Saturday, January 25, 2014

Membangun relasi Customer dengan model IDIC



Sumber: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140103113441-17102372-building-customer-relationships-in-four-steps?trk=mp-edit-rr-posts&_mSplash=1
In order to set up and manage your relationships with individual customers, you have to accomplish four basic things:
  • Identify customers individually. Obviously, you can’t have a relationship with an audience or a population, but only with an individual. So before you can establish a relationship you must be capable of identifying customers, one customer at a time. You don't have to have each customer's name and address, but you need to know that the customer on the phone right now is the same one who was in the store yesterday, or on your Web site the day before that.
  • Differentiate customers, one from another. Customers differ from each other, in terms of both their value to your business, and what they need from your business. What a customer needs from you will drive behaviors that you can observe. And behaviors will create (or destroy) value.
  • Interact with customers. Almost by definition, a relationship depends on some interaction between two parties. You want those interactions to be cost-efficient, so drive more and more interactions into more efficient channels. But you also want them to be effective -- that is, to tell you something about the customer's needs or value, for instance, that you can't learn simply by observing.
  • Customize for customers. The “pay off step” for managing a customer relationship comes when your business behaves differently toward that customer. We call this "customization" even though we're not necessarily talking about it in terms of literally customizing the product or service. But whenever I treat Customer A different from Customer B, based on what I think I know about their differences, I am "customizing" the customer's treatment.
If you’ve ever studied Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) academically, there's a good chance that these four steps – identify, differentiate, interact, and customize – are already familiar to you. Martha Rogers and I wrote and edited the CRM textbook for graduate-level business students, Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework, based on this “I-D-I-C” methodology. And at our consulting firm, Peppers & Rogers Group, a large proportion of the work we do can be understood in terms of dissecting how these tasks function (or don’t function) for a client’s organization.
But a couple of other things are worth pointing out about the I-D-I-C model of relationship management. The first two tasks – identifying customers and differentiating them – are steps that a company can take in the privacy of its own IT department. Your company has a database of individual customer records, you track the transactions of individual customers in order to better understand both their value and their needs, and yet the customer herself never really has to participate in the process. The customer, in fact, may not even be aware of the data you are compiling.
By contrast, the third step – interaction – demands the customer’s personal attention and participation. You can’t interact unless there’s someone else on the other end of the interaction, right? And the fourth step, customizing your behavior in some way to a particular customer, also involves the individual customer directly, as the "recipient" of this behavior.
So you could think of the first two steps of the I-D-I-C model as “analytical” CRM, while the next two steps are “operational” CRM. Analytical CRM is required to develop bettercustomer insight, while operational CRM is how you deliver a specific customer experience.

Think about the process of managing your own customers’ individual relationships with your firm – through your Web site, your loyalty program, your contact center, at the point of purchase, or in after-sale service. In upcoming posts I’m going to show how literallyeverything your company does, with respect to managing individual customer relationships, can be understood in terms of how these four I-D-I-C steps are executed.

Apalah 'Customer centric' itu ?


Sumber: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130123164215-17102372-explaining-customer-centricity-with-a-diagram?trk=mp-author-card&_mSplash=1

What does it mean to be “customer-centric” as a business? Assuming that you start with a quality product and service, being customer-centric means understanding the customer’s point of view and respecting the customer’s interest. You fix problems, handle complaints, and remember individual customer preferences.
But customer centricity isn’t merely a matter of adding up these different components of quality, service, insight and responsiveness. You can introduce all these ideas into your business model, but if you don’t grapple with your company’s most basic strategic objective, then sooner or later your efforts will fail.
In the past I’ve found it helpful to explain the contrast between customer centricity and product centricity by using a diagram, illustrating visually that these two strategies actually represent different “dimensions” of competition. If you think about it, for a business to be competitively successful, it must meet two conditions:
  1. It must be able to satisfy a customer’s need, and
  2. It must have a customer who wants that need satisfied.
So first we should visualize a “marketing space” defined by the customer needs a business can satisfy (the vertical dimension) and by the number of customers it has (the horizontal dimension). Then we can map customer centricity and product centricity on the same diagram:
Product-centric competition is based on having a product that meets a certain customer need, and then trying to find as many customers as possible who want to have that need met. Success is measured by the length of the horizontal arrow (i.e., how many customers are reached). In competitive terms, this would represent your company’s market share.
But customer-centric competition starts with an individual customer and tries to meet as many of that customer’s needs as possible – across all the company’s divisions and business units, and through time (i.e., meeting a customer’s needs week after week, month after month). And the length of the vertical arrow represents your share of customer.
From this diagram it should be clear that customer centricity doesn’t actually conflict with product centricity, because they aren’t opposite in direction but orthogonal, so they have little or no effect on each other. That is, the strategies and tactics you follow to be more product centric will have little effect on your share of customer, while customer-centric strategies will have little effect on your market share.
By using the graph to contrast customer centricity and product centricity, the difference between these two competitive strategies is now obvious:
A product-centric competitor focuses on one product at a time and tries to sell that product to as many customers as possible.
A customer-centric competitor focuses on one customer at a time and tries to sell that customer as many products as possible.
But there are two more points worth explaining about the diagram:
First, on this two-dimensional marketing space, the vertical dimension isn’t defined by products, per se, but by customer needs. So when you think about your “share of customer” don’t just think about it in terms of wallet share. Instead, ask yourself what share of this customer’s needs are you actually meeting? What share of the customer’s life are you participating in? And what additional products or services might allow you to increase your participation in the customer’s life, overall?
Second, the financial objective for a product-centric competitor is to maximize the value created by each product, while the financial objective for a customer-centric competitor is to maximize the value created by each customer. But unlike products, customers have memories. This means that the business a customer generates for you tomorrow, either as a repeat customer or as a reference for other customers, is based largely on their memory of how well they were treated today.
The implications of this final distinction are very important, because customers are the link between the profit you make today and the profit you are likely to make tomorrow. The customer relationship directly connects today's profits and costs to your company's overall shareholder value.
Another way to think about it: Tracking a customer relationship is like watching a movie in progress, while tracking your product sales involves taking snapshots of the business situation at different times.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

vTiger Versi 6, peningkatan banyak



Vtiger has released Version 6 of its free open-source CRM software, with major improvements to the application's user and developer experience.
The new version's primary goal was to improve usability and utility for the average CRM user. A radically redesigned interface now structures data and tools in an operationally relevant way. Contact records, for example, offer configurable summary views that highlight a contact's most important information, and a salesperson that works with that contact can now see and quickly move between the contact and their related opportunities, notes, communications, and tasks in just a few clicks.
The interface improvements extend into the CRM's administration areas as well. For example, the settings home page has been redesigned to put frequently accessed settings tools, such as user access rules, workflows and beyond, front and center. The configuration process involved in setting up complex features, such as in the creation of workflows, building of reports, and creation of fields, is more straightforward, as well.
If organizations outgrow an on premise installation and seek to scale into a CRM with a wider range of web-enabled features such as email marketing, integrated phone systems, free support, SLAs and beyond, a simple migration process has been designed to help them seamlessly migrate from Vtiger CRM Open Source to Vtiger's CRM On Demand. This can be initiated by contacting Vtiger sales or support via phone or email.
Vtiger also redesigned the new CRM's code to accommodate modular development. This means that if a particular function isn't already built into the CRM, a developer can build it and plug it right in, and it can share data with any of Vtiger's other modules, or with external Web services or software.
According to Vtiger, a future update this year will bring an integrated app store and billing tools to both the open-source and cloud versions of Vtiger, enabling developers to expose their extensions to an estimated 100,000 businesses that currently use Vtiger CRM Open Source and On Demand. Developers and consultants will also be able to store private repositories of their code, which can be shared to specific organizations with a single click, at their preference.

vTiger mengeluarkan versi 6 Open Source

Vtiger Launches Vtiger CRM 6 Open Source Edition

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ Vtiger, today, announced the 6thmajor release of its award-winning free open source CRM software. As the most comprehensive overhaul that the software has seen in the company's 10 years ofbusiness, the game changing release includes major improvements to application's user and developer experience and reiterates Vtiger's commitment to supporting the open sourcecommunity.

A Better User Experience in Every Way
The new version's primary goal was to improve usability andutility for the average CRM user. Fittingly, the first change that a previous Vtiger user will notice is the radically redesigned interface, which now structures data andtools in an operationally relevant way. Contact records, for example, offer configurablesummary views that highlight a contact's most important information, and asalesperson that works withthat contact can now see and quickly move between thecontact and their related opportunities, notes, communications and tasks injust a few clicks. This gives CRM users greater visibility into theinformationthat they need on a daily basis, and allows them to more quickly perform tasks in the CRM.
CRM Administrators will be pleased to know that theinterface improvements aren't limited to just operational areas, and extend intothe CRM's administration areas, as well. For example, the settings home page has been redesigned to putfrequently accessed settings tools such as user access rules, workflows andbeyond, front and center. The configuration process involvedin setting up complex features, such as in thecreation of workflows, buildingof reports, and creation of fields, is remarkably more straightforward, as well.
To accompany these changes, Vtiger has developed new supplementary resources to help businesses implement and scale their CRMs.First, a new documentation website that coverstopics ranging frominputting data, to working with records, can be accessed from the help section of theVtiger website. In addition, a numberof video tutorials designed for more visual learners, walkusers through a similar range of topics, and can be found in the same help area of the website.
If organizations outgrow an on premise installation and seek to scale into a CRM with a wider range of web-enabled features such as email marketing,integrated phone systems, free support, SLAs and beyond, a simple migrationprocesshas been designed to help them seamlessly migrate from Vtiger CRM Open Source to Vtiger's CRM OnDemand. This can be initiated by contacting Vtiger sales or support via phone or email.
Better For Developers and Consultants
For open source software to be truly unbridled, it must beeasy to code and adapt to environments that it may not initially fit into. For this, theVtiger team redesigned the new CRM's code to accommodatemodular development. Thismeans that if a particular function isn't already build into the CRM, adeveloper can build it and plug it right in, and it can share data with any ofVtiger's other modules, orwith external web services or software. Accompanyingdocumentation explaining the development process and Vtiger's APIs is availableon the Vtiger website, and where APIs aren't yet available, theteam iscommitted to building them.

Developers and consultants will also be happy to learn that a future update this year will bring an integrated app store and billing tools to both theopen source and cloud versions of Vtiger, enabling developers toexpose theirextensions to an estimated 100,000 businesses that currently use Vtiger CRM Open Source and On Demand.The market potential fororganizations that were previously accustomed todeveloping for a limited set of customers is no doubt immense. If preferred, developers and consultants will also be able to storeprivate repositories of their code, which can beshared to specific organizations with a single click, at their preference.

All in all, Vtiger 6 is changing the open source game, and brings a radically improved experienceto Vtiger CRM users, administrators, and developers. You can download the application forfree through the Vtiger website, or on various coderepositories such asSourceForge.

Related Resources


Website:http://www.vtiger.com/crm/
Blog:http://blogs.vtiger.com/
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/vtiger
Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/vtigercrm

About Vtiger

Vtiger is the developer of Vtiger CRM Open Source and VtigerCRM On Demand, popular small and medium business customer relationshipmanagement applications with essential business tools toenable increasedsales, higher ROI marketing, and better customer service. Vtiger helpsbusinesses improve their bottom lines with tools to capture leads, automatecommon business tasks, build salesand support processes, and manage projects,inventory, and more.

A 15-day free trial of Vtiger CRM On Demand can be obtained by visitingwww.vtiger.com. A monthly subscription is $12 per user.To contact sales or support, or to receive a no-obligationtailored demo, call1-877-784-9277 or emailsales@vtiger.com.

Company Name: Vtiger
Contact Person: Kieran Kay
Email:kieran@vtiger.com
Phone: 408-673-8120
Address: 333 Cobalt Way #101
City: Sunnyvale
State: CA
Country: United States
Website:www.vtiger.com

Media Contact: Kieran Kay, Vtiger, 408-673-8120, kieran@vtiger.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com


Read more about Vtiger Launches Vtiger CRM 6 Open Source Edition Page 2- BWWGeeksWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

Friday, January 17, 2014

6 Hal misteri Pengalaman Pelanggan Anda



The 6 Pieces of the Customer Experience Puzzle

customer puzzle.jpgHow do you define customer experience — and, more importantly, how do you create the best customer experience model? I started wondering about both concepts while working on an assignment to increase sales from the digital channel of a hospitality giant.
It seems like everyone is interested in the idea of “great customer experiences." But both businesses and scholars have struggled to understand what that really means, and have fared even worse at attempts to measure the outcomes of the "Customer Experience."
My suggestion: Divide the customer experience into six dimensions that can work cohesively to improve the requisite "experience" to customers, provide competitive differentiation and even affect the bottom line.
6dimensionsofcxm.png
The diagram above visualizes the six dimensions of customer experiences, a few factors that characterize those dimensions (inner circle) and the enablers for succeeding in those dimensions (outer circle).

Knowing the Customer

Knowing the customer cannot be limited to just collecting personal and demographic data about the customer as it has traditionally been done. Increased varieties of touch points, particularly the digital touch points, help in collecting advanced data such as transaction history and behavior across multiple channels.
This is amplified by advantages of big data analytics in synthesizing the collected data and understanding more about customers, their individual behaviors as well as preferences. Similarly, speech analytics helps in understanding customer behavior and problems in the interactive voice response (IVR). All of these together, using data from all channels, provides a consolidated view of the customer by creating customer profiles.

Personalization

Imagine calling the IVR of a hotel booking agency and hearing “Hi, I am Martha, can I help you?“ versus “Good Morning Mr. Wong. I am Martha” and offering to book a room based on your previous preferences such as type of room, amenities, etc. A key step in personalization is customer identification. Techniques such as recognizing automatic number identification, cookies, email ID, Facebook handle and more can help in identifying customers. A few touch points by their very nature help in customer identification — for instance mobile apps.  
The next step would be to provide a personalized service to the identified customer. Previous point about knowing the customer combined with interaction design methodologies help in ensuring that the customer feels valued. Advanced statistical techniques coupled with big data help in micro segmentation of customer and thus in targeting effectively. Traditional loyalty programs also aid in personalization. Some well known examples of personalization in action are Amazon’s dynamic recommendations and Zite’s story/news selection.

Contextualization

Every customer wants to be treated according to their individual needs and does not like generalized interactions. This necessitates a clear understanding of customer needs and the intent of transactions. Advanced predictive analytical techniques using machine learning algorithms such as regression models or Bayesian Models help in intent prediction and thus in designing customer journey, particularly in digital channels.
For instance, predicting the intents of the callers of a nationwide directory assistance service helped us increase the self-service rate by nearly 5 percent and also reduce the time taken for completing a transaction. Similarly, my colleagues could predict the intents and problems of web visitors using Naïve Bayesian model for a telecom giant and thus designed optimal interventions to increase the sales.
Recent research from Google shows that 90 percent of the customers use multiple screens sequentially to accomplish a task over time and 98 percent of them move between devices on the same day. Also, 67 percent of customers start shopping on one device and continue on another. Retaining context across multiple touch points and transactions further facilitates predicting the exact intent of the caller so you can provide seamless service. How nice would it be to start making an airline reservation on the web, pause and continue in the IVR or your mobile app without duplicating any steps!

Ease of Transactions

Imagine you are talking to an airline agent using your smartphone to book a ticket. She offers you 10 different choices, but you've forgotten the first choice after she completes the tenth. What if instead you could simultaneously see the flight choices on your smartphone screen while talking to the agent? Research by Google shows that 66 percent of customers use their smartphone and laptop simultaneously and 22 percent use both simultaneously usage for the same transaction. Innovative multichannel solutions greatly simplify and ease transactions.

Aplikasi CRM, apa gunanya?



Customer relationship management (CRM) applications

Contrary to popular belief, customer relationship management (CRM) is not just another type of business management software; it is a business strategy to acquire, grow and retain profitable customer relationships. This distinction is important. CRM can only succeed if the CRM technology supports a truly customer-focused strategy and fits your unique requirements.

How does CRM help?

CRM brings together information about customers, sales and marketing from across your organization. As a result, CRM can help you:
  • retain existing customers by improving customer service
  • sell more to existing customers by uncovering opportunities
  • automate marketing and sales processes
  • better track and manage business performance
  • close deals faster by centrally tracking key information
  • streamline account management by tracking all interactions with each customer
  • enhance pipeline management by tracking performance against sales quotas
  • save time by improving team communication and
  • empower your field sales force with information on their mobile devices.

What does CRM software do?

CRM software captures and organizes information from current and prospective customers in an integrated system. All employees gain a single view of prospects and customers, allowing them to better cooperate and coordinate activities.

Free and low-cost CRM tools

CRM solutions fall into different categories, from online solutions to complex multi-site implementations. If you are looking for a low-cost or free solution, you may want to consider the following. (SaaS refers to "software as a service.")
Revised August 2013
 FreeLow costEnglishFrenchEnglish supportFrench supportData stored in CanadaCloud or SaaSSocial Integration
BatchbookBatchbook isn't freeBatchbook has a low costBatchbook is offered in EnglishBatchbook isn’t offered in FrenchBatchbook offers support in EnglishBatchbook doesn’t offer support in FrenchBatchbook doesn’t have data stored in CanadaBatchbook uses the cloud or SaaSBatchbook allows social integration
Free CRMFree CRM is freeFree CRM has a low costFree CRM is offered in EnglishFree CRM isn’t offered in FrenchFree CRM offers support in EnglishFree CRM doesn’t offer support in FrenchFree CRM doesn’t have data stored in CanadaFree CRM uses the cloud or SaaSFree CRM doesn't allow social integration
HighriseHighrise isn’t freeHighrise has a low costHighrise is offered in EnglishHighrise isn’t offered in FrenchHighrise offers support in EnglishHighrise doesn’t offer support in FrenchHighrise doesn’t have data stored in CanadaHighrise uses the cloud or SaaSHighrise allows social integration
InsightlyInsightly is freeInsightly has a low costInsightly is offered in EnglishInsightly isn’t offered in FrenchInsightly offers support in EnglishInsightly doesn’t offer support in FrenchInsightly doesn’t have data stored in CanadaInsightly uses the cloud or SaaSInsightly allows social integration
Microsoft Dynamics CRMMicrosoft Dynamics CRM isn’t freeMicrosoft Dynamics CRM has a low costMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is offered in EnglishMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is offered in FrenchMicrosoft Dynamics CRM offers support in EnglishMicrosoft Dynamics CRM partly offers support in FrenchMicrosoft Dynamics CRM doesn’t have data stored in CanadaMicrosoft Dynamics CRM uses the cloud or SaaSMicrosoft Dynamics CRM allows social integration
NimbleNimble isn't freeNimble has a low costNimble is offered in EnglishNimble isn’t offered in FrenchNimble offers support in EnglishNimble doesn’t offer support in FrenchNimble doesn’t have data stored in CanadaNimble uses the cloud or SaaSNimble allows social integration
ProphetProphet isn’t freeProphet has a low costProphet is offered in EnglishProphet isn’t offered in FrenchProphet offers support in EnglishProphet doesn’t offer support in FrenchProphet doesn’t have data stored in CanadaProphet uses the cloud or SaaSProphet doesn’t allows social integration
Sage CRMSage CRM isn’t freeSage CRM has a low costSage CRM is offered in EnglishSage CRM is offered in FrenchSage CRM offers support in EnglishSage CRM partly offers support in FrenchSage CRM doesn’t have data stored in CanadaSage CRM uses the cloud or SaaSSage CRM allows social integration
Salesboom.comSalesboom.com isn’t freeSalesboom.com has a low costSalesboom.com is offered in EnglishSalesboom.com is offered in FrenchSalesboom.com offers support in EnglishSalesboom.com offers support in FrenchSalesboom.com has data stored in CanadaSalesboom.com uses the cloud or SaaSSalesboom.com allows social integration
Salesforce.comSalesforce.com isn’t freeSalesforce.com has a low costSalesforce.com is offered in EnglishSalesforce.com is offered in FrenchSalesforce.com offers support in EnglishSalesforce.com partly offers support in FrenchSalesforce.com doesn’t have data stored in CanadaSalesforce.com uses the cloud or SaaSSalesforce.com allows social integration
SugarCRMSugarCRM is freeSugarCRM has a low costSugarCRM is offered in EnglishSugarCRM is offered in FrenchSugarCRM offers support in EnglishSugarCRM partly offers support in FrenchSugarCRM doesn’t have data stored in CanadaSugarCRM doesn't use the cloud or SaaSSugarCRM allows social integration
Vtiger CRM On DemandVtiger CRM On Demand isn't freeVtiger CRM On Demand has a low costVtiger CRM On Demand is offered in EnglishVtiger CRM On Demand isn’t offered in FrenchVtiger CRM On Demand offers support in EnglishVtiger CRM On Demand doesn’t offer support in FrenchVtiger CRM On Demand doesn’t have data stored in CanadaVtiger CRM On Demand uses the cloud or SaaSVtiger CRM On Demand doesn’t allow social integration
Zoho CRMZoho CRM is freeZoho CRM has a low costZoho CRM is offered in EnglishZoho CRM isn’t offered in FrenchZoho CRM offers support in EnglishZoho CRM doesn’t offer support in FrenchZoho CRM doesn’t have data stored in CanadaZoho CRM uses the cloud or SaaSZoho CRM allows social integration
Batchbook
Batchbook is a cloud-based social CRM solution that integrates with LinkedIn, Facebook, HootSuite and Twitter to help business teams stay socially connected with their contacts and build more meaningful relationships. All paid subscription plans include a 30-day free trial.
Free CRM
Free CRM offers an impressive breadth of functionality for free, for up to three users, as well as two geographically diverse data centres that are compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley. The paid version does not run banner ads, and comes with enhanced security and encryption features, as well as unlimited data and record storage. And if you prefer to house your CRM on your in-house servers, the licensed software edition is priced per server, not per seat or per user.
Highrise
Highrise does not provide all of the features you may expect from CRM software. In particular, it does not offer reporting capabilities. However, if you only need to keep track of accounts, deals, and contacts and their LinkedIn profiles, it is user friendly. It is also very affordable for small teams, whereas most other CRM solutions on the market are based on  a per-user subscription model.
Insightly
Insightly is an online CRM and project management solution that offers tight integration with Gmail and Google apps, as well as mobile access on iOS and Android devices. Available in free and premium versions, it also has built-in integration with Twitter and can easily import your LinkedIn connections.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a hosted CRM solution for sales, marketing and customer service. It integrates smoothly with other Microsoft Office applications, and the version released in fall 2013 allows users to access their information on iPad and Windows 8 tablets. It also offers enhanced social collaboration capabilities and connects seamlessly with Skype.
Nimble
Nimble is an online CRM solution that instantly finds social profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to help you build better relationships by integrating and unifying all the points of contact and social communication in one easy-to-use interface. Free accounts and free trials are available under certain conditions.
Prophet
Prophet is a CRM system built directly into Microsoft Outlook. It is available in both on-premise and cloud-based versions. The Ultimate OnDemand edition offers cross-organizational usage on the cloud, making it easy to meet the needs of many departments, not only the sales team. Prophet supports virtually all smartphone and tablet environments, and integrates with SharePoint contact lists and dashboards.
Sage CRM
Sage CRM is also available in both on-demand and on-premise versions. Certain back-office data-sharing functions—such as handling orders, invoices and receivables—are only available in the on-premise version. It is offered with Twitter and LinkedIn integration. It also offers cross-browser capability and is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android smartphones and tablets.
Salesboom.com
Salesboom.com is one of Canada’s first pure-play enterprise cloud CRM vendors, and it hosts its customers’ data on Canadian servers. Out-of-the-box integrations include QuickBooks, Microsoft Outlook, Skype, Facebook and Twitter. Professional and enterprise editions also come with project management, time-sheet and inventory management features.
Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com, a web-based CRM service, is currently the CRM leader. It is one of the first CRM vendors to integrate social collaboration with the Chatter function, which allows you to see new contacts, or status updates from those with whom you are connected. It runs on all major Web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome.
SugarCRM
SugarCRM is the market leader in open-source CRM systems. The community edition is free, but it focuses more on developers and really tech-savvy people. Small business owners may find that a paid subscription to Sugar Professional better suits their needs, but it does require an annual prepaid subscription and a minimum of five users.
Vtiger CRM On Demand
Vtiger CRM On Demand offers both a free open-source CRM system and an affordable cloud-based solution (CRM On Demand) accessible from smart-phones. Although there is no free version of CRM On Demand, the company offers a 30-day free trial, and the paid subscription comes with no user limits or contract lock-ins. It does, however, lack social media integration.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is part of the much larger Zoho suite of online applications, including Zoho Campaigns, an online email marketing application that also shares campaigns on social media sites. Now integrated with Google Apps and Google Docs, Zoho’s professional edition is one of the cheapest on the market. It also offers a limited free edition for up to three users..

This table lists applications alphabetically and isn’t exhaustive. Hyperlinks to external sites do not constitute endorsement by BDC of those websites or any information, opinions, products or services expressed or described on them.
Furthermore, the list is only a starting point and excludes applications that are neither low cost nor free. When assessing CRM solutions for your organization, you will probably consider many other factors.
BDC will review and edit this list regularly. If you are a CRM vendor and would like us to consider adding your solution, please contact us.