Customer Relationship Management Software Selection Guide

Products and Features The products that were used in the Ratings Table and Selection Guide were chosen because of their popularity and the diversity of the features that they contain.  The author states that products that are not included in this list may or may not be worthy of consideration.  The CRM Products Rated: Act!   Goldmine   SalesLogix   Seibel MME   Microsoft CRM   ACCPAC CRM   Microsoft Navision   Salesforce.com   Salesnet The Features Analyzed for Each Product: Application can be operated via the keyboard for the convenience of the user Users can customize their own interface in columnar views Users can use Drag and Drop to customize their own interface On-line help is context sensitive Modifiable On-line help is modifiable to handle user defined fields, etc. An on-line tutorial is available for new user orientation Calendar Can enter a calendar meeting, activity, or task Has ability to display multiple users’ information simultaneously Has the ability to display completed activities on the calendar as well as scheduled activities User can filter which activity types are displayed Has ability for the user to define what is displayed on the calendar Calculator is available for computation of input into numeric fields Calendar is available for input into date fields Can assign a task to another group member Ability to schedule a meeting for another person Personal and Team Productivity Ease of use Group scheduling Automatically identify conflicts Can include non-CRM users for meetings link a contact to an meeting or activity link an opportunity to an meeting or activity Application has an embedded word processor Application can utilize Microsoft Word Can utilize templates for letters, FAX, etc. Word processing documents are saved within activity records, or drill down link Application can link to Microsoft Excel Can utilize Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets are saved within activity records, or drill down link Files of any type can be attached to contacts, accounts, opportunities, and service incidents Attachments can be performed via Drag and Drop Multi-Field Lookup Partial lookup Marketing Campaign Management Ability to measure campaign effectiveness Ability to measure campaign cost Can create and manage campaign letters, envelopes and labels Can create and manage email campaigns Can create and manage fax-blast campaigns Can create scripts and manage telemarketing campaigns Ability to keep unqualified imported lists separate from qualified prospects and customers Can automatically allocate calls to telemarketers by rules such as “round robin” and queuing Telemarketing call scripts can be developed and maintained within the application Scripts can incorporate the range of prospect answers and branch appropriately Ability to create calculated fields based on input responses from contact Ability to store product and service information (literature, brochures, etc.) and documentation Ability to organize product and service information in a multi-level hierarchy Ability to access and view product and service information Ability to fulfill literature requests by delegating within the application to internal fulfillment person or department Can fulfill request by email or FAX Information about competitors can be collected, tracked, aggregated and made available in a discrete area of the application Can store competitor names on a user defined basis User can link competitors to accounts User can link competitors to opportunities User can input competitor strength and weaknesses User can record win/losses to competitors Prevent addition of duplicate account records prior to entry into the application Ability to identify duplicate accounts Can merge two records together Ability for user to create and manage templates for word processing Software will automatically rate leads according to user defined criteria for qualification and/or risk analysis Ability to autodial Ability to import lists from 3rd party sources Ability to export marketing lists in text and Excel formats to support 3rd parties such as mail fulfillment houses Ability to generate forms such as mailing labels and envelopes International Supports international address formats, mail codes, and phone/FAX numbers Forecasting Can create and maintain forecasts based upon opportunities Forecasting Product line Forecasts can include user-definable product lines Forecasts can include additional items as defined by user in opportunity management Forecasting Aggregation Ability for management to rollup sales forecast data into summary level data according to user-definable criteria such as team, region, etc. Manager can override the forecast at the opportunity level (dollars and probabilities) without changing the original Probabilities can be user-defined according to an organization’s definitions Probabilities can be assigned at each step of the sale Ability to create and manage opportunities independently of accounts and contacts Multiple views Ability to view opportunities bycustomer, geography, etc. User defined fields are available to capture additional information Ability to enter and maintain specific sales plans containing several criteria linked to company sales objectives Ability to enter and maintain specific sales plans with many criteria linked to company sales objectives Supports account review process through ability to enter and maintain customer environment analysis (e.g. customer goals, key events, issues, and relationships) Can store and view organizational charts created in Microsoft PowerPoint or Visio Can create and store organizational charts within the application Activity Tracking Enter, document and track types of call activity and events, such as sales calls, demonstrations, presentations and training) Activity Tracking Priority Ability to assign priority to activity, such as high, medium or low Activity Tracking Status Ability to maintain the status of an opportunity via pre-defined coding such as in-progress, cancelled, scheduled, etc. Specific capabilities to track wins and losses Personal info Ability to code contacts and activities as personal to exclude them from sales reporting Ability to have contacts exist, independently or attached to accounts, within an overall account structure Ability to create sales territories Reassignment Territories can be reassigned with contacts, accounts and opportunities automatically reassigned Rollups Territories rollup according to organizational structure Definition Territories are user-defined based on geographical, product line, or other criteria Overlap Territories can overlap; the same rep can appear in different distribution channels Sales Quotas can be assigned by individual Sales management Sales Quotas can be assigned by territory, region, division, and/or as territories are defined Methodology Ability to create and adhere to a sales methodology Methodology Multiple Ability to select appropriate methodology based on opportunity Methodology Pre-defined Supports existing methodologies such as Bosworth, Miller-Heiman, TAS, etc. Quotations Can create and maintain quotations from within the application, or integrates to back-office system for this purpose Auto-Assignment The software automatically assigns and notifies a rep of a new lead tracking Built in ability to track lead source Sales productivity Product Codes Ability to contain product codes for reporting Channel Specific features to support companies utilizing indirect sales channels Channel Access Allows channel partners access to application on a restricted basis Ability to assign leads to channel partners Channel Forecasting Ability for channel partners to forecast opportunities Expense reports can be created within the application Linking Expenses can be linked to accounts Sales productivity Integration to one or more ERP (backoffice accounting) applications is supported by the CRM software developer Ability to “promote” prospect to customer so that back office accounting system is automatically populated with customer information Ability to view accounts receivable aging from accounting system in real time or near-real time without customization Integrates with accounting system Ability to view customer’s document history, credit notes, payments, aging, etc. from within CRM system Ability to retain customer historical sales information with drill down to greater detail Ability to create a quotation attached to an opportunity Ability to convert a quote to a sales order within the opportunity Sales order Ability to generate and submit a sales order without switching applications Taxes Ability to calculate sales taxes for quotes and orders Ability to validate credit limit/credit hold status from back office system real time or near-real time Can check on the status of a sales order Can check on the status of a sales order by ship to address Availability Can provide estimated product delivery date Can check inventory availability Integrates with accounting system Can support multiple inventory locations per quote or sales order Ability to view status of inventory items due to arrive on PO Supports creation of separate pricing per customer Can suggests substitutes for items that are out of stock Has a configurator to create complex quotations/orders for interdependent items Can generate an RMA (Returned Merchandise Authorization) Can generate a credit invoice, including the refund entry for Accounts Payable Specify warehouse to fill order Specify freight carrier Generate acknowledgements Proposals Ability to auto-generate proposals based on templates Ability to customize auto-generated proposals Maintains multiple versions of proposal or multiple proposals for an opportunity Supports multiple phases Supports proposal approval process via user-definable workflow Supports simultaneous creation of proposal components Ability to convert proposal to order Sales productivity Incident Tracking Ability to track service and support issues via a unique identifier Incident Routing Automatically routes incidents to users via user defined criteria Can automatically assign and notify a rep of a new incident Ability to manage service contracts, including effective dates, terms, etc. Ability to track items and serial numbers eligible for support Ability to automatically escalate service issues based on predefined rules There is a built in knowledge base for first line problem resolution Application has a review workflow for articles prior to publication Application has reports that are ready to run Ability define fiscal periods for reporting purposes Pre-built integration to Microsoft Excel for further analysis Ability to analyze sales by product, rep, region, customer, or other user definable criteria Ability to compare forecast to actual sales figures from back-office system Ability to evaluate customer service for effectiveness and product trends Can provide customized views of information to meet the needs of different classes of users Samples of all reports are available online Provides graphical analysis of data for marketing, sales, and customer service info Ability to work offline and update and receive updates from master database Supports synchronization via dial up connection Users who have not synchronized in a predetermined time period will not be allowed to access the client application until a synchronization has been performed Synchronization occurs in the background so that the user has full use of the application during synchronization Upgrades can be automatically synchronized to remote users Customizations can be automatically synchronized to remote users Synchronization Supports synchronization of a subset of the database Synchronization Supports synchronization over LAN, WAN, and FTP Synchronize documents from the document library, such as literature Application can be adapted to company’s specific business processes Workflow Graphical Workflow development tool is graphical Application can “guide” the user according to customer-specific business processes that can vary based on type of opportunity, etc. and can be specified in the application Ability to manage access to software screens, features, etc. via groups Security can be controlled at the field level Access to menu choices and functionality can be controlled by user Can control access/edit/delete by record type User password is encrypted Can create and manage email within application Outgoing email messages are saved as activities for recipient Can set up email rules for outgoing and incoming emails Can attach incoming email to contacts or accounts User profile is maintained on the server Tables can be added to standard database model and can be accessed by the client software without disrupting functionality or greatly deterring performance Fields can be added to existing tables and can be accessed by the client software without disrupting functionality or greatly deterring performance The software will automatically notify a user based on user-defined parameters Can create and manage individual and group calendars or integrates to Outlook Ability of the application to support multiple languages and currencies simultaneously Supports computer telephony integration for automated dialing and analytics purposes CTI  (Computer Telephony Integration) Software will automatically pop-up the contact record when call is received or transferred Ability to easily modify the user interface with no coding User Interface can be modified for particular groups of users Screens may be modified without any coding required Field labels can be modified on the screen User Definable fields are available User defined fields can validate data according to user criteria (e.g. numeric, phone number, date) The tab order can be modified to facilitate data entry Synchronization with Palm and Windows CE handhelds Wireless Supports wireless PDA access Support for web phone access Supports Short Message Service (SMS) Can create relationships between opportunities, support incidents, companies, and contacts Does the software run on a relational database such as MS SQL Server? Does the software support browser based access? Uses the most widely accepted general reporting tool Direct Import from Web site form Supports easy integration of inquiries via the web without user intervention Portal Application has a “front door” where information is summarized for individual users User and define the information available via the portal E-commerce functionality is available Flexible word and phrase search capability Has a spell checker for document related activities Supports multiple languages simultaneously Supports multiple currencies Internationalization Documented physical and data security model Documented commitment to robust performance for specific user levels Written commitment to application uptime, security, price increases, and business/technology issues Can import data from a text file Can export data to a text file Can export data to Microsoft Office applications Can integrate to other applications such as accounting on a batch basis Advanced Can integrate to other applications such as accounting on a real-time bases Documented commitment to data integrity and backup Ability for use by remote users in a disconnected mode Data delivered on a user-defined schedule Multi-company Supports multi-company use, including security configuration ASP evaluation

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