Measuring CRM ROI

A detailed research measuring the Return on Investments upon implementing CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

What is ROI:-

ROI

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate_of_return
• Return on Investment: What is ROI analysis?

Measuring ROI with CRM

• http://www.coopercomm.com/ppr-roi.htm

Note: This post is being updated. Please revisit for the complete post.

Is Social CRM important?

Today there is a mixed view from experts on Social CRM. Some say it is important and some feel it is not that important.

Our discussion
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Is-Social-CRM-important-can-43621.S.49020861

An Ideal CRM representation

List of common customer relationship errors by companies

We are trying to research the list of common customer relationship errors committed by companies where by they loose their customers.

We are holding our discussion over the following places
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/List-common-customer-relationship-errors-43621.S.48574733

Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2011 – Highlights

• Gartner Says the Use of Social CRM for Customer Service Will Grow Rapidly Over the Next Two Years
  http://media-newswire.com/release_1144899.html (8th March 2011)
• Gartner Announces Winners of the 2011 BPM Excellence Awards
  http://blogs.gartner.com/elise-olding/2011/03/14/gartner-announces-winners-of-the-2011-bpm-excellence-awards?nicam=Twitter&nichn=GBN&niseg=BPM031511 by Elise Olding  (March 14, 2011)
• The Gartner & 1to1 Media CRM Excellence Awards EMEA/APAC Winners are Announced!
  Customer Analytics: British…
  http://www.1to1media.com/View.aspx?ItemID=30794
• Gartner CRM Summit: Adapt or die in the new CRM future! “Attendees of this week’s Gartner’s London CRM Summit heard how a combination of supply side and demand side trends are dramatically changing the CRM playing field.”
  http://www.mycustomer.com/topic/customer-intelligence/gartner-crm-summit-adapt-or-die-new-crm-future/122021
• Social CRM: Is this how to avoid making the same old CRM mistakes? “Gartner’s Scott Nelson has outlined how firms can adopt a more strategic approach to social CRM.”
  http://www.mycustomer.com/topic/social-crm/social-crm-how-avoid-making-same-old-crm-mistakes/122113
• Cos will generate 50% of Web sales via social-media presence and mobile applications by 2015:Gartner
  http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Cos-will-generate-50-percent-of-Web-sales-via-social-media-presence-and-mobile-applications-by-2015-Gartner/5106813712

DISCLAIMER: – IDEAL CRM, blog post is a personal collection of  Research Oriented information, Focusing  on CRM and Customer-Centric Web strategies, comments or opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors only, and do not necessarily represent views of  coAction.com ,Readers may copy and redistribute blog postings on other blogs, or otherwise for private, non-commercial or journalistic purposes. This Content may not be used for any other purposes, in any other formats or media. The content on blog is provided on “as-is” basis, coAction.com shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the content or the use of this blog.

CRM going Social

There has been a lot of buzz over the past couple of years about this new concept of marketing called as “Social Customer Relationship Management”, this blog aims at putting some light on the Concept , how it works, and how the data is gathered and fed into CRM systems to do further analysis.

*Concept – Social CRM & Social Media Marketing

Social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Face-book are amplifying the voice of people in the marketplace and are having profound and far-reaching effects on the ways in which people buy. Customers can now research companies online and then ask for recommendations through social media channels, making their buying decision without contacting the company. People also use social media to share opinions and experiences on companies, products and services. As social media is not as widely moderated or censored as mainstream media, individuals can say anything they want about a company or brand, positive or negative.

Increasingly, companies are looking to gain access to these conversations and take part in the dialogue. More than a few systems are now integrating to social networking sites. Social media promoters cite a number of business advantages, such as using online communities as a source of high-quality leads and a vehicle for crowd sourcing solutions to client-support problems. Companies can also leverage client stated habits and preferences to “hyper-target” their sales and marketing communications

What Data to gather and How?

With access to such a huge resource of real-time prospective customer data, marketing communication’s need to be planned and executed properly. Advantages of undertaking this strategy are High-quality leads & to provide user-friendly, cost effective and participatory platform for customers to find instant solutions to their problems.

Customers looking for a product or service would express their views on an open platform, where other members help in, by providing more information and adding personal experiences, helping in short-listing the best fit for his requirements.

Companies could monitor these discussions and suggest their product and services to people looking for them; they should start profiling these new contacts to understand them and their future needs better,

They could also add current customers to their company’s online community and increase fan following, this increases brand loyalty and ensures repeat sales. Various social engineering techniques can be used to study each customer better, this would not only help cross selling other services to that customer but also would generate a database which on analysis would give valuable insights on changing customer preferences, and hot industry trends.

How it affects company’s overall CRM strategy?

Social CRM will mean different things to different companies, the goal is to first understand the business challenge and then to make a SM supporting strategy to reach that goal, different companies would want different things and a sound strategy to achieve that goal needs to be formulated before the company enters into Social CRM.

Data gathered over time from such sources could be fed into company’s CRM infrastructure, and can later be used to analyse for better decision making.

NOTES:-

*Source Wikipedia.org

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DISCLAIMER: – IDEAL CRM, blog post is a personal collection of  Research Oriented information, Focusing  on CRM and Customer-Centric Web strategies, comments or opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors only, and do not necessarily represent views of  coAction.com ,Readers may copy and redistribute blog postings on other blogs, or otherwise for private, non-commercial or journalistic purposes. This Content may not be used for any other purposes, in any other formats or media. The content on blog is provided on “as-is” basis, coAction.com shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the content or the use of this blog.

 

CRM on CLOUD

CRM:

Customer relationship management is all about putting your customers first, understanding the needs of your clientele and designing Products and services which meet those requirements is all but a easy task, finding new customers and engaging the existing ones for them to keep coming back for more is a planned and intelligent approach, using tools like CRM which provide flexibility, seamless collaboration of information, creative thinking in rules and policies, abundant storage and much more is a important part of a company’s marketing strategy.

The Cloud:

Cloud computing has become a important part of this process with most vendors offering CRM solutions on the cloud, such solutions are now much more affordable for the masses. As a metaphor for the internet “The Cloud” harnesses the processing or computation power and storage capacity of multiple computers and servers, such services commonly known as SaaS, do not require the end user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that actually provides the service.

Image courtesy – Wikipedia.com

Advantages of using Cloud Computing in CRM implementation:

There are a lot of advantages in running a business application which operate’s from a remote server that can be accessed via “The Internet” aka “The cloud”, with cloud the end user can simply log on to the business application generally using a web browser to gain access to the CRM system, generally paying a small monthly fee for the service, the user can avert financial expenses in setting up the infrastructure and maintaining it, security patches, computer viruses and system crashes are all taken care of by the vendor, software updates are also provided by the vendor and are updated at the server side from his end.

Not only can business avoid financial waste but they can also track their employee’s performance and maintain a collaborated systematic database which post analysis will help business in understanding their customers better and hence formulate better workflows and administrative policies.

Hence CRM implementation via cloud computing (HOSTED CRM) provides all the benefits of On-premise model, but at a much lower cost and minimal infrastructure and maintenance staff. Not only that, the model also provides troubleshooting in a contained and secured way making sure that no virus contamination reaches the end user ever.

Disadvantages of using Cloud Computing in CRM implementation:

Cloud computing application is hosted and is heavily dependent on Network connectivity, and requires higher bandwidth to run the SaaS based applications. In case the network goes down the company loses its access to its business applications running on the cloud.

Some more disadvantages of cloud computing are being addressed to by each vendor in their own way, concerns about Data Security –

How the data is transported form user end to vendor’s server?
Is it encrypted to avoid interception?
What happens once the data reaches the vendors server? Is it stored encrypted?
What is the strength of the encryption algorithm used?
How often is the data being backed up? Etc.

CRM Market Share

• CRM Software Market Share Leaders (2007) – Shawn Hannon
  http://www.crmsoftware360.com/crm-market-share.htm
  Writer Shawn Hannon takes a look at CRM Software Market, with Inputs from Gartner’s on 2006-07 revenue analysis figures, of  The Big 5 CRM vendors as compared to other smaller vendors and the total industry strength, comprehensive analysis of  CRM industry with comparison of  industry revenue and  measuring growth in CRM market (2006-07).

• Gartner: CRM Market to Grow 14 Percent in 2008 – 24/4/2008- Chris Kanaracus,
  http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145016/gartner_crm_market_to_grow_14_percent_in_2008.html
  Prediction is based on preliminary sales figures for 2007, Growth is being driven by SAAS product sales, which took an estimated 14 percent of the market in 2007, with rising demand for CRM technology in emerging markets, reasons why Big CRM vendors investing heavily in acquiring smaller lesser known vendor to add to their portfolio.

• Gartner Says Worldwide CRM Market Grew 12.5 Percent in 2008 – STAMFORD, Conn., 15/7/2009
  http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1074615
  This release by Gartner, looks at how Despite financial market volatility, the worldwide CRM market enjoyed its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth, with statistics on Worldwide Vendor Revenue Estimates for Total CRM Software, it easily explains how Western economies, emerging markets are growing rapidly using aid of CRM technology.

• SAP Could Lose More Share in the CRM Software Market – June 14th, 2010 – Trefis Team
  https://www.trefis.com/company?article=13105#
  a look at how current CRM market leader SAP, could lose its edge to rivals Microsoft, Oracle, & Salesforce.com, giving proper explanations to this prediction and a note of factors  that might affect SAP’s current position, with rivals making l acquisition’s in the segment.

• Sales force CRM Market Share Could Rise Beyond our Estimates – 12/16/2010 – Trefis Team
  http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2010-12/salesforce-crm-market-share-could-rise-beyond-our-estimates.aspx?storyid=49561#ixzz1DvTtLIKY
  Find out how  salesforce.com is driving growth addressing to common issues on security, by providing better security features like SSL, Encryption and firewalls to cash in on the growing demand for  cloud products.

• Will Google Enter the CRM Market? – 2/9/2011 – Lauren Carlson
  http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/crm/will-google-enter-the-crm-market-1020911/
  With existing presence in cloud based  personal productivity and collaboration applications, and with the launch of Google apps market place in 2010, there is a strong feeling that Google would enter  CRM space soon, this post examines the  top reasons why Google might  or might not enter  CRM market.

• How big is the CRM software-as-a-service industry? How fast will it grow? When will it cap?
  http://www.crmlandmark.com/saasmarket.htm
  an overview of CRM SaaS market, in years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 has been provided for reference, Industry trends and consistent growth and investments in cloud based technology in spite of certain security issues are some of the highlights. 

• Potential 5% Upside / Downside for Salesforce.com’s CRM Market Share – January 03, 2011
  http://seekingalpha.com/article/244563-potential-5-upside-downside-for-salesforce-com-s-crm-market-share
  This post examines salesforce.com’s position in the CRM market, company benefiting from fast rise in demand for cloud services and a look at  potential downsides. 

• Gartner releases CRM market share report and SAP leads, but how much does it matter?
  JUL 22 2009 –  Barney Beal
  http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/voices-of-crm/gartner-releases-crm-market-share-report-and-sap-leads-but-how-much-does-it-matter/
  an interesting look at what customers want and is that their vendor is viable, innovating the product and generally responsive to its customers, but is that all ?….read more to find out. 

• CRM Software Market Share & Trends for Asia, the European Union, North America, Latin American, the Middle East
  http://www.crmforecast.com/asia.htm
  taking a look at the CRM market, its size, different sectors welcoming and implementing the technology, its past and a look at the future.
• Who’s the leader in CRM? – Tue, Oct 19, 2010 – Cathy Boudreau
  http://www.harvestsolutions.net/crm-insights-blog/bid/53646/Who-s-the-leader-in%20CRM
  Based on data gathered from third-party resources such as Gartner and Forrester, is a blog giving writers views and insights in who is the current market leader in CRM industry. 

• The Global CRM Market Continues its Growth Streak : ST Team – August 2009
  http://www.thesmarttechie.com/magazine_articles/The_Global_CRM_Market_Continues_its_Growth_Streak__id_OEWP867831182_2009.html
  blog highlighting major events and reason for CRM industries fifth consecutive year of double digit growth, read more to find out the reasons behind  this story. 

• CRM Market Research Reports
  http://www.marketresearch.com/browse.asp?PartnerID=846445143&CategoryID=857
  Find the information you need on the CRM, customer relationship management industry. Our collection of market research reports provides insights into CRM product and market trends, analyses, opportunities, projections, sales, and marketing strategies. Specifics on market share, segmentation, size, and growth in the US and global markets are also featured.

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DISCLAIMER: – IDEAL CRM, blog post is a personal collection of  Research Oriented information, Focusing  on CRM and Customer-Centric Web strategies, comments or opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors only, and do not necessarily represent views of  coAction.com ,Readers may copy and redistribute blog postings on other blogs, or otherwise for private, non-commercial or journalistic purposes. This Content may not be used for any other purposes, in any other formats or media. The content on blog is provided on “as-is” basis, coAction.com shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the content or the use of this blog.

CRM Group Page – Live Chat on Facebook

Over the last couple of months coAction’s marketing team has been on a quest, a quest to create, gather and share a comprehensive and exhaustive knowledge base on our favourite topic – Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The latest addition in our initiatives to satiate this thirst, is the brain child of Mr. Ganesh J Acharya – SEO Head at coAction.com, the thought being to utilize the newly introduced private network’s feature on Facebook.com, to create a platform for sharing resources and knowledge online,
it also allows a real-time conference chat environment helping members to freely express their views and share knowledge.
Following is a link to our Facebook page, please feel free to Join.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_158993397481935&ap=1

 

you can contact us on – customer.relationship.management@groups.facebook.com

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DISCLAIMER: – IDEAL CRM, blog post is a personal collection of  Research Oriented information, Focusing  on CRM and Customer-Centric Web strategies, comments or opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors only, and do not necessarily represent views of  coAction.com ,Readers may copy and redistribute blog postings on other blogs, or otherwise for private, non-commercial or journalistic purposes. This Content may not be used for any other purposes, in any other formats or media. The content on blog is provided on “as-is” basis, coAction.com shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the content or the use of this blog.

CRM -Usage Statistic’s

Here are some interesting links to CRM usage statistic’s:-

• http://www.smallbizcrm.com/crm-market-statistics.html – A collection of statistics relating to the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) industry. They refer to CRM market growth, CRM direction as well as CRM Vendor trends.
• http://www.technologyevaluation.com/search/for/growth-statistics-erp-scm-crm-annual.html – Growth Statistics ERP SCM CRM Annual by Technology evaluation . com
• http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=653307 – Gartner Report on Worldwide CRM Market, CRM Software Market to Grow 14 Percent in 2008, Published on April 22, 2008.
• http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1074615 –  Gartner Report on Worldwide CRM Market, says it  Grew 12.5 Percent in 2008, Published on July 15, 2009.
• http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=CRM – Key Statistics for salesforce.com – Data provided by Capital IQ.
• http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/answer/CRM-growth-rate – Ask The CRM Expert: Questions & Answers – CRM growth rate
• http://crmforecast.com/saasresearch.htm -On Demand CRM Software Research, Facts and Figures.
• CRM Growth Simulator: Extending the Data Warehouse – by Jim Wheaton – b-eye-network.com
• On-Demand CRM Poised for 41 Percent Growth By Peter Piazza – www.newsfactor.com
• Need reasons Why is CRM Crucial to an Organization?…read this report to understand how CRM Boosts Overall Development.
• SaaS continues to gain momentum, explain’s this blog by Stuart Lauchlan – Software as a service (SaaS) now makes up nearly 20% of total CRM software market revenue in 2008, up from just over 15% in 2007.
• Research & Statistics – Worldwide CRM spending to increase reports- dm-asia.org
• CRM Market Research Reports – http://www.marketresearch.com

CRM Outsourcing Industry Statistics

• CRM Outsourcing Industry Statistics – http://www.companiesandmarkets.com

We are still updating this page with more useful links, please come back later for more update’s.