Salesforce.com: $22 Billion Market Cap, No Profits
Do you really want to pay for this guy's jet ?
Salesforce.com: $22 Billion Market Cap, No Profits, Nice Place to Work, Especially for CEO Benioff
I would not. Here is the article in Forbes.
ACT! Celebrates 25th Birthday
ACT! turned 25 years old this week, and that's an epic achievement in the world of software. When ACT! came out in 1987, think of all the I.T. tools businesses did not have such as:
- Internet (Al Gore was still inventing it)
- Mircosoft Windows
- Social Media
- Tablets
- Laptops
- Local Area and Wireless Networks
Personal Computers had the Intel 80386 chip running at 33mhz (megahertz). Today, personal computers running the Intel Core2 Duo Processor E7600 can run at 3.06ghz (gigahertz).
Why did ACT! survive as a brand despite all these changes in computing ?
- ACT! remains easy to adapt
- ACT! can be customized
- ACT! has adapted to the latest changes in technology
- ACT! is an easy start for a small business owner to make order out of chaos when it comes to managing relationships.
For you to get the most out of ACT! (or any CRM), you need to know which business processes you wish to improve. ACT! streamlines your sales, marketing or customer service processes so you can acquire a competitive edge.
Think about what you wish to improve, and then we will make it easier with ACT! and other CRM tools.
Which CRM is the Best ?
With the advent of Cloud Computing, SmartPhones, Tablets and Unique Requirements for Our Clients, we say, "It Depends". Here is our article: http://www.mondocrm.com/crm-services/which-crm-is-best/
What is CRM ?
Customer Relationship Management is a combination of software & a customized software process to help companies gain a competitive advantage in either sales, marketing or customer service.
httpv://youtu.be/c0lbdErXnjQ
Some common software packages include:
- Act!
- WiredContact
- Salesforce.com
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM
- SugarCRM
- ZohoCRM
Now to review the differences between these packages can take more than a quick blurb. For one client on a three user setup for a system focused on marketing and mobile access, I highlighted 40 feature comparisons.
Many of the same features exist among all the products, so you want to consider ease-of-use, flexibility, licensing options and tech support costs.
What's best for you ? Since your business has unique qualities and processes, you should talk the software publisher and/or a consultant. The consultants have the in-the-field experience to know what works and can have more experience on data conversions between software publishers. Meanwhile. the publishers focus on building the feature set and ensuring stability.
Database Duplication Process
I answered this question on LinkedIn:
Deduping a database from scratch. How would you go about it?
Our customer database has quite a few duplicate records in it (both businesses and contacts). How would you go about the initial dedupe? What steps would you put in place to ensure records aren't duplicated in the future? Is there any tech to help do this? Thanks!
My answer:
Each CRM has third party tools that help with the mechanics of this.
You should examine...
1) How many criteria do you believe are the most consistent ?
2) Do you want the computer to replace the newest record ?
3) What do you do with the "leftovers" ? For example if two people have different phone numbers, you replace one, how do record the "leftover" ?
How do you eliminate it completely ? hmmm...That's a tough one.
As a start, you could use e-mail as a match. Of course, then what if a client offers his personal and not business address for one person, then, not the other one ? Company and contact name are good starts.
I believe you have to set a couple criteria that flag you if one of three criteria meet the duplicate standard; then, let the user decide