CRM Starter Guide
Web workers use customer relationship management (CRM) software to help them better understand their users and even to manage the communication and information connected to each user. When you know more, you can market products and services more precisely and gain more conversions in the process (with far less work and error).
Managing customers and information is far too complicated without a CRM today which is why spending on CRM has exploded in the past few years.
Gartner recently issued a prediction tht worldwide CRM software revenue is projected to surpass $7.8 billion this year, a 14.2 perent increase from 2007. That's big money and the list of vendors in the space is long indeed with offerings for massive corporations to the small business market. They also come in a variety of forms, from software as a service options to those which integrate with other technologies (like email marketing solutions).
While the definition of CRM has evolved over the years, systems and software such as those on our BIG LIST of CRM software (see below) are used to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes. While used primarily to monitor and optimize sales activities, CRM systems can be (and perhaps should be) used throughout the enterprise during the customer lifecycle - from acquisition to customer support and marketing, to analysis, social media and beyond.
The benefits of a CRM are many. Not only can you analyze user buying behaviors, you can also gain a better understanding of which customers are providing the highest profit margins versus those that bring in the most revenue (e.g. frequent buyers). Users of CRM can also explore the buying patterns (this user buys in the spring whereas that user buys in the winter). Perhaps most important however is the ability that a CRM provides in maximizing lifetime spend and per-customer profit.
If your objective is to find, attract and convert more visitors, as well as nurture and retain those you already call clients, CRM systems provide a platform to make it happen. Here a a few of the leaders in CRM today.
SalesForce.com
OnContact.com
Avidian.com
Dynamics.com (Microsoft)
Act.com
Commence.com
SugarCRM.com
Maximizer.com
SalesNow.com
AllClients.com
vTiger.com
MagnaCRM.com
SAP.com
Landslide.com
Oracle.com
SalesBook.com
Zoho.com
AimCRM.com
KarmaCRM.com
Consona.com
NetSuite.com
Interaction.com
