Nowadays, organizations are gathering data by integrating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools with business intelligence (BI) platforms. The difference between CRM and BI is that CRM is a customer database to store information on interactions and sales history while BI provides strategic solutions for overall business functioning, and not just customer sales. But, now the question is how to integrate CRM and BI platforms. Annie Bustos (a valued contributor to Business 2 Community) writes in this article link about some best practices to ensure a smooth integration between these two powerful tools. They are: Understand what you are looking for, populate CRM with good data, create a real-time transfer of data, refine customer segmentations, leverage the data for testing and always ask for help.  

Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/business-intelligence/6-tips-integrating-business-intelligence-solutions-crm-01541585#yZlXhSkAZwpT5ewK.97

An ideal sales process is a series of systematic steps that tracks the interactions from its inception to completion. Outdated and inaccurate software and data prevent you from achieving great results. CRM can help in making the sales process smoother and much more efficient. Here's how:

·         CRM Automates Data Entry

·         CRM Provides Accurate Customer Insights

·         CRM Generates High-Value Leads

Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-crm-revolutionizes-the-sales-process-73291

Latest CRM applications have introduced new features which are not present in latest legacy solutions. They have more access deployment options for small scale and mid-level business. CRM vendors are making heavy investments to gain the competitive advantage. They excel in increasing company's lead generation using these features: Social Media Prospecting

·         Lead Scoring

·         Better Data Accuracy

·         Audience Segmentation through Data Integration

·         Automated Lead Nurturing

Read the complete article here:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-to-increase-lead-generation-with-new-crm-applications-73292

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) vendors are adding lots of social media functionalities to their products. Use of mobile and social media tools in combination with CRM software increases business productivity immensely. But before deploying Social media CRM, one should prepare right strategies to get the most out of it. One can achieve this by Increasing their Customer Base. One other way might be Promoting their Brand Identity. The last one can be Improving Sales. Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/social-crm-strategies-for-small-businesses-73293

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a necessity for companies of all types and sizes. This software aims to provide excellent customer service, targeted marketing strategies and other benefits which increase the productivity and profitability of business. For any budding entrepreneur who's still on the fence about CRM, these statistics should make the decision an easy one –

·         Worldwide Market of $36.5 Billion

·         Mobile Accessibility Up to 48 Percent

·         Fully Operational Within 18 Months 

·         Satisfaction Rates Start at 54% and Grow

·         SaaS Deployment at 85% by 2025

Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-crm-statistics-every-entrepreneur-should-understand-73295

CRM has been there for years but still people wonder what is it or whether to invest in CRM or not. Well CRM is solution based software which aims to provide best service to customer while building a successful enterprise. Still wondering about CRM? Check out these reasons for investing in Customer Relationship Management Software:

·         Better Customer Relationships

·         Improve Marketing Stratesgies

·         Streamline Operations

·         Save Time and Money

·         Flexible Solutions

·         Grow Your Business

·         Increase Sales

Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/7-reasons-why-you-should-invest-in-crm-software-73050

Every business wants to flourish and stay ahead of the competition. This why they are so keen to develop ways to increase their efficiency. Well CRM or Customer Relationship Management tool does is one way to achieve the same. CRM is solution based software that enhances the relationship between customers and employees. Its power comes from its knowledge base about the customers of the company.  It constantly gathers and interprets customer data and give insights into how serve them best. Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-for-success-73151

Customers are the key to any business success. The more customers you have, the more revenue you generate. But the customers don't come on their own. They get attracted by an advertisement. The company targets them with marketing strategies. All the local marketing techniques like flyers and direct mail are still used. But since marketing is an enormous activity and has funds associated with it, we must track and analyze to its optimum level. Hence CRM comes to the rescue. They are - Use CRM to bring Analytics to Paper Marketing; to Automate Communications and Improve Response Time; to bring Social to a Local Business; to motivate the sales team. Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-crm-software-can-maximize-your-local-marketing-73152

CRM or Customer Relationship Management industry is growing day by day which expected evaluation of $36.5 billion by 2017. More and more companies are using CRMs to harvest their data and increase their profits. Despite the growth, still some people make mistakes which cost them a fortune. So here are three blunders to avoid –

·         Ignoring Social Media Integration

·         Forgetting Mobile

·         Annoying Customers with Too Much Marketing Material

Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-crm-blunders-you-need-to-avoid-73160

CRM or Customer Relationship Management System helps companies in building a healthy relationship with their clients. It increases company's productivity and profitability. Having the right set of technology not only benefits your business, but also smooth your relationship with your client. So these are few factors which must be kept in mind while looking for a customer Relationship Management system for your company- Focus, Host Infrastructure, Functionality, Your budget and Deployment. Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-factors-to-consider-when-selecting-the-right-crm-solution-for-your-business-73169

Social media is important for any business. It can help be to connect with customers and drive conversion rates higher. Most customer relationship management tools are incorporating social selling into their platform. But, many companies are not aware of the importance of incorporating social media into their platform. This article will help you to know about the factors why CRMs need to take social leads seriously. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/4-reasons-crms-need-to-track-social-media-73172

A successful business is no more only based on hard work but various other factors. One of them is the happy and satisfied employees. And the customer relationship management tool (CRM) can also improve employee's happiness. Well, happy employees are the productive employees. Employee with high job satisfaction and happy with his working environment will be more productive than the unhappy one. Reasons why CRM improves employee happiness: Reduced Stress through Up-to-Date Info; Collaborative Work Increases Happiness; Removal of Tedious Tasks; Out-of-Office CRM Access. Read the complete article here: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-crm-technology-makes-for-happier-employees-73170

Today marketers prefer one-to-one market with customers. This requires full agility and efficiency. The Agile marketing is more interactive, efficient and effective than waterfall approach (old sequential marketing). Big marketing campaigns are cumbersome and time consuming and there are always possibilities that campaigns may fail with high cost. Companies can reduce the stagnation in few steps:

 1. Increase the productivity by providing training to employees for multiple tasks.

2. Hire talent for both data science & analytic and creativity.

3. Use CRM (Customer Relation Marketing) and data driven marketing solutions.

4. Take expert help or consultancy services.

5. Outsource services if possible to decease the work.

To know more click on the Link: http://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/why-your-business-should-embrace-agile-marketing/

Previously, CRM was unable to provide insightful data on customer behavior. The Internet of Things (a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifier) changed the scenario. The CRM providers have been inspired by IoT and they are successful to improve the customer relationship and meet customers' needs. This new trend is known as CRM of Things. It creates new marketing opportunities for businesses, and helps to improve customer service. Read more at written by Inside-CRM : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-crm-can-benefit-from-the-internet-of-things-71582

The goal of customer-centric CRM is to improve customer value. Every customer is unique and their needs are also different. Organizations should customize their services and products according to customer needs, for gaining customer loyalty. A customer's contribution towards the net profit of a company determines the customer value. Customer loyalty is the most important thing for any company. Surveys will them to measure loyalty. Customer identification and prioritization is also important as it helps to identify customers that provide the most value. There should be well-planned strategies for customer acquisition and retention. Customer-centric CRM can improve revenue, decrease costs and enhance the customer experience of a company. For more read article written by Inside-CRM : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-and-the-concept-of-customer-centricity-71614

Customer Relation Management is a combination of technology and collection of database of sales contact. This combination can be positively used to make a marketing strategy. This can be used to create awareness among the different departments of the organization, regarding the important actions that a customer has taken. Automated alerts can be sent notifying the important actions relevant to a team. Consistent messaging is required at times to stay in touch with the customer. This can be either with regard to feedback. Thus helping in getting insights of the customer. These practices help in understanding your customers in a better way. This improves your customer loyalty, hence resulting to improved engagement. Read more in the article written by Bruce Swann (Senior Product Marketing Manager for Adobe Campaign) at: http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/digital-marketing/5-ways-crm-data-benefits-your-marketing-strategy/

Optimization of CRM is highly correlated to the social media presence of a company. Customers frequently generate queries via social media. So there are some steps that can be followed to create a position in the customer's mind by establishing good connections between social media and CRM.

1. Right platform should be chosen.

2. Must have a dedicated human resource to handle the social media activity and patch them up with marketing team who handles CRM.

3. Instead of putting one liner FAQs, try to personally resolve critical issues in time.

4. If you have a different presence in multiple social media, then deploy time understanding the importance

5. Start listening your customers’ point of view about you and react proactively.

6. When you are segmenting your customer, you should be prepared for queries. Centralize them and solve them in real time

7. Reward your customer by discount offers, free e-books and promo offers.

To read, follow: https://www.cmscritic.com/10-steps-to-social-crm-success/

For every start-up, customer engagement and promoting their brand is a big challenge. So if your business is in the start-up stage, integration of social media in your CRM will give you enormous opportunities to grow your business.

Social media in CRM aka Social CRM on cloud gives an extra edge to your business as engaging with your target audience will be limitless and creating brand communities which helps in monitoring and analysing customer’s demands will be very easy.

Here are the 5 benefits of having social CRM in your start-up -:

1.      Discover opportunities to engage with customers

2.      Monitor your notifications

3.      Real time updates in your customer contact records

4.      Integrate your marketing software and your contact records

5.      Share customer messages

To read visit on -: http://www.intellika.in/blogs/post/5-benefits-of-social-crm-for-startups

Gone are the days when the tiny pieces of paper were most essential parts of CRM. Automation has made it lot easier by keeping the data records. Sticky notes are quite prone to physical damage, leading to loss of critical information. Automated systems keep data records safe and highly organized. This way data can be efficiently sorted or searched. If you still continue to wholly rely on sticky notes, come out of the cocoon and take the benefits of technology. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-and-the-death-of-the-sticky-note-70917

A customer visits your site or product, checks the available options and services offered. Then he decides to go along with you or not.  Good business policy is to give a personal touch to each customer so that they feel at home each time. But taking care of their needs at each step becomes a time taking process if done manually. On the other hand automation makes it more smooth and effective. If CRM is practiced along with automation, it sets everything into a correct perspective.

Read more about it in the article written by Inside-CRM at http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/five-ways-marketing-automation-and-crm-go-together-like-peanut-butter-and-jelly-70904