Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems – Should you stay local?
The art of successful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be difficult because you have to balance acquiring new customers whilst keeping and satisfying your existing ones. You have to be able to identify when areas of your business need attention, track the development of your customers and monitor the ever changing market all at the same time. The way to simplify this process is to invest in a good CRM program such as SugarCRM. Through using SugarCRM you are able to simplify these processes and maximize on your time efficiency. Instead of having your team spends hours analyzing data, the CRM can do it on their behalf. They will of course have to enter the data correctly for the CRM to be able to work its magic but when entering the data is part of a daily routine, they won’t even realize how much they have done. It’s much more appealing that facing a pile of reports that would rival a skyscraper! By having it process the data and highlight key areas for you, you minimize the possibility of missing out on new leads or customer follow ups. When you are trying to maintain a certain level of customer service, this can be the difference between keeping or losing those customers.
There are several CRM systems available that originate from Canada but this doesn’t mean that they are the one best suited to your business. As most CRM programs are done via the Cloud, you will find that you receive the same level of service whether you are a 1000 miles away or located next door to your provider. You will be able to view online demo’s to aid you through the User Process, have conference calls to guide you through the implementation and if required, you can always contact technical support online or on the phone. That’s the brilliant thing with how Customer Relationship Management has developed with the times, it is now completely accessible wherever you are. Should you wish for your staff to work from home, they can and still be able to access all of the information they require with it being safe and Secure.
There has been a recent incident called Heartbleed Bug where the security of OpenSSL was in question.
SugarCRM were able to ensure that all On-Demand subscriptions were not affected whilst On-Site customers had to request their server administrator check their own servers to ensure that the data was still safe. Through being On-Demand using the Cloud, something as potentially devastating as this was kept under control allowing business to maintain their work schedules and customer service levels. If a customer believes that their data is at risk, you will have a few choice questions heading your way.
As alluring as it seems having everything kept on your own server with your own IT department handling it, considering the many benefits that come with a Cloud Server and how you can utilize them within your business should definitely be high on your priorities list.