This comment originally posted in the MyCustomer LinkedIn group.
I am especially interested in reviewing CRM tools that well serve companies with a large team.
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I've been the "victim" of having to use CRM systems since about 1990. Thankfully, they've come on a bit since then, but you know, I wouldn't look at the "CRM" part of any solution. Front end usability is key for the ultimate end users, sure, but the biggest influence on ROI is the reporting and analytic components. Storing information is easy; working out what it means isn't, and this is where management and executives need simple, flexible and visual tools.
Salesforce.com has a simple and intuitive front end. But you need a PhD (which I notice you DO have!) to create meaningful reports and dashboards.
Microsoft Dynamics isn't much different. But reporting is basic to say the least.
Really Simple Systems has a good, cost-effective solution.
There are many others, but they're all much of a muchness. I suspect that MS-Excel is the most commonly used CRM tool in reality. Even with massive powerhouse CRM systems "in the cloud", we all still extract data and put it in Excel, reformat it and print.
So, find a strong analytics engine to sit on top. We use our own product - Kofax Insight Analytics. Honestly, it's brilliant from an exec point of view. Again, there are plenty of these tools out there, but that's where my focus would be.
If your clients have fairly large sales teams, complex products or both, have a look at Oracle Sales Cloud, which has a strong analytics tool built in.
If your clients are looking for a solution to cover sales, service and marketing, Oracle Service Cloud (aka Right Now CX) is absolutely fantastic, as it has a powerful and dynamic knowledge base and outreach and feedback tools and gives a really nice 360-degree customer view across all communications channels (social media, phone, mobile etc.).
For pure analytics, Qlikview is a powerful tool which is simple to use across a business.
What kind of business your clients have? What specific task you want to accomplished? If you are looking for sales and marketing - Salesforce is the most popular one, for social media monitoring I guess hootsuite, for social crm with analytics and other functionalities like live chat, email ticketing, i use brand embassy
Check out Less Annoying CRM! It's a really simple, easy to use CRM made for small businesses (and it's only $10/user/month). We work with many franchises, so it sounds like we might be right up your alley. https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/
I might be wrong, but I perceive the current market leaders to be either Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics, as mentioned above. Both of them are rightly complex as they are both systems that are generic and yet highly customisable, Salesforce has a good off the shelf product that has a low time to implement depending on the complexity of the solution. Microsoft has the benefit of plugging into the existing Outlook infrastructure. The other good thing is that they both have extensive support communities behind them which means finding a development partner should not be too difficult. It would be interesting to know how you get on with the selection process.
Hi,
If you are looking for CRM solution for big sales team I would like to invite you to take a look at bpm'online sales (https://www.bpmonline.com/sales/) – it's a process-driven cloud-based solution that allows users to easily design processes or employ out-of-the-box best practices developed to take care of your retail business. From lead management to sales forecasting, pipeline monitoring, order management among the features and mobile apps, the system is robust and scalable to help you grow your business.
If you require CRM for marketing team I’d suggest bpm’online marketing (https://www.bpmonline.com/marketing/), searching for full-cycle service management app – you can try bpm’online service (https://www.bpmonline.com/service/ ).
One of the major advantages of bpm'online is that you get your products for sales, marketing and service literally on one platform, as a single application. Of course you can buy only one product, for example, bpm'online sales, and use just sales processes automation, but if you take bpm'online marketing or bpm'online service – all of them will be working together as the single application with one interface and seamless business processes. You can try bpm’online solutions for free with no credit card involved - https://www.bpmonline.com/demo/bpmonline
I have been "doing" CRM for about 15 years or so. So I have walked in your shoes. I know what you mean about usability. But as you say things have changed dramatically in that time from when Act! first came on the market in 1986 and you went to PC World to buy in a box, on CD (what are those?). Unfortunately, I am even old enough to remember LPs but I’m getting off the subject.
Full disclosure, I work for Infor and we make Infor CRM so I will give 3 answers. Two neutral and one biased.
1. Neutral – Select CRM is a good starting point for CRM shopping & review. The URL is http://www.select-crm.co.uk/ and it is quick way to make a shortlist and get all the vendor info in a downloadable pack.
2. Neutral – Gartner MQ for SFA – not bad for a quick review of strengths and weaknesses. I don’t agree with everything they say but broadly right. I would consider all vendors on there as good options for different reasons.
3. Bias – Of course, I’m going to say check out Infor CRM. But honestly your 2 key pain points compelled me to write a reply: 1. Usability; 2. Reporting/Analytics. Here are some interesting points that might put us on your list:
a. At Infor usability our key differentiator, we have a design lab in New York with about 100 people dedicated to looking at usability. It is called Hook & Loop, here is a video about them: http://www.hookandloopnyc.com/#overview
b. Infor CRM has won many awards and recognition related to usability and mobile experience. For example, our Xbar Outlook has been really exciting our customer, check out a video about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzF6S_1khRs
c. Infor CRM has an excellent range of report/analytics options ranging from simple dashboarding to a full OEM analytics solutions (called Advanced Analytics which is “click” interactive expericence). Here is the 2 page brochure, covers reporting on p.1 last paragraph: http://www.infor.com/content/brochures/infor-crm.pdf/. Here is an article written by a partner about Advanced Analytics with video & pictures: http://www.successwithcrm.com/saleslogix-advanced-analytics
Anyway, please reach out to me if you need an online demo or just want to chat: @DuncanCRM
Or, here is a list of our free CRM webinars if you want a quick tour: http://www.infor.com/events/20151021-see-how-infor-crm-can-help-your-business; next one is Wed 19th Aug @ 4pm BST / 5pm CEST.
Hope that helps. Duncan
I would recommend you trying Act! (act.com) - it's particularly good for small and mid-size companies or sales teams. Quite good value for money and offers now an integrated email marketing tool on top.
Hi everyone !!
I have created a survey on this topic.
http://bit.ly/2gLDM69
Please vote your choice, Lets see which CRM is the best one !!
and BTW I recommend Salesforce :)
