Can you CRM?
This week, and in the coming weeks, we started learning even MORE about CRM then we ever thought there was. Now both Abbie and I are well versed at CRM, especially for small businesses. Or so we thought.
This is really a story about flexibility and why it is important for same while working with clients. We jumped on the Microsoft bandwagon back when they brought out v1.0. We weren't real impressed but persevered through v1.2. Recently we adopted v3.0 SBE specifically as a result of our Action Pack subscription. What has really impressed me is the outlook client, after I finally got it working. The combination of direct web access, integrated outlook access and leveraging integration points with other Microsoft Technologies. But this is not about Microsoft's CRM.
So on Tuesday we met with a prospect that has an installation of TigerPaw CRM. I had not seen it in person before. It seems quite feature rich, and am looking forward to working with them to get the most out of their investment. I like the fact it uses a Microsoft SQL Server backend.
Then on Wednesday we met with another prospect that has an investment in Salesforce.com. They've been running on desktops in a peer to peer network. They will soon be moving locations and we're putting in an SBS server for them. After some discussion I inquired about the Salesforce.com solution...are they happy with it, etc. Well as it turns out, he had never heard of Microsoft CRM!!! So I took him on a test drive, and showed him some of the features. For him, there's a couple of very important items that Microsoft has over Salesforce.com. The first is location, it runs on his system in his network. With SBS it is secured and easily accessed. The second is the feature set. All of the features Salesforce.com has, Microsoft CRM has 'em. Over and above that, he owns it. Pays for it up front, and it's his. Apparently Salesforce.com is charging his CC every three months a fee per user. As it turns out, the cost is not that different than Microsoft CRM, but that does not allow for much of the integration.
Well, we'll be learning a lot about Salesforce.com in the coming months. Primarily to make the transition easier. We'll be learning more about TigerPaw, as well. We spent quite a bit of time over the past month or so discussing and focusing our energies on not just taking the next client that calls, but finding the right client for us. People who are looking for solutions, not just an IT guy to fix a PC or a CPA to do the books. While we can do those things, and will do those things as they relate to other activities, we are actively looking for ways to solve issues for clients. Dashboards, information/business integration, that's where we see our value to our clients.