Small businesses often believe the benefits of CRM are beyond their reach. Although these companies have lower turnover and a smaller workforce than large enterprises, they often have similar (but maybe simpler) business processes, and sometimes the same disparate business applications and databases. As a result, they face the same challenge: to create a single view of the customer across the organization, so that they can offer consistent and profitable products and services.

Business growth brings the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to the realization that it can no longer sustain the informal, regular personal interaction with its customers - often the differentiator that allowed it to compete successfully with larger rivals. Close customer understanding allows SMEs to tailor their offerings in response to customer needs and new competitors. Under these circumstances, a CRM system can be a strategic tool for retaining customers and acquiring new ones as the business grows.

Disparate information systems are a characteristic of the information technology infrastructure of most businesses, small and large. Companies traditionally buy individual software solutions to fulfill a particular business need - financials, e-mail, website, sales forecasting and customer contact management.

Over the years the number of systems increases, along with complexity and the lack of integration. This means the company faces difficulties basing decisions on different versions of the ‘truth’ emanating from information that could be duplicated, conflicting and incomplete.

What benefit, therefore, would be yet another software package with yet another data source ‘bolted on’ to the others - similar in its isolation and inability to draw from the information generated from others? Most simplistic CRM applications aimed specifically at small businesses often fail to measure up to the organization’s needs. The lack of close integration with the rest of the business applications can rob the SME of CRM’s full potential. The lack of customization and configuration options can make the applications inflexible.

On the other hand an effective CRM strategy involves, in the main, the closer integration with existing systems, tapping the valuable customer information already residing within existing business applications and a new discipline that supports the business growth or even the economic downturn! In all cases the strategy should stem from your business needs not from a product demonstration. In short your CRM strategy must be about driving information down to staff so that they can offer informed services, and up to management so they have the data they need to make well-informed decisions.

Setting the strategy and selecting your CRM solutions are the cornerstones for success; this is where On-Track Arabia can help you, our four step process is designed exactly to do that.

www.ontrackarabia.com