Both customer relationship management (CRM) and mobile technologies have transformed a number of sales organizations and call centers, but the truly compelling application is the place where CRM meets mobile. Today, customers are increasingly mobile and savvy about using self-service. Mobile self-service CRM solutions allow customers to help themselves, seek information and even solve problems on their smartphones and tablets from wherever they might be.

Salesforce.com (News - Alert), of course, has been on the leading edge of mobile CRM. Last week, the San Francisco-based company released an update to Chatter, the company’s activity stream service designed specifically for mobile devices.

The new release represents the company’s next-generation CRM platform, according to TechCrunch.

The updated version of Chatter now has the capability for a customer to access records, edit them and take action on an account, all from a mobile device. It essentially brings CRM to the customer’s mobile phone, iPad or tablet.

Mobile CRM advances aren’t only about the customer, of course. A number of Salesforce’s mobile CRM technologies are also company-centered, allowing field sales personnel an unprecedented amount of flexibility when it comes to helping customers and making sales on the road. They also allow for remote contact center monitoring, allowing executives, sales personnel and call center directors and managers to keep an eye on key metrics and operations from wherever they might be located.

Sales personnel can log calls, respond to hot leads, and get live access to real-time opportunities, dashboards, and more directly on their mobile devices. These solutions also allow sales managers to manage field service teams through their mobile devices.

Call center stakeholders can use their mobile devices to stay on top of customer issues, keep tabs on the latest performance metrics, and even fine-tune service operations away from the physical call center.  

Increasingly, business, commerce and sales don’t happen under a single roof. Customer relationships are more complex, more integrated and more urgent than they once were, and companies that manage relationships part-time, only when in the office, are doing themselves a grave disservice.