Technology as a whole can be a big, scary world. I know a lot of people are hesitant to make changes because they fear technology. They don’t fear it to the extent of jumping up, screaming, and running away. They just refuse to try it because they don’t understand it. It’s fear of the unknown. I know there are a lot of people out there who won’t try another Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system just because they have one. Well, just because you have car insurance do you never look for a better deal? Just because you live somewhere do you never check for cheaper rent, or a cheaper mortgage? Of course you do! You’d be crazy not to. Yet, people won’t check for another CRM because they have one. Does that make sense to you? It certainly doesn’t make sense to me.
Of course, if you have one, and you’re happy with it that’s perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, that is great. I’m happy for you. However, a lot of people don’t have a CRM they’re happy with, and they refuse to try another one because *gasp* it’s a change. We recently sent out a survey to a small sample of a few hundred people that were exhibitors from a show. Over 70% of the people who responded didn’t feel satisfied with their CRM. Then why aren’t you trying to find a better solution? Why would you constantly use something that you aren’t happy with when there are so many other CRM Software systems available? It boggles my mind that people don’t do anything about it.
Cloud based CRMs or Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM solutions offer much lower upfront costs than an on-premise CRM. Companies don’t have to put out the cost of buying a server and/or other equipment to store the software and all the data. These types of CRM solutions have gained a lot of traction in recent years due to the fact that costs are so much lower, having more flexibility than ever, and a much faster time-to-value compared with traditional on-premises applications. Businesses can afford to try out new systems without breaking the bank. That should also make CFOs extremely happy. A cloud based CRM or SaaS solution will provide your organization the ability to customize the usability as you see fit. As of last year, cloud based CRMs are now used by 87% of businesses that utilize a CRM, according to SuperOffice. As of 2008, that figure was only 12%, so the rise of cloud based CRMs has grown exponentially.
You should definitely see some benefits by being able to reduce costs and streamlining your company’s efforts. You should give it a try just on those merits. I’ll even throw in a sweetener. Any company worth their salt will have a free trial that you can test the system out. You can go in and play with all the features and truly see the benefits. What are you waiting for?
Sandip
