Client Relationship Management

This name is thrown out so broadly that it is often times confusing to the exact business functions meant to aid your business. It really is an umbrella title for almost every useful thing or interface between you and your clients. Broadly speaking it is a label used to define the effort to attract, track, monitor, manage, interact with and support both current and potential clients.

Specific areas where a CRM system can assist your business:
	Integration with Your Website for Lead Generation
	Streamline and Automate Marketing Communication
	Managing Leads and Sales Activities (Next Steps)
	Reporting Pipeline and Sales Activities
	Sales Forecasting
	Predefined Parameters to 'Target' Best Accounts
	Automate and Streamline Efforts
	Integration of Client Activity (Projects and Requests) on Your Website with Clients
	Availability of Quality Client Information (History and Current)
	Integration with Accounting Systems (Client Address Information, Orders, etc.)
	Client Data Available 24x7x365
	Call Center or Help Desk Integration
	Computer Telephony Integration

Key Considerations
	Focus on Client Solutions - Organizations looking to implement a CRM tool to assist with Client Relationship Management must first realize the focus needs to be on clients and client solutions, rather than products and services. CRM is something your organization does, not buy. A CRM system is a tool to assist in the effort, not a 'cure-all'. If an organization is not able to change its business practices to focus on the client, any CRM initiative will fail.
	Determine Areas of Maximum Value - Organizations should identify where CRM delivers maximum value to the client and focus on this area and market it internally to your organization. The goal is to get your employees to adopt it and to get a quick win. A few advocates who are seen as informal leaders can greatly increase the success of a CRM implementation.
	Select a Tool That Provides Maximum Value - Organizations need to evaluate the many and varying CRM applications and determine which ones meet the organization's needs with the greatest return on investment. The right solution should be easy to deploy, able to be customized and affordable. Another consideration is integration between sales, marketing, service and support teams.
	Develop a Project Implementation Plan - The key to any successful CRM implementation initiative is a proven methodology and plan, as well as on-going management of the project.
	Communication - Measuring performance and communicating results to ensure accountability are important in any project or implementation. Top executives also need to actively support the CRM initiative.

Solutions

Develop profitable customer relationships through lead and opportunity management, incident management, a searchable knowledgebase, and reporting tools with Microsoft Business Solutions CRM modules. Built using Microsoft .NET-connected technologies, Microsoft CRM is easy to deploy, integrate, and customize.

FrontRange GoldMine Sales & Marketing - A fully integrated solution for sales force and marketing automation, as well as team based contact management.

Heat Service & Support - Heat delivers a full-featured, out of the box customer service and support solution designed to optimize performance.

Add on Modules - There are many add on modules to provide a web interface for your clients, asset management and integration with computer telephony (call centers, screen pops, call flow scripting, etc.).