Whether you use a customer relationship management, or CRM, program that is a stand-alone program that you provide IT for, or you use an online CRM provider, your goals should be the same. You are trying to make more sales from your satisfied customers.

As customer relationship management programs develop, it’s important that you stay on top of these new ways of using CRM solutions for your business. Undoubtedly, you are paying quite a bit of money for CRM services and you want to get the most return for your investment possible. To do this you should:

1. Provide ample opportunities for your employees to learn how to use the CRM service.

2. Make it clear to your employees that your expect them to use the CRM.

3. Stay informed of new ways to use CRM.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Educate yourself on ways to get more value from CRM services

It doesn't matter what brand CRM software you use, or whether you use an online CRM service. What matters are that you have a good grasp of the concepts behind CRM and can put them to use in your business. To help you do that, read information on CRM to stay current.

I recommend: The SAS Institute, a CRM company, offers a white paper that can give you ideas for ways to use your customer relations service to your best advantage, especially in tough financial times or in a tight competitive market. TechTarget has several white papers from leading CRM specialists at BitPipe.com. As you read through these white papers, you can find several new ways of making the most of CRM services.

Make use of CRM professional services

You may not need full-time CRM consulting. However, if you are starting a new sales campaign or another similar project, customer relationship management consultants can save you both time and money with their ideas for making the most of CRM services.

I recommend: CRM On Demand from Oracle can help you set up short-term and long-term projects to expand the value of your CRM service. The customer relationship management vendors of Sage CRM Solutions can help you with technical and practical issues you may have with your CRM.

Use add-ons to CRM services as they become available

You may have been using your CRM program for a while. If you haven't checked its new features lately, you're not making the most of CRM services. As technology changes, CRM specialists are changing what the programs can do as well.

I recommend: Angel.com offers an add-on program that lets you utilize your company’s cell phones, so you can keep your customer relationship management information up-to-date from the field. You may want to consider the add-on CRM services from Fieldpoint Service Applications if you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM. With these products you can seamlessly connect other programs, such as Quickbooks. This client relationship management software will also link with your Blackberry’s and Windows Mobile devices.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Aside from using customer relationship management tools to manage your client lists, you should also be able to collect and analyze any data you input to your CRM system. The person in charge of analysis should have knowledge of statistics and should be able to present the information to you and your staff in a usable format.

Would you like to experience the benefits of effective customer relationship management without so many of the headaches? How about enjoying all the advantages of using client relationship management software, while avoiding the need for installation, maintenance and regular updating? Would you like to do away with the necessity of investing in costly hardware and expert IT help? If so, you're not alone.

Many small business owners recognize their needs for CRM solutions; yet, they don't want to complicate their lives unnecessarily to get them. If this sounds like you, you may be the perfect candidate for CRM professional services.

Here's some terminology that's often used to describe online CRM services which are available to the small business owner who doesn't want to take on the entire burden of implementing CRM: web-based, hosted, on-demand and SaaS (Software as a Service). All four of these terms refer to CRM professional services and software accessed via an Internet connection, rather than through on-site IT hardware and software purchased from customer relationship management vendors.

Here are a few more advantages of subscribing to an online CRM service:

1. Ease and speed of implementation

2. Minimal training requirement

3. Lower overall cost

4. Rapid data transmission

5. Remote data access

6. Automatic updates handled by the CRM provider

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find out whether an online CRM service meets your need and what to look for in one

Many websites offer a great deal of valuable information on CRM solutions. By visiting them, you'll learn what web-based CRM is all about and how it can help your company.

I recommend: Oracle offers a free downloadable CRM guide on choosing the right CRM solution for you (on-premise, on-demand or hybrid) so you can be sure you're making the right choice. ArticleDashboard.com has a list of advantages, as well as "What Happens If You Do Not Get Hosted CRM Solutions." The Entellium CRM Buyers Guide tells you what to look for in an online customer relations service. The website also offers informative webinars, an ROI (return on investment) calculator and free downloads, tours, demos and more, all conveniently linked to at the bottom of every webpage. CRM Today offers 10 points you should consider when "Choosing a CRM Solution."

Use comparison sites to learn which customer relationship management vendors offer the best CRMs

There are excellent sites that are packed with information and descriptions of many of the best CRM services available today.

I recommend: SmallBizCRM.com provides a wealth of information on a number of CRM topics, as well as descriptions of the best web-based CRM software. It also provides a comparison of the Top 10 CRMs, though not all are web-based. Find White Papers offers a "Comparative Guide of the Top Four Hosted CRM Solutions" (Salesforce.com, RightNow Technologies, NetSuite and Oracle).

Visit websites that offer free price quotes, and compare pricing on various CRM services

These sites will let you request price quotes for various CRM software products and services all in one convenient place.

I recommend: All Options CRM and Buyer Zone can help you find the best prices on various different CRM-related products.

Stay up on all the latest info on CRM solutions to optimize the use of yours and keep your data safe

Keeping up with technology can be difficult, since it changes so fast; be sure you have a continuing education plan to keep you up to speed, even after you've signed up for your new CRM service.

I recommend: CRM Software Guide offers information on "Keeping Data Secure." You'll also find a great deal more information about CRM software of various types, along with many other online resources, in my Work.com "Guide to Small Business CRM Software."

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be sure to take advantage of CRM service demos, tours and free trial downloads to help make your decision easier.
• •  Use the ROI calculator linked to above to help you determine the financial impact your customer relationship management service will have on your business.

An effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services program will not only measure and increase customer satisfaction, but also attract new business by using current customer data to create new marketing strategies. Staying up to date on CRM services with additional training will keep you apprised of the latest tools and techniques to handle and track your customer relationships.

Increasing customer loyalty through CRM will help you boost profits and create a company wide customer service strategy. Whether you initially work with customer relationship management consultants or develop a CRM program on your own, CRM services education and training will teach you to use the results effectively. To improve CRM skills:

1. Take training courses to learn how to develop a CRM program, tailor CRM results to new marketing strategies or discover ways to utilize specialty CRM software.
2. Attend workshops through business schools, CRM specialists or a CRM company to learn how to focus your CRM program or develop new facets of your customer relationship management system.
3. Seek online education opportunities to uncover ways to develop CRM policies and processes at your own pace.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Utilize training through CRM consulting firms to discover specific CRM techniques and software

Take advantage of training to enhance your CRM programs and learn to tailor CRM software applications to your business. Courses will show you how to integrate sales, information management, employee training and customer support efforts to create a CRM program that results in successful, targeted marketing.

I recommend: Consona CRM offers training courses and workshops designed to teach administrators, developers and end users to effectively implement and customize CRM solutions. Get assessment, project management, integration and customization training for a variety of client relationship management software applications through Customer Connect. Products covered include Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.

Sign up for workshops to focus your company's customer service and marketing efforts

Once you've got your CRM program in place, workshops can help give you specialized skills to hone your CRM process and marketing efforts. Consider topics like documentation and accurate results calculation that will make your operation more efficient.

I recommend: Learn how to improve your sales and marketing with small business CRM services by attending a workshop offered by Redxlerant. The workshop covers topics like measuring CRM results and documenting processes. Discover online courses on CRM services through Learning Link Finders. Courses like Introduction to CRM teach key CRM concepts, components and ways to utilize customer interactions and information.

Enroll in online courses that will help you develop additional CRM solutions at your convenience

Online CRM courses are useful as a way for your customer relationship management team to stay current with regulations, processes and tools that come together to create a successful customer service program and marketing effort.

I recommend: Attend CRM-related web events through Destination CRM to learn new customer relations service strategies. Topics include ways to use CRM to build business or combat economic downturn. Earn a certificate in CRM and learn how to customize a CRM service program by attending e-learning courses through BPT Partners.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If your company is just getting CRM services up and running, also consider working with customer relationship management vendors to get your processes in place. These CRM professional services can ensure you're collecting comprehensive customer data, as well as following regulations on customer privacy and security.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a tool used in business that provides a company with a better understanding of how marketing, sales and customer service relates to the individual customer. CRM services can be found through CRM software and other types of CRM systems. These services can help to determine the right marketing campaign for a specific set of customers, how to group specific customers together and ways to integrate data from all aspects of the business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Sales force automation (SFA)

Sales force automation is a system that helps manage and automate any sales-related activities. SFA software programs are easily integrated into CRM management software to share sales and marketing data.

I recommend: Vtiger provides information on the different key modules shared between CRM and sales force automation.

Direct marketing

CRM programs can provide tools for a number of marketing strategies, including direct marketing. Direct marketing is a campaign that provides promotional messages directly to the customer to create a response to purchase a product or service.

I recommend: Haymarket Media's DM News provides advice on choosing the best CRM system for direct marketing.

Enterprise resources planning (ERP)

Enterprise resources planning is a system of resources that integrates company data into a single system. This allows quicker access to CRM data and related information.

I recommend: IDG's CIO Magazine provides answers to frequently asked questions about ERP systems and what they can do for a business.

Marketing automation

Marketing automation is a one of the basic services provided by CRM software. This system of marketing makes customer segmentation and filtering easier by automatically performing these processes.

I recommend: NetSuite provides the specifications for the marketing automation system that works with its line of CRM software.

Collaborative filtering

Collaborative filtering is a process of providing products and services to customers based on a filter that determines a preference stipulated by similar customers. This type of filtering is found in many CRM software programs.

I recommend: Read Write Web provides information on the principles of collaborative filtering and how this is effectively used for websites.

One-to-one marketing

One-to-one marketing is a service of CRM applications that provides a way for the businesses to learn more about customers through personalized and interactive services.

I recommend: Cliff Allen provides information on one-to-one marketing in CRM and how this type of marketing can increase sales over time.