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The 5 Best CRM Companies
Each year, the editors at CRM Magazine select and publish their list of CRM Market Leaders, honoring the best CRM companies that offer the most robust products and the highest quality customer service.
In 2006 the focus was on innovation, with awards in the enterprise CRM, mid-market CRM, small business CRM, and sales force automation categories going to those CRM companies that demonstrated an ability to develop and execute on a strong vision. Other criteria for choosing the best CRM vendors included analyst ratings, customer satisfaction, year-over-year revenue growth, and depth of functionality.
Although several CRM companies received honors, the panelists ranked the following five solutions as some of the best CRM applications for small and mid-sized businesses:
* Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com was the clear champion in 2006, winning both the mid-market CRM and sales force automation categories, and scoring a position as one of the top five on the small business CRM list.
Kudos went to the company for revolutionizing the on-demand CRM market and delivering a solution with a simple user interface and easy-to-navigate features. Salesforce.com was also applauded for its continued commitment to broadening its customization and integration capabilities.
* NetSuite
NetSuite was one of just a few CRM companies to make an appearance on more than one list, being named as an industry leader in both small business CRM and mid-market CRM.
The company scored serious points for delivering a fully-integrated front and back office solution that specifically addresses the needs of smaller businesses. By making CRM, ERP, and e-commerce available via a single hosted platform, NetSuite has achieved considerable recognition within the market for its ability to dramatically reduce the complexity of IT infrastructures.
* RightNow Technologies
RightNow Technologies is considered a stand-out among today’s best CRM companies for its solid customer service and support capabilities.
Additionally, its recent acquisition of Salesnet, a provider of on-demand sales workflow automation solutions, is expected to close any product functionality gaps and strengthen the company’s sales force automation offering. The CRM Magazine editors also praised RightNow’s flexible deployment and payment options.
* Maximizer
High scores in both customer satisfaction and depth of functionality earned Maximizer Software the top spot in the small business CRM suite category.
In addition to enhancing its product portfolio with mobile and wireless capabilities, the company has taken a more aggressive approach to marketing and public relations in the past year, making a big play to steal a larger chunk of small business market share away from other CRM companies. Panelists also made note of Maximizer’s ability to combine strong capabilities with an intuitive interface, offering smaller businesses some of the best CRM features in an easy-to-use environment.
* FrontRange Solutions
Although FrontRange Solutions, the company that designs and develops the GoldMine CRM suite, lost its first place spot among small business CRM companies this year, it still earned a position on the top 5 list – thanks to the continued strength of its contact management/sales force automation product and its contact center utility.
The experts noted that FrontRange has outlined a solid strategy for the near-term future, and will be watching closely as the company begins to execute on it.
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