The Benefits of CRM Software

Having customer relationship management (CRM) software offers you a lot of advantages in running your business. As a small business, you need to take advantage of every tool that will help you deliver great service to your customers and using a CRM can provide that. Choose your CRM software wisely, however with the right choice, you will be able to jumpstart your business’s ability to maintain long term relationships and eventually drive sales. Some of the benefits of having a CRM are:


1. Creating a customer database: A CRM will allow you to create an in-depth database of your customer. You will be able to track everything from their purchasing habits to their personal interests. It will allow you to predict when the customer is ready to buy and being able to personalize any contact with them.


2. Automating marketing tasks: You can automate many of your marketing tasks such as reminders, documentation or email newsletters, saving you time and effort. It also allows you to keep all your marketing communication templates in a central place and use them to send to clients during any transaction. And finally, you can keep track of your marketing campaigns, evaluating their effectiveness and also measuring long term customer value.


3. Make strategic decisions quickly: You will be able to access data and make strategic decisions without wasting time. CRMs allow you to build dashboards that give you a snapshot of where your business is at any point of time.


4. Strengthen your customer relationships: A CRM allows you to communicate with your customer at all times, choosing the right message to send at the right time. By improving your customer communications, you strengthen your relationship with them and increase customer retention. A big advantage for CRMs is the ability to create personalized communications with thousands of your customers more efficiently.


5. Customer service operations are more efficient: Your customer service functions will improve as you can provide better service. You will also be able to keep track of any customer service issues and follow-up without losing track of where you are. With a CRM, sales, marketing and customer service can now be integrated as each department would be able to obtain a deeper picture on a client, thereby targeting and servicing a client according to their needs.


A CRM allows you to keep track of your customer data throughout the entire purchasing lifecycle. This gives you a great snapshot of what is happening in your company in real-time, helping you make the best strategic decisions quickly and profitably.

Canadian Auto Industry Driving Growth

Cars are a vital part of the Canadian culture, not to mention the economy. The recent recession had a devastating impact on automobile manufacturers and sales in North America. However, with the economy on the rebound, sunnier days are in sight for the Canadian auto industry.

British Columbia and Alberta, the country's westernmost provinces and both with resource – dependent economies, were hit extremely hard when commodity prices took a nosedive during the recession. However, with the demand for natural resources rapidly returning, the economy in the west is improving and car sales will follow suit. Industry experts predict that new car sales in British Columbia will rise by 5% in 2010 and by 10% in Alberta. This is a major recovery following a dismal 2009 ending in sales declines of 15% in B.C. and 21% in Alberta.

Growing consumer confidence in the nation's economy, coupled with global recovery, is expected to fuel positive sales figures across the nation. Projections for the current year anticipate auto sales to climb to 1.53 million units, 10% higher than sales figures for 2009.

Another province expected to contribute to the rise in sales figures is Saskatchewan. Although the province holds the record for the oldest vehicle fleet in the country – average age exceeding 11 years – auto sales are still 12% above the average. In general, growth in the province has exceeded the national average for the last three years.

On the other end of the scale, Quebec is expected to show only a moderate increase in auto sales of no more than 3%. The province currently has more new vehicles per capita than any other province.

Whether the contributing factor is a recovering economy, a relaxation of credit restrictions, or even purchases for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the fact is that Canadians love their new cars and, having weathered the global storm, it's time to go shopping.

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