Home > Your Business, Big Prospects with Cloud CRM

Your Business, Big Prospects with Cloud CRM

If there’s one key message to take away from cloud-based CRM solutions, it’s that they give any business the ability to think big.

Good Customer Relationship Management software brings together all of your company information into the one centralised location, with data presented graphically in clear and easy to read dashboards and charts.

And because all of this information is in the cloud you only need an internet connection and a computer or mobile device to get at it, meaning that your office essentially goes wherever you do.

The other key advantage of being in the cloud is that you don’t have to worry about buying or maintaining any software or hardware. With the salesforce.com solution, updates are made automatically so that you’re always on the latest version. And with no need to research and upgrade new software and server equipment, you save time and money.

It’s flexible, too. Like many businesses, you probably have times of year when things are busier than others. The best CRMs allow you to scale your business with the click of a mouse for minimal cost or fuss.

 

 




 
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Good CRMs let you know more about your customers too, making it easier to respond to their needs and keep them happy. Salesforce.com takes this a step further, allowing you to communicate with customers directly using social networking tools that operate like Facebook for business.

 

Success stories

Many small Australian businesses recognised the benefits of CRM early on, and have relied on it to underpin operations as they grew into larger and more successful companies.

Medical equipment company ADInstruments, for example, uses salesforce.com to bring together all of its business and customer information – from several offices and overseas subsidiaries – to deliver big productivity improvements. According to CEO Graham Milliken, many of the company’s customers and business partners are in non-English speaking countries, but salesforce.com lets it communicate with them in their native languages.

Online bargain specialists Spreets relies on salesforce.com’s ability to deliver rich sales and marketing information in real time to quickly determine which campaigns are working and which are not. It’s a great example of how fast and easy access to accurate information can transform a business quickly.

And recreational vehicle and camping gear company Kimberley Kampers? It does business all over Australia, yet is run out of the back of director Bruce Loxton’s wife’s clothing store, 900 km from his main factory. Loxton says the company has been virtually bursting at the seams the last few years, with salesforce.com now providing strong integration between the company, its sales channel and customers allowing for smoother operations and greater profitability.

 

Safe and secure

Finally, Information Planet provides an invaluable service to international students, connecting them with work, accommodation and other essentials. One of the biggest challenges faced by the company was securely managing huge amounts of sensitive information, such as passport and visa numbers, as well as contact details. With salesforce.com your customer’s data – and yours – is always secure.

As is the future of your business.

As ADInstruments’ Graham Milliken puts it: “My staff can go to a customer anywhere on earth, access their [salesforce.com] client from their phone and provide a quotation before they leave the customer… I’m expecting a 15, 20, 25 percent improvement in sales efficiency.”