Posts Tagged ‘Web Based CRM’
Web-Based CRM Software Features Online CRM
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010Cynergy Help Desk software is web-based software that can be utilized for online CRM. It features tools to submit and track sales activities as well as lead generation activities.
CRM Performance Tracking allows sales staff to view the percentage of deals they have closed. Staff members can view or attach files when updating customer requests. Pending sales and forecasted closings are shown on the screen. A knowledge base management system is incorporated for quick solution of problems.
Cynergy Software allows managers to create user accounts, view staff performance and response time, and configure the software and displays to fit their needs. It allows easy access of customer databases and easy creation of templates.
Cynergy Software is the choice of software for many sales and support-center organizations. Many of the features that are optional in other software packages are standard in Cynergy.
What Can CRM Software Do To Help My Company?
Friday, December 4th, 2009Companies need to increase customer loyalty and boost profitability. However, customers are more informed, more demanding, and less willing to release their cash.
The businesses of customer relationship management and marketing have historically based decisions on what the manager thinks the customer or market is going to do or what the company management feels will happen. They are slow to embrace the new technological methods of actually assessing trends and competing based on intelligence and analytics.
The time has come to change, to understand and be responsive to customers’ needs and market forces. The CRM solutions are readily available to help organizations improve their understanding of customers and realize the full revenue potential of their leads.
Three key obstacles stand in the way of turning leads into customers: (1) the lack of real-time data and analytics that capture insights from multiple customer touch points, (2) information that is selectively gathered, inaccurate, or incomplete, and (3) date being siloed and its use restricted across the organization. As a result, critical business decisions are made based on conjecture and partial data rather than on empirical data and intelligence.
Managers need to see their company from the eyes of their potential and current customers. That means thinking like a customer seeking information. They (and perhaps a friend who is not in the same type of business so he has fresh eyes and mind) need to become customers. Start with a question and navigate the company web site to see how much has to be done to answer the question – or if the answer even exists there. E-mail the support department with a request or question. Make a purchase to see how well that process works and how aggravating or simple it is. If you have stores, walk into one or more and ask questions a customer would ask. Request a demonstration. Purchase something. Return your purchase to see how that process works. Take notes on all the processes. Where are the glitches, the frustrations, and the hang-ups? What is going well?
When you pose the question to customer support, it is very important to note the follow-up. This is an area where many companies lose their customers’ future purchases and recommendations. Get together with key players from marketing, customer service, and sales and brainstorm ways to improve the various ways in which a customer can access and interact with the organization.
Select a CRM system that enables an organization to run campaigns that align with its customers’ preferences, tightly integrate marketing across all inbound and outbound channels, increase sales productivity by providing customer insight, manage marketing and sales resources more efficiently, and turn contact centers into profit centers.
Have you ever considered that help desk calls have the potential to become sales opportunities? By having a CRM software that includes a real-time data miner, call center agents can get a recommendation of a customer-appropriate prequalified sales offer while on every call.
The use of support tickets that are tracked can increase retention rates by as much as 40 percent. Good customer follow-up using CRM software can improve service renewals by over 100 percent in the first 18 months.
Customer promotional campaigns can be executed within hours instead of days. And 100 percent of the campaign offers will be followed up. Did you know it takes at least five contacts with a customer to actually engage the customer in talking about a sale? How many of your sales reps stay engages with potential customers through five or more contacts?
Implementing the right CRM solution makes the business of customer relationship management easier and provides economic value and a competitive edge to the company. It turns your sales reps into trusted advisers who can make appropriate, targeted offers to customers. It enables support personnel to shorten call times, resolve issues quickly, and engage in seamless conversations. The right solution delivers personalized, customer-focused interactions which result in more frequent revenue opportunities and satisfied customers.
Five More Essential Ingredients of Web-Based CRM Software
Friday, October 30th, 2009Cynergy software improves communications between Help Desk customer service reps and customers or employees with the Cynergy Web Based CRM ticketing system.
Cynergy Web Based CRM ticketing software can also be easily customized with multiple user defined fields, colors, labels and multiple addresses or phone numbers. If you need to be able to view only “your” help desk tickets, or if you want to be able to view everyone’s outstanding issues, Cynergy gives you Special Permissions that allow this.
Cynergy’s help desk and CRM suite of solutions can be modified to allow strategic permissions and security among your internal employees and external customers. We also allow three methods for submitting tickets and our new Project Management module allows conversing and benchmarking throughout the launching and completion of a project.
6. TIME KEEPING is as important to your bottom line as productivity levels are. Being able to justify time spent on a project or client’s site is paramount during these economic times. Cynergy keeps track of time on tickets, projects, and events.
7. DATA is what runs today’s world. That’s why we use MS SQL. We ship with SQL Express (good for 250,000 tickets) and upgrading is straight forward. Backups are easy and stable.
8. INTEGRATION into other systems and software platforms is accomplished with relative ease. We have build a Web Service that allows platforms such as PeopleSoft to update Cynergy on the fly based on changes that take place in the primary system.
9. KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY systems are becoming commonplace among most large or growing organizations. Our Cynergy CRM Knowledge Center Software can contain unlimited information easily searched on. Or you can link tickets to knowledge for content management and training.
10. ASSET MANAGEMENT is essential to any business or organization that has over 5 employees or customers. Cynergy allows unlimited User Defined Fields for keeping track of Assets.
This concludes ten pieces that any great Web Based CRM system should have. Cynergy Help Desk Software has much more than we listed above. Try out a FREE DEMO Today or Call 405 516 2420 and talk to one of our experienced Help Desk Professionals.
Five Essential Ingredients of Web-Based CRM Software
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
“Cynergy had more features available than any other Support Software that
I could find. We were able to mold the Software around our business.“ J. Trimble, Trimble Industries
1. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Cynergy Web Based Software offers a 3 tier structure. Company/Site/Contact that allows you to see the hierarchical relationships that exist in every organization. All communications have a user footprint and history that allows you to see detailed information.
2. WEB/Email: Should take full advantage of the Web and email in one CRM application. Email ticketing, response, and communication is becoming the norm, not the exception. Your ticketing system should center around this activity.
3. VISIBILITY into all interactions, be it external customers, internal employees, even vendors information should be viewed by your team. Cynergy also has a project manager to facilitate new projects and events and allow the team a horizontal as well as vertical view.
4. RELATIONSHIPS with independent contractors are important to many of our clients. We offer special permissions that allow sub-contractors the ability to view as well as modify tickets for “their” specific clients without the requirement of a named license. (saves you money, improves communication)
5. REPORTING is critical in today’s business environment. Having the right information on a timely basis is essential towards the decision making process that you need in your organization. Our 300+ reports can be automatically run and emailed on desired dates.
Cynergy Web Based Software Help Desk Solution can be purchased three ways:
- As a self-hosted solution on your server (you buy it, you host it)
- As a Cynergy-hosted solution on one of our secure servers (you buy it, we host it)
- As a “pay-as-you-go” monthly subscription solution on a secure server (pay monthly)
Purchase the moderately priced modules separately, as you need them, or not at all. End users have unlimited licensing.
Are You Missing the Majority of Your Possible Sales?
Monday, October 26th, 2009I recently came across these statistics about how frequently sales professionals follow up with their prospects. When I read this, I was shocked:
• 48% of sales people never follow up with their prospects.
• 25% of sales people make a second contact with their prospect and then they stop.
• 12% of sales people make three contacts with their prospect and then they stop.
• Only 10% of sales people make more than three contacts with their prospects.
• 2% of sales are made on the first contact with a prospect.
• 3% of sales are made on the second contact with a prospect.
• 5% of sales are made on the third contact with a prospect.
• 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact with a prospect.
• 80% of sales are made between the fifth and twelfth contact with a prospect.
If you are a part of that 90%+ who are not adequately staying in touch with prospects you probably have a myriad of reasons why you are unable to do so. And those reasons are probably not because you don’t know that you should. You’re probably not following up with prospects because:
1. You don’t have the time.
2. You don’t have a system.
If you don’t have time, you definitely need a system.
If you don’t have a system, do you know what web based CRM is? Find out more.
Sales People Embrace Web-Based CRM
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009Sales reps are excitedly embracing web-based CRM, also known as software-as-a-service (SaaS), which can be accessed from a Blackberry or iPhone as well as from a laptop. The ASP software of web-based CRM which makes this possible contains downloadable applications or gadgets for seeing a variety of important information bites that salespeople need: daily calendar, weather and time, top contacts, top accounts, current deals, and performance against target.
Web-based CRM is not simply a gadget from the techies; nor is it a “pushed-down-from-management” tool. Rather, it is the application of choice of those in the trenches, those meeting face-to-face with the customer.
Because sales people spend most of their time away from the office, certain features of web-based CRM appeal directly to them:
1. Mobile connectivity. Sales people do not need all the features of a full-blown CRM system. Instead, they need to be able to connect using their cell phones (Blackberry or iPhone) to pieces of the system that apply to products and services they sell, their customers’ information, or various aspects of deals in progress with customers.
2. Information sharing. Often more than one person is involved in negotiations on a contract or proposal. Each person needs to be able to see summaries of previous communications with the client, the changes to the proposal under consideration, and “what if?” analyses of various scenarios.
3. Essential information access. A sales person needs to access his or her own information at the click of a button: sales meetings, customer meetings, driving directions, sales forecast, pipeline, notes from last meeting with customer. And these need to be accessed from the road rather than from a desktop, or even a laptop, computer.
4. Social media integration. A sales person who wants to learn more about a prospect is anxious to log into LinkedIn or Facebook to do that. Web-based CRM often builds that capability into the application.
If you are a sales person who uses web-based CRM, why do you use it? Does it answer your needs? What else do you wish it would do?
The Dependable Sheltie
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Sheltie is like web based crm software
Have you ever seen a herding dog at work? There are many areas of the world where dogs do much of the guarding of the herd while it grazes many miles from home. Then several times a year the dogs work to keep the herd together and bring it safely to the rancher.
Herding dogs are always on duty. They sleep with their eyes “almost closed” and they are constantly alert to movement and sound that is unusual. They never completely shut down because they know it is their responsibility to keep the flock safe.
My favorite dog breed is the Shetland Sheepdog, a dog that looks like a small version of the rough collie (think “Lassie”). The Sheltie was used to work a variety of livestock in the rugged, rocky landscape of the Shetland Islands. They were often left alone for days at a time to guard sheep, goats, or cattle and gather in any strays. They are well-adapted to working any livestock from ducks and chickens to sheep and cattle in any terrain and any weather.
Their herding is instinctual. If you get a puppy, by the time it is 8-10 weeks it will be nipping your heels to get you to go where it wants you to go. Soon it will try to keep your family in one tight group when you are in the yard or going for a walk. It will be worried if the children go outside to play and the parents stay in the house and will keep running back and forth to keep watch over everyone. If you have other pets in the house, it will try to keep them in the same room as the people. Even if you break it of the nipping, it will still be on duty, trying to take care of the family. The Sheltie quickly learns the family schedule and then becomes upset if anyone does anything off-schedule. This dog is a “keeper” in more ways than one!
The Sheltie is a bit like a web based CRM software package. It is always on duty doing its job. Whether that job is helping you sell products or services or making sure everyone is happy, you can count on the Sheltie – er, I mean the web based CRM software – to be there doing its job.
Is Web Based CRM the same as SaaS?
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Web based CRM, or hosted CRM, is one of the main types of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). SaaS is any web based software, so SaaS can include various applications from web based meeting software to company-wide communication tools to customer relations management.
Why is web based CRM catching on so fast? Several studies have confirmed that businesses of all types often lose customers due to lack of frequent and appropriate personal contact. But businesses need a cost-effective way in which to have frequent contact with their customers and potential customers.
Web based CRM can be integrated with web based sales force management or your current invoicing and financial software. Unlike a premise-based CRM solution, you can have a fully unifed sales, service, operations, and accounting solution which will cut your costs and your headaches.
With web based CRM as your SaaS solution you can quit hiring IT people, quit upgrading software and the training on it, quit paying for maintenance, quit worrying about power outages causing data loss, and quit frustrating one department with the things another department does. Because it is Software-as-a-Service, you have nothing to load on your server or individual PCs, yet every person in your company no matter where they are located can access all the information they need!
With a Software-as-a-Service CRM you will have nothing to invest in – only a monthy fee or a pay-as-you-go schedule. If you have a computer with a browser and an internet connection, you can use web based CRM.
Connect your front office with your back office using web based CRM. Production will be able to communicate with billing and the customer’s invoice will be sent as soon as his product is shipped. Get up-to-the-minute reports on your inventory.
Yes, web based CRM is SaaS. But web based CRM is much more than a single software. It can be a total end-to-end solution for a variety of problems that you may have thought were unconnected. And, at a time when everyone is concerned about costs and ROI, it is the only solution that immediately and continually decreases your costs and increases your ROI.
CRM Software’s A’Changing Again
Monday, June 22nd, 2009There are so many vendors of CRM software around the world, it is impossible to even know all the names of the CRM softwares, let alone what features each CRM software has. While many use the same platforms, each has a slightly different technology and multiple features available.
Web based CRM software is fairly young but appears to be the way to go for the vast majority of companies, especially any small or medium sized company. If you are considering web based CRM software, ask questions about storage limits, cost for additional storage, maximum number of custom tabs and fields, maximumum number of applications that can be added, and other features which could push you to upgrade sooner than you would want. Also make sure that the features and functionality offered by the web based CRM software are those that will increase your ROI or make life easier on your customer relations agents or sales force.
Implementing web based CRM
software is a way of knocking down all the walls in your office(s) – and those offices can be spread all over the world as well as throughout a single building. Today’s CRM software typically includes contact management software, knowledge bases, and integrated front and back office functionality.
Therefore, web based CRM software is a great tool for your whole company. The marketing department can use campaign and lead management tools. The sales force will love the offline and mobile capabilities. The customer service department will be able to see a complete history of all clients. Your back office can manage inventory and invoicing.
The latest versions of web based CRM software give great advantages over on-premise CRM software. The first one we think of is the ability to use it anywhere and any time, including the use on mobile devices (think Blackberry or laptop while eating lunch or getting coffee). They are also faster than on-premise software and often do not require re-loading or refreshing pages to continue working after entering new data.
Is Web Based CRM More or Less Expensive Than Premise Based CRM?
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009Some people feel that web based CRM is priced like a utility – you pay for what you use. However, that is a myth.
Most companies must commit to a pre-determined contract that is independent of their actual use. Web based CRM does not have the hefty upfront costs of hardware meanienance, upgrades and support as well as license fees that on-premise CRM applications have. But web based CRM may include fees for extra features such as mobile or offline access, various types of industry-specific functionality, extra storage, or premium support.
Both types can offer a great array of customization. Both types offer flexibility.
Web based CRM may be less expensive than on-premise software over a two year period, but that may not hold up over five years since on-premise deployments can become less expensive as the capital assets depreciate. For companies with less than 500 employees, the real advantage of web based CRM kicks in about year 7 of the deployment. These organizations are able to delay upgrade cycles due to integration and customization.
There may be issues that affect the cost that are not usually considered. Downtime, data loss, and time to restore a backup in case of catastrophe are items to be asked and understood.
Web based CRM brings together all the information about a customer in one location or database. This is a great advantage when dealing with multinational customers whose information would be stored in databases in various countries using an on-premise CRM. The information sharing that can take place impacts the bottom line. This can even happen with national accounts that are serviced by regional offices.
Web based CRM may never fully replace on-premise CRM because different companies have different needs. Costs, complexity and control will keep two different models alive for the foreseeable future.