CRM today Part 1 of 3 What is Customer Relationship Management software?
Monday, March 4, 2013 at 12:46PM 
It seems like a simple question, but what is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software? A strict definition is,
"Software that is used for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support." Wikipedia
Sounds pretty broad, lets put it in perspective. Here are some examples of CRM software I have implemented.
- A newsletter / mass emailing system that integrates emails capture from the client's website, social media interaction and daily email communications with little or no user intervention. This saves that client 10 hours a month in administration and now allows them to reach their entire stakeholder base with clear, consistent communications.
- A client website and management back end. The client has a system that allows membership applications, payment and accounting all automated and all online, a website that has a private members area that is customizable base on a specific members interests, and a built in training and support system that includes videos, FAQ's and trouble ticket management.
- Discount membership website that provides membership management for all stakeholders, payment processing, accounting functionality and the capability to allow member to tailor their discounts and offers on a 24/7 basis.
CRM software encompasses a broad range of interactions, processes, and customer interaction / relationship tools. In the next 2 posts we will investigate CRM Software in further depth and discuss further the state of CRM today.
Reader Comments (3)
CRM software is in a state of evolution. There are so many applications that can improve and streamline efficiency in so many industries. For instance, let's take a service industry. The CRM software can send a reminder to the service personnel that they when an appointment when and where. It can also send an email to the customer acknowledging the appointment. If the service technician is late, or not responding to the email, it then goes to a customer care personnel that will follow up with the technician and the customer if needed. This one small application was able to ensure that a customer was taken care of, and that no appointment or chance of sale was missed. But that is just one case scenario of what this type of program can do. The features can be tailored to each business and their needs. The application can be maintained in house by the IT staff, or SaaS (in the clouds) without the cost of IT infrastructure. What is key is to examine your needs, and find the software package that will deliver what you need. It will need to be easy to use, and a trial would always be recommended.
I agree that it does look very simple thing, when it comes to ask about CRM Software. What is actual definition of it? If anyone has knowledge regarding CRM Software, they can understand better how precisely it stands for...
Thanks for sharing the nice information about the crm software