Believe it or not, cell phones have been around for over 20 years. Of course, the first cell phones offered only 30 minutes of talk time before they needed to be recharged, weighed two pounds, and cost almost $4K.
Phones today, of course, are wafer-thin, can take pictures and video, and in some cases don’t even have buttons to push. They fold, swing, slide, play music and come with “apps.” Perhaps most importantly, at least in terms of the business world, is the fact that they can access the Internet—which, with the advent of enterprise cloud computing systems, means that if you have a smartphone you can do business almost anywhere.
Cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) systems are simply a way to capture, store, track and analyze all the information related to customers, product and sales. They encompass contact management systems, sales force automation systems, and knowledge management systems. Because a CRM system operates offsite, an employee doesn’t have to log in to his work computer—which in turn is connected to a network of servers and may also run licensed software—to access information. Any Internet-capable device can offer that worker the same real-time, up-to-the minute data stream, which he or she can edit and share as easily as making a phone call.
No one understands the power of a mobile-compatible sales force automation solution more than Phoenix Technologies, a device-enabling software company. With 66 percent of the company’s business occurring internationally, and sales reps constantly traveling, they needed a way to access and share data that wasn’t tied to their onsite servers, or their clunky legacy Lotus Notes system of record keeping—which was suffering from performance, syncing and integrity issues.
Phoenix’s new CRM system offers real-time customer data access and sharing across all channels—sales, marketing, customer service and tech support, and engineering. The fact that it runs in the cloud means that it can be accessed from anywhere.
Senior management can now view a 360-degree customer profile, Web leads are automatically captured and routed, deals can be approved more quickly and the sales cycle is visible to all those involved. This means that Phoenix enjoys accelerated processes, greater customer satisfaction and improved sales revenue.
In addition to providing improved customer service directly, there are indirect benefits that allow you to help your customers by helping your employees. When they have the tools to access data or file their reports more quickly—even automatically, in some cases—they’re more likely to complete these administrative tasks, rather than sitting on them. Everything just moves more swiftly and expediently when your business can use mobile technologies for customer relationship management.
Intuitive dashboards and customizable interfaces make the experience even easier and more enjoyable for sales reps, call center agents and everyone else. This leads to a quicker rollout period and a high adoption rate.
Face it, the world has gone mobile. This includes your customers, and it should include you and your employees as well. In this age of instant communication, people are no longer willing to wait two or three days for a response. If you can’t keep up, and provide responsive service, there’s a very good chance your company will be left in the dust.
