Cloud CRM Vendors – Not For Beginners

Posted by Commence on July 1, 2011 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

The hype about cloud computing is all around us from television commercials, to businesses to college campuses and for good reason. Cloud computing has shown to provide exceptional value to businesses both large and small enabling them to scale their business and computer resources quickly with minimal upfront investment. In the Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) sector, CRM software providers are including “cloud computing” in their marketing materials and product presentations, but there are some false claims about some of the vendor’s cloud environments and multi-tenant architectures. This is because cloud computing is evolving and there is little consistency with regard to its definition or its meaning among consumers.

Cloud computing is all about providing shared configurable computer resources such as servers, applications, storage and other computer related services. Similar to application software hosting, cloud computing is a service, but with several very important differences. Cloud computing enables a customer to scale their computing requirements upward and downward often without vendor intervention, share virtual resources in a multi-tenant environment, access data anytime and anywhere via a PC, tablet or mobile device and pay only for the computer processing and resources utilized. Unlike a hosting service tied to a specific server or servers, with cloud computing the access to computer resources can in effect be limitless.

Providing application software that performs properly in a cloud computing environment is not for the faint hearted. It starts with the selection of a world class cloud computing service, offered by several companies including RackSpace and Amazon.com as examples. This is coupled with CRM software that has been designed for a multi-tenant architecture and can perform well under high transaction volumes. Many CRM vendors have struggled with delivering reliable and scalable software solutions in a hosted environment and simply do not have the experience to migrate their solutions to the cloud. As a result many customers have experienced poor performance and downtime. The way to avoid this is to select an established proven CRM software provider that has the experience and track record for delivering their customer management software in the cloud.

Companies like Commence Corporation have been delivering software as a service or (SaaS) based solutions for several years. Commence began as a hosting service and has evolved into a true cloud based computing offering that offers the scalability, resource pooling, reliability and performance you would expect from a top rated CRM software provider.

For more information about Commence CRM and the Commence cloud services, call one of our experts at 1-877-266-6362 or visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com.

Image Credit: by Bpgriner at en.wikipedia source Wikimedia Creative Commons

Are You Paying Too Much For SalesForce.com?

Posted by Commence on January 28, 2011 under CEO Corner | 6 Comments to Read

Just over a decade ago Salesforce.com introduced Customer Relationship Management software (CRM), delivered over the Internet as a SaaS CRM service. Being the first to market provided them with the advantage of establishing a high price point for their offering and many companies seemed all too willing to pay for it, until now. What has changed over the past ten years is that there are now dozens of alternatives to Salesforce.com and several high quality trusted companies that offer similar functionality at a significantly lower cost.

Commence Corporation is one of these companies.  Commence has a rich history and has been providing on-premise CRM software to small enterprises and mid-size companies for more than two decades. In fact, Commence was the original developer of IBM Current, a desktop contact manager, and SuperSELL, IBM’s sales force automation offering. As such, Commence is no stranger to the CRM sector.  A few years ago the company expanded its product line by migrating its award winning desktop CRM software to the cloud.  Commence is one of the only companies that offers its customers the “freedom of choice” to deploy the software via the cloud or on premise.

Why Commence Makes Sense

One of the key CRM selection criteria that are driving customers to Commence CRM is that the company does not force you into a “pre-defined” box. Salesforce.com forces customers like you to select a specific product edition that locks you into a set of pre-defined features or limits the number of users you may have based on the price you paid. In fact, Commence does not have any restrictions of any kind.  The product is modular in design which means you can select the functionality you require today and add additional modules or users at any time without incurring a substantial price increase, just because you switched to a different “pre-defined” box or edition, or added additional people.

If you took a survey of companies that have selected CRM software, you will discover that many of them fell into the feature trap, where they ended up paying for more functionality than they end up using. This is because the vendor has forced them into buying a product edition with pre-set functionality as mentioned above.  This just doesn’t make sense.  To make matters worse, the majority of these companies are utilizing functionality that is standard in most quality CRM solutions like Commence, such as account and contact management, activity management, sales management, lead management, and Outlook and email integration.  Add those that also use it for marketing campaigns or mobile access and you have covered the lion share of the market.  Commence offers all of the above along with a help desk or customer support module, a document library, a project management application and integration with accounting systems like QuickBooks.

The point is this:  Trusted CRM providers like Commence have leveled the playing field and can provide similar functionality to products like Salesforce.com at a fraction of the cost.  If you’re an organization that requires a lot of users, the cost savings with Commence can be substantial.  If you are considering a CRM solution, take a few moments to evaluate Commence CRM. To learn more about Commence visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com or ask for a free CRM trial and experience Commence CRM for yourself.

Commence Announces New Product Release with Year End Celebration

Posted by Commence on December 30, 2010 under Commence News | Be the First to Comment

Tinton Falls, N.J. December 30, 2010 — Commence Corporation a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management software for the mid-market is doing a bit of celebrating to end the 2010 fiscal year.  The company has recorded a record number of new customers and just completed the release of a new version of their cloud based CRM product that incorporates a Project Management application and a Customer Service portal.

“The new applications add significant value for our customers” said Larry Caretsky, President of Commence Corporation “ and continue to differentiate Commence in a very crowded market.  The Project Management solution is designed to enable project managers to properly assign resources, manage project delivery dates, stay within budget and address issues before they become a significant concern and impact deliverables. The integration of this information with all other CRM data provides authorized personnel with complete access to full account, contact and project information.”

“The Customer Service Portal is all about enabling our customers to provide customer self service to their customers by allowing customers to update their profile, check the status of a service ticket or access the company’s knowledgebase for information anytime and anywhere.   This capability significantly enhances the quality of service Commence customers can offer to their customers and should give them a leg up on their competition”.

The company concluded the year with a company luncheon that included several international dishes followed by a highly competitive miniature golf tournament inside the company’s corporate headquarters in New Jersey.  “We don’t have the luxury of going outside this time of the year” says Caretsky, “so we had the course set up inside our offices.  We also offered prize money for first, second and third place which made the tournament highly competitive.”

About Commence:

Founded in 1988, Commence develops and delivers a diverse suite of award-winning CRM solutions that integrate people, processes and technology.  Delivered via the popular software as a service (SaaS) model or implemented as on premise software, Commence CRM solutions are used by thousands of businesses to streamline sales and customer service front-end business processes. As a result, Commence clients increase workforce productivity, generate positive customer interactions and reduce operating cost.  More information about Commence can be accessed at www.commence.com or by calling Commence sales at 1-877-COMMENCE.

Media Contact:
Nicole Reed
info@commence.com

Hosted CRM Makes Good Sense

Posted by Commence on November 12, 2010 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

Staying in touch with your customers has never been more important than it is in today’s business environment. The competition for every dollar of revenue has never been this fierce and the more the economy continues to stagger along, the harder it gets. If you want to be able to take care of your customers in an expeditious manner you need customer relationship management software that enables you to capture, track, manage and share vital information with the people and departments that need it to efficiently do their jobs.

The days of thinking you could manage all of your customers using a paper filing system are long gone, and in most cases you have far too many clients to even begin tracking in this archaic fashion. Today there are numerous choices when it comes to finding the right CRM software for your business.  For the past few decades the most common solution was desktop based contact management software that was installed on your internal PCs and server.   These programs did a good job of tracking basic customer information, but were limited in functionality and scalability.  Many were also proprietary solutions that required updates each year in order to take advantage of new features or remain compatible with desktop operating systems.  Customers that did not upgrade their software often found themselves in a very difficult and costly position as conversion to current versions of the software were expensive and simply not as easy as they had anticipated.

As with many other platforms, customer relationship management software has begun the move from internal servers to the cloud.  This migration to cloud based computing offers several benefits and customers who have switched to an online CRM service are realizing a higher degree of value than they did with previous platforms. Perhaps the biggest benefit is simply the ability to access data anytime and from anywhere via an internet connection.   In the past, employees using desktop CRM software often found themselves tethered to their desktop computer with access only to e-mail via their cell phone while away from the office.

The newer hosted CRM services have implemented mobile platform support for use with the latest smart phone or handheld devices. This makes it possible for your staff to access information on the go, providing sales people with the opportunity to immediately follow-up on new inquiries while your support team delights your customers with rapid customer service.   Hosted CRM services also provide you with product updates and enhancements that are fully implemented for you and ensure that you remain current with the latest technology advances.  This has proven to be an arduous task for IT managers maintaining in-house environments where the updates must be installed on in-house servers and desktop PCs.

Some company IT executives continue to debate the issue of desktop or on premise CRM software vs. online CRM claiming security concerns and runaway costs for hosted services each year, but industry reports indicate that web based CRM solutions are growing at a pace of more than double that of desktop software offerings. Companies are also finding that security concerns have been addressed and that due to the competitive landscape, online or web CRM offerings are now more affordable than ever.  This makes the case for hosted CRM quite compelling.

If you are looking for a cost efficient way to improve sales execution and customer service and provide your staff with anytime, anywhere access to vital customer data using a PC, Apple Mac, or Mobile device, you should strongly consider an online CRM solution hosted by a reputable company.  If this sounds like the winning formula for you, consider Commence CRM from Commence Corporation. The company has a twenty year track record for delivering comprehensive CRM software applications and high quality customer service.

CRM Software Selection Made Easy

Posted by Commence on September 29, 2010 under CEO Corner | 4 Comments to Read

Selecting a CRM software solution can be a daunting exercise, but this quick breakdown may help to pave the path for your evaluation and selection.  CRM solutions generally come in three flavors and with two deployment options.

There are quite a few Basic small business CRM applications, or what I like to refer to as productivity tools. There are Mid-market CRM solutions and Enterprise level CRM systems.  Vendors traditionally offer their CRM solutions as either web based under the Software as a Service (SaaS) model where you pay a monthly fee, or on premise.  A few now offer both deployment models.

Basic CRM software

These programs were at one time called contact managers and are generally designed to be productivity tools.  They provide the ability to manage your contacts and accounts, your calendar, e-mail, notes, history and even create a sales forecast. In addition, they also traditionally include a mail merge feature that allows you to quickly produce letters and merge the name and address fields.  Many also enable integration with popular mobile devices like the BlackBerry, iPhone and the new Droid via a synchronization program that resides on your PC.

Designed primarily for the small office, home office market (SOHO) these are affordable and worthwhile companions for businesses with limited requirements.  The downside to these applications is that they are traditionally sold as out of the box or ready to use crm solutions that are not scalable and are limited with regard to customization.

Mid-market CRM software

Mid-market CRM software takes contact management to the next level and has a strong focus on automating the sales process. They offer a robust set of functionality for lead qualification, lead management, opportunity management, pipeline management, sales activity management and sales forecasting.  Sales reporting is also very good, with both text based reports and analytics on sales activity and sales performance.  Many now also offer marketing management applications that enable marketing professionals to create pre-scheduled direct mail and e-mail marketing campaigns targeted at a specific group of companies or people.  The sales and marketing functionality is fully integrated with the contact management software allowing you to capture, track, manage and share vital customer and prospect information with the people and departments that require it to efficiently do their jobs.  The strength of mid-market CRM systems is their ability to fully integrate information from multiple departments therefore providing all authorized employees with a 360 degree profile of customer and prospect information.  Some mid-market programs also include a help desk or customer service tickets application.  Adding service history to the customer contact and sales data can play a vital role in improving sales execution and customer service.

The mid-market CRM software space is highly competitive. What separates many of the products from each other is their ability to integrate with disparate systems such as accounting and ERP systems, the ability to customize the applications, mobile support and the experience level of the vendor’s implementation and service staff.  Unlike basic low cost CRM software packages, many of these products are quite comprehensive and require a commitment from sales management and the proper training in order to realize the value they can bring to your business.

Enterprise CRM software

Enterprise CRM systems cover much of the functionality mentioned above, but are designed to support large numbers of users. The programs are quite comprehensive and offer a deeper level of sales, marketing and customer service functionality.   They may offer multiple sales processes for example, one for customers and one for prospects, security permissions down to the field level and the ability to manage high transaction levels.  Project management functionality is often found in enterprise level systems along with integration to social networking sites.  These systems are also highly customizable and offer (APIs) Application Programming Interfaces that enable the integration of a large array of disparate systems. Enterprise CRM software also traditionally supports multiple languages and multiple currencies making them ideal for large companies that operate globally.

If you are a large Fortune 1000 company with requirements for multi-language and multi-currency support your choice will become very clear as there are a limited number of quality vendors to choose from.  If you’re a small to mid-size company the choices are so numerous that it’s difficult to differentiate one from another.   You may want to review my free report, Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake, 7 points to Consider Before Selecting Your CRM Solution.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the President and CEO of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of web based and on premise CRM software for small to mid-size businesses. Caretsky is considered an expert in the subject of CRM and has written several white papers on the subject. They may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com. Commence supports several thousand customers in more than 22 countries around the world and has outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

CRM — An Industry In Distress

Posted by Commence on June 25, 2010 under CEO Corner | 4 Comments to Read

CRM Herrrreeee, Get your 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 vendors 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 ensure that you realize the 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.

Young Salesman Grows Personally and Professionally Using CRM Software

Posted by Commence on April 21, 2010 under Commence News | 3 Comments to Read

I started my career in the Mortgage industry selling re-financing services. The job was quite structured: call fifty people each day, document my discussions then follow-up with those that were interested as well as any I was unable to reach.  The company had no automation, but people learned to manage their daily business using a spiral notebook or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.  At the time I had no problem with this because I had a limited perspective on the most efficient ways to capture information, follow-up with potential prospects and keep my product and service in front of prospective buyers.  While I was one of the more successful sales people I was beginning to have difficulty organizing customer files, finding information about past telephone conversations, knowing which documents I sent people or didn’t send and following up with those people that asked me to contact them at a later date.  I found myself staying in the office later and later each night trying to get myself organized and keeping things from falling through the cracks, but it became an exercise in futility.

This all changed for me a few years later when I joined Commence Corporation, a provider of Customer Relationship Management software.  At Commence, I was forced to trade in my spiral notebook for a sales automation tool and while I was a bit dubious that a sales automation system would help me, after a few weeks of use I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I began capturing every customer and prospect interaction from basic telephone calls, quotes and documents I had sent to e-mail correspondence.   I learned to enter follow-up activities on my calendar and set alerts that reminded me to contact people on the dates and times I committed to.  Each day new leads with contact information were dispatched to me electronically and an automated sales methodology helped me to manage each opportunity through a structures sales cycle.  Best of all, with the simple click of a button I had the ability to view a complete 360 degree view of all current and historical information about my customers and prospects.  This was truly unbelievable.   I even learned that I could integrate a Smart Phone so that I could have contact information at my disposal and have also begun to utilize the systems mass e-mail feature to help generate more business.  I had never imagined that I would attain so much value from this tool.

“On a personal level I am more productive than ever.”

The CRM system has impacted me both personally and professionally.  On a personal level I am more productive than ever.  I have access to customer and prospect information anytime and anywhere and I am confident that things are no longer falling through the cracks. On a professional level I have become almost fanatical about the product, which has helped me to serve potential customers more effectively.  I continue to utilize my past experience as a vehicle for delivering a powerful testimonial of how CRM software has helped me better manage the sales cycle and improve sales execution.  It’s a well known fact that prospects are more likely to buy from someone who believes whole heartedly in the product or service they are selling and my newly found enthusiasm for CRM software has enabled me to gain credibility with potential buyers.

As I talk with new prospects each day I understand and appreciate the reluctance they may have in implementing a Customer Relationship Management solution.  I’ve learned that It’s a lot easier to understand their concerns and provide valuable assistance if you have been in a similar position, so I tell my story.  Their interest level grows and often turns into a new sale. If you are considering a CRM system give me a call.  I am confident that I can help you consolidate data, and improve sales execution so that your team and sell more and sell more easily.

About the author: Steve Fischkin is an Account Manager at Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM software which can be deployed in a web-based, cloud-computing environment or on premise. For more information about Commence visit www.commence.com or e-mail Steve at sales@commence.com

Redefining Customer Relationship In CRM

Posted by Commence on March 8, 2010 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

As small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle to survive in this economic climate, they are placing a major emphasis on increasing sales. Whether through finding new customers or attempting to increase the volume of purchases by the existing customer base, the attention is on getting the sales organization to be more productive.  SMBs, in spite of tough economic times, are investing in technology to enhance the productivity of the sales force and for the most part are implementing Customer Relationship Management tools to make this happen. While this is decidedly a step in the right direction, there may be additional ways to increase sales productivity.  This article examines a more effective way of utilizing CRM software to increase customer acquisition and revenue growth.

The Role of Technology

The last several years have brought a radical change in the relationship between the customer and business as a whole.  More and more customers are collaborating with businesses and technology is playing a key role in this new collaboration. An increasing percentage of interaction with customers is coming by way of social networks and online communities.  These interactions include suggestions for product improvement, requests for help, information requests and even customers assisting their counterparts directly.  These customer conversations are driving the need for the business to respond in a timely fashion and to also convince potential customers of their ability to adequately address their needs.

This is driving executives to focus more attention on discovering the “favorite” customer or target market and crafting a marketing message that resonates with that target market.  To do this effectively, the business needs to gather and analyze all of the relevant customer data points,  In addition to demographic and geographic data, the business needs to understand why customers are buying their products or services and more importantly, what specific language the “favorite” customer is using to describe the buying experience.

The Changing Customer Role

This calls for the establishment of a close collaborative effort between the business and the customer base.  Sales and any other part of the organization that is in direct contact with the customer needs to listen closely to the conversation in order to hear what the customer is saying.  The data gathered needs to be analyzed so that not only does the business then understand which customers comprise the target market, but also how those customers think and how they communicate.

This effectively achieves two goals.  First, it allows the sales force to be immensely more productive by getting them to concentrate on that part of the general marketplace that has these pre-qualified prospects that have the same profile as the “favorite” customer. Secondly, it gives the marketing side of the business the ability to script a marketing message that resonates with the customer since it uses the information gleaned from the customer and can be written in a language that the customer understands.

Even more importantly, with more customers using online communities and social networks, it is essential that the key phrases that the business uses are the same as the key phrases that the customer uses in their posts on Facebook and LinkedIn or in their tweets on Twitter.  It also allows the business to search engine optimize its web site because the language and the keywords used are the ones the favorite customers are accustomed to.

So now, the business has a marketing message that resonates with the customer.  The sales force has a sales pitch that is geared towards solving the customer pain and is in a language the customer understands.  The customer feels that the business is listening and hearing them and prospects not only find the business, but when engaged by the sales force are easier to bring to a close.

Can current CRM systems play in this arena?

Most current CRM systems are very effective at helping the sales force automate the sales process and manage the sales cycle.  The way they do this is by collecting customer and prospect data that the sales force uses to manage sales campaigns, schedule sales calls and keep the sales cycle moving along.  To meet the new paradigm of target marketing that requires collaboration with our customers, these CRM systems need new functionality.

Commence Corporation is taking a leadership position in this area and understands that the future of customer relationship management will be centered on the collaboration and partnership with customers.  Commence is busy restructuring the data points that their system collects to include the needed demographic and psychographics data that CRM system do not capture today.  Commence is also looking closely at interfacing the product with social media applications so that it can collect and analyze all of the different streams of customer conversations that are currently on the web, then use this information to targeting effective marketing campaigns.

As a result of the economic downturn, many SMBs are struggling to justify the capital outlay to upgrade or implement a new CRM system because of cost and business uncertainty.  To survive in today’s economy, you need to implement a CRM software solution, but you need to do it for the right reasons.  Don’t implement a CRM solution to simply automate the sales process.  Growing your business will require the ability to capture, manage and share vital customer information from several data sources and then use the information to gain a competitive edge.  Select a CRM software provider that offers a platform that can support the customer collaboration that will need to take place in the future.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the president 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.

Commence CRM Offers Solution for Stranded Goldmine Customers

Posted by Commence on February 4, 2010 under Commence News | 2 Comments to Read

February 4, 2010 - Commence Corporation has announced a competitive upgrade program for small businesses currently using the Goldmine contact management software.  More than a year ago FrontRange announced that they would no longer be enhancing their standard contact manager product, leaving many small and mid-size businesses with the option to migrate to the company’s more expensive product or seek an alternative solution.

“Many of these businesses have simply stayed put and have continued to utilize discontinued versions of the Goldmine software”, said Nicole Reed, Customer Manager at Commence Corporation, “but with the release of the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, these older versions will no longer work. This has generated a number of calls to Commence Corporation from Goldmine customers seeking a migration path to newer, supported CRM software.”

Commence offers a robust contact manager along with a suite of CRM software applications for managing sales, marketing and customer support. The Customer Management software is available for deployment on-premise or hosted under a “software as a service” or SaaS model.  Commence also supports the Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 operating systems along with the upcoming Microsoft Office 2010 software.

Larry Caretsky, president of Commence Corporation, welcomes the addition of these customers. “Commence has been servicing SME businesses  for twenty years,” noted Caretsky. “A good portion of our business comes from companies that have outgrown traditional contact management software such as Sage ACT software and Goldmine software. These companies need more then a simple contact manager, but not the cost and complexity of enterprise CRM software. We are positioned right in the middle of the two, which has served our business very well over the years. Our CRM solution is comprehensive yet intuitive and affordable, and can be deployed over the Internet,” says Caretsky.

About Commence Corporation:

Commence Corporation is a leading provider of Customer Manager software. The company’s products are designed to provide small to mid-size businesses with flexible solutions that leverage the Web to offer an integrated platform for managing sales execution and customer service. Commence supports several thousand customers through a worldwide distribution network, with outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information see www.commence.com or call 1-877-COMMENCE.

CRM for the Big at Heart

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

Commence Corporation helps small to midsize businesses tackle the CRM challenge

Picking a CRM software vendor is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re part of the small to midsize market, where technology budgets are limited and horror stories of complex, drawn-out CRM projects abound. While the watchword of midmarket CRM buyers was once something akin to the President’s “irrational exuberance,” today it is “caution,” as companies demand solutions that are affordable, easy to implement and easy to use and that deliver a quick return on investment.

“The CRM industry has been plagued by vendors offering overly complex solutions to solve basic business problems. This has resulted in a low adoption rate and failed customer expectations,” says Larry Caretsky, president and CEO of Commence Corporation. “The concern for most businesses today is not a lack of technology, but rather how they can leverage technology to improve their internal processes and, ultimately, their bottom line.”

Caretsky should know. His company has been in business for 22 years and has witnessed all the trends in customer relationship management. And with that kind of experience, Caretsky figured out long ago that rapidly deployable, cost-effective CRM solutions – even when they weren’t in vogue – were the only way for customers to quickly and affordably reap the benefits of their investment.

Commence Corporation has taken a unique approach to meeting the key objectives of most small to midsize businesses – namely, by streamlining internal business processes, improving sales processes and delighting customers. The company starts with the fundamental knowledge that most mid-market customers must first address the problem of data capture, data consolidation and data sharing.

Typically, vital customer information is spread throughout these organizations in contact management software, back office systems and Excel spreadsheets. “Employees spend a significant amount of time trying to determine where or who in the organization has the information they need to address customer inquiries,” says Caretsky. “Management recognizes this problem and realizes that in order to increase sales and become a more efficient sales and service organization they must get the right information into the hands of the right people, at the right time.”

The Commence CRM software does just that. Customer information, captured from multiple channels, is stored in a unified database where it is immediately available to all authorized personnel through two product features: a digital dashboard and a multiview capability. “This enables them to be constantly aware of account activity and take proactive steps to ensure customer satisfaction,” says Caretsky.

At the same time, Commence helps companies increase sales using a sales process template that is built into the system. Preset sales stages allow the sales team to begin classifying new sales opportunities from the beginning. The product also offers sales teams the ability to utilize a structured sales methodology for lead scoring and evaluating each sales opportunity. And it helps make sales reps more productive by providing a tool to automate routine tasks. “It’s like having an administrative assistant working directly for you,” says Caretsky.

Building brand recognition via the use of direct mail and email marketing campaigns is also incorporated in Commence CRM as a component of the marketing software module. By scheduling repetitive marketing campaigns small to mid-size businesses can be assured that their company, product or service is in front of prospective buyers at all times.

“Today’s basis for business growth is the successful management of long-term relationships with customers on a one-to-one level,” says Caretsky. “When the customer becomes the center of your business, customer-centric strategies, processes and technology solutions can unlock the value of these relationships.”

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