According to CRM software industry experts, five major forces have shifted power away from vendors and into the hands of clients:
- Enterprise businesses still see the value in successful CRM software implementation.
- Compared to other initiatives, the cost of new or upgraded CRM software offers far higher potential for return on investment.
- More business users have become comfortable with "cloud applications" in their own home lives, making them much more willing to take a risk on less expensive, hosted CRM solutions.
- Layoffs from major software developers have created a surge of independent web companies offering flexible CRM solutions at significantly lower prices than established vendors.
- Social media networks allow company executives to share information more discreetly about CRM software vendor bids, increasing negotiation and pushing down overall pricing.
Of course, these trends aren't just emerging within the CRM software industry. They're developing in nearly every line of business, which is one of the reasons CRM software has become so attractive in the first place.
To compete in today's global marketplace, the best CRM software vendors have already taken some important steps:
- Merging or forming alliances. Over the past few years, some of the largest database companies and dedicated CRM software vendors teamed up to prepare for tougher battles over customers. Smaller companies have emerged to take on the stalwarts, forming networks of service providers that rely on APIs to pass information between applications. From the customer standpoint, you can choose an all-in-one CRM software solution, or you can push data from cloud to cloud.
- Developing more predictable or transparent pricing strategies. While some companies still work through lengthy bid processes, other CRM vendors now rely on simplified, per-seat or per-company pricing packages that require no negotitation.
- Pushing support into the spotlight. Support and implementation are the two biggest differentiating factors among vendors. CRM software ompanies with clear commitment to support, via in-person training, social media presence, or public forums, have already taken the lead.
In my next post, I'll write about how these processes have merged with even broader societal trends to create a perfect opportunity for CRM software to land in just about any organization.
5 comments:
I love the fact that the process of connecting with customers is lowering. The phenomenon is simply ironic, in that most costs of doing business are increasing except for the one tool that can increase profits exponentially. Perhaps that exactly why the cost of doing business in other areas are increasing--to make up for the CRM factor.
CRM has always been a customer-centric proposition. In fact, the more your customers interact with you, the easier it is to create a common profile and encourage lifelong loyalty.
Thanks for this sharing, now its easy for me to understand the need of real estate CRM, in real estate business.
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