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Can you get Different Offers from CRM Vendors During Turbulent Economic Times?
This may be the right time to explore what CRM vendors are providing as they work to keep current customers and gain new ones. Some are offering lower-priced solutions, while others are merging with other vendors in order to capture a bigger market share.
For example, Chordiant, a trailblazer when it comes to using analytics to improve the way customers interact with businesses merged with Pegasystems, a leader in Business Process Management (BPM) software solutions. Chordiant may have been feeling the effects of turbulent economics – including reduced sales of its software and fewer purchases requiring licensing.
Mergers of CRM vendors like this can give you access to the best of both worlds. In this case, Pegaysystems’ boasts helping you reach your business goals while taking out things like complex coding, while Chordiant brings solutions for predictive decision management, a long list of CRM strategies and customer experience know-how.
You may have noticed that other CRM vendors are focusing more on what’s manageable in terms of expenses for businesses. Intelestream, for example, a vendor providing CRM consulting service and online-based CRM strategies for smaller to mid-sized organizations, began offering a base fee for unlimited users in an effort to be friendlier to businesses feeling the economic pinch.
Don’t be deterred by rumors that organizations are spending considerably less on CRM vendors during the economic pinch. Industry experts believe that few companies are actually putting a halt on their CRM strategies. You have probably already learned that beefing up customer relationships can provide the needed edge to survive and thrive during an economic downturn.
In addition to merged expertise and lower-cost options during an economic recession, CRM vendors are hearing what you’re saying when it comes to SaaS. In fact, you may be among the businesses that are implementing SaaS types of CRM, which amounted to 20 percent of the $9.15 billion global market for CRM in 2008. The benefits of CRM vendors with SaaS-type applications include being able to give your customers on-demand applications that you have subscribed to – and recently, perhaps as a reflection of economic conditions, some vendors are beginning to offer SaaS at no additional charge.
Look for CRM vendors that also understand your need to get the most value out of your customer information, such as the ability to perform a needs-based segment analysis. This way you’ll know which of your offerings are actually speaking to customers’ needs and may provide the biggest pay-off.
Finally, you should expect your CRM vendors to give you the ability to keep track of what your sales team is offering to both old and potential customers – because follow-through is more important now than ever.
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