Here’s an article by Greg McNevin, worthy of some commentary, SMBs Want Simple, Accessible CRM:

According to US customer relationship management (CRM) software provider LogicBright, small business CRM users primarily stick to the basics when using CRM products, leaving many of the features being built into modern solutions superfluous.

The company says that with CRM software packages springing up all over the place, the marketplace is getting increasingly complex, and doing so unnecessarily according to its research data.

While it doesn’t give numbers of demographics, LogicBright says that it has surveyed users on what they want in a CRM package, and found that 81 percent want to use their CRM as a straightforward contact manager that is accessible by all employees.

Extra features such as mobile phone support, or an offline versions of the software are not needed according to the survey, with users preferring a basic system everyone in the business can access simultaneously to share company and contact information.

“It is no secret that in a troubled economy companies are looking to reduce their expenditures,” says Steve Schmidt, president of LogicBright. “It all comes back to keeping it simple and giving [..] customers what they ask for.”

This is the kind of rhetoric that starts to proliferate when times get rough and budgets are tight.  I do believe that as the CRM market has matured, more and more functionality has found its way into some of the leading CRM packages.

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Here are several excerpts from an excellent article by Shay Young, Senior Database Analyst with Euro RSCG Discovery, What Is A World-Class Marketing Database?:

A world-class marketing database is an environment that has the ability to change and adapt in lock-step with your corporation’s changes while also enabling you to learn from the data within itself. This allows for better marketing decision-making capabilities which, in turn, will inform you on how to adjust your database.

A world-class marketing database is not just software; rather, it is a dynamic, living organism comprised of marketing database strategist(s), architect(s), and developers who are constantly in-touch with the direction of your corporation’s marketing efforts, sales initiatives and goals.

Here’s the truth: There is no turnkey, world-class database that will handle any and all of your marketing needs and will maximize the ROI of all “your” marketing efforts. That said, the name of the game IS maximization of profit, not just increased response. In order to achieve that, a customized marketing database that can grow, change and adapt to your business’ needs is crucial.

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In 10 Predictions for the Future of SaaS and On-Demand Software Applications, Demian Entrekin founder of Innotas identified 10 key trends that SaaS companies should think about as they work toward driving growth and adoption of on-demand applications in the marketplace.

Here’s my list of 5 key trends (from Demian’s list of 10) that I believe will have the greatest impact on companies looking to purchase On-Demand solutions:

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Here are several excerpts from a very insightful article by Denis Pombriant, managing principal of the Beagle Research Group, The Social Media Puzzle:

According to Coleman Parkes’ Research:

• More than 75 percent of companies admit that social media will come into the business by stealth if not proactively managed.
• Nine out of 10 companies understand that the next crop of employees will usher social media into the workplace.
• Companies are not prepared to handle this stealth wave of activity. Approximately 60 percent of respondents say integrating social media technologies is not on the agenda at all at the moment.
• Only 18 percent of respondents have any kind of strategy in place to integrate these technologies within the company for employees.
• Fifty-two percent of respondents agree that companies who fail to embrace social media technologies for business purposes will be left behind. More than 60 percent also agree that social media is the next major step in collaborative activities and technology for a business.

The good news to me seems to be that there is plenty of awareness about the category, but the bad news is that few people see the direct correlation between business pain and the potential solution yet.

That can change in an instant, but it also highlights the biggest challenge for social networking proponents.

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Here is a rather long (17-page) article that was published on Newsfactor.com, A Portrait of Today’s CRM Landscape.

This article provides a fairly comprehensive look at the “state-of-the art” from 8 leading CRM technology solution companies (listed below) that should broaden your perspective on what CRM technologies can do for your organization:

Customer relationship management (CRM) in name has been around for about 10-12 years. Yet the concept — knowing your customers and delivering the level of service to them that is appropriate for their existing and future importance — has long been at the heart of commerce.

CRM has become more valuable and efficient thanks to improving technologies and practices. Advanced software has given larger enterprises that personalized small business feel of customers, which boosted service and sales. These tools, which have become more affordable thanks to software as a service (SaaS) solutions, have enabled small/midsized businesses (SMBs) to gain big-firm insight into their buyers’ behavior to help them stay competitive.

CRM has also become more challenging…

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