Salesforce.com – Evangelist of NO SOFTWARE
"History", "Current Situation" and "Global footprint”: Salesforce.com -
CEO Marc Benioff founded Salesforce.com. Originally Salesforce.com’s goal was to provide customer relationship management (CRM) software that was delivered over the Internet (cloud computing), and clients would no longer need to purchase servers, network infrastructure, install software. All they would need is an internet connection in a web browser. Back in 1999 when Salesforce.com was founded, it was a pretty radical departure from the traditional client –server model. Especially from business software to delivery model, commonly known as software services and part of cloud computing, for which Salesforce is widely recognized as an Industry leader.
Salesforce started as a CRM company and evolved into much more over time. A CRM system is used to manage organizations interactions like phone calls, emails, meetings and even social media, both with customers and prospects. The focus of these interactions often includes, but is not limited to sales, marketing, and support. When a sales rep closes a deal or a support agent receives a call, these are the types of activities that you would expect to record in CRM software. The goals of CRM implementations may vary depending on the organizations, but there are few common themes; increased sales, increased communication, especially among different departments, decrease operating costs and streamlining business
Within these solutions we have utilized ERP, CRM, and SCM. Enterprise resource planning was used in planning what is needed to enhance the website for better communication with the customers. Customer relationship management is an effort to retain the customers. First of all just upgrading to LAN for our internet, speeding up the process of transactions will make the customer happier. Waiting on the transaction takes up their time, and it is valuable to them. Adding a digital dashboard to monitor products, inventory, customers, etc, is making use of supply chain management by reducing uncertainty and cycle times of products. [ (Performance Dashboard) ]
Chip Reeves, Director of marketing and sales addresses this issue by making systems easier to maneuver. Many companies and CIO's are struggling to determine exactly how to best mobilize critical applications that can bring measurable payback to the company but also limit the disruption to and administrative headaches in their user's lives. (O'brien, Marakas, 2011). Reeve's took into account, the customer's needs and the salespeople as well. Reeves was very focused on the CRM, or Customer Relationship management into account when suggesting products to streamline information for salespeople. Customer Relationship management involves four specific relationships which include: sales, service, quality, and support. Reeve's input a system that downsized the screens on the Blackberry applications to one page, which in turn led to more leads, an increase of about 50% and generated leads faster for salespeople.
A major part of Citizen National’s strategy for continuing growth was to implement customer relationship management (CRM) software. The CRM strategy targeted the bank’s two main contact points with customers: the bank’s call center and its sales force. The main goal for the implementation was to increase sales by raising the number of contacts relationship bankers were making and improving the tracking of these activities so the bank could learn more from them.
* The CRM systems helped the company in differentiating its service as well as optimizing some of the activities which lead to the reduction in operational costs. For eg. OnQ Reservation used data from the CRM, allows the agent to access callers’ personal dossier and update their preferences. This helped in reducing the call time as well as promoted the cross selling. Another example is having information prior to
Marc Russell Benioff (born September, 25, 1964) is a notable entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. He is best noted as the founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, an internet-based company that “sought to solve ….inefficiencies in the software industry” (Benioff & Adler, 2010, p. xii). Many have regarded Benioff as the leader of “The End of Software” because his business delivers immediate benefits at reduced risks and costs.
An effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program can be used to identify, retain, satisfy and obtain customers by using technology to optimize strategies for understanding customers’ needs to manage business interactions with current, former, and prospective customers. Additionally, CRM also enables companies to maximize internal, external, marketing and customer service operations to better address the needs of the customer building a better relationship with customers that a more profitable. (Ahmad & Buttle, 2001)
The new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) will build a connected, collaborated, and integrated customer facing organization. CRM will have simplified features and a utilize cloud technology to support multiple departments within the organization. CRM users will be able to:
Customer relationship management systems help services representatives to improve customer services and to support clients. Service representatives use call center and help desk software to satisfy clients. Call center software transfer customer calls to agents based on the kind of service the customer need and the agents experience in the subject. When customers have any problem or are insure about a service or product, representative uses help desk software to give clients the needed data.
Today, customer relationship management is very important to the business world. Most of the companies established a department and the programs to manage their relationship with the customers. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a business strategy which designed to help a company to understand and look forward to the needs of its potential and current customers (Anderson & Stang, 2000). Customer data is being collected in several different areas of the company, stored in a central database, analyzed, and distributed to key points (Anderson & Stang, 2000).The business world once was “product-centric”, the companies just provided what they could produce. However, it is now become “customer-centric”, they provide products and service
Salesforce.com has been considered one of the most disruptive technology companies of the past few years and is credited with single-handedly shaking up the software industry with its innovative business model and resounding success. This company provides CRM solutions in the form of 'software-as-a-service' leased over the Internet, as opposed to software bought and installed on machines locally. It was founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, and has since grown to 2,600 employees and earned $748 million in revenue in 2007.
Salesforce is the primary enterprise offering within the Salesforce1 Platform, and provides organizations with an interface for case management and task management, and a system for automatically routing and escalating important events. The Salesforce customer portal provides customers the ability to track their own cases, includes a social networking plug-in that enables the user to join the conversation about their company on social networking websites, provides analytical tools and other services including email alert, chat, Google search, and access to customers' entitlement and contracts.
Today, more and more companies find that cultivating customer loyalty is a key factor to achieve success. Customer relationship management (CRM) focuses on the relationship between customer and company. Due to this feature, many companies are trying to establish their own CRM system for helping them to connect new customers and boost old customers’ long-term loyalty. CRM systems include operations and analysis, and relationship marketing strategy and supporting, customer-centric business processes (Buttle 2004). With the development of information technology (IT), using CRM system
According to Vazifehdust and Shahnavazi, (2012) there are nine CSFs. The CSFs determined are: Top management: Top management involvement in CRM and practicing CRM as their organisational vision and mission. The role of top managers is eliminating constraints (such as rigid regulation, hierarchical bureaucracy, lack of funding to CRM programs, close culture and etc) faced by organization when implementing CRM process. Chief executive officer: Leadership is responsible for creating the customer vision of the organization, communicating that vision by internally setting clear objectives, prioritizing customer projects, setting customer strategy and building a culture that regards knowledge as a vital company resource. Culture: Culture is the combination of shared history, expectations, unwritten rules and social customs that compel behaviors. Organizational infrastructure: There are two types of organization Organic and mechanic with different value creation. Mechanic organization leads to insufficient, ineffectiveness, powerlessness and prohibiting sharing knowledge and expertise among employees and managers. Organic organization is flat and network structure has low functional barriers, foster cross communication, allows the sharing of organizational, building new knowledge and seems it can facilitate CRM more effectively. Human resource management: CRM involves variety of Human resource frontline sales, marketing service providers, business analysts, IT professionals,
Bata uses sales management and customer support in the CRM system to gather data about their customer and used to facilitate customer service transactions by making the information needed to resolve the issue or concern readily available to those dealing with the customers. This results in more satisfied customers, a more profitable business and more resources available to the support staff. Furthermore, CRM systems are a great help to the management in deciding on the future course of the company. (Andrew, 2011). In order for Bata to increase their profit they are trying to maximize their customer
Customer relationship management (CRM) is widely implemented and centralized system which offers a place for interaction under a company. An employee can handle again the repeated problem which occurred in the past by re-investigate it. Besides, CRM provides a place to identify what customers wants. Employees can track customer’s expectation by their feedback and communication that can improve their buying experience and stay interact with customer in order to understand their true needs.CRM also has ability to let the company see the customer interaction in clear picture. Different customers from different segments require different products and services, but this complex situation can handle well by CRM. Furthermore, CRM provides quality and efficiency system in the company management that helps company achieves their success by building long-term customer relationship.