From IT managers, to suppliers, to their partners, no one wants to get a little thing in the CRM system.
An example of the previous example is about IBM. IBMs reach a transaction with Siebel Systems - Both sides jointly developed and marketing Siebel's customer relationship management (CRM) products in the market, while Siebel adjusts its product solutions for IBM platforms. In a series of transactions of the CRM to the front desk of the enterprise application market and win the attention of e-commerce decision makers, this event is just a new one.
Not long ago, CRM is only a replacement insert for ERP (Enterprise Resource Plan). However, in the web network, the customer is loyal to a popular concept, and each company has launched a competition for customers, and CRM begins to appear in the heads of IT managers planned.
CRM financial economy
The reason for this phenomenon is that the financial economy: ERP application generally focuses on cutting costs, making internal processing automation, and CRM is a revenue creator, which is intended to provide sales staff to provide them to strive for and maintain customers. Tools.
Some CRM users believe that in some extent, it can be said to be the competitive environment created by Internet, making CRM into a new favorite - In fact, CRM is moving the market position of ERP.
"CRM is becoming a required thing", Jamie Wells, president of COMDIAL TECNA in Sharoswell, Virginia, said that "the requirements for effective management of sales cycles are more and more important."
Wells Select J.D.edward as its ERP vendor. J. Dwards mainly sells Siebel's CRM system. The company became a distributor of Siebel last year, providing application products that integrate their backend solutions into Siebel's CRM system. Wells said that Comdial did not choose PeopleSoft, SAP, or other companies because they could not provide CRM required for COMDIAL. PeopleSoft acquires Vantive, CRM, and SAP is developing its own CRM components.
"CRM can be said to be part of the decision," We believe that we can provide more profits to the sales channel ".
Although the CRM foreground is optimistic, the implementation of CRM is not small. Although it is generally unlike ERP, CRM still needs customers to spend a lot of time and capital investment.
"If you install products such as CRM, you are taking your company to make a bet", the leader of the Dwyer Group of Dwyer Group, Dovic City, Texas, said. Dwyer Group uses Pivotal's CRM products ERELATIONSHIP 2.
In addition, since certain companies are not familiar with CRM, they do not fully utilize the functional advantages of CRM.
"Technology may be wasted," said HOWARD BERG, a president of Berkeley Corporate Partner, and Berkeley Corporate Partner, said, "If CRM is established correctly under business architecture, it may become a tool for creating customer needs. Doubt, it will become a tool that keeps customers. "
CRM threatens ERP?
Another challenge facing the IT department finds a sufficiently flexible CRM system to adapt to the company's existing business handling. At this point, CRM is different from ERP.
"Typical ERP Application To change the company's business process to accommodate the processing of the ERP system," Vantive users, the Chief Executive of a Printer Manufacturer Genicom, "But for CRM, you can 'adapt" it". ERP vendors are not the only software vendor that customers need CRM, and small software vendors that are multiplied are also involved. In mid-November last year, Paste's Goldmine Software launched Front Office 2000 characterized by integrated customer service and support. CRM Supplier Windsoft Parent Company Redi-Direct Marketing has recently been developed by the acquisition of Maine Westhrook's Salesbook system company. Salesbook is designed to create a CRM solution for a handheld device for small businesses.
In the CRM field, the subsequent fields similar to PRM (Business Partnership Management) have also appeared. For example, San Francisco has released its product Sales Partner 2.0, which allows users to communicate with their channel partners through the web network.
Is CRM worth trusting?
Although the publicity patterns of CRM are repeated, some users are still skeptical.
One of the users of PeopleSoft, Mark Skete, a 3M Group Pharmaceutical Company, Maine, said that his company will carefully follow the pace of the CRM market, cautiously.
Skete said: "I haven't seen anyone who dares to shake the flag: 'We have installed the CRM software, you come to see the contribution to the company this time,'!"
