subject: Need A Contact Relationship Manager (crm) For Your Small Business? [print this page] Keeping yourself organized while operating a small business can be a daunting task. After all, you're doing everything from administrative tasks, to sales, to collections and whatever else it takes to be successful based on your resources. Obviously, the key factor of any business is sales, and more importantly, building and maintaining client relationships. The best solution for maintaining your most important assets (your customers) is the use of a CRM, or Contact Relationship Manager, software.
There are a few choices. During my software consulting years, I specialized in CRM's. Prices for this type of software swing wildly, and before you decide to purchase there are a few factors to consider:
First; how quickly is your business growing? The right CRM can grow with you. The wrong one will eventually hold you back.
Second; ease of use. Is it user friendly, meaning is it easy to customize, or will you need to hire an IT consulting service to customize it? Only you know how computer savvy you are, and even then, if it's a complex database (which is essentially what a CRM is), you may need the help of a professional.
Third; budget. Can you currently afford an advanced CRM or do you just want to be able to accurately record your contacts with your clients? The right small business CRM can be the difference between success and failure.
Fourth, online or internal network? There are now online versions of CRM software available. If you have field representatives, this may be the best option so your personnel can access and update from anywhere. If you only have a few workers, working internally only, a directly installed CRM package would be the better choice. This option can be networked or locally installed, depending on your needs.
Whichever options you choose, a small business CRM keeps you in touch with your clients more effectively.
by: Carlene Schnitzer
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