CRM - what is it? CRM programs for business. CRM system: principles of its operation and application in business How to use the CRM system for business

A CRM system is a customer interaction system that includes the following main blocks:

1. Recording interactions with the client;
2. Planning work with the client;
3. Data for monitoring and analyzing the effectiveness of the sales system;
4. Automation of the sales business process.

Just 10 years ago, a CRM system was an expensive pleasure. Its integration cost the company millions of rubles (and especially large ones, millions of dollars), and only a select few could afford such luxury. It was replaced by the sales manager's notebooks, sticky notes on the monitor and Excel spreadsheets.

Now there are a huge number of CRM systems that can solve problems for most small and medium-sized businesses practically free of charge. The cost of sales automation starts from 200 rubles. per month per manager. Even a large company can fully automate business processes for an amount starting from 100,000 rubles.

Therefore, I consider the lack of CRM in a company a crime against business.

2. Functions of the CRM system

Using a CRM system frees the manager from filling out reports. He doesn't have to count how many calls he made and make up his own performance. He just does his job: makes calls to clients, holds meetings. All that is required of him is to keep notes not on a piece of paper, not in his head, not in Outlook, but in CRM. The program becomes a notebook, planner, report and training tool for a manager; the advantages of a CRM system and its capabilities are difficult to overestimate.

An effectively implemented CRM system allows you to:

1. Record and “not forget” each client of the company;
2. Save the entire history of relationships with clients;
3. Reduce the company’s dependence on the manager;
4. Forecast growth and decline in sales;
5. Work on errors for each client;
6. Train managers;
7. Free managers from all reporting;
8. Automatically generate reports on the activity and effectiveness of managers;
9. Conduct analytics on problematic sales stages;
10.Collect any marketing information within the company;
11.Make the sales manager’s working day completely transparent to the manager;
12. Automate the interaction of the sales department with other departments;
13.Get rid of paper approvals;
14.Increase sales.

Does it seem fantastic? Agree. Especially considering that many have already had experience working with unconfigured CRMs and are ready to prove with foam at the mouth that they are ineffective in their work. And here I will say the most important thing:

A CRM system is just a tool; it cannot bake pancakes for you, play the violin, or increase sales. It only allows you to automate the sales management process.

And many companies install a system without regulated processes, and count on a miracle that with the installation of the system everything will go well on its own. WILL NOT! Automating chaos will only make chaos worse. And after playing around for 2-4 months, the owner or head of the sales department says: “All this is nonsense! CRM doesn't work!

We have dedicated a separate article to the functions and benefits of using a CRM system, we strongly recommend that you read it -

3. Who needs CRM?

A CRM system is needed by those companies that have more than one sales manager - the owner. And if there are no more than 20 clients, it becomes problematic to fully serve a larger number.

Although many owners say, “I remember everything by heart,” practice shows that many promises and tasks are forgotten without taking into account. Of course, you can replace CRM with a TO-DO sheet or Excel table, but we lose the opportunity for analytics and replication of successful practices.

4. Classification of CRM systems - comparative review

We conducted a study of popular CRMs on the following points: ease of working with the system, flexibility of settings, integration capabilities with other tools, flexibility of reporting.

We really hope that the information provided below will help you decide on the choice of a CRM system specifically for your business.
1. Simplicity for managers

1.1. Megaplan
One of the simplest and most convenient interfaces in the review. On the left are grouped menu items for accessing the most used options - transactions, contacts, reports. At the top is a universal search bar, which also doubles as a filter. Most of the screen is occupied by a list of deals or a table of deals in the form of a funnel. Table columns are configured using drag’drop. Fields in a deal or contact card are customizable and can be hidden automatically if not used. Usability is put at the forefront, for managers the simplest and most convenient interface, the time for a manager to enter the work is the shortest.

1.3. Bitrix24
The most overloaded interface in the review. The layout is classic - on the left there is a huge ribbon of menu items, since in addition to CRM, Bitrix24 also has a huge number of services. At the top there is a status bar with search, in the center there is a table of transactions. Search is the worst in the list of systems under consideration. Bitrix has two search fields - in the middle at the top and on the right, above the deals table. Both fields work according to a strange algorithm, for example, if the phone number in the transaction card is entered as +7, then a search using the first digit of the 8th number will not find it. Also, using parentheses in a phone number also degrades the quality of the search. The deals table and deal card fields are customizable, but the system does not have a logical connection between leads, contacts and deals, therefore, when creating a deal based on a contact, it is impossible to automatically transfer information from additional fields to the deal card. The interface is difficult to master, requires customization for managers, and there are a lot of questions from usability managers. It is assimilated by employees much worse than AMOSRM.

1.4. MicrosoftCRM
We are talking about the latest versions from 2015-16. A unique interface that is easy for managers to master. Layout from top to bottom - a menu with the most used sections and a deal feed below it. Table fields and columns are configured with the help of consultants and developers. Some interface features are not obvious, but are easy to understand and do not raise any questions during operation. Excellent integration with Office 365. Training required for managers.

1.5. Salesforce.com
The oldest cloud CRM system on the market. They don’t pay much attention to the usability of the interface, focusing more on functionality. In Russia it is almost not widespread when compared with AMOSRM or Bitrix24. There are problems with Russification of the interface. The interface itself is poorly laid out and tends to have small fonts, resulting in a lot of information on the screen. In terms of usability, it is inferior to many solutions.

1.6. SugarCRM
The interface is similar to SalesForce, as it was created as a competitive product. The main interface is text-based, the design is far from the concept of web 2.0, and has all the same problems as SalesForce. It is useless to discuss usability in detail, because if you put SugarCRM and Salesforce next to each other, the difference is hardly noticeable.

1.7. Terrasoft
A convenient modern interface is very well received by managers and many aspects of use are intuitive. In terms of quality and convenience, the interface is close to the market leader AMOSRM and there are no serious comments on the product in terms of usability.

2. Flexibility of settings

2.1. Megaplan
The user can actually only change notification settings. With administrator rights, you can create additional fields, group them in a card, customize the invoice form and directory fields, as well as access rights for employees.

2.2. AMOCRM
The user can customize the presentation of the deal list by dragging column names and using filters. The administrator can create additional fields and configure access rights for employees. All other improvements, both interface and reporting, are available with the involvement of programmers using the API.

2.3. Bitrix24
Perhaps the most flexible options for customizing the interface for the user. The user can independently hide unused menu items, fields in cards, columns in tables. The administrator can create custom fields, settings for displaying columns and fields for all users by default, there is functionality for setting up reports, but you shouldn’t place much hope on this option, the developer is very limited in the functionality of reports and incorrect calculations have been noticed for some functions. Developers do not pay attention to correcting reporting errors.

2.4. MicrosoftCRM
For users to independently configure the workspace, the set of configuration options is minimal. The system configures business processes, reports, forms and fields.

2.5. Salesforce.com

2.6. SugarCRM
You can change the interface, settings, fields and processes. The interface and system are being finalized by external developers.

2.7. Terrasoft
The system does not provide additional settings.

3. Integration options

3.1. Megaplan
There is an open API, there is a set of modules for integrating 1C, IP telephony, roistat.

3.2. AMOCRM
There is an API, a large selection of modules for integration with web services, 1C, mail, mailings, landing pages, IP telephony.

3.3. Bitrix24
There is an API, a large selection of modules for integration, a slightly smaller set of modules than AMO, but decent.

3.4. MicrosoftCRM

3.5. Salesforce.com
Integrations are carried out through modifications using our own language and design tools. Improvements are placed in the application catalog and are available for money or free of charge.

3.6. SugarCRM
Developers can make any changes to the code; there is a set of modules for integration with IP telephony.

3.7. Terrasoft
All integrations are done through modifications by the developers.

4. Reporting flexibility

4.1. Megaplan
Without possibility of modification

4.2. AMOCRM
Without possibility of modification
4.3. Bitrix24
Very limited options for customizing reports

4.4. MicrosoftCRM

4.5. Salesforce.com
Everything is done by the developers

4.6. SugarCRM
Everything is done by the developers

4.7. Terrasoft
There is a report designer, programming skills are required to create reports

5. How to choose a CRM for your business?

Many people ask the question: “How to choose a CRM?”, and end the implementation of sales automation with this question. Hundreds of offers on the market simply “blow” the mind. We have tested more than 50 CRMs and are ready to provide you with an algorithm for choosing a CRM and what questions you need to answer before making this irreversible choice. Why is it so irreversible? Because the company will have a very small chance to re-implement CRM.

Factors influencing the choice of CRM:

1. Warehouse and accounting system;
2. The company’s product range;
3. Pricing principle;
4. Sales business process. Degree of automation;
5. Number of potential clients in the market;
6. Regularity of customer purchases;
7. Percentage of gray turnover at the enterprise;
8. The principle of calculating bonuses for managers;
9. Number of managers in the company;
10. Budget allocated for automation.

6. Implementation of a CRM system

Implementing a CRM system is almost like launching a spaceship. A major event that leads to the unknown, despite seeming benefits, can have a negative effect and even lead to a drop in sales.

There are several reasons why large companies do not use all the privileges of the CRM system, the first of which is incorrect launch, as a result of which after some time the CRM is either abandoned altogether or used as a kind of notebook, and all sales accounting operations continue to be carried out on an Excel sheet .

To avoid common mistakes when launching CRM, you need to use some rules. I present to you the rules for the effective implementation of a CRM system:

1. Write a map of business processes with deadlines, functions, responsibilities;
2. The sales funnel is the basis of work in CRM;
3. Transfer of all processes related to sales;
4. The manager’s motivation system should be calculated based on data from CRM;
5. DAILY CONTROL!;
6. Implementation of the system “live”;
7. Determination of the degree of freedom of processes;
8. Uniform instructions for filling out CRM for everyone;
9. Do not overload CRM with information;

You can read the description of these rules in a separate article dedicated to the implementation of CRM -

7. Pitfalls of using CRM

The long-awaited day came when the manager forked out money for the system. He is looking forward to the fact that from this day on, the incomprehensible drops and spikes in the sales charts will end. Managers are also interested in looking at the fashionable contraption that management is praising so much and promising that from now on managers will begin to receive more money. They happily rush into the system and begin to enter their clients there, plan work and report to management. Everyone is happy. But very soon several unpleasant things become clear:

Working in the CRM system takes up time from managers;
Each manager has his own understanding of how to fill out the system;
The manager does not regularly monitor the filling of the system;
It reveals the shortcomings of managers;
Work is being carried out in parallel in the old format;
CRM does not allow you to do absolutely everything that managers and leaders want;

As a result, it affects sales with a minus sign.

After some time, the CRM system either becomes cluttered and abandoned altogether, or begins to be used as a notebook for a limited range of tasks. These difficulties will be avoided

To make it clear how CRM works in a specific company, I will give an example. Kirill runs a window installation company. Previously, there were few clients, and everything was simple: everyone needed to take an order, go to take measurements, agree on the cost, receive payment, and install windows. But then there were not 3 clients, but 33. And it began... They forgot to call one client back, they didn’t go to another for measurements, they didn’t send a cost estimate to a third, and they accepted payment from a fourth a month ago, but the windows still weren’t installed. Buyers began to leave for competitors, and the costs of new employees no longer paid for themselves. Kirill did not have time to control every step of the employees and realized that it was time to change something.

When a buyer leaves a request on the website, a transaction card appears in the CRM, where Sales funnel stage: “First call”. CRM sets a task for the manager: “Call the client back within 15 minutes.” If a task is overdue, CRM will notify the manager.
The manager calls the client directly from CRM, records the results of the negotiations in the transaction card and transfers it to stage "Measurements". SRM automatically creates a task for the surveyor: “Go to take measurements on the transaction [date, time].”
After departure, the measurement specialist attaches a document with dimensions and technical specifications to the transaction card, transfers the transaction to stage "Approval".
The responsible manager receives the task: “Calculate the cost and call the client within 2 hours.” He records the calculations in CRM and calls.
The deal goes to stage "Payment", CRM automatically generates a document using a template, where it inserts the name, address, name of the service, amount, and payment details. The manager just has to send the document to the client, receive payment and transfer the transaction to the last stage - “Installation”.
The installer immediately receives an automatic notification that he must install the windows for the deal by a certain date.
Meanwhile, the manager monitors online reports: how many transactions are closed, how many calls each manager made, what is the amount and number of transactions, what is the conversion of applications, from which sources the most clients come, etc.

So what does CRM do?

The program helped Kirill systematize data about clients and transactions; employees stopped forgetting about things and missing deadlines. The conversion of requests into sales has increased, customers have become more loyal, and profits have increased. Now Kirill does not need to be present in the office for everyone to work as needed, and he can devote more time to the company's strategy.

What problems does SRM solve?

Do managers forget to process applications?

CRM captures applications from the website, assigns responsible managers, and assigns them tasks at each stage of the sale. If a task is overdue, the manager will instantly know about it. You will no longer lose a single client.

Is it difficult to analyze sales?

The number of new leads, the amount of transactions, the number of calls and meetings - the CRM will provide visual reports on all business processes. CRM will give a report on each employee and help identify lazy people in the sales department.

Does staff turnover affect sales?

Does the manager leave and take away the client base?

Set up access rights in CRM so that managers see only their clients - now no one except you will have access to the full client database and will not steal it.

What should be in the SRM?

First you need to understand what you want from a CRM system. Developers are constantly expanding the functionality of the programs: adding new integrations, gamification elements, business card scanning, etc. But often companies do not use these options, and by implementing such a CRM, you will overpay for excess functionality.

However there is a set of functions that must be present in the SRM:

Customer accounting module, which stores the entire history of interaction with clients.
Sales management module with a visual sales funnel that shows what stage each deal is at.
Automation of business processes, which allows you not only to set tasks, but also to send SMS newsletters, change data about objects, and remind you of the approaching important dates - for example, the expiration date of a contract or a birthday.
Analytics and reports in real time in the form of visual graphs and diagrams, as well as tables with detailed data.
Task management built in such a way that the manager instantly receives messages about completed and overdue tasks by employees.
Integration with mail, website and IP telephony, so that all incoming requests, no matter what channel they are received through, are immediately recorded in CRM.
API programming interface, which allows you to configure integration with 1C, corporate software, mobile and other applications.

Everything important is in SalesapCRM

Andrey Batarin, executive director of SalesapCRM:

We have developed SalesapCRM - a convenient program “for people”, one in which it is pleasant to work. We conduct all our business in our own system. An intuitive interface, extensive analytics and automation capabilities, as well as an affordable price, which is important for small and medium-sized businesses. Today we already have about 3,000 users in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is NOT a software product or a technology. This is NOT even a set of products. CRM is a concept and business strategy aimed at building a sustainable business, the core of which is a “customer-oriented” approach.

This strategy is based on the use of advanced management and information technologies, with the help of which the company collects information about its customers at all stages of its life cycle (attraction, retention, loyalty), extracts knowledge from it and uses this knowledge in the interests of its business by building mutually beneficial relationships with them.

The result of applying the strategy is to increase the company's competitiveness and increase profits, since properly built relationships based on a personal approach to each client allow you to attract new clients and help retain old ones.

ERP systems appeared when the first place was put product and the business processes that ensure its production, that is, accounting, control and distribution, were considered basic. This was the era of "back office" automation.

CRM systems have become necessary in a highly competitive market, where the focus is client. The main task of CRM systems is to increase the efficiency of business processes concentrated in the “front office”, aimed at attraction And retention clients – in marketing, sales, service and maintenance, regardless of the channel through which contact with the client occurs.

At the technology level, CRM is a set of applications connected by a single business logic and integrated into the company’s corporate information environment (often as an add-on to ERP) based on a single database. Special software allows you to automate relevant business processes in marketing, sales and service. As a result, the company can contact the “right” customer at the “right” point in time, with the most effective offer and through the most convenient channel of interaction for the customer.

In practice, an integrated CRM system ensures the coordination of the activities of various departments, providing them with a common platform for interacting with customers. From this point of view, the purpose of CRM is to correct the situation when the marketing, sales and service departments act independently of each other, and their vision of the customer often does not coincide and their actions are inconsistent.

From a business management point of view, the effect of implementing CRM is that the decision-making process, due to automation, is transferred to a lower level and unified. Due to this, the speed of response to requests increases, the speed of funds turnover increases and costs decrease.

Finally, CRM includes the ideology and technology of creating stories relationship between the client and the company, which allows you to more clearly plan your business and increase its sustainability.

Figures and facts:

The cost of attracting a new customer is on average five times higher than retaining an existing one.
Most Fortune 500 companies lose 50% of their customers every 5 years.
A satisfied customer will tell about a successful purchase to an average of 5 of his friends. Unsatisfied – minimum 10.
Most clients pay off only after a year of working with them (accordingly, if the client “left” before this period, then he incurred losses)
A 5% increase in customer retention increases company profits by 50-100%.
About 50% of the company's existing clients are not profitable due to ineffective interaction with them.

On average, the company contacts 4 times a year with an existing client and 6 times a year with a potential one.

Suppliers of CRM products promise to increase the profitability of enterprises by tens of percent, and the profitability of projects - from 200 to 800 percent in 2-3 years.

Historical roots

The basic concept of CRM (focus not on the product, but on the client + personalization) is rooted in the past.

A classic example: when there were no supermarkets, the bulk of goods were sold through many small shops. The surrounding residents bought everything they needed there, without bothering with trips to the city for groceries. The owner of the store knew all his customers who lived in the neighborhood by sight and name. Knew their needs, habits, tastes, financial status, personal life facts, etc. He knew who would come, when and why. And everyone knew him. The business was built on the loyalty of these regular customers. Nowadays this would be called personalization.

Then came the era of consumption. Supermarkets have grown. Mass product. Mass buyer. Everything is of high quality. Everything is beautiful. Sold on every corner. But - faceless. We forgot about personalization. After all, you can’t assign a seller to every buyer. But I want to.

In an era of competition, the quality of goods is approximately the same everywhere. The profit margin has fallen. The only way to survive in the competition, to stand out from other sellers of goods and services, is to offer a product to each client personally, taking into account his individual needs and characteristics.

And then it turned out that at the current level of development of computer technology it is possible to “go back to the past” and provide personalization even in mass sales. The owner of the store used to store information about one hundred of his customers in his head. The database can store and process one hundred thousand. And offer everyone exactly what they are used to and what they might want.

The value pyramid in the era of CRM

Thus, the emphasis has now noticeably shifted. If previously the client got an idea of the company based on its product, now he builds his attitude towards the company as a whole - as a partner with whom he interacts through various channels - from a telephone call to the Internet and a personal visit. At the same time, consumer demands have become significantly more differentiated, and forms of interaction have become personalized (see Fig. 2).

In addition, the pyramid of values has changed. A typical manufacturer strategy in an industrial economy was aimed at customer satisfaction and was built on the basis of the following “pyramid” of motives (Fig. 3):

Product availability (The company has what I want)
Value (Price meets my expectations)
Convenience (Product is easy to obtain and use)
Trust (I am confident that the product is reliable and of high quality)

In the era of the electronic, “new” economy, the highest goal is loyalty, and mutual– not only the client is loyal to the company, but the company is also loyal to the client). Based on the achieved level of satisfaction, a new pyramid is built (Fig. 4):

Satisfaction (My needs and requests are met)
Consistency (The company acts based on my interests)
Personalization (The company demonstrates that it knows and meets my personal wishes)
Merger (Relationships are built on my terms and under my control)

Within the “second” pyramid, the task of CRM is to cover ALL channels and points of contact with clients and coordinate them, so that there is a unified methodology and technique of communication. Every contact should work to attract a buyer! The customer wants to be served with the same quality regardless from the interaction channel, and get a quick professional response! Information delivered to the client upon his request must be accurate, complete and consistent. There should not be different answers to the same questions from different company representatives.

Thus, it was understood that customer base – this is the most important assets companies that need to carefully and efficiently manage. “Nurturing” a client is considered a necessary condition for successful work with both current and potential clients. It is interesting to note that price is far from the decisive factor in developing loyalty and making repeat purchases. For example, a study conducted by DELL showed that the motives that led to repeat purchases through their online store were in the following order:

Quality of service.
Delivery of the order on time.
Possibility of delivery to any place
Easy ordering
The company has a wide selection of products
Access to complete information on all products
Convenient site navigation system

Thus, investments in technologies for working with existing customers directly affect their loyalty, and therefore the efficiency and sustainability of the business. In terms of money, loyalty leads to the following results:

The client becomes less sensitive to price, which means a higher price can be set for the product (service) (up-sell) without the risk of loss of turnover.
The cost of selling products and services to existing customers is significantly lower. As a result, profitability can be higher, even if the price is lower than that of a competitor.
The client can be offered a number of additional services (products) (cross-sell), thereby increasing the company’s turnover.

Thus, the concept of CRM is very multifaceted. Although some of its elements have been cultivated before (for example, there has long been an emphasis on ensuring the highest quality of product and service), they are not sufficient on their own. After all, even high-quality service is not necessarily personalized. We still work with the “average hospital temperature.” Albeit tall.

The essence of the CRM concept is that the most desirable and profitable client has the right to priority and exclusive service. In addition, the CRM concept focuses the company on long-term relationships with the client. In particular, a client who, albeit little by little, regularly consumes a product or service over a long period of time, is usually more profitable for the company than a “wandering” customer who made a large, but random order. The first has the right to count on the best service and big discounts.

Finally, the essence of CRM is to learn from your client, have feedback and work the way the client wants. The point is that now it is not enough to tell the client: “We are here.” We must say: “We are here for you, and we work here for you and give you what is valuable to you, anticipating what you want.”

Goals, processes, structure

The functionality of CRM covers marketing, sales and service, which correspond to the stages of attracting a client, the act of completing a transaction (transaction) and after-sales service, that is, all those points of contact where the interaction of the enterprise with the client takes place.

In the early 90s, when CRM had not yet taken shape as a single concept, nevertheless, there was already a set of building blocks, the development of which led to what we see today, namely:

Various systems for collecting information about clients, partially including the beginnings of SFA (Sales Force Automation) - Automation of the activities of sales representatives.
A number of marketing databases that provide analysis at the product (its sales) level, but are poorly integrated with sources of other information.
Systems for delivering information to the client (direct mail, etc.).
Basic analytical tools used to analyze consumer behavior during discrete purchases, but without considering the purchase life cycle.

It was only in the 90s that all of these systems were integrated into one within the framework of the CRM concept. For example, when conducting marketing campaigns, it is necessary to ensure that the information used by the marketing department and the sales department are exchanged in order for the process to be efficient and optimal. In this case, automatic distribution of a list of potential clients between sales agents, or automatic assignment of tasks to sales staff can be used.

Therefore, almost any CRM software has corresponding modules (marketing, sales, support and service). However, there is no absolutely universal solution. Each software product has its own strengths and weaknesses and has the best functionality and efficiency usually in one of these areas. Therefore, a company implementing CRM must identify priority areas of automation and start with them, gradually building out the entire system.

Accordingly, CRM should provide a means of entering information into a single database (both by company employees and by the client himself, for example, through a WEB website during registration or purchase), and the data should be centrally updated with each new contact.

The next level is data processing tools (ranking, clustering, aggregation, visualization, etc.). Finally, a means of access to all information – both input and output by all departments of the company. At the same time, a sales agent may need, for example, a client’s purchase history and a forecast of his preferences - what can be offered to him next time, while the marketing department, for example, needs an analysis of target groups. That is, CRM allows for different forms of information presentation for different purposes and different departments.

In Fig. Figure 5 shows a simplified structure of information processes within CRM.

It is important to note that with increasing detail of information and its value from the point of view of analysis, its cost, complexity, formalizability and variability increase. For example, geo- and demographic characteristics are relatively stable, but have long been studied. While the history of personal transactions, including financial ones, the history of contacts, preferences, which make it possible to build a client profile and predict his behavior, are obtained with difficulty, usually interactively, require time to accumulate and are in constant dynamics.

So, we can distinguish 3 main goals for using CRM systems:

Operational

Analytical

Collaborative

At the same time, the results of the analytical use of CRM go beyond the scope of CRM itself. For example, analysis of time and costs for the sales cycle, at different stages and phases of sales, allows for optimization of cost reduction. Identifying priority customers based on different criteria (income/costs) allows you to increase the profitability of your sales channels. Identifying typical problems/requests and developing a typical response to them allows you to minimize the employee’s reaction time (and therefore, again, reduce costs - after all, the company pays for the phone!). Analysis of sales channels allows you to identify problem departments and business processes, understand which channels you need to focus your efforts on, how to restructure the problem area (department), etc.

The table below systematizes the opinions of surveyed experts on priority industries in terms of demand for CRM.

Table 6.4. Which industries have the greatest demand for CRM solutions?

Priority sectors

Banks and insurance companies, telecommunications companies, retail companies

Finance, insurance, telecommunications, trade, distribution

In the banking sector, insurance companies, telecommunications, high technology industry (production and sale of computers and software, system integration), trading and distribution companies, large multinational corporations.

Sergey Chernov, expert analyst at the Analytical Center of the Parus Corporation

For trade enterprises, service centers for household appliances or automobiles, companies providing communication services, tourism, transportation, producing and supplying various types of automation systems

Banking sector, telecommunications, high-tech and pharmaceutical companies; potential users include almost all companies selling mass-produced products.

In wholesale/retail trade, telecommunications, banking and financial sectors

Anatoly Levikov, Head of CRM Practice, Corporate Management Systems Department, IBS

Finance (banks and insurance organizations), as well as telecommunications. Around the world, there is also great demand for CRM systems from car dealers, manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and computer equipment

Marina Anshina, Head of Development and System Support Group, TopS

Telecommunications

Boris Kharas, Senior Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Telecommunications, financial services, trade and distribution

Telecommunications companies, banks, investment companies

Alexander Skorokhodov, executive director of the Banking Production Center.

Finance (banks and insurance organizations), telecommunications.

Insurance companies and banks

Review of CRM solutions in Russia

If in the Western market the number of CRM systems is measured in the hundreds, then in Russia there is a rather narrow range of solutions, mainly from large suppliers that have been offering their ERP systems for a long time. At the same time, the number of domestic CRM developers is increasing almost every month. Thus, the Russian buyer already faces the problem of choosing from two dozen systems. True, the solutions are radically different from each other, since they are aimed at different segments.

According to experts, SAP and Oracle have good chances in the field of complex integrated solutions that include CRM as one of the blocks - both of them have declared CRM one of the main priorities for this year in business development. In addition, both companies have strong positions in the market. Serious activity in the field of CRM has been launched by hardware suppliers - Cisco, Avaya, focusing primarily on call-centers.

Solutions from Siebel, a global leader in CRM, have come to
Russia thanks to the efforts of Russian companies, but he himself
Siebel is not interested in Russia as a potential market. A fully localized version is expected to hit the market within a few years. So far, the introduction of this product, which is already available in Russia, is associated with major language problems for staff.

The solutions presented in Russia have very significant differences in methodology. Thus, Russian developers insist that their applications better take into account the differences in the local market, although they have less experience working with a large number of clients.

At the moment, specialized CRM packages of an industry nature are almost not represented in Russia - pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance sectors, tourism, etc. Although in the West such solutions are very popular, since if you buy a universal development, it still needs to be significantly modified, leading to specialized needs. And this is associated with unnecessary costs for implementation and staff training, which is not desirable. And in any case, it leads to a loss of time, this is especially important for companies that operate in industries where seasonal fluctuations are strongly affected (tourism, realtors, etc.).

How the data for this study was collected. From open sources - the press, the Internet, personal conversations with experts - a list of all CRM suppliers, both Russian and foreign, was compiled. Only those who have a partner or representative office in Russia were selected. Along with domestic developers, about 20 companies were included in the list. Later the list was refined.

Everyone was sent an email containing the questionnaire and a deadline for completion. After that, the answers were clarified over the phone and additional material was collected on this decision - based on customer reviews, information on the website, the press, and expert opinions. The information received was carefully analyzed and structured.

Let us note that the research below cannot be considered complete; new solutions appear every day and more and more companies declare to provide a range of services for the implementation and maintenance of CRM solutions. During the research process, we met with dozens of companies, many of which are planning to actively enter this market.

Now we invite you to take a more complete look at the table and study it carefully (see at the end of the article). I responsibly declare that this is the most complete comparison of CRM systems presented in Russia.

Company name	The product's name	Release date (product)	Number of copies sold, clients	ASP capability	Scalability (minimum, maximum number of users)	PDA support
Oracle Corporation	Oracle E-Business Suite (incl. ERP, CRM and B2B)	May 2000	>1,000 clients in the world (including previous versions of CRM), version 11i - about 400	Yes (100% Internet architecture)	5-7000 (real implementation in Oracle), plans to implement up to 20,000 users	Yes, Palm Pilot
	InvensysCRM	Since 1990, current version (4 2) released in December 2000	Worldwide - more than 700 installations in Russia no installations yet ABB Components, ABB Robotics, Bang & Olufsen, EDS, GSX (GE Information Systems), Lanier, RMC, UNU, Barco and Venzon	Yes		Yes
Sputnik Labs	SalesLogix, manufacturer - Interact Commerce Corp, www.saleslogix. com	First version -1997, Current version -SalesLogix net (SalesLogix version 5 0) - January 2001	More than 3,500 clients in 67 countries, the number of licenses sold is measured in hundreds of thousands, among clients are British Airways, Deutsche Bank Dow Jones, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard. In Russia, there is a completed project (Comstar CJSC) - the SalesLogix Sales module has been in productive operation since February 2000, SalesLogix Support module is being implemented	Yes, through partners (Delinea Corporation, ScionASP)	There are no technical restrictions (there are configurations from 1 to 1000 users), license supply - from 10 users	Yes, Palm Pilot
000 "IBS"	Siebel System eBusiness 2000 MME	2000 g		Yes	Minimum - 1, maximum - unlimited	Yes, Palm Pilot Organizer
Electronic Automation roved systems and communications	Intelligent CRM Suite (manufactured by Computer Associates www.ca.com)	October 2000		Yes	From 1 to 13500	Any devices with Internet access, including WAP
	Clientele		More than 3000, including British American Tobacco Industries Nestle SA, American Express Times Mirror Magazines, Walt Disney Among the companies operating in Russia are Mary Key, Karl Storz, etc.	-	The number of concurrent users can reach 500	-
IT	UCI (Unified Customer Interaction) - produced by Altitude Software	Latest version 6 1 June 2001	300 system installations in Europe (ABN AMRO Bank - Netherlands Mobitai Communications - Taiwan, NSB Railway Norway - Norway)	No	3 - 200 (possibly more)	Yes
Actis Systems	SalesLogix.NET	Latest release - March 2001	More than 3500 clients worldwide	Yes	Minimum - 1, maximum - unlimited. To date, installations for several thousand users are known.	Yes, Palm OS and Windows CE compatible devices
	Customer support systems Customer contact management	2000-2001	MTU Intel (10 licenses), MKS (18 licenses), TopS (10 licenses)	Yes	3 - 20000	Yes - Palm Pilot
LANIT	Navision Financial System Contact Manager module	1996		No	1 - 300	-
Parus Corporation	Business process management / SAIL-Client	October 1999	5 implementations, including LUKoil	Yes	5 - 100	No
Pro-Invest-IT	Sales Expert	It went on sale in the spring of 2000, version 1 4 was released in May 2001	More than 200 LUKoil, Hewlett-Packard JSC, Promo ru, Rainbow Technologies, Economic Newspaper Publishing House (AKDI Economy and Life), Garant-Park1	No	Not limited	No
ConSi	ConSi- MARKETING ConSi- PRICE MONITORING	First version 1992 Latest - autumn 2000	More than 50, including the Kazan Helicopter Plant, the Perm Printing Factory of Goznak, Irkutskkabel, Kostromakabel, etc.	No	Within the capabilities of MS-Access	-
Internet company Bmicro	Client-Communicator	December 1999	50	No	3 - 300	No

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Group of companies "Alfa Integrator - BAAN Eurasia"

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Sputnik Labs

Yes

000 "IBS"

Yes

"EpicRus" (until November 2000 -Platinum Software)

Yes

Actis Systems

Yes

Dia

Yes

TopS LTD CRM solutions based on Remedy Inc. products.

Yes

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Company name	Strengths (according to the companies themselves)	Support, paid/free (documentation in Russian, technical support by phone, e-mail, additional training, books, etc.)	Interface language; support for other languages	Other
Oracle Corporation	Full support for CRM functionality (see above) subject to modularity, consistent channels of interaction with customers, Internet architecture (= low cost of ownership), integrated CRM+ERP solution (full view of customers and no huge integration costs), powerful business tools -analysis.	Free - documentation in electronic form, paid - technical support by phone, e-mail, access to a website with technical information, training, implementation services	28 languages, Russian - in the process of translation	Financial stability of the supplier, presence of an office in Moscow, huge investments in the product (1,300 CRM system developers), a wide network of partners in Russia
Group of companies "Alfa Integrator - BAAN Eurasia"	Time-tested solution (more than 11 years on the market).	Modular architecture, fast implementation cycle (3 months). Integration with BAAN IV/V ERP systems. Integration with e-commerce systems (BAAN E-Enterprise).	Maintaining client data starting from the moment he was attracted (marketing campaigns). Availability of a web user interface. It is used within the software manufacturing company itself. Focus on Microsoft technologies.	Free - documentation in Russian paid - technical support (telephone, e-mail, Web) training, consulting services
Sputnik Labs	English, German, French, Dutch, Russian	Standard - 24/7 online support, hotline by phone, fax, e-mail, free update of releases within the current version, supply of service packs Price - 20% of the software cost Additional - extended service programs, multi-level training	Standard software supplies - with an interface in English and a number of European languages Support for Russian, the ability to create screen forms in Russian	A unique toolkit of automatic processes with an intuitive graphical interface.
000 "IBS"	A single application for the work of all company employees (sales people, support, marketing), scalability (possibility of upgrading to Enterprise, availability of industry solutions, support for Service Agreements (SLAs), project management Workflow Management, intelligent routing system for applications, potential deals, etc., visual representation organizational structures of the client TAS (Target Accounting Selling), Strategic Selling, easy modification for a specific customer Access control to the level of individual records User-friendly interface.	Paid - technical support by phone, e-mail, training	English, Russian, Spanish, French, German	Standard templates for documents (Word, Excel, etc.) Large number of pre-configured reports Thin client Possibility of remote synchronization and work within the holding structure
Electronic Automated Systems and Communications	A highly scalable solution with extensive integration and automation capabilities Convenient, self-configuring access to the information you need for both clients and staff Patented “artificial intelligence” system for automatic proactive responses to technical or business problems Consists of individual products, allowing you to choose only what is suitable to the buyer according to functionality and price.	The first year is free (included in the price), paid - additional training	English. Others - built-in localization capability
"EpicRus" (until November 2000 -Platinum Software)			Russian English
IT	The solution is implemented on the “thin client” principle Transfer of voice messages and sessions between agents Reliable operation even under peak loads Open architecture with the ability to support various hardware platforms Possibility of flexible configuration to specific customer requirements.	Technical documentation is free, other support is paid	Today - English, in the near future IT Co. plans to begin localizing the system for domestic users	It is possible to obtain a large number of business reports on interaction with the client, his requests and business activity. Integration mechanisms with billing systems, e-commerce systems and financial applications are offered, allowing you to get a clear picture of work with the customer at the level of the entire company.
Actis Systems	Possibility of flexible individual configuration for each client, being an integrated package, the system is capable of solving a very wide range of tasks, easily integrates with various applications, has a low cost of ownership, a large number of installations around the world guarantees high quality and reliability of this system allows multi-level access to information - LAN , Web or Wireless aims to provide a quick payback (return on investment)	Warranty - 6 months - free Technical support - 10% of the cost of licenses.	The main language of the product is English. Quick localization of the product into almost any language is possible.
TopS LTD CRM solutions based on Remedy Inc. products.	Flexibility, scalability, reliability, multi-platform, great integration capabilities, openness, compliance with standards, speed of implementation (several months)	Documentation in Russian, annual support included in the price of the system, training	English, Russian, French, German, any languages can be supported
LANIT	Easy to learn and use for the user	Free - documentation in Russian Paid - technical support by phone, e-mail, training	Russian English
Parus Corporation	Decision support mechanisms The complex is successfully operated on the basis of the Parus corporation, including the regional network (according to the results of the international competition "Business-Soft", the "hotline" of the Parus1 corporation was recognized as one of the best in the country) Mechanisms that allow you to expand and quickly adapt the software to specific enterprise needs Built-in WorkFlow and DocFlow mechanism Seamless integration with ERP Full-featured WEB interface	Free - documentation in Russian Paid - technical support by phone, e-mail, Internet, training	Russian	Built-in message/notification delivery mechanism (mail, GSM, paging) Possibility of expanding functionality using the enterprise's own IT specialists
Pro-Invest-IT	Easy to use and install Low price Constant development of the program High speed of operation High efficiency of use for solving organizational problems and managing sales and marketing	Free - all documentation, technical support	Russian Others - no.	A proven standard solution for companies that use direct sales when working with clients. The best CRM system according to Business Software 2001
ConSi	Proven solution (many installations), low price, fast implementation speed (less than 3 months), collects all information about the client and his operations, intended for both internal users (organizing targeted marketing) and external users (receiving a report on the account balance, personalized financial information) There are real clients who have been working for many years	Computer training system, multimedia, animated help, books with techniques	Russian	Fully targeted at users proficient in MS Office
Internet company Bmicro	Full adaptation to any type of activity - an arbitrary number of data types (lists and directories) + up to 150 attributes per record, several built-in report generators	Free - documentation in Russian Paid - implementation + configuration	Russian	There is a special implementation form. We can prepare a ready-made, configured database for a remote client and send it by e-mail

I will comment on each point.

The first points are standard: the name of the company - the solution provider or its representative in Russia, the full name of the product and the release date. Also pay attention to the release date. Some systems have been on the market for a long time, others, despite their youth, also have several hundred and sometimes thousands of installations.

The number of copies sold by all companies is large, with Western manufacturers counting in the thousands, and Russian manufacturers in the hundreds. It is worth distinguishing between the number of clients and the number of licenses (copies) sold, since one client can buy several thousand titles at once.

We can say that all solutions have already proven their capabilities. Another thing is that not all of them have a Russian version and experience of implementation in Russia. Most foreign solutions have never been delivered to our country.

If you are faced with the question of choosing such a system, we advise you to definitely clarify the company’s experience in general and with CRM systems in particular.

No matter what they say about the advantages of this or that system, the price was, is, and will continue to be the main selection criterion for a long time. The most often quoted price is per user seat (license). But to the final price you still need to add the price for a server license, consulting, training, and subtract volume discounts. Some companies are just introducing their products to the market and do not yet have a clear pricing strategy. Plus the difficulty of calculating the final cost without having real experience in implementing systems of this class. The cost of a solution at one level may differ by a significant amount. In this article we do not list the price level, but it can be ordered separately (see at the end of the article).

In Europe and the USA, CRM solutions based on ASP are now becoming widespread, which means that it is possible to maintain the system on the side. This allows you to reduce costs, reduce the size of investments and, of course, relieve the headache of solving almost all technical problems (security, reliability, electricity, 24/7 availability, etc.).

As far as we know, in Russia, none of the supplying companies currently offers such an opportunity. Although many systems are already ready to offer such services. As in many other areas, there is a question of financing and launching such a project, and most importantly, trust in ASP. After all, no one wants to lose the company’s most valuable asset—its customers—and people in Russia are not used to trusting each other. So we can hardly expect this service to appear in the near future.

A special point is the technical requirements. This expense item can cost no less than the CRM system itself. Since the requirements for technology are the highest - powerful servers, a large amount of disk space, a good local network and Internet channel.

It is important what additional software the selected system requires - you will have to pay separately for licenses for the database and some operating systems, and a lot, given the large number of copies, because ideally every employee should have a CRM system. It’s just that access to other people’s segments will be limited. It also matters that if you install a new operating system or other software, then you will have to look for new additional personnel. And it’s hard to find it now. It is almost impossible to find good programmers and system administrators in the regions; those who exist have already been taken apart. And in Moscow, the demand for these professions is constantly growing.

As a rule, CRM is installed by those companies that have already used ERP systems, and therefore there is a certain database, software, and all this must be saved and transferred to the new system. It's more difficult here. Not all CRM solutions are interfaced with ERP, which can negate all its advantages - both functional and price.

If a company has agreed to invest considerable funds in CRM, then it hopes not only to survive in the market, but also to develop successfully. And therefore, sooner or later it will need more users. It is possible that there is no immediate money to provide all jobs with access to the system, but over time the need for this will arise and investments will appear.

Modern systems most often allow you to start work even from one workplace and increase it to several thousand, or even tens of thousands. All companies mentioned this. The difference is that some systems already have real experience of implementation and operation on a similar scale, others note only the theoretical possibility of such scaling.

When a company employee is on a business trip or simply not at work, he may still need information from the system. If you spent money on implementation and installation, then you need to use all the benefits of CRM at a distance. Moreover, it is not so difficult; you can access it through a standard web browser on the Internet or using any mobile device (PDA). Its cost is an order of magnitude less than, for example, a laptop.

Let's say you go to a meeting with clients or partners in another city (country), and even on the go in a car or airport you can get all the necessary data via PDA. And when using the Internet in a hotel, problems may arise with the keyboard and encoding (there is no Cyrillic alphabet).

This point is worth studying especially. All features of the system are presented here. The classification used is Western, therefore the names of the modules are left in English (explained below). At the same time, functions within the system may be distributed differently and even named differently. CRM is a young area, and the terminology has not yet fully formed.

All modules are very closely interconnected, and you can easily move from one to another, often without even noticing the transition (roughly speaking, like hyperlinks on the Internet or like switching functions in a text editor). The classification was made more to systematize the capabilities of CRM systems.

To illustrate the possibilities, here is the opinion of one of the users of the EpikRus CRM system, Sergei Kanev, head of the Moscow representative office of BSS (system integration): “Every company that works with a client must have a tool for structuring this work, since any client base is an intangible asset , Clientele offers an algorithm for working with the client.

In addition, it helps to accumulate information on the history of customer relationships, which is a strong support for sales. For example, if there is a successful sale to a client in St. Petersburg, then there is a possibility of a sale to a branch of the same client in Krasnodar. Since BCC managers work in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Krasnodar, now any manager can look at the sales history of a client in other cities and obtain more complete information.

The BCC company uses Clientele in two directions: sales and service. In general, we can say that a CRM system is, first of all, an algorithm for working with a client and a tool for summarizing information.

Previously, each manager had information only about his region, with its regional specifics. Now he provides this information to other managers and, in turn, receives information for other regions. Many situations that previously required additional meetings are now resolved automatically."

It is usually useful to know the strengths and weaknesses, especially since the choice of a CRM system can radically change the work of the company: either work successfully, or waste time and hastily earn back the money spent.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to assess the weaknesses of these systems. To do this, you need to at least try each of them and see how the already implemented systems work at several enterprises, especially considering that all foreign programs need to be localized, that is, translated, adjusted to Russian reporting, etc. This will take a lot of time and money. And time does not wait. In this regard, Russian developers have some advantages.

Talking about strengths is difficult for the same reasons. Therefore, we trusted the companies themselves to talk about the advantages, and, for obvious reasons, did not ask about the weak ones.

Judging by the responses of Western experts, the implementation of a full-fledged CRM system takes a long period, depending on the system and what the company used from several months to several years. In any case, the buyer will need technical and consulting support for a long time, plus staff training and detailed documentation.

As you can see from the tables, most often all support is paid and probably makes up a significant part of the sellers’ income. At the same time, documentation (it is unknown whether it is in Russian?) is included in the cost of the system. It is noteworthy that some note the availability of 24-hour online support. For example, this service is offered by Sputnik Labs; this can be especially important for regional clients, where the time difference can reach 5-9 hours. The client receives an access password to the support site, where he can find the answer to his question in the intelligent knowledge base.

Not only highly qualified personnel will have to work with the system, but also ordinary “soldiers” of the company: from the secretary (by the way, it is very important how this service is organized and its relationship with CRM) to warehouse managers. Therefore, it is necessary that the system is simple and in the native language of the staff. Sadly, Russian versions are often the latest to appear, although our market is also very interesting and promising.

We included this item so that each company could add anything else that it deems necessary.

In the summary table we have collected all the providers of CRM solutions that are actively present in the domestic market. Although the solutions are very different and it is not always correct to put them on the same page. For example, domestic developers often position themselves as solution providers more for the sales department than for each employee of the company (although this is possible). This is how “ConSi” works, for example. There is no need to buy hundreds of copies - a few jobs in the sales department are enough for now.

Expensive Western CRM systems not only automate standard processes of working with clients, but also allow you to better customize the system to the needs of a specific client. Therefore, they require implementation and modification, which significantly affects the price. But the “boxed” product Sales Expert (“Pro-Invest-IT”), which you can configure yourself, costs only $1,570 for an unlimited number of installations (this is comparable to the price for two places in Western systems, most often their price fluctuates in around 500-800 dollars per workplace). Sales Expert is a tough but ready-made CRM solution that sets clear rules for working with clients. Perhaps the given functions will be quite enough for you.

Of the complex Russian solutions at the moment, only the product of the Parus company can be named. As the commercial director of Parus, Alexey Kazarezov, noted, this product was “tested” within the corporation for about a year, in work with regional partners (dealers, business partners, regional branches, etc.) - for Parus they are also a kind of clients ( consumers of his developments). For example, using the new module, messages of three types were quickly collected (by e-mail): “error”, “wish”, “question (consultation)”. Then they were processed by the appropriate managers, who evaluated them and transferred them to production (messages like “error” and “feedback”) or answered the question.

Each request was analyzed and processed according to the appropriate regulations; Overall, this resulted in a 30% increase in processing and error correction speed.

In addition, the module was tested in the area of specific work with clients: collecting information about a potential customer starting from the first contact; Absolutely all available information about him was entered into the client database - visits to the demo room, questions over the phone, manager visits and much more. As a result, a serious data bank was accumulated, containing a complete history of relationships with a given client (both organizational and financial). Of course, replenishing information and collecting requests contained in the module database is possible not only using the keyboard (for example, during telephone or personal contacts), but also through e-mail and the Internet (as in the example with regional partners). In this case, the client can monitor all stages of his request (depending on access rights or using special notifications by e-mail, pager, etc. - in accordance with customizable regulations).

In the future, the customer database can provide a lot of useful information. For example, if a company that sells household appliances has in its data bank information about what equipment the client has already purchased, then with the next purchase it can not only give an appropriate discount, but also select a model that is optimally combined with the existing set. In this case, there will be no need to question the client, in addition, it does not matter which sales manager led him earlier.

These functions are also available in Western systems, but there is still very little experience in implementing such CRM solutions, so we are not yet able to fully reveal the capabilities hidden in foreign developments. There is often confusion about what was supplied to the client - ERP or CRM? It is beneficial for the buyer and seller to say that it is CRM, but there are only a few real examples. By the way, interesting examples of CRM implementation in the West can be found in Bill Gates’s latest book, “Business at the Speed of Thought.”

When reading summary tables, please note the following:

Contact Management – maintaining an extended record for each contact, a separate profile for each client, maintaining contact histories, organizational charts and the ability to collect clients into various groups, etc.

Account Management – maintaining information on counterparties (including clients, partners, agents, competitors). All information, including relationship history, planned/implemented transactions, contracts, financial/accounting data, etc.

Sales Management - maximum information and opportunities directly related to sales - cycles, statistics, territorial reference, report generation, sales history, etc. Looking at sales as a process, dividing it into stages and steps, allows you to forecast and effectively manage sales.

Time Management is a module that helps coordinate the work of all departments in time - a calendar, a list of tasks, as well as various modules for connecting to fax, e-mail and other means of communication.

Customer Service – interactive customer support (Internet, virtual private networks, etc.), the ability for customers to obtain the necessary information themselves, planning work with customers, statistics of requests, generating reports, accounting for the time spent by specialists, the ability to estimate the cost of support, etc.

Field Force Automation - opportunities for group work with clients divided by regional, industry and other criteria, collaboration between geographically remote departments.

Telemarketing/telesales – integration with call-center, maintaining statistics, recording standard questions and answers and full use of many other capabilities of means of communication with clients via e-mail, IP telephony, etc.

Marketing – statistics module, planning and maintaining various marketing campaigns, monitoring returns and calculating efficiency, modeling, auxiliary (educational) material, consumer segmentation and more.

Lead Management – Managing relationships with potential clients: collecting initial information, distributing contacts between employees of sales departments, tracking the effectiveness of sources of primary contacts.

Partnership Relations Management (PRM) – management of relationships with partners.

Knowledge Management – knowledge management, collection of all necessary reference information (maps, industry information, analytical materials, statistics) for the company’s work, creation of separate news sections (for example, for managers who manage the fuel and energy complex, processing industry), integration with Internet sources, powerful search tools.

e-Business is a module responsible for the CRM web part, which may include a company website, an online store or B2B site, interaction with customers via the Internet, etc.

Business Intelligence – the presence of automatic capabilities for monitoring and escalating problems, taking proactive actions, generating individual reports and reports using templates (as a rule, there are many ready-made forms), planning, modeling. – education, employment, contacts, everything related to people in the field of CRM.

Altitude Software (“IT”) - UCI

Navision (IBS and Lanit) – Navision Financials Contact Manager Module

Oracle – Oracle e-Business Suite

Parus – “Business Process Management. Parus-Client.”

“Pro-Invest” – Sales Expert

Remedy Inc. (“TopS”, IBS and “Open Technologies”) - Remedy

Interact Commerce Corp. (“Sputnik Labs” and Actis) - SalesLogic

SAP - mySAP CRM

TerraLink – Terra CRM

Frontstep - Frontstep Channel Center

Epicrus - Clientele

ComputerAge – Relavis eBusinessStreams

Pivotal (Columbus IT Partner Russia) - Pivotal eRelationship 2000

“Bmicro” – “Client-Communicator”

Navision (Columbus IT Partner Russia) - AXAPTA

Goals, methodology and sources of research

This study is an initiative work of the Cominfo Consulting company, conducted jointly with the Business Online magazine.

The purpose of the study is to analyze concepts CRM from the point of view of its demand in Russia, analysis of structure and prospects demand in Russia for products and solutions positioned as CRM (including motivation, implementation features, trends), as well as market analysis offers CRM solutions presented in Russia, including the collection and systematization of information about relevant products and their suppliers.

Thus, the main consumer of this study are companies interested in implementing CRM solutions and in need of systematized information on products and suppliers. In addition, the study is of interest to software developers and suppliers, system integrators and consulting companies that are involved in the implementation of CRM.

Sources of information and research methodology

The collection of information during the study was carried out on the basis of:

Analysis of publications from more than 100 open and closed sources, including professional publications, reports of foreign research and consulting companies, Web sites and other sources (a partial list of Internet resources is given in Appendix 2).
Personal interviews with experts from consulting companies, system integrators and CRM solution providers (list below).
Questioning of representatives of enterprises - potential customers of CRM solutions.
Questioning of representatives of companies - manufacturers and suppliers of CRM solutions represented in Russia.

The number of respondents included about 200 enterprises in Moscow, the Moscow region and the Central region, as well as Moscow offices of large holding structures with a branched territorial structure throughout Russia. A separate survey was conducted of 70 companies in the telecommunications industry - traditional and alternative fixed-line operators, mobile operators and private networks.

List of invited experts

Sanal Ushanov, manager of the Moscow office of Accenture
Pavel Cherkashin, President of Sputnik Labs
Roman Samokhvalov, Oracle Business Development Manager
Sergey Chernov, expert analyst at the Analytical Center of the Parus Corporation
Sergey Aslanyan, director of the consulting department of Actis Systems
Alexander Yakunin, CEO of Navision CIS
Anatoly Levikov, Head of CRM Practice, Corporate Management Systems Department, IBS
Marina Anshina, head of the development and system support group at TopS
Boris Kharas, senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers
Maxim Filamofitsky, technical director of RosBusinessConsulting
Alexander Skorokhodov, executive director of the Banking Production Center
Maxim Solovyov, sales manager at Avaya Communications.

Time frame for the study

The study was conducted in May–July 2001. Since the authors began to receive additional information from suppliers and clients after the publication of excerpts from the study in the July issue of Business Online magazine, it was decided to update the study once a month.

Introduction

Goals, methodology and sources of research
1. Basic concepts of CRM.
1.1. Historical roots
1.2. Client-oriented approach
1.3. Customer life cycle.
1.4. Pyramid of values in the era of CRM.
1.5. How to move from concepts to technologies?

2. Functionality of CRM systems.
2.1. Goals, processes, structure.
2.2. Main functional blocks.
2.2.1. MA – Marketing Automation.
2.2.2. SFA Sales Force Automation (Automation of the activities of sales representatives).
2.2.3. CSS - Customer Service & Support (Automation of customer support and service).

3. Implementation of CRM: process, features, effect.
3.1. Implementation stages: CRM step by step.
3.2. Foreign implementation experience.
3.3. Features of national CRM.
3.4. Integral effect of application implementation.

4. Call centers and contact centers as a key channel of interaction within CRM
4.1. Basic concept.
4.2. Call center and contact center functionality.
4.3. Call center applications related to sales and marketing
4.4. Call center applications related to service (user support)
4.5. Advantages of Call and Contact centers within the framework of the CRM concept.

5. Market of CRM solutions abroad.
5.1. Review of main solutions.
5.2. Functionality of CRM solutions. Summary table for 67 companies.
5.3. Trends and prospects.
5.4. Solutions for Contact centers. Summary table for 60 companies.

6. Market of CRM solutions in Russia.
6.1. Main factors influencing market development.
6.2. Demand.
6.2.1. Market awareness about CRM
6.2.2. Structure and characteristics of demand
6.2.3. Motivation of enterprises when implementing CRM.
6.3. Offer.
6.3.1. Criteria for choosing a solution.
6.3.2. Consolidated catalog and analysis of 20 products, manufacturers and suppliers represented in Russia.

Conclusion and conclusions.

Appendix 1. Glossary of terms.
Appendix 2. Additional information resources on CRM on the Internet.
Manufacturers and suppliers.
Information portals.
Research and consulting companies.
Professional organizations, publications, conferences.
Call center resources.

The concept of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) means that disparate business tools are combined into a streamlined system. Instead of Excel spreadsheets, instant messengers, many documents and running around offices, there is only one service left. It includes programs for collecting customer data, managing transactions, monitoring managers, analytics and forecasting. It simplifies the routine, speeds up making the right decisions and eliminates mistakes.

Advantages of using such systems:
- A unified database of customers and counterparties in which all collected data is stored.
- Transparency and control of the sales department. It is immediately clear who is responsible for what tasks and at what stages of the transaction.
- Accounting and analysis of order movement statistics. You can quickly determine whose fault the order fell through, analyze the reasons and draw conclusions.
- Based on statistics and analysis, you can forecast revenue and plan the development of your enterprise.

Automation and control of the sales department
Bitrix24 includes a database of leads, contacts and companies. Associated transactions and tasks are processed using standardized procedures in the form of semi-automated business processes. With their help, you can organize letters, calls, invoicing, adding goods and assigning responsibility.
The head of the department sees the dynamics and results of the work of his subordinates at any time. For each operation, you can find out the time spent on it, track problematic stages, and set up a “sales funnel.”
CRM calculates performance indicators for each manager and compiles a summary rating based on them
Integration with accounting
Bitrix24 and 1C-Enterprise exchange data automatically. Sales department employees work only with current prices, warehouse balances and payments. The possibility of ordering an out-of-stock item or selling a position at old prices is excluded in principle.
Mobility
A leader cannot waste time. It uses any waiting for control and orders if the mobile version of CRM is installed on the phone. He will receive the report, appoint a person responsible, and order to issue an invoice to the client directly from a traffic jam or queue at the tax office.
Our mobile application allows you to quickly receive information on new leads and transactions, and fully manage your product catalog, customer base, tasks and plans.
Analytics and forecasts
The collected information not only simplifies ongoing work with customers. Analysis of various indicators provides grounds for correction and forecasting of sales plans.
Bitrix24 includes 8 reports in various sections, including sales funnel, contract amounts, payments, forgotten and current transactions. Using the visual designer, you can create your own complex reports.
Safety
Private enterprise information systems are full of trade secrets. Client contacts and contract details must be strictly confidential. Bitrix24 limits access according to user roles (subordinate, head of department, director, administrator, etc.), as well as by groups, departments, departments and specific employees.
Types of CRM
Bitrix24 is universal. It includes the functionality of 4/5 well-known CRM customer relationship management systems.
- Automates operational processes of marketing and sales, like SFA systems;
- Supports customer service as a Service Desk;
- Provides unified interaction with subscriber requests received through various channels (voice telephony, website, e-mail), such as Contact-center;
- Accumulates transaction data, stores and systematizes it, and also provides intelligent processing of indicators, like analytical management systems.

Bitrix24.CRM does not require investment!

The functionality of Bitrix24 provides everything that is necessary to organize the company’s activities. The tools are tightly interconnected, which means you don't have to switch between multiple services. No additional software required. There is no need for a long painful implementation. You can start working immediately after registration. Any browser is enough.

Free and unlimited!

When you start or want to start using the CRM methodology to strengthen your sales, you must remember that you should not try to use all the CRM functionality at once.

It is better to do this step by step, gradually introducing CRM tools into your trading activities.

For a seller engaged in active sales, it is better to start with the contacts module. First, create a database of clients and contact persons, all phone numbers and information about clients (type of activity, company size, client group, needs, etc.).

Then you can try to plan and take into account your actions. All tasks can be reduced to calls (incoming and outgoing), messages (e-mail, fax, mail), meetings (presentation, negotiations) and tasks (prepare a commercial proposal, prepare an initial contract). Each task has a topic in which you need to note the main purpose of the task (for example, send a price list, clarify the meeting time, etc.).

For each task, you need to plan the completion time by filling out and planning your work schedule. Professionals plan their work schedule the evening of the previous day. In the morning, when they get to work, they already know what to do.

Most tasks need to be attached to the client card, because... all completed tasks will be able to remind us of the history of our communication with the client when we continue to communicate with him in a month.

When you have completed a task, you note the time of completion of the task and describe the main points in the outcome of the task.

Once you have started actively using task management, you can start using CRM sales tools.

One of the main sales tools in classic CRM is “Project” or otherwise “Transaction”. As soon as we assume that there is an opportunity to work with a potential client, we create a separate project for him, which we carry out until its very end. The project helps us guide a given client through the stages of sales to a transaction. Every project has a probability of being realized. With the transition to a new stage (except for failure), the probability of the project increases. This way you can plan based on real projects and clients. Therefore, the English name of the “Project” tool is Opportunity, which can be translated as opportunity, potential.

If a project fails, we close it but indicate the reason for failure; and if the client in this project chose to work with your competitor, then we indicate the competitor and the reason why this happened. Consequently, we can accumulate statistics on the actions of competitors in the markets and their actions, strengths and weaknesses.

In the process of improvement, you can also begin to manage trade documents: contracts, invoices, payments, deliveries. We must not forget that behind the document in the CRM concept there is a certain stage of commercial relations and specific actions on your part and on the part of clients.

Having mastered two powerful CRM tools, Contact Management and Sales Management, you can use two more useful tools: Marketing Management and Customer Service. If you work in a small team, then perhaps sales specialists will use these two tools. If you work in a larger company, then other specialists (marketing and support specialist) may work in these modules. But at the same time, classic CRM involves very close interaction between sales and marketing and support.

Regarding CRM marketing, we can say that it is aimed at direct impact (direct marketing). All algorithms are aimed at quickly communicating with a wide audience and actively responding to marketing requests. In addition, special attention is paid to accompanying marketing.

The main goal of customer service CRM tools is to completely record all complaints, wishes and suggestions from customers. At the same time, the quality of service directly affects customer loyalty, and, consequently, repeat sales. At the same time, there is close work with the sales function. For example, some wishes may be covered by an additional offer. This is one of the sources of repeat sales.

And most importantly: if you see that CRM can help with your sales, don’t delay, start using it! Take the first step, start simple! It is not necessary to use expensive software at first. You can do it in Excel at first. As you move along the CRM path, you can look for either an inexpensive and simple CRM to work with, or, if you and your company can afford it, implement an industrial CRM system.