The evolution of CRM was brought about by advanced technology such as cloud computing, and the introduction of specific departmental software solutions for sales, marketing, and customer service.  Today, social networking is an important component that continues to expand the use of CRM software to help businesses market, sell and provide services to their customers.

Finding a CRM Solution that works for you

There are essentially three levels of CRM software and even the most basic offerings can provide value to your business.  Selecting the right solution has a lot to do with the maturity of your business and the objective you have going forward.

The most basic CRM offerings enable you to manage accounts or companies and contacts or people.  If you own a small business and have been operating it using an Excel spreadsheet and e-mail, a basic CRM solution would be a nice step up from what you are doing today. It will allow you to capture vital customer information including notes and history, track activity, and share this information with your staff – something that is difficult to do using an excel spreadsheet.

More advanced CRM systems traditionally add marketing, sales and lead management features and are designed for companies that want to build brand recognition via bulk e-mail programs, capture and manage leads or new opportunities and automate the sales process.  Companies that have used automated systems in the past such as contact managers often find these more advanced systems appealing for their business because they are a natural next step up from contact management programs. These programs are often quite affordable and easy to use and can add substantial value to your business.

Comprehensive CRM programs, often referred to as enterprise level systems, are designed to automate and integrate both front-end and back-end business processes such as accounting and ERP. These are robust and complex solutions that require a strong commitment from management to implement and use. Companies that have automated their marketing, lead management and sales management processes look at enterprise solutions as an important component to closing the loop between front office and back office business processes. Instead of operating disparate silos of information, these companies strive to integrate all business processes into one universal system or database.  These solutions are typically only found in larger organizations that have the staff and expertise to implement and manage them.

The good news is that there is a large selection of CRM systems to choose from and traditionally free trials and demos so that you can test them. The best advice in selecting one is to document your requirements. Then seek a few offerings that can support those requirements.

On-premise applications have been traditionally designed with a high degree of flexibility in mind making customization easier and less expensive for the IT department. There is no right or wrong solution here, but it’s important to be aware that if your organization requires complete control of the customer information in your CRM system, a cloud based CRM offering may limit your ability to achieve this.

The number one request from small to mid-size businesses evaluating CRM software is ease of use.  This is because CRM systems have traditionally been over engineered and simply too hard to use.  Delivering the right combination of functionality and ease to use has been a challenge for many CRM software providers, but according to customer testimonials Commence CRM seems to deliver the right balance of functionality coupled with a simple design and navigation. 

Commence CRM is a robust offering that rivals many higher end solutions. In addition to the standard account and contact management, sales, leads and marketing modules, Commence CRM adds optional applications for project management, customer service or help desk and integration to disparate software programs.  Even with this level of functionality customers report that the product is extremely easy to use. What makes this possible is a clever design and use of a digital dashboard that enables the end user to perform 90 percent of their daily tasks without ever leaving the initial screen.

The CRM dashboard can be configured by each user with a click of a button and may include all or a subset of the following features or portlets:

Sample Dashboard Used by Sales Staff

Each portlet enables you to perform that task right from the dashboard and even provides a shortcut to additional functionality. The Leads portlet for example allows you to enter a new lead right from the dashboard.  You can view all the leads you are currently working on by clicking a button labeled more … it’s that simple.

With Commence CRM you can add a new account or contact, a new lead, a new sales opportunity, schedule follow-up activities add or update a project or a service ticket; even view your favorite reports without ever leaving the screen.   Learn more  with an online CRM demo or free trial of the CRM software.

Customer relationship management may lead to smoother sales and service interactions between you and your customers, but it can also help you go above and beyond. Your customers are filling your CRM system with intelligence about their desires and their needs; it’s time to use that data to help cement your relationship with them for the long term.

So you have your CRM application in place and humming, collecting information about customers and potential customers and organizing it so you can use it. That raises a question: How are you using it?

Most companies pour it back into sales, marketing and support to keep feeding those machines, which is good. It’s the way you realize the value from your CRM investment.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of ecommercetimes.com.

The problem with CRM solutions that are very easy to use is that they don’t do very much, and for the most part are nothing more than glorified contact managers on the web.  Those that provide a high level of functionality are designed for larger companies and are often overkill for small to mid-size enterprises.

Becoming a top choice among small to mid-size enterprises

One company that seems to have addressed this concern is Commence CRM.  This online CRM system strikes a nice balance between simplicity and value. Commence is a robust product offering that rivals many higher cost solutions and is modular in design. This allows customers to start with the basics for managing accounts and contacts, calendar, notes, activities, history and even integrate your e-mail. Then add additional functionality when you are ready.

Companies that wish to manage sales can add a lead management and sales pipeline management module for just a few dollars more per month, and those that want to do bulk e-mailing can add the marketing module as well.  What’s unique about Commence CRM is how easy the additional applications are to use. The product is also available for use with an Apple Mac, PC or any mobile device or tablet.  Commence CRM seems to be the perfect fit for those companies that want more than a simple contact manager on the web, but not the cost and complexity of higher end solutions that are cumbersome to use.

Image courtesy of Sujin Jetkasettakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• First, there are now a plethora of easy to use low cost solutions for businesses of any size.
• Secondly, businesses are seeing a return on their investment and actually improving how they market, sell and provide services to their customers.

CRM is working, but it requires more than just the CRM software itself. Many small to mid-size companies struggle to implement internal business processes for improving sales and customer service and look towards CRM software as a way automate these functions. Today’s CRM systems are designed to do just this, but they require experienced professionals that can couple the features in the CRM software with best practices for managing sales and customer service. Here is an example.

The ABC company wants to do a better job in managing leads and their sales process. They select a top rated CRM solution that has all the bells and whistles for streamlining the sales and lead management process. The problem is they don’t have a process. Leads are loosely distributed based on territory and every sales person, while having a monthly quota, still has their own personal process for how they sell.

So how do you automate and streamline a process that does not exist?

You have got to get some help. Look for a CRM solution provider that has an experienced team of people to ensure you realize the maximum value from their solution. I am not referring to end user training here. I am talking about business process automation. An experienced team of people can help you define your processes and then automate them using CRM software. This is a one-time investment, but one that makes a significant difference in improving how you manage and conduct business into the future.

Image “Flowchart And 3d Character Shows Process Or Procedure” by Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One company that is differentiating themselves from the pack is Commence Corporation. Commence has an online CRM solution that offers advanced functionality for customer service.  This is appealing to mid-sized companies that have mastered the use of CRM for managing account management, contact management and sales, and now want to focus on providing world class service to their customers.

Excerpt from ‘Sales, Customer Service, and Marketing Top Technology Investment Priority List’ | Forrester Blog

To do this, businesses need the ability to assign and manage service tickets, and maintain a historical view of customer service interactions. Commence CRM software does just that.  The customer support application is seamlessly integrated with the account and contact management database. Simply open an account detail and view the complete service history as part of a 360 degree view of their customer profile.

Customer service and support solutions are typically unavailable from low-end competitive offerings servicing this sector of the industry.  Other mainstream and enterprise products offer this, but at almost double the cost.  Learn more about the customer support and project management features in Commence CRM at http://www.commence.com/crm/crm-software/.

Another challenge facing companies today is a lack of standardization. Unlike years ago where people standardized on desktop PCs running a Microsoft operating system, today’s workforce may be using Apple Macs, tablets or smartphones like an iPhone or Android device. New devices are entering the market every six months and people simply expect that they can use these devices to access their data. It’s not an unreasonable request but it’s much more difficult to achieve with desktop software than with CRM online systems that are designed to support remote data access.

Is desktop CRM dead? Of course not, because not every company has remote employees or requires remote access. In addition, many desktop database applications have been tailored to meet unique business requirements that CRM online solutions do not provide without additional programming. As the industry continues to evolve and new mobile devices enter the market it does appear that CRM online software programs will continue to be the solution of choice into the future.

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is probably one of the most valuable systems that any small business can implement. It is as important as the people that are hired and will have a more significant effect long term than any one employee.

Recent studies show that companies with a fully utilized CRM system can increase sales by 29%. But, any system is only as valuable as the information that goes into it. How do you get everyone in the company to use it and provide real time data?

You can read the full article here, courtesy of Forbes.com.

Follow-up on Leads – automate how you capture, distribute and follow-up on new business opportunities or leads

Manage the Sales Process – implement a formal sales structure and manage the sales process from introduction to closure

Access Customer Information – provide high quality customer service and store the complete customer service history by implementing a ticket management system

This is all possible, but you need to select a CRM solution that can offer this level of functionality. Then once you find one you may quickly realize that you cannot expect to achieve a high level of results without getting some help.  These systems offer robust functionality and often require some training and professional guidance.

Commence Corporation has created an onboarding program that consists of their top rated CRM software complemented by customer specific training and professional services.  These are live interactive coaching sessions with an onboarding rep who can advise you on how to implement the system for your specific business workflow. The onboarding program is a small investment in time that really pays off with faster implementations, a personalized system that’s easier to use and increased user adoption. With results like these, customers quickly realize the maximum value from their CRM software.

If you really want to improve how you market, sell and provide service to you customers don’t expect to get it by downloading some cheap CRM solution over the Internet.   You need a functionally rich top CRM solution matched with world class customer service.  What differentiates Commence CRM from other solutions servicing the small to mid-size business sector is the company’s professional staff. This team averages 15 years of industry experience in marketing, sales and customer service.  Very few CRM solution providers can provide this level of experience to their customers. This is the reason so many customers have realized extensive value with Commence CRM.

Image “Motivate Written On Blackboard” courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Fast and uncomplicated CRM responses keep consumers happy

When it comes to customer relationship management (CRM), digital channels present something of a double-edged sword. They facilitate communication between consumers and businesses, but also provide disgruntled customers with the means to quickly and widely broadcast their discontent with a product or service.

Dimensional Research conducted a Q1 2013 survey of US internet users who had recently interacted with the customer service departments of mid-sized companies. Interestingly, they found that among those who said they had had a positive customer service experience, more said it was because they received a quick resolution to their problem, rather than a desirable outcome.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of eMarketer.com.

CRM solution providers like Commence Corporation are making the transition to web based CRM software easy for those customers ready to take advantage of cloud computing. First, the company provides a data migration service that enables the migration of contact data into the Commence CRM software. This allows customers to begin with a solid database of contact information versus having to manually key in thousands of names, addresses and telephone numbers. Perhaps more importantly is the comfort factor once customers learn how Commence CRM works.

There is significant difference between contact management software and CRM software. Contact management software is designed to manage individual people or contacts, whereas CRM software is designed to manage companies or accounts. Because CRM is account centric much of the filtering and reporting is designed around accounts as well. Commence CRM enables you to manage both contacts and accounts and you have the flexibility to view, search, report and even add customer fields to the contact database as well as the account database. You can manage them jointly or as separate databases. Why does this matter? Because companies that are used to managing a contact database can continue to operate in a similar fashion with Commence CRM. Commence CRM simply takes customer relationship management to a much higher level while providing the flexibility to access data anytime, from anywhere and from any browser capable device.

Customers using older contact managers such as Goldmine, Maximizer, ACT! or Avidian will find that Commence CRM offers the right mix of functionality, flexibility and price to get them to the next generation of Customer Relationship Management.

Image by bingbing on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Most people today realize that these reviews are often done on a fee for service basis. Only the vendors who agree to pay a fee (to get the name and e-mail address of the person who downloaded the review) will be listed in the report, and that’s ok. People need to make money. But the reviews are always about who has the most features and functions versus what value the product provides to end users.

Today, businesses are typically trying to address three business challenges.

1) Data consolidation – They want to capture, track, manage and share information throughout the organization so that they can efficiently manage their customer relationships.

2) Improve Marketing and Sales Execution – Companies want to build brand recognition, generate more interest in their products or service, and manage the sales process from introduction to closure.

3) Improve the Customer Buying Experience – Companies want to maximize the lifetime value of every customer by providing a high quality customer buying experience.

I would like to know which vendor can help my business address these specific challenges, not that Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.com are the two biggest players in the sector or that they have more features than anyone else. How does this help me? Perhaps these reviewers will get tired of the feature/function war and start producing some case studies to show how these products can provide value and a return on the investment people make in them.

Image by Paul Goyette on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Great questions. While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and marketing automation systems are complementary, they both serve different functions that only reach their full potential when paired together. A CRM is primarily a sales tool, focused on collecting data about existing customers and managing new customers and sales opportunities. Marketing automation, on the other hand, is the marketing counterpart to your CRM, focused on lead generation and personalized, one-to-one communications powered by the data collected through prospect and visitor tracking.

To break it down even further, your CRM is essentially a database. Marketing automation is the tool that allows you to execute on the information stored in that database. Integrating the two systems allows you to sync information bi-directionally, meaning that an update to a record in your CRM will automatically be made in your marketing automation tool as well (and vice versa). Having this steady “communication” between the two platforms is what makes this connection so powerful, while also ensuring that data is always consistent.

Learn more about how you can increase your marketing effectiveness with marketing automation and get the free Marketing Automation Success Kit. Click the link below to check it out.

Why Marketing Automation is the Perfect Complement to Your CRM  | Pardot.com

“We are getting a lot of calls from both camps” says Tom Gibson, sales manager at Commence Corporation. “The small businesses either did not have the time to do a proper evaluation or perhaps simply misunderstood what they were getting with the low cost solutions now on the market. The low end CRM products traditionally offer little in the way of flexibility or customizability and this is by design.

The solution provider simply cannot afford to take telephone calls or add the functionality these customers desire at their low price point. These are out of the box solutions and either you like what they offer or you don’t. What is clear however is that there are a large number of companies that are unhappy with what they have and are looking to change.”

“Many of the mid-size customers that call us had selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce.com and are paying quite a bit of money for their solution. Almost all of them indicate that they are simply not using the functionality they thought they would and as such, are looking for a capable but lower cost solution. Commence CRM fits the bill nicely for these people.” says Gibson. “We are that middle component in that we offer much more functionality and flexibility than the low end CRM systems, but not the complexity and cost associated with Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce.com. We have been positioned as that middle market CRM solution from day one” says Gibson “and it’s a good place to be. Of course we would rather earn this business in year one, and in many instances we are, but we seem to be getting more and more calls in that second year when the big renewal invoice is presented to these customers and they decide they need to change CRM vendors.”

More information about how Commence CRM stacks up to the competition is available here: http://www.commence.com/crm/crm-review/

Image courtesy of opensourceway on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

The Center for Retail Management at Northwestern University has reported that up to 15% of a business’s most loyal customers account for 55-70% of the company’s total sales (CRM Trends).

Given the exponential growth of mobile in the US – from mobile advertising to apps, websites, and more – it makes sense that mobile can also be harnessed to effectively enhance customer loyalty.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of Resource Nation.

Fast forward a year later and things have not gone as expected. Utilization is low, people find the product difficult to use and you just got your renewal notice with another big payment to make.  Some companies simply cannot see themselves going through the selection process again so they just renew for another year with the thought that they will address it next time around.  Other companies find Commence CRM, a mid-market alternative that offers similar features and functions as Salesforce.com at half the cost.  Commence is not a household name, nor does the company spend millions of dollars on Google advertising campaigns, but Commence is a top rated CRM system that has been serving small to mid-size enterprises for more than two decades.

Functionally Commence CRM matches up very well against Salesforce.com and in some areas offers more capability. But what differentiates Commence CRM is that unlike Salesforce.com, which was designed for enterprise organizations, Commence is designed for small to mid-market enterprises.  While there are several product editions similar to Salesforce.com, Commence does not place restrictions on the number of users you can have or strip out functionality in its lower cost offerings. Commence CRM offers robust functionality, has an intuitive user interface and can be tailored without programmer intervention.  Best suited for companies of 10 to 200 users, Commence CRM meets the requirements of ease of use and affordability that so many mid-market companies are looking for.  If you have the big renewal payment coming due and have found that you are simply not using the features you signed up for with Salesforce.com, it may be time to take a look at Commence CRM.  Ask for a free test drive on the company’s website or view a product comparison of Commence CRM versus Salesforce.com.

Image “Did Will Would Should Could Have” courtesy of Michael on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

The success of any company depends on its ability to engage and interact with customers in new and innovative ways. According to McKinsey & Co., the average company loses between 10 and 30 percent of its customers annually, proving that interaction is a critical component to securing meaningful customer relationships and driving deeper levels of engagement and service.

In today’s competitive climate, companies cannot wait for their customers to initiate contact; they must create proactive value-add CRM programs that aggressively initiate, develop, and grow customer relationships.

A recent study by Defaqto Research found that 55 percent of consumers would pay extra to guarantee better service. By implementing a successful customer management program, companies can ensure that their customers are not only satisfied, but also that they realize the full benefits of the product or service they have purchased.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of DestinationCRM.

The Fortune 1000

If we look at the Fortune 1000 commonly referred to as enterprise level companies they traditionally have complex business requirements.  This may be associated with a large number of users, high transaction volumes, customized workflow requirements or the need for multi-language and multi-currency support.  Due to the complex nature of these requirements, very few CRM companies can address them. As a result, the enterprise CRM software sector may be the least competitive of the three.

Small Business Sector

While the enterprise sector may be the least competitive, the small business CRM sector is perhaps the most competitive. Why?  Because small businesses typically have just a few specific requirements.  Some businesses simply want to store customer information. Others may want to manage the sales process more efficiently and some perhaps a bit more.  They do not however have the complex requirements of larger organizations and as such, they can perhaps meet their requirements with a simple or basic CRM solution that they may be able to download freely over the Internet.  Because it does not require more than a PC and a few hours of development time there are literally dozens of basic low cost solutions available for the small businesses community.

The Middle Market

The mid-market sector is the most challenging one because most of these companies need more than a basic CRM solution to meet their business requirements, but many do not have the complex needs of enterprise class companies.  While they may not have hundreds of users they may have 100 or more, reasonably high transaction volumes and workflow requirements. This demands a flexible solution that can be tailored to these requirements.  Small business CRM solutions cannot address these requirements and while the enterprise class CRM systems can, they are often too complex to use and too expensive.

What these companies are looking for is something in the middle. A CRM system that offers robust functionality, does not take an engineering degree to use, can support about 100 users with reasonable transaction volumes, and can be customized to meet unique business requirements.

There are only a handful of CRM solutions that match these criteria.  The development of a system such as this requires a substantial commitment on the part of the vendor.   You are not simply developing a basic contact management system here, but instead a fully integrated customizable solution that can grow and change with the customers’ changing business requirements.  It has to be time tested and perform well with a lot of users and transaction volumes, but still be easy to use and affordable.

While there are a few good choices in the sector the one that continues to rise to the top is Commence CRM from Commence Corporation. Commence has been in the client management software sector for more than twenty years. The company has built a large loyal customer base and has developed a lengthy track record for delivering quality products and excellent customer service.  Perhaps the one aspect of Commence CRM that differentiates it from competitive solutions is that Commence CRM has always been positioned for mid-market companies.  The company states that its CRM solution is designed for companies that need more than a basic low cost CRM system but not the cost and complexity of enterprise CRM solutions.  It seems to work because although Commence CRM is not a household name in the industry like Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce.com, the company competes very effectively against these two industry giants.  For more information, ask for a free test drive of Commence CRM on the company’s website.

Let’s start with perhaps one of the most important yet overlooked aspects of CRM software and that’s data security.

Data Security

The majority of today’s modern CRM solutions operate online in a cloud computing environment. The proper protection of your data is paramount and it does not come cheaply. So if you are looking at a free CRM solution or one where the cost is simply too good to be true, chances are your data may not be as properly protected as you think it is. If you are alright with this then fine but don’t be foolish enough to think that you r getting a high quality service here because you are not.

Role Permissions

Smaller companies often have no issue with enabling all employees with access to see all customer information, but larger firms often want to restrict this through the use of what is often listed as security or role permissions. The only problem is that basic low cost solutions do not offer role permissions so if you have any interested in establishing what employees can see or not see, you will need a higher end CRM offering.

Customization

Maybe you are not looking to integrate with other third party applications, but you may want to add custom fields, create customer views of information, generate custom reports or enable your staff to create a custom dashboard. This is not going to happen with a basic low cost CRM solution. Once again, this may be fine for your business but if it’s not, you need to step up a notch.

Calendaring

Most CRM systems offer a calendar, but traditionally it’s for managing individual appointments. Higher end CRM solutions may offer a departmental or group calendar so that you can manage the activities and availability of your staff.

Reporting

Low end CRM systems typically offer very little in the area of reporting. You can most likely do a monthly or quarterly forecast but do not expect a customer report generator or a built in graphical reporting package that you will find in higher cost solutions.

Application Suite

Low end CRM programs offer basic functionality. This is by design and one of the reasons they are so easy to use, but growth and scalability should be of concern if you think your business will require more than they currently offer. Switching CRM systems can be disruptive to your business and cost you time and money.

If you are thinking about implementing a CRM solution do your homework and make sure you select a solution that will support your future business requirements. You may find some good solutions that cost only a bit more than the basic low cost ones.

…the tech industry is experiencing a similar wholesale shift from outside direct sales reps to inside sales teams. In fact, inside sales jobs are growing at 15X the rate of outside sales roles. Not only is it the future of enterprise sales, it’s also likely all you can afford at the early stages of a company’s growth.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of GigaOM.

Having a great new customer relationship management system won’t be worth much until you figure out how to get everyone to use it. CRM experts provide tips on how to get members of your sales, marketing and customer service teams to actually use that expensive new CRM system.

You can read the full article here, courtesy of CIO Magazine.

With cloud-based everything dominating the tech-world landscape these days, it’s reasonable to consider the pros and cons of migrating your CRM systems to the cloud. However, before you start exploring the nuances of cloud-based CRM mobile app options, scalability, or security features, keep in mind the most important question of all: Will cloud-based CRM systems improve your customer service?

You can read the full article here, courtesy of Business 2 Community.

“If you are going to earn people’s trust in the Customer Relationship Management industry you have to engage with your customers and provide value added services.  This allows you to build long term business relationships.  Commence has been doing this for more than two decades and as a result our company is widely known for providing excellent customer service.   It has also served as a differentiator between our company and the myriad of CRM competitors in this space.  We are winning customers because we have a high quality affordable product complemented by a level of service our competitors simply do not provide.”

 

CRM is light years ahead of where it was a decade ago, but if it’s no longer a money pit, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily delivering the most bang for the buck either. Businesses can get better ROI from their CRM if they avoid some common mistakes: creating a siloed CRM system; letting sales and marketing squabble; ignoring reports; blasting messages on social media; and turning a deaf ear to customers.

We also provide these tips and resources for customer success that will help you with your CRM implementation along with our Commence CRM White Paper: Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake : 7 Points to Consider Before Selecting Your CRM Solution.

• Fundamentals of key account selling
• How to become the best sales person
• Strategic plans for effective selling
• Are sales people made or born

Check out this library of articles on improving sales performance available for free on the company website.

If you are looking for a CRM solution for your business, the CRM vendors listed below offer an excellent place to start. See their prospective websites for detailed information about each product offering.

Enterprise Level CRM

• Oracle
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Salesforce.com
• SAP

Mid-Market CRM

• Commence CRM
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Salesforce.com
• SugarCRM

Small Business CRM

• Commence CRM
• Highrise
• Zoho CRM

“No CRM competitor that services the small to mid-size sector can compete with the level of service we offer” says Nicole Reed, customer service manager at Commence. “It does not seem to matter at first. Initially it’s more about price than quality service; that is until something changes in their business and they need to tailor their CRM system. That’s when customers quickly appreciate having someone on the other end of the line. Many of the lower cost CRM solution providers have no staff which is why there is no telephone number on their website. You send an email and hope for the best and that’s just not right.”

“Customer Relationship Management is about fostering a productive business relationship with your customers, and I feel that no one does this better than Commence. Our plans are to continue to provide excellent service to our customers and to ensure they can talk with an experienced service representative when they call. I think customers who rely on CRM to help run their business appreciate this high quality and level of service.”

Image “Rabbits on phone” by Martin LaBar on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Commence Corporation, a leading provider of online CRM software, has created a white paper to help you in your selection process.  The paper called “Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake – 7 Points to Consider…” outlines seven critical decision points that you should consider before making your selection of a CRM solution.  The paper offers unbiased advice and does not put forth Commence Corporation or the Commence CRM as the right solution for all.  It has been downloaded by hundreds of people and has received excellent reviews.

To read more visit the Commence Blog or download the paper using the link below:

• Download Link – http://www.commence.com/downloads/WP/Commence_WhitePaper.pdf

Image “Ducks on Fence” by ykanazawa1999 on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Higher end online CRM solutions do offer more flexibility, but you either have to be a programmer in Java, .NET or PHP to make these customizations. One online CRM company that is taking a somewhat different approach to customization is Commence Corporation, makers of Commence CRM. Commence CRM provides the end user with a higher degree of customization by including customization features right within the product’s user interface.

For example, the dashboard is completely customizable by each user with a single click. End users can also create custom views of account and contact data, generate and save custom searches, build custom reports and relate data without creating new tables. These end user customizations are more in line with what end users expect from a customizable CRM solution. Commence plans to continue down this path which has served to be a significant differentiator between this online CRM solution and others at similar price points.

Sales Process Management

Many businesses struggle with managing their sales organization simply because they have no structured sales methodology or process that they consistently follow.  CRM software does not invent policy it simply automates it. If you want CRM to work for you, you will have to establish the steps of your sales process first, and then use your CRM software to automate and streamline the process. By doing this you can view where each sales opportunity is in the sales cycle, determine the next steps toward closure and generate accurate sales forecasts.

Customer Service History

The same concept applies to how you provide service to your customers.  Many good CRM software solutions offer a customer service module, often referred to as a ticketing system.  This allows you to keep track of customer inquiries, complaints or return merchandise and automate the process by which your service team manages the customer interaction.  All interactions are viewable in the CRM system so that you have a complete historical record of their service history.

The point here is clear. In order to have CRM software work for you, you first have to put the policies and procedures in place, and then streamline them with your CRM system.

Many com­pa­nies find that a CRM sys­tem alone isn’t suf­fi­cient to meet [their] goals.

Read the full article at http://www.impactlearning.com/successful-crm-implementation/

The Internet has not only become a medium for selling your products and services but in fact a platform for managing your hardware and software.  Companies like Amazon.com and Rackspace are two examples of third party services that enable you to take the burden of buying and managing hardware and place it on their cloud or web based computing environment.  There are dozens more companies offering similar services.

In the world of software, there are web based CRM software applications that operate online and in the cloud.  What does this all mean?   It means that you can now partner with a company like Commence Corporation to provide you with the CRM software and the server hardware, and have them manage and maintain your system 24/7 while you focus your time on growing your business.  Moving your IT systems and software to the web makes good sense for small to mid-size businesses for the following reasons.  First, the companies that provide this service are very good at what they do and will provide you with an IT environment that you could never afford to have as a small business.  Secondly, outsourcing your IT hardware and software is extremely affordable.

Image “Businessman Showing Cloud Computing” courtesy of pakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. The CRM Software itself – Does it have the functionality we need to improve how we sell and provide service to our customers?
2. The Hosting Service – Where is our data, is it safe, properly backed up and how can I get it if I need to?
3. Customer Service – Can I get someone to answer the phone if we need assistance, or is support only via e-mail?

Most low cost CRM solutions simply do not provide the scope of CRM functionality, high quality hosting service or the resources necessary to provide world class customer service.   Commence gets very good marks across the board.  The company has been providing customer management software for more than two decades, has completed thousands of system implementations, and has an experienced staff of support personnel with expertise in sales, marketing and customer service.  Add these components together and you have a top rated CRM solution, a best in class hosting service and superb customer service, all at a fraction of the cost of competitive CRM solutions.

…remember that a CRM system is a tool. What you put into it is what you will get out of it.

Investing in a Small Business CRM

Is CRM Software really worth the investment for your small business? Check out this article from V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency for good points about what CRM can do for your business.

CRM Software is just a Tool

One of the key points “…remember that a CRM system is a tool. What you put into it is what you will get out of it.” mirrors our thoughts in the blog article CRM No Commitment – Means No Results.

But let’s be fair here. If you plan to select a free CRM solution, or one that costs a few dollars a month, then don’t even worry about this. Besides, it would not be fair to expect the vendor to update their product for free.

Now, if you look at CRM as an investment in your business then you will want to make sure the vendor has a proven track record for enhancing their product each year.  As you evaluate the different offerings available this can be a real differentiator between one company and another. Use it to your advantage. You will be glad you did.

Within Commence CRM is an automated business process that allows you to rank and color code your customers based on their value to your business.  The ranking system consists of a series of questions that can and should be used to poll your customers throughout the year so that you can be aware of changes in their business climate.  Wouldn’t it be valuable to know if one of your key customers is being acquired, or that they are expanding their sales organization and will require additional products and services from you?   Of course it would, but how would you know this unless you asked?  You would have never thought you could use CRM software to address this business challenge, but indeed you can.

Commence recommends that you poll your customers every six months and store this updated information in your CRM database. Color coded results are accessible to everyone throughout the organization and easily recognizable – red for high value customers with whom you have a relationship, and you have discussed the potential for additional products and services. Blue is for those that may be in jeopardy because you do not have any formal working relationship with them.

By using Commence CRM to poll your customers you have the opportunity to open up a dialogue with them, build a strong business relationship and know if there is a potential for future business or not.   Commence CRM’s automated business process will enable you to take your CRM system well past basic account and contact management.

That is exactly what leading online CRM vendor Commence is providing to their customers.  Commence calls it their “Onboarding” program, which ensures customers get an immediate return on their investment. It consists of two to three hours of training and assistance with system customization.  The result is that customers adapt to CRM quickly and are immediately productive with the new system.

“The onboarding program has been a godsend.” says Jeff Spilfogel of Clear Stream Inc.  We had a good idea of what we wanted to do with a CRM system, and with the assistance of Commence Corporation’s professional services team we quickly achieved more than we ever thought we could.  I think what we learned here is that had we picked one of the basic inexpensive CRM programs that lacked the flexibility of Commence we would have gotten rid of it already and wasted time and money.  We found Commence to be in between the low cost CRM solutions that offer very little customization and the high end ones that do, but are very expensive.  All I can say is that we are very pleased with the Commence system and the support we have received from the company.”

CRM Resources

This site offers valuable information to help you compare the different types of CRM offerings such as desktop, hosted and cloud based CRM.

White Papers

Several CRM white papers are also available for how to select the right CRM software program, best choices for small and mid-size companies and mistakes to avoid during the evaluation process.

Sales Strategy

The site also offers a series of best practices and sales tips from sales training expert Dave Kahle.

Images from the Value Story series by Jurgen Appelo on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Interestingly enough “Free” has hit the software industry and hit it hard. In fact, many people seem to have a mindset that software, and I mean any kind of software, should be inexpensive or free.  One of the worst hit segments of the software industry is CRM software. There are literally dozens of free CRM offerings some of them with claims that they will host and manage the CRM solution for you, provide free training and even help you to migrate data from other contact managers and CRM systems into theirs – all for free.  Sounds great doesn’t it or is there a catch?

Free products are often used for two purposes and do have some value, but value to whom?  The first is brand recognition. There is no better way for a vendor to get people to try their product than to offer it for free. The second is a little trick called marketing bait or “bait and switch”. You get the free CRM product but with a few limitations, which baits you into the paid CRM service for just a few dollars more.  So what do you get for all of this?  You get to be a guinea pig for a product that obviously no one is willing to pay for or it would not be a free CRM product.

This might be fine for products or services you may use in the home and can simply throw out if you are not happy with them, but we are not talking about a cheap throw away product here.  CRM Software is what you use to improve how you market, sell and provide services to your customers. We are talking about your business whether large or small.  Do you really want to risk your business to a free product?  If you do, I suspect you don’t really see any value in CRM software and as such you see no reason to pay for one. That’s alright as long as your expectations of what you are going to get are in order.

Think about this for a moment.  If you could purchase a top rated CRM solution, with a world class hosting service, that has proven to deliver real value to customers for just a few dollars a month would it make sense to do this rather than be a guinea pig for something free?   It sure would and the good news is that there are several very good CRM solutions that you can review and choose from.

The ratings are  customizable and typically include criteria such as company size, revenue generated, service level requirements, profitability, growth potential and customer retention.  The customer rating system allows management and all authorized personnel to quickly see your company’s most valuable customers, enabling you to provide high quality service to those that matter most.

Example of rating system below:

• Red = Top Rated Customers
• Yellow = Mid-tier
• Blue = Smaller less profitable customers

CRM is that new name, but it too has now become a bit old and tired. Rather than completely change the term, the industry has expanded it into different elements of CRM such as Social CRM, Analytical CRM, and Partner Relationship Management or (PRM).  Any way you look at it, it’s all the same.

CRM software is designed to enable you to capture, track, manage and share vital customer information with the people who need it each and every day to do their jobs.  This includes account and contact information, notes and history, lead details, sales information and service records.  Some CRM software also includes project management and integration with accounting software. Some offer integration with social sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The main purpose of CRM software however has never changed, and that is to have one central database of information that can be updated and shared in a real time environment.  It’s really that simple.

So why all the fuss about which is the best CRM system, the #1 CRM program or the best CRM solution provider?  I really don’t know, but what I do know is that if you have an interest in this type of software which is often hosted in the cloud, you need to pay as much attention to the cloud hosting service and the security of your data than you do the features and functions of these products.  You also need to be keenly aware that this is a highly competitive sector and that you are going to get exactly what you pay for.  Stay away from free offerings and special low cost promotions that, more often than not, deliver a lot less than you expected.  There are some very good CRM solutions from very good companies that are affordable, even for small and mid-size companies. There is no reason to drive yourself crazy reviewing a dozen or more programs.

Commence Corporation has put together a CRM review of four vendors that have been in the industry for many years and are well regarded for the quality of their product and their service.  Each company offers a large number of company testimonials and would be a good place to start in your CRM selection process.

Image by Ian Aberle on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

While Customer Relationship Management software is traditionally used for sales and lead management, smart businesses are now expanding its use. Here are some of the ways businesses are using CRM software to improve their customers’ experience and their buying behavior.

1. AUTOMATED SALES FOLLOWUP

Automated responses generated after an order is processed, to send a thank you note for their business

2. CUSTOMER SERVICE AUTO-RESPONDER

Enabling customers to enter a service ticket 24/7 and get an automated response that their ticket has been received

3. CUSTOMER REFERRAL REWARDS PROGRAM

Identifying customers who have referred other businesses, and presenting a rewards program just for them

4. AUTOMATED E-MAIL CAMPAIGN

Periodically providing valuable information without a sales pitch, with links to an online knowledgebase that addresses questions about your product or service

5. CUSTOMER PORTAL

Enabling customers to directly update their profile such as their billing or shipping address

CRM software can play a role in helping to make your company a more efficient sales and service organization.  In addition to maintaining a complete historical profile of each new customer, CRM software that offers automated business processes can help you to streamline the buying process and the quality of service you provide to your customers.  Amazon.com has mastered this by instilling a total sense of trust in the consumers mind, but you don’t need to be Amazon.com to offer your customers a great buying experience or impact their future buying behavior. You just need the tools to do it.

Image “Your Amazon Wish List May Need an Address Update” by Chris Messina on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

What do companies look for when selecting a CRM vendor?  “That’s easy” says Tom Gibson, sales manager at Commence Corporation.  They want to work with a CRM solution provider they can trust who has a good product, will secure their data properly and provide them with the high quality service they need and deserve.  While there are dozens of companies to choose from, very few can match the track record, performance and return on investment Commence CRM has provided for its customers.” says Gibson.

“Commence has been servicing the small to mid-size business sector for more than two decades. It’s our core competency and we know that they need a reliable CRM product that is easy to use and affordable. But it takes more than just a good product to earn a customer’s business and trust. Our cloud hosting facility is rated as one of the best in the world and is significantly better than competitive offerings at similar price points.  In addition, no one can match the team of professional services personnel available from Commence. This staff over the past 20 years has completed hundreds of CRM implementations and has provided an array of services in the areas of sales, marketing and customer service that have enabled Commence customers to realize substantial value and a high return on their investment from our CRM software.  If you are considering acquiring a CRM solution give us a call,” says Gibson “visit our website or talk with our customers.”

Students are learning about how the efficient management of customer relationships can play a critical role in sales, marketing and providing customer service to clients. New York University’s Stern School of Business recorded the following classroom presentation on the subject of using CRM software to improve business performance.

VIDEO: Observe a discussion about CRM systems with the Chair of the Stern Marketing Department.

Class Videos

Step inside the classroom and view these short samples of real Stern classes.

http://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admissions/full-time-mba/academics/class-videos/index.htm

 Image by Dennis Crowley on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

If this sounds like your business you need to consider a CRM system with a lead tracking feature. What’s nice about these programs is that they enable you to capture, track, distribute and efficiently manage leads. Once they are entered into the CRM system the lead can be tracked so that you can determine if it progressed into a qualified sales opportunity or if you need to schedule follow up activity. Most sales tracking software also provide you with the ability to categorize leads so that you can determine where they originated. This ties in nicely to your marketing programs by helping you to determine which lead sources are generating the most and perhaps the best quality leads. Today lead tracking software is available with many online CRM programs which are affordable and can be operational quickly.

Some would say not much. That explains why the term customer relationship management (CRM) has been terribly overused and has now become the catch-all for any software program that deals with customer information.

The interesting thing is that most customer relationship management programs sold today do little to help you manage your customer relationships. They simply manage your customer data.  Building a long term, mutually rewarding business relationship with a customer takes more than simply keying in a company’s name, address, contact and sales information.  This should be called customer management software.

Customer relationship management has to do with improving the experience customers have when conducting business with your company. This traditionally starts with their initial inquiry all the way through the receipt of your product or service, and after care as well.   This requires a system that lets you track customer interactions through each stage of your business process, not just the initial sale. This also requires sharing this information with other departments in your company, so you can stay with a customer and follow up after the sale.

Amazon.com is a good example of customer relationship management.  They notify you that your order has been processed, provide you with an estimated ship date, notify you that it actually has been shipped and stay with you until the product is delivered to your door step.  Then they ask you to rate your experience.  They want to engage you in order to determine how they might improve the buying experience you just had.

This is really the definition of customer relationship management and very few “CRM software” programs really provide this today.

Image by Isaac Wedin on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

The internal process of managing sales is taken too lightly in too many companies.  Businesses spend tens of thousands of dollars or more to generate new business opportunities only to have them fall through the cracks after being distributed to the sales organization or to their reseller channel. This simply has to stop!  The good news is that this is a problem that is very easy to fix and the results are substantial.

Sales Lead Management

There are a number of vendors that offer affordable easy to use sales management software programs that help businesses capture, track and manage new sales opportunities. Prospects are entered into the sales software so that everyone in the company can follow what happens next.  Those that are highly qualified are assigned to a regional sales representative.

Lead Nurturing

Prospects that are not in the buying cycle at this time can be placed in an automated marketing follow-up list where the sales software will create alerts or reminders for follow-up. In some cases, you can automatically send product information, customer testimonials or newsletters to your prospects on a pre-defined time table. This ensures that you don’t give up on any new opportunity unless the prospect asks you to do so.

Sales Reporting

Most sales management software programs also provide sales pipeline reports. Sales reports can quickly outline what stage each new sales opportunity is in, and may also offer graphical reporting which helps improve monthly and quarterly sales forecasts.

If you are still using an Excel spreadsheet to manage sales you need to look at today’s sales management software programs.  You’ll be glad you did.

Image “Incomplete Pass” by Bill Shaner on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

You could select a basic contact manager or a low cost CRM solution, but you need a bit more flexibility than they offer and you need to share customer information with others in your company.

Commence Customer Management Software

Welcome to Commence CRM, a customer management software program that makes managing accounts and contacts quick, easy and efficient. Best of all it is affordable and operational in a just a few hours. Commence is an online CRM system for managing customer relationships. It operates in the popular cloud computing environment which means there is no hardware to buy or software to install and your data is accessible anytime and anywhere.

What’s also nice about Commence CRM is that you can start small with an affordable solution for managing customer relationships and add modules at any time. Additional applications are available for lead management, sales opportunity management, marketing, project management and help desk or customer service. Commence offers mobile support and social integration as well. Commence CRM is scalable and can support several hundred users so growth is no problem. Another popular feature of Commence CRM is that it operates using a PC or Apple Mac and if you have a mixed environment that’s OK we have you covered.

Image by 3dom on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Improve your Business Workflow

One of the most popular business applications is client management software. Having immediate access to client information is critical in today’s competitive environment. While you can maintain this information in your accounting system or an Excel spreadsheet, you can’t share it with the people who need it to efficiently do their jobs.

Web based client management software makes customer data accessible anytime and anywhere using the internet or via a wireless connection.

• Sales representatives can get new leads while on the road.
• Service personnel can view a complete customer profile when they call for service.
• Equally important is the fact that everyone on the system can update the information when necessary thereby ensuring that it’s always up to date when accessed.

Improve Service to your Customers

While many businesses are looking at client management software for their internal use its important to appreciate the impact it can have on your customers. Today’s savvy buyer expects efficiency and high quality customer service. They can tell quickly if your sales and support team is on top of their game or in disarray due to their inability to access customer information.

Small businesses that have basic requirements for account and contact management, e-mail integration, activity management and some reporting have a plethora of options.  Dozens of products are available for free and others range up to no more than $10 dollars per user per month. Enterprise organizations also have several options that support their complex requirements including features such as multi-currency and integration to ERP and accounting systems.  The mid-market isn’t so lucky. They need more than basic contact management and sales functionality, but not the cost and complexity of enterprise level CRM solutions.

One of the companies having a high degree of success in the mid-market sector is Commence Corporation.  Commence offers an online CRM solution that is specifically designed to meet the needs of mid-size companies. The product includes comprehensive functionality that is traditionally only found in enterprise level products along with a good level of customizability without programmer intervention.  Commence CRM has the flexibility to create customer views of data, create saved searches, add custom fields and generate customer reports.  Commence also comes with a complete sales analytics package that provides sales management a graphical snapshot of their business.

In addition to having more standard features than most mid-market CRM solutions, Commence offers marketing and campaign management, a project management application, a help desk module with a Knowledge Base and FAQ, quoting and an interface to Intuit’s QuickBooks accounting system.

The product’s robust feature set, flexibility to meet unique business requirements and affordability are the differentiators mid-market companies are looking for in a CRM system. More information is available on our website and in our CRM videos.

Choose the Right CRM Web-Based Product

Commence is ranked as one of the top 3 CRM software companies for many reasons, including:

• Leader in Innovation – We provide a ton of innovative but thoughtful features, such as our customer and lead ranking feature and built-in organization chart feature.

• Proven Performance – Our reputation as a trusted cloud customer database certainly speaks for itself. Our reputation comes with over 20 years of experience, numerous awards, proven return on investment and several thousand satisfied customers.

• Commitment to Our Customers – When it comes to positive reviews and customer loyalty rate, no other CRM can even compare. We value our customer feedback and the opportunity to address any concerns or new features that people might find helpful.

Choose Our CRM for Mac and iPad

If you have mentioned to others that you are looking for CRM for Mac, there is a good chance that someone recommended that you try Commence. This is because our software is thorough, efficient and thoughtfully created.

Not only does it not require any additional software or plug-ins, it even integrates with mobile devices, which is a huge benefit. This gives you the power to access the information you need no matter where you are.

Commence is considered a comprehensive CRM application suite. It does not only help you track sales, customers and leads; it also helps you take your business to the next level by using our other features, including project management, marketing and contact management. It even integrates with Apple email for increased convenience.

Our Cloud Contact Management Software is User-friendly

If you owned a major corporation, then you probably would not care how difficult your web based contact management software was to use because you would be paying someone else to train your team on it. Individuals who run their own small business often wear many hats. This is why we designed our CRM software so it is easy to use and navigate. This is also why Commence CRM is considered one of the top Salesforce.com competitors.

Commence is the Best Alternative to Salesforce

Salesforce is one of the better-known CRM systems for large corporations, and is an excellent product. However, if you do a little digging for CRM comparisons and reviews, you will find that Commence is the most recognized alternative to Salesforce. Not only is it designed for a smaller business, it is a lot less expensive.

If you are a hardworking business owner, you owe it to yourself to use a CRM product that will make your day go smoother, while helping to increase your profits.

Commence starts by integrating your website to the leads center in their CRM system. This is achieved by simply placing a lead capture form on your website.

‘Contact Us’ form on your website captures Lead data

Behind the scenes, data from your web form is matched to fields on the Lead Contact form in the Commence CRM system.

Custom fields and multiple forms are supported

Leads are then automatically transferred into the CRM system where they can be assigned and distributed to the appropriate regional sales representative.

Data from your webform fills out the Lead form in CRM

Once in the Commence CRM system, the leads are qualified via the use of an automated business process built into the system.  The automated process consists of a set of pre-defined questions or criteria. Based on the sales representative’s response the lead is then color coded; red for ‘highly qualified’, yellow for ‘needs further review’ and blue for ‘not qualified at this time’.  The color coding serves two valuable purposes. First, it ensures that your sales team is laser focused on the most highly qualified opportunities. Secondly, it enables sales management to see an immediate snapshot of the number of qualified leads and who’s working on them.

This unique structured approach to lead qualification and lead management has resulted in higher and faster close ratios and highly accurate monthly and quarterly sales forecasts.  It’s clear that Commence CRM has produced a golden nugget here that differentiates it from competitive CRM offerings while providing extensive value to any size business. Visit www.commence.com and ask for a free trial.

Contact management software has been around for decades and today it’s not only easy to use but incredibly affordable. Why do you need it? Because the best way to effectively manage business relationships with your customers is to share customer information in real time. Having a central repository of customer information allows sales management to focus on analyzing the data instead of spending their valuable time consolidating multiple spreadsheets from each salesperson. Customer service staff can readily access this data when customers call. It’s a simple concept that is quick and easy to implement.

The majority of today’s contact management software programs are web based. This means there is no server hardware required and no software to install. You simply download the software from the Internet and you’re operational. It’s that easy and there are dozens of low cost programs that you can evaluate for 30 days to see how you like them. If you don’t simply turn it off – there’s no risk. So what are you waiting for? A simple search for web based contact management software will get you started.

How many times have you had a customer call and your staff knows nothing about them? They have no idea what they bought, when they bought it, what they paid, who they bought it from or if they have had any problems or concerns.  This is certain to irritate the customer and could very well cause you to lose their business down the road. A good client management software solution can address this business challenge and it does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  There are many affordable cloud or internet based CRM programs for businesses of all sizes.  A quick internet search will provide you with some good solutions to review further.

Commence is a robust CRM solution that is targeted at small to midsize enterprises.  The product offers a higher level of functionality and customizability than traditional lower cost CRM programs serving this sector.  Commence is also modular in nature so you can start small and add additional modules for Lead and Sales Management, Project Management, a Document Library and Help Desk. The comprehensive suite of modules ensures that customers will not outgrow the system.

Commence operates in a mixed environment of Mac and PC and provides mobile access via any device with an internet browser including the iPhone and iPad tablet. With more than twenty years of experience in delivering CRM solutions to the SME sector, Commence has become a trusted name in CRM.

This lack of consistency means that new leads are qualified based on their experience level or gut reaction. Even worse is the knowledge that whether a new prospect does business with you or not may be solely dependent on how that sales representative addresses the prospect’s requirements.  Some companies minimize this by stating that the good reps bring in business and those that don’t get fired.  That’s just foolish.  The best sales managers provide the tools and education to their sales team before deciding who stays and who goes.

One of the ways to improve sales efficiency is by automating the lead generation and selling process.  Today there are many online CRM software programs that have been specifically designed to address this business challenge.  What these CRM programs offer is a structured approach to selling that ensures each sales representative, regardless of experience level, follows a proven process or methodology that results in higher close ratios and more sales.

Structured sales programs such as Miller Heiman, Sandler Systems, and Dale Carnegie have been around for decades and help sales teams create a consistent approach to selling. Until now sales processes were never incorporated into CRM software programs. Now your investment in these popular sales training programs can be automated. This enables management and the sales team to view a snapshot of all lead activity, sales activity, and where each new opportunity is in the pipeline. This results in improved efficiency and better sales performance.

Image courtesy of Stoonn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Choose Our Small Business CRM Software

If you ask around, there is a good chance that someone you know will tell you that Commence is the best CRM software for small business owners. This is because it is affordable and easy to use, and it has been created with features that a busy business owner will actually find helpful. Some of these include:

• Lead Management – This system will help you turn leads into sales. You can even import them from various sources and create follow-up programs.

• Project Management – One of the reasons Commence is one of the top customer management systems is because we help you control and monitor all important aspects of your business, including projects. Prioritize, budget, track time and expenses, and more, with this feature.

• QuickBooks Integration – Never deal with duplicate entries or conflicts, again, with our QuickBooks integration. Two-way synchronization ensures that everyone on your staff is always working with up-to-date records.

• Email Integration – This is a convenience feature you are sure to really appreciate, as you can choose email correspondences to share with different people in various departments. It even works with Mac Entourage.

Sales tracking software enables sales representative and sales management to track every step in the sales process. Sales managers can review the sales opportunities of each representative, to see if the opportunities are moving through the cycle as anticipated or if immediate action needs to be taken to get the process back on track.

Our CRM Application Helps Manage Projects

The reason we include a project management section on our CRM application is because we understand the value of being able to track current projects and make necessary adjustments when they are absolutely needed. Our CRM software helps you do just that!

Commence provides you with access to updated task and milestone information that you or your team may need to make important decisions. We allow you to review each stage of a project and customize reporting to make sure the project stays on track. This feature will help you to reduce expenses, increase profits and make the most of everything you learn.

We Are One of the Best Customer Management Systems

When speaking of customer management systems, Commence CRM  is considered superior because we have designed the software to be quick and easy to use for busy professionals, but we have also made sure that it is not missing any important features that they need, to manage every aspect of their business. This includes not only customer management, but lead and project management, too. We even integrate with Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mac and Tablets.

It does not matter if you are starting a brand new business, or if you have been around for decades, it is never too early, or too late, to gain total control over your business, and take it to the next level.

Choose Commence as Your Apple CRM Solution

Here at Commence, we designed our contact management software with the small business owner in mind. Therefore, we don’t expect a hardworking professional to squeeze hundreds of dollars a month into their budget just to make use of customer software. We keep our pricing just right. Plus, you may be interested to learn that Commence works with a mixed network, so, if you have some Windows users as well, the CRM software will work for all your employees.

Commence is the Best CRM for Small Business Owners

You may be thinking that you don’t have to spend money on sales reporting software because you are already very organized and seem to have a system that works. That being said, if you were told that you could potentially increase your profits significantly by using a CRM system, wouldn’t you?

Commence is unique! It is not designed just to help keep you organized with your accounting paperwork; it has been created to help you monitor and control every aspect of your business – all from one user-friendly interface.

That’s right the $15 dollar per user per month edition is now $25 dollars.  That’s a 66% INCREASE and it’s limited to just 5 users.  Salesforce.com is no stranger to changing their price points, which they have done on numerous occasions. Their message is clear to the small to mid-size business community: pay $25 bucks or go somewhere else.

The good news for the small business CRM community is that there are some very good products out there that are both easier to use and less expensive than Salesforce. One of the most competitive products gaining momentum is Commence CRM.  Commence is a robust offering targeted at small to mid-size enterprises of 10 to 200 users.  It is very intuitive and offers the core functionality that small to mid-size businesses look for in an online CRM solution.

What differentiates Commence CRM from others is the flexible option to select additional applications such as Help Desk, Project Management and a Document Library.  This level of functionality is traditionally not found in small to mid-size offerings. Saleforce.com does offer it but at more than double the price. Hey, someone has to pay for all that marketing.

To learn more about Commence CRM, watch an online video demo or take a free test drive.  You’ll see why Commence is the best alternative to Salesforce CRM.

Online CRM, such as the software offered by Commence, has been designed to make it easy to analyze and control all areas of your business. This includes a wide variety of tasks, such as market research, forecasting future sales, customer follow-up, project evaluation and more.

Our Customer Software is Designed for the Busy Professional

Some people stay away from customer management software simply because they assume it will be too technical for them to use. They may think that it will take an entire weekend to find their way around the product so they are comfortable it. Commence is a lot different. Our web CRM has been designed for busy professionals, so the interface is easy to navigate, even for those who are not all that computer savvy.

There are a host of sales training tips and techniques along with papers that discuss specific functional components of CRM such as contact management, lead management, sales pipeline management, marketing, customer service, document management and project management.  To access this site visit the following URL - http://www.commence.com/blog/

Explore Salesforce Competitors

The reason these business people sounded so excited about Salesforce is because it really is a good product that serves the needs of their large company. However, you don’t need such a complex product for a small business – you should be exploring Salesforce competitors.

Commence is considered a top competitor because we offer everything you need to take your business to the next level – at a fraction of the price you would pay for Salesforce. Our customer software even allows you to manage projects, leads, marketing, reports and so much more!

Choose a Client Management System with QuickBooks Integration

One of the reasons Commence is considered to be the best CRM software for small business owners is because we provide this unique integrated feature. It does not matter which system you update, because information will automatically be updated on the other one. This virtually eliminates the chance for duplicate data entry – thereby ensuring accuracy.

You don’t need any special training to use this feature, and it won’t take you the entire weekend to figure out either. The integration is seamless. This is one feature you will never want to live without again.

How Much Does Salesforce.com Cost?

You have probably heard of Salesforce.com CRM, but found yourself surprised and discouraged at the expensive price. You might even assume that all Salesforce competitors will cost a similar amount, but this is not true.

Some Salesforce users pay $250 per month, but this does not meant that you have to somehow squeeze such a huge expense into your budget. Commence offers a CRM management system that is affordable, yet thoughtfully created to accommodate the needs of a small business owner.

Commence is an Excellent Alternative to Salesforce

When choosing CRM software, you don’t want to buy a product that is made for a large corporation, because it will have a lot of features that you don’t need. It will also be more expensive. On the other hand, you don’t want a product that is too basic, either.

Commence strikes the perfect balance by providing all the features you need to monitor every aspect of your business. Plus, it includes a few extras that you will actually get some use out of, like email and QuickBooks integration. Above everything else, it is affordable, which is why it is voted by many as the best small business CRM software.

We Provide Exceptional Customer Support

Intimidation is one of the main reasons why many people have stayed clear of CRM solutions. Then, when they realize how easy our interface is with Commence CRM, they can’t believe they waited so long to try it.

Our customer support is one of the main reasons that put us ahead of other CRM competitors. We are available online and on the telephone and provide web-based training, which includes training videos you can access whenever they are needed. We also provide many other professional services, such as customization, data migration and third party system integration.

What You Can Do with Our Sales Management Software

You can’t appreciate just how beneficial lead management can be to your business until you are able to put it to use. Our customer tracking software allows you to import leads from web forms or third party sources and auto assign leads to representatives you feel are the best match. Additionally, it provides lead qualification and scoring, and automates lead conversion and the power to schedule predefined programs for cold, warm and hot leads.

If you are using some other CRM sales software and have found yourself frustrated, then perhaps you need to try an alternative. If you have a new business, and you need to make the most of every lead to jump start your business, then give Commence CRM a try.

Why Our Customer Software is so Recommended

When you think of customer software, you likely imagine a product dedicated solely to managing customers, follow-up and making the most of leads. Commence is a little different. We understand that there are a multitude of other factors that also affect your business, so we have made it easy to manage all of these components from one user-friendly CRM platform. In addition to accounts and contacts, you can expect to also manage sales and opportunity, marketing, project management, and reporting and analytics. We even allow you to integrate your email and QuickBooks, for additional convenience and improved productivity.

Enjoy Sales Software, and Keep Your Current Email Address

One of the reasons why we are rated as the best Salesforce CRM competition is because we enable you to integrate your email with our web based CRM software.  Here at Commence, we understand that as a small business owner, you are busy all day long. You are handling work that several employees would likely be responsible for in a larger corporation. Therefore, our main priority was to create a product that would not consume your valuable time. Email integration is one of the most thoughtful features you will find in our CRM product.

We Have CRM Software for Small Business Owners

Commence offers CRM software for small business owners because we feel that they are the people who need it the most. If you have a business, you probably handle most, if not all of your paperwork. You need software that gives you everything that you need to be successful, right at your fingertips.

We have included features that empower you to manage your leads, contacts and projects, while also integrating your QuickBooks and email.

Our goal has never been to become the top-selling software for all businesses; our goal focuses on making the job of a small business owner easier, so they can be more effective with their time, helping them to achieve success.

Why Our Sales Software for Small Business Owners is Recommended

You are about to embark on a chaotic journey. You likely already know that you will probably be working twice as many hours as you would if you punched a time clock for someone, and this is okay! It is very rewarding to work for yourself, but it is also a lot of hard work. This is why we have designed the best CRM for small business owners.

Our system lets you manage every area of your business from anywhere on a user-friendly interface. We understand that you don’t have all day to waste trying to find your way around software. We even let you integrate QuickBooks for increased accuracy, and you can integrate your email for added convenience, even if you use Entourage for Mac!

Commence is the Best CRM System for You

We know that Commence is the best CRM system for you, because you are our target audience. We didn’t design our product for a large enterprise business; we created it thoughtfully for a new and small business owners who would need to monitor everything, carefully, from leads, to sales, to accounting, to projects.

If you are looking for an online CRM system that will allow you to work smarter, rather than one that will consume a lot of your time, then Commence CRM is the right product for you.

Cloud-Based CRM for the Small Business Owner

Cloud-based CRM allows you to store a massive amount of important information on the internet, rather than your hard drive. This means that you do not have to worry about your computer crashing and losing everything. Plus, you can access everything for which you would normally have to go to your personal computer, from anywhere. Need to double check payroll, but you are stuck at a family function? No problem; just access your cloud from your phone. There are countless ways that a cloud is beneficial, which is why larger corporations have used them for so long.

The only reason why they have not been more popular with small businesses, until recently, is because no one designed software to accommodate the precise needs of a small business owner. Thanks to Commence, anyone can reap the benefits that cloud CRM has to offer.

Check Out What Our CRM Software for Mac and PC Has to Offer

When you explore the features of our CRM software for Mac and PC, you will probably be pretty surprised at what we offer. Most expect to find software that focuses solely on managing leads, contacts, sales and returns. However, Commence is a little different.

We have designed a product that helps you manage an array of areas in your business, all from one user-friendly interface. Just a few of the many features we provide include QuickBooks integration, email integration, marketing automation, project management, mobile CRM and reports and analysis.

Our Online CRM Includes Email Integration

Although most people will tell you to just forget about trying to find email integration included with an online CRM, we are here to tell you that you really can have it all. Commence was designed for the busy professional with a small business. We wanted to make sure that we designed a CRM product that would make your day a little easier; email integration certainly succeeds with that.

Also, it is so advanced that it not only works with the popular platforms like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook, it also integrates flawlessly with Entourage for Apple Mac.

Small businesses traditionally have limited resources and expertise in the areas of marketing and sales execution. While many online CRM solutions provide some help with regard to managing customers and the sales pipeline, the majority offer only basic functionality and for good reason.  Due to their low cost, many online CRM solution providers are simply unable to provide any additional services.  These programs are self-service. You sign up over the internet, download the software, and away you go.

More and more small businesses have become disillusioned with the fact that they have not been able to move forward and improve how they market, sell and provide service to their customers.  What these small businesses have discovered is that they need to take the next step and find a CRM software program that offers a bit more flexibility, can be customized, and a company that enables them to engage the CRM software provider so that they can maximize the value from the software.  While attaining this level of functionality and customer service can be expensive, one company that has emerged as a leader in providing a flexible online CRM solution and valued added services is Commence Corporation.

Commence has been providing customer management software to small and mid-size businesses for more than two decades. Along with their award winning CRM software, Commence offers an array of value added services to their customers.  Unlike low cost online CRM programs that are designed as one size fits all, Commence CRM is highly customizable without programming intervention. But it’s the consultative services (in the areas of marketing campaign management, effective lead generation, distribution and tracking and sales process management) that separates Commence CRM from competitive offerings and has enabled smaller businesses to significantly improve how they market, sell and provide service to their customers.  To learn more visit the company’s website at www.commence.com.

Image “Small Business Marketing Cycle” by Intersection Consulting on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Access Your Sales Software From Anywhere

Here at Commence, we have designed our sales software for mobile devices with the busy professional in mind. These are the people who do not roll out of bed without checking their email from their phone, and who have forgotten what it is like to have a real sit down dinner where work isn’t somehow involved. With Commence, you can access all your valuable customer and sales information from anywhere. So, it does not matter if you are on your computer or on your phone, you can have everything you need right at your fingertips — even if you use Apple products.

One of these products is Commence CRM from Commence Corporation.  With more than two decades of industry experience Commence CRM has been specifically designed for small to mid-size businesses and can be easily tailored to meet the needs of growing organizations. Commence is also a popular product and is highly regarded for its robust functionality, ease of use and best of all, is about half the cost of Salesforce.com.

If you are looking for Salesforce.com competitors you will want to check out Commence CRM.  It’s one of the most widely recommended competitors to Salesforce.com and its awfully nice to find a good company and a good product that’s easier to use and cheaper than the big guys.

We Have CRM for Mac and iPhone for You

Here at Commence, we understand that small business owners are naturally drawn to Apple products, for a long list of reasons. This is why we have designed a CRM for Mac and iPhone that strictly meets the demands of a busy professional who probably works way more than anyone should rightfully have to.

We have created customer relationship software that is effective, affordable and user-friendly. After all, if you have to struggle to make it work, it will likely become a waste. Plus, our software works on mixed platforms. Therefore, if you need to access your cloud CRM on a friend’s PC or phone, for some reason, and it is not an Apple product, you still can.

Why You Should Try Our Customer Software

Here at Commence, our customer software is designed specifically for the small business owner. It integrates crucial components of your business to one easy-to-navigate platform, so you can be productive with your time. Just a few of the many features you will enjoy include email integration, lead management, project management, reporting and analytics, QuickBooks integration, help desk and support, a real time dashboard, strong database security, and marketing automation. Before you give up hope of ever finding CRM software that will help you get ahead without consuming all of your time, give Commence CRM a try. You will quickly discover why we are a top-recommended choice for small business owners.

What is Cloud CRM?

Cloud CRM sounds a lot more technical than it really is. It simply is an easy, effective and convenient way to allowing you to manage all of your customer relationships, no matter where you are. You store everything in your personal “cloud,” on a secured server, so nothing is kept on your hard drive. Therefore, whether you are on a computer at a friend’s house, or logging in from your phone on a tropical island, you can have real-time access to vital customer data.  Plus, you never have to worry about losing all your files, if your computer crashes.  While some CRM software offerings are clearly over engineered, Commence CRM is a cloud based CRM solution that customers are raving about. With Commence you are up and running immediately and there is no hardware or software to install or maintain.  Using the product is as easy and if you get in a jam, click on the embedded online help file for instructions for what to do.  Commence has made cloud based CRM fast and efficient and at a  price point that is affordable for smaller businesses.

Customer Management Software Can Help with Your Marketing Campaign

Commence understands that to create a targeted marketing campaign, you need to have a full understanding of who your client is. Customer management software is designed to help you build and strengthen bonds, while also making the most of every customer interaction. This is why it makes sense to us to also include valuable tools in our CRM software that let you create and analyze campaigns. This allows you to run reports and see how effective each campaign is, and make necessary changes when needed.

We Offer Project Management and CRM Software in One

One of the reasons so many small business owners recommend Commence is because we have integrated project management and CRM software to one platform. We appreciate that in order to be successful, you need to be able to organize tasks, plan properly, establish deadlines and priorities, track time and expenses, budget resources, manage deliverables and issue tracking. This all allows you to learn from history and past projects, so you can become more successful with each project. This is exactly what Commence CRM allows you to do.

Features that Make Our Customer Management System So Recommended

Here at Commence, we have become a recommended pick for those needing a customer management system. A few features that we have that you really should be looking for include:

• Email Integration – Regardless what operating system you use, email integration will save you time and become one of the reasons you will also recommend Commence to others.

• Project Management – Establish priorities, organize tasks, create a budget, track time and expenses, manage deliveries and more with this valuable feature that allows you to learn from your own history.

• Lead Management – As a small business owner, it is vital that you are able to make the most of every lead. This feature allows you to do just that.

• QuickBooks Integration – If you have shopped for a CRM already, you may be surprised to discover one that offers QuickBooks integration, but Commence does. This helps to reduce data entry errors and also makes your job much easier by automatically sharing customer information between both systems.

We Have Apple CRM Software Available

Commence appreciates that there are a multitude of new business owners who rely on their Mac computer, an iPad or their iPhone, so we have created a CRM for Apple that is thoughtful, effective, easy to navigate and cost-efficient. Our product even allows you to integrate your email, which is hard to find.

Plus, our CRM is designed for the small business owner, so it will work for you, not against you. You will be able to make the most of your time, rather than waste it trying to navigate through options that you don’t need and will never use.

Are You Looking for Affordable CRM Solutions?

If you have started pricing a few different CRM solutions, you may have found yourself quite discouraged by the price, and even questioning if the expense is worth it. After all, you don’t need something overly complex, so how can you justify spending as much as $250 per month, which is what some users pay for Salesforce.com.

Here at Commence, we understand that different business owners have unique needs and budgets that they need to work within. This is why we start our CRM pricing as low as $5 per month, up to $60 — and the high price is for our Enterprise Edition. Don’t let the high prices of other CRM products discourage you. This is a solution from which your business really will benefit.

but, you may be surprised to learn that there are a few competitive CRM solutions that are a better fit for small to mid-size companies.

One of these products is Commence CRM from Commence Corporation.  With more than two decades of industry experience Commence CRM has been specifically designed for small to mid-size businesses and can be easily tailored to meet the needs of growing organizations.

Commence is also a popular product and is highly regarded for its robust functionality, ease of use and best of all, is about half the cost of Salesforce.com.

If you are looking for Salesforce.com competitors you will want to check out Commence CRM.  It’s one of the most widely recommended competitors to Salesforce.com and its awfully nice to find a good company and a good product that’s easier to use and cheaper than the big guys.

Commence Offers CRM for Mac and iPad

If you are frustrated because you just can’t seem to find CRM for Mac and iPad, you will be thrilled to learn that Commence has a solution. Our CRM software actually operates in a mixed environment, so if you have different users running different systems, they can still all access the same information. Yes, this also means that you can access everything you need to from your iPhone or iPad, wherever you happen to be.

Also, our CRM even supports email for Mac, so  you can integrate effortlessly. No plug-ins or add-on software is required and it features contact management, marketing, lead management, project management and customer service.

We Have the Best CRM for Small Business Owners

Here at Commence, we are 100 percent confident in saying that we have the best CRM for small business owners, because that is exactly who it was designed for. Our software is made for the person who works long hours and often does the job of several people. We appreciate that you don’t have time to waste going in and out of different programs all day, so we have made a solution that has everything you need, to manage your customer relationships, marketing campaigns and even link with your accounting software.

Our CRM software integrates with your email and your QuickBooks, so when we say that you only need one program, we mean it. You shouldn’t have to spend your day rifling through different programs; choose software that was made specifically for your small business CRM needs.

Explore Our Cloud Customer Database and Decide for Yourself

Our cloud customer database is unlike anything you are probably used to. First, updates can be done in real time, so if a rep is speaking with a customer on the phone, you can see the progress, immediately, even if you are logging in from your smartphone on the golf course.

Plus, here at Commence, our software is not exclusively for customer relations. We want you to excel in every area of your business, so we make it easy to manage your marketing, projects and leads by using reports and analytics. This allows you to see if certain marketing campaigns are working, and which ones need attention before more money is invested into them.

Commence is a Top-Rated CRM System

• QuickBooks Integration – One of the reasons many vote Commence as the best CRM system is purely because of convenience. When you can integrate QuickBooks, it makes your life so much easier.

• Mobile CRM – You shouldn’t have to go to the office or find a Wi-Fi hot spot to get on your laptop, just to access your information. You can do everything else from your smartphone and we believe you should be able to access your CRM software too.

• Email Integration – The ability to effortlessly integrate your email is another convenience feature included with our CRM.

• Project Management – Increase profits, reduce expenses and quickly be able to determine which projects are producing results, with our project management feature.

• Lead Management – Make the most of every lead with this tool. The ability to generate leads and then turn them to sales is what will help you get ahead.