Friday 8 May 2015

A Layperson's Guide to CRM and Cloud Computing


Customer relationship management (CRM) through cloud computing is a relatively recent concept to the business world but it is a technological advancement which is quickly gaining strong support among businesses. CRM using cloud-computing technology still maintains its focus on delivering good quality service to customers but is transforming the way in which businesses can more efficiently and cost-effectively achieve this.

At its core, CRM is about proactively engaging customers and managing customer relationships in the most effective and efficient manner possible in order to maximise customer returns to the business. Merging CRM with cloud computing empowers businesses to manage and streamline customer and salesforce automation activities at an even more detailed level without adding unnecessary operational bulk. Infact, pairing CRM with cloud computing may even help businesses to trim excesses and streamline their existing CRM systems.

The most apparent advantage of this pairing is that cloud-based CRM uses the Internet as its main or one of its major platforms for engaging the customer as well as maintaining good relationships online. Transactions are conducted online and the generated information is stored directly into electronic form, thus making unwieldy paper records (which also takes up expensive storage space) a thing of the past. Customised CRM software also help to makes the process of information analysis and retrieval much speedier and efficient.

In the same manner, CRM is able to keep relatively sophisticated and detailed records of customer contacts and transactions. It can help to compile, organize and arrange the information into one central database and thus, cut down on redundancy in information storage. In the long run, this also reduces costs on leasing, buying or maintaining virtual storage space).

Some companies prefer to do away with digital and physical storage space altogether, and outsource this whole process to third-party online service providers, thus eliminating the need to invest in new staff and infrastructure. Outsourcing can also help businesses to quickly expand and reduce their CRM systems and capabilities based on changes in customer and market trends.

Cloud-based CRM makes outsourcing activities a very attractive alternative to companies because of its relative simplicity, ease of use, cost-efficiency and effectiveness.

Cloud-based CRM can help businesses to communicate more clearly and directly with customers as well as target customers more effectively by improving the speed and ROIs of interactions with customers and potential customers. Instead of wasting valuable time and resources sorting through a haystack of contacts and details, CRM allows sales and marketing staff to customise their communication and interactions with customers with relative ease to address specific interests and needs. This will help strengthen the value of the customer relationship as well as improve customer satisfaction.

In summary, cloud-based CRM systems allow organizations to streamline business models and processes, engage the customer more effectively and efficiently - all these with less effort and resources, but also with improved business returns and increased customer value. No wonder it is fast becoming the industry norm among businesses and organizations everywhere.




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