Welcome to my Blog! As this is my first entry, I thought I would write a few lines describing what I intend to cover with this blog. I will be writing about the CRM market (both advancements in CRM its self and the technology market in general as it pertains to CRM) and CRM as a "holistic business improvement process". I know that sounds lofty, but CRM is more about what and how you do business than just a software solution offering a list of the people you know and what you are doing with them. If that is what your company is looking for, then you will be best served by your paper files, Outlook Contact list or Excel if you are really forward looking. If, however you see the benefits of automating processes, identifying profitable customers, and increasing loyalty and repeat business - then you are interested in learning more about CRM and how it can help you and your company.
I recently had a chance to talk with Chris Bucholtz at Inside CRM about the CRM market, where it is heading and what my predictions were for 2009. I thought that would be a great topic for my first blog entry. What follows is an excerpt of that article, listing my Top 5 predictions for 2009:
Mobile is the New Hosted - With the exponential growth in smartphone sales - both consumer and professional - and workforces relying on mobile for more than just email and phone, Mobile CRM will make its turning point in 2009 as the most sought-after CRM application. In fact, smartphones now represent 13 percent of the mobile phone market, up 2 percent in just one quarter in 2008, according to Canalys Research. Mobile CRM will rise beyond a "useful" technology for sophisticated users to a pervasive application that transcends throughout field and service workers, and even into the trades and labor workforce.
Return to the Customer - As businesses try to hold steady in this time of economic uncertainty, companies investing in CRM will have a leg-up on their competition with the ability to tap into their existing customer base and increase wallet share with them. The old adage of it costing more to acquire a new customer than to keep a loyal customer happy will ring true in marketing departments that need to stretch their budget and return to the customer.
Year of Search CRM - As the Internet continues to mature as a channel for new touch points between enterprises and online social and business networking sites, the growth of Search CRM applications will flourish. New applications and platforms that provide a 360-degree view of the ever-elusive customer will continue to appear in the next 12 months.
On-Demand Pull-Back - After the Entellium debacle this fall, renewed concerns about the security of data with on-demand have cropped up. On-premise may see resurgence this year with companies concerned about security, integration and loss of data.
Getting Back to Basics - Gone are the days-for now-that enterprises can invest in the "nice to have" IT expenditures, e.g., Green IT, upscale peripherals. Companies with little to no budgets will look to essential IT investments that yield rapid bottom-line results such as CRM and security software.
The full article can be read here: http://www.insidecrm.com/blog/top-5-crm-predictions-for-2009-from-maximizers-cto.php