not run your business — people do. Management must take into consideration the maturity of their business processes and the core competency of their staff before embarking on the selection and implementation of CRM software.   This is especially important when it comes to the sales organization that traditionally consists of people with various levels of experience.  The successful implementation of a CRM system requires the engagement of the entire management team and the leadership of an experienced sales executive that is committed to the implementation of a structured sales process and the reinforcement of that structure.  This has nothing to do with the actual software selected and everything to do with a commitment to build an internal infrastructure with mature business processes, mature systems and mature people.  I believe this is one of the single most important factors in determining the success or failure of a CRM implementation and its proper utilization.

Before concluding, if you are considering the implementation of a CRM solution for your business I would like to suggest that you think about CRM software in the following way:

• CRM is Not a Toy – you’re not going to address significant business challenges with a free CRM offering or one that you can buy over the Internet for a few dollars a month. Anyone who believes this is just foolish.  If you are truly committed to improving your internal business processes, such as building brand recognition via marketing programs, implementing a proven sales methodology and creating a support structure for delivering world-class customer service, you need to look at your CRM provider as an integral partner in this process and engage them as your partner.   The vendor’s experience and core competency in mastering the use of their solution is perhaps more important then the solution itself and will serve to insure that you realize their maximum benefit from their offering.

• Software does not run your business, people do.  I mentioned this earlier, but it is worth repeating. The software should be viewed as simply a tool to automate and streamline your internal business processes.  In order for you to realize a high return on your investment you need to have mature business processes in place, and understand the core competency of your staff.   The implementation of a CRM system should result in a significant level of change within your organization, that’s why you are investing in the process.  It’s paramount to ensure that management is committed to making a change and in reinforcing new internal processes and procedures.  If you do not have this level of commitment you may struggle to realize a return on your CRM investment and fail to become a more efficient sales and service organization.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the CEO of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM software which can be deployed in a web-based, cloud-computing environment or on premise. Caretsky is considered an expert in Customer Relationship Management and has written numerous white papers on the subject, which may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com.