SalesOutlook        Outlook Integration CRM Software

Salesforec.com    CRM Software as a Service

SalesLogix            SalesLogix provides a complete view of customer interactions.

ACT                       feature-rich, robust Contact and CRM  ideal for individuals and small teams.

SugarCRM             Open Source CRM Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a term applied to processes implemented by a company to handle its contact with its customers. CRM software is used to support these processes, storing information on current and prospective customers. Information in the system can be accessed and entered by employees in different departments, such as sales, marketing, customer service, training, professional development, performance management, human resource development, and compensation.

Operational CRM

Operational CRM provides support to "front office" business processes, e.g. to sales, marketing and service staff. Interactions with customers are generally stored in customers' contact histories, and staff can retrieve customer information as necessary.

The contact history provides staff members with immediate access to important information on the customer (products owned, prior support calls etc.), eliminating the need to individually obtain this information directly from the customer.

Operational CRM processes customer data for a variety of purposes:

• 'Managing Campaigns'
• Enterprise Marketing Automation
• Sales Force Automation

 Sales Force Automation (SFA)

Sales Force Automation automates sales force-related activities such as:

• Scheduling sales calls or mailings
• Tracking responses
• Generating reports

 Analytical CRM

Analytical CRM analyzes customer data for a variety of purposes:

• Designing and executing targeted marketing campaigns
• Designing and executing campaigns, e.g. customer acquisition, cross-selling, up-selling
• Analyzing customer behavior in order to make decisions relating to products and services (e.g. pricing, product development)
• Management decisions (e.g. financial forecasting and customer profitability analysis)

Analytical CRM generally makes heavy use of data mining.

 Sales Intelligence CRM

Sales Intelligence CRM is similar to Analytical CRM, but is intended as a more direct sales tool. Features include alerts sent to sales staff regarding:

• Cross-selling/Up-selling/Switch-selling opportunities
• Customer drift
• Sales performance
• Customer trends
• Customer margins

 Campaign Management

Campaign management combines elements of Operational and Analytical CRM. Campaign management functions include:

• Target groups formed from the client base according to selected criteria
• Sending campaign-related material (e.g. on special offers) to selected recipients using various channels (e.g. e-mail, telephone, post)
• Tracking, storing, and analyzing campaign statistics, including tracking responses and analyzing trends

 Collaborative CRM

Collaborative CRM covers aspects of a company's dealings with customers that are handled by various departments within a company, such as sales, technical support and marketing. Staff members within the departments can share information collected when interacting with customers. For example, feedback received by customer support agents can provide other staff members with information on the services and features requested by customers. Collaborative CRM's ultimate goal is to use information collected by all departments to improve the quality of services provided by the company.