| Customer Relationship Management Software | | | | o Knowledge Management (FAQs, How to guides) |
| also known as CRM is software that allows a | | | | Sales - The sales function focuses helping |
| company to manage their relationships with | | | | the sales team of the company to manage and |
| their customers by capturing, analysing, and | | | | execute the pre-sales process, making it more |
| storage of customer, partner, vendor details | | | | organized. The sales team in most companies |
| and also internal process information. The | | | | are responsible for capturing any leads or |
| key functionality of a CRM system is divided | | | | opportunities, capturing customer |
| into 3 basic modules these are Marketing, | | | | interaction, the CRM helps them process this |
| Service and Sales and the 3 aspects of the | | | | data and monitor it in the future. o |
| system are Operational, Collaborative and | | | | Opportunity Management - helps to organize |
| Analytical (these can be implemented in | | | | all relevant data received and captured for a |
| isolation from one another). Marketing - The | | | | deal to be put into one place, it could hold |
| marketing module deals with providing | | | | data as expected budget, total spending, |
| functionality of short term execution of | | | | prospective customers, key players, products |
| marketing related activities and long term | | | | interested in, important dates and expected |
| planning within a company. o Campaign | | | | closing dates of a deal. o Quotation and |
| Management - running marketing campaigns | | | | Sales Order Management - if an opportunity is |
| using different communication channels, which | | | | reached the quotation phase a quotation is |
| targets potential buyers using a product or a | | | | formed and if this is won the quotation is |
| group of products as a message. o Planning - | | | | turned into a sales order - the sales order |
| making long term market plans which are | | | | then gets passed to the ERP system. o |
| quantitative or qualitative measures. These | | | | Activity Management - this represents |
| can be set for a period of time and for | | | | activities that go on within the sales and |
| different product groups and geographies. o | | | | service areas with the interaction with the |
| Lead Management - generating sales related | | | | customer including meetings, discussions, |
| leads which then can be converted into sales, | | | | calls and emails. Operational - this is the |
| lead management deals with processing the | | | | automation of customer support and the |
| leads by carrying out sanity checks and | | | | processes that include the company's sales |
| evaluating the genuineness of the information | | | | and service representative. Collaborative - |
| received and then deciding which leads are | | | | is the direct communication between the |
| hot and cold. Service - The service function | | | | customers that does not include a company's |
| focuses on how effective the system is of | | | | sales and service representative. Analytical |
| managing customer service which is planned or | | | | - the analysis of customer data which is used |
| unplanned. Below are some of the functions of | | | | for a broad range of purposes. Customer |
| the Service module: - o Service Order | | | | Relationship Management Software is a good |
| Management o Service Contract Management o | | | | way of organizing and running your company |
| Planned Services management o Warranty | | | | effectively. |
| Management o Installed Base (Equipment) | | | | |
| Management o Service Level Agreement | | | | Jene Pedder is the webmaster of Synergy |
| Management o Resource Planning and Scheduling | | | | specialists of CRM Software. |