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.

Hope on the Horizon for the US and Canada

The news is out – the recession is over! Or is it?

Whatever you read today seems to have a different opinion. Some say that the worst is behind us and we're recovering very nicely, thank you. Others say that we're experiencing a temporary lull before the next storm. Optimists say we can return to our previous standards of living. Pessimists say that we should learn from our mistakes and prepare for the next rainy day.

The truth probably lies somewhere between the two. The fact is that the best of economists will tell you that predicting the future is virtually impossible. Yet, when the figures are checked and re-checked, the recent economic indicators are rather positive. Forget the major "what-if" theories and focus on what's really happening.

Recently released figures for the final quarter of 2009 indicate a growth in the GDP of both Canada and the U.S. In the U.S., the growth is attributed primarily to inventory rebuilding. While some consider that a temporary measure, likely to taper off, others point out that the need for increased inventory is due to resurgence in consumer spending. True, consumers are still spending their money more cautiously but the figures remain positive.

Not just consumers are spending more. Business investments grew by 2.9% in the final quarter, as compared to a nearly 6% drop in the third quarter. Equipment and software investments rose by a whopping 13.3% for the quarter. Also, net exports added to the U.S. GDP, indicating that the Americans are now using their weak currency and high productivity to their benefit in foreign trade.

Back in Canada, economists have re-examined all the figures and are pleasantly surprised that economic growth in the fourth quarter exceeded 4%, well above the forecasts. The Canadian figures continue to rise well, indicating that recovery is progressing.

It's hard to tell but, for the time being, after a treacherous journey, both Canadians and Americans are safely on the way back home.

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