PDF By Dave McMahon
In less than 1300 words I will reveal to you the top 7 CRM software programs (customer database software) that are the best for Australian Small to Medium size business. This report will save you on average 117 hours of wasting your personal time looking at stuff that is never going to come close to doing anything to build a relationship with your customers and make you money.
For me, I wished this report existed many years ago when I first started my business, it would have saved me at least 5 years wasting my time as well as tens of thousand of dollars. You see in 2002 I left Australia’s third largest phone company – AAPT – as the IT Director (a highly paid executive computer expert) to start my only business. I had the best computer network, database systems, phone system etc.., you name it, computer wise I had it!
The only problem was I did not have any customer details go to into my Customer Database. You can see the problem I had – no customers. I then had to spend next the 5 years searching the world and learning everything possible about sales and marketing and how get new customers.
So the problem 93% of all Australian business owners are facing right now is either not enough customers or no way to maximise customer profits. And when you go to get help you can find:
A good Sales & Marketing expert who know everything about customers and Nothing about computers or;
A good Computer expert who knows Everything about computers and Nothing about customers!
So you the business owner ends up getting a CRM system that equals “Customer Relationships in a big Mess” and are left sitting there wondering why your sales and marketing is not working as well as it should be, when in fact it there is this massive amount of hidden profit just waiting for you when you fix the problem.
Over the years I have had the same problem and have been asked by many business owners about what software they should use. My answer is, it depends on your business and sales and marketing style, and this only makes it harder for business owners. I know, I have been there myself and have coached many people in my Implementation Club on how to select the correct technology profit tools for their business.
So if you want to spend the next 15 years learning from your own experiences and failures by going it alone and working out what is the right solutions for you, please do not read below. Or if you want to focus on the right Sales and Marketing Shortcut Technology for your business, then check out my top 7 CRM Software Systems for Australian Small and Medium Business. (** They are not in any order and I do not receive any commissions for recommendation on software)
7 CRM Software Systems for Australian Small and Medium Business:
- Act by Sage – This software is awesome for businesses with between 1 and 20,000 customer records and up to 10 staff in a central location. For a cost of $370 per staff member it links to MYOB as well, but remember you need to buy the extra plug-ins for this. Check out the demo at http://www.sagebusiness.com.au/ This is an amazing CRM and Accounting solution for under $2000 Australian dollars
- Infusionsoft – This was developed by a small US firm and is just about everything a marketer wants. These guys listen very carefully to sales and marketing gurus and develop some of the best functions that we sales and marketing people want. So it’s great software if you do not mind paying US dollars. Be careful of after-sales service though. Looking at customer feedback online you will see not all customers like their customer support. Good for businesses with more than 20,000 customer records and more than 5 staff in different locations. http://www.infusionsoft.com/compare-us
- Microsoft Dynamics – This CRM solutions started around 2008, and like most Microsoft products when they are new it’s full of problems and is a waste of time. However, the latest version seems to have made a bit of a turn around and people and reports are saying it is better now. The great thing about this CRM is it will work 100% with Outlook. A great solution for businesses with more than 10,000 records and 3 or more staff. Plus, the price of Microsoft software over the last 5 years has come down. http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics
- Netsuite – This is a complete business package offering you a CRM, Account and ecommerce solution. The software is overkill for most small businesses, but does give you growth options for medium firms. Just remember, you will need to invest in training your staff and updating your systems. Great for businesses of more than 20,000 records with more than 10 staff in many locations. http://www.netsuite.com.au/
- Oracle – I have worked on an Oracle database for many years and it is a great solution for big, big companies. But now Oracle is starting to crack into the small and medium size market. First up with Oracle, you need to know you will pay top dollar for their services and products. But most of the time they do deliver. This CRM solution is for fast growing businesses that are going from 20,000 customer records to over 200,000 customer records in a very short time. This is an awesome solution for fast growing businesses than need a CRM solution which will grow with them. This is solution starts out cheap but as you add more options the cost adds up quickly. Check out: http://www.oracle.com/global/au
- Salesforce.com – Well, I must say, Sales Force is a winner in the sales and marketing war on CRM solutions. Everywhere you look there is Saleforce dominating the online marketing space. These guys are awesome and provide a great service and I highly recommend them as CRM software. They offer a good solution for small business at a good price, however it is on the upgrades that they make all their profit, so for most small businesses you can get better service and cheaper pricing elsewhere. Saleforce is best for companies who have more than 20,000 customer records and more than 5 staff. Check out http://www.salesforce.com/au
- SugarCRM – Has been around for many years and is a great open source solution. (Open-source means the software has free copyright, making the solutions very cheap and in some case free. The bad news is, backup technical support can be hard to find and get). But if you have staff or an outsource company that can provide the support you need this is an awesome solution for any business because there are so many free or cheap plug-ins available for SugarCRM and the list is growing. Great for businesses with customer records from 0 to 100,000 records and l1 to many staff in many locations. Check out http://www.sugarforge.org/ and just remember to make sure you have good backup support.
Lastly please note of the CRM solutions listed here, none of them are perfect and do not do everything I want from a sales and marketing business point of view. Even the CRM system we use for Crocodile Marketing is not prefect and we have problems as well. But our CRM system does make me lot of $$$!
P.S. If you would like help with your CRM or customer database you can call right now on 1300 887 865 or email Customers@CrocodileMarketing.com to see if you quality for the Crocodile Implementation Club.
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