TMCnews Featured Article
November 12, 2010
Hosted CRM Integrated with UC Drives Competitive Edge
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions are more than just a buzz phrase in the business world. While the concept has been widely overused, the introduction of hosted solutions that enabled CRM to take on a whole new meaning for the enterprise. And, as captured in this recent blog, it is likely that with the innovations in hosted CRM, this platform will become a critical part of Unified Communications (News - Alert) (UC).
Major communications advancements in the coming years will do much more than simply change the way you communicate – they will also change the way they integrate with your hosted CRM. As hosted CRM becomes more closely intertwined with UC, your company will become much more effective and competitive.
Hosted CRM will play a role in these improvements simply because users will recognize that improved business processes and systems that effectively increase overall productivity are key strategies for maintaining a competitive edge. By leveraging the power of hosted CRM, organizations will be able to evolve and unify their data in ways they only once imagined.
Companies offering value in hosted CRM include Microsoft (News - Alert) with its Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.com. When these applications are integrated into the small business or the enterprise, the organization can take information and actually make it useful. For instance, tying phone communications with CRM activity provide a clear record of communications with a specific customer.
The enterprise user can also leverage hosted CRM to tie in screen pops when someone calls in with the Salesforce.com (News - Alert) without incurring additional charges. Once the call is complete, the user can easily take notes associated with the contact as the information was popped when the call began. This type of calling data can be used by sales managers to predict or forecast the hiring and scaling of their company. At the same time, the data can be used by business executives or middle managers and the sales team to make decisions on how to better utilize the company’s time, based on trends identified through the hosted CRM solution.
In today’s market, companies need to strive to be more competitive and more successful in order to survive. It is not enough to simply have a CRM solution in place. Hosted CRM can effectively integrate with your UC strategy or other collaboration tools to help you take your company to the next level. There is no reason you can’t get there and hosted CRM makes it possible.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Juliana Kenny
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