Customer relationship management software is a highly profitable investment for organizations of all sizes. Today's workforce is increasingly relying on mobile. Forrester reports that 29% of employees use three or more devices, and may work from multiple locations worldwide. Technology-savvy workers use mobile apps and are critical productivity tools. While early CRM mobile applications were difficult to use, and offered limited functionality, today's mobile CRM tools can be every as useful as their desktop equivalents. To know about the reasons why a mobile component matters more than you think, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/why-smbs-cant-afford-to-ignore-mobile-customer-relationship-management-69841

Most CRM Softwares are of advanced level but, companies rarely try the advanced features of their business software. Few companies do more with their CRM system than use it as an advanced to-do list and calendar application. There are many benefits for companies if they take advantage of advanced features in their CRM systems. Here are a few features that most companies should consider implementing. They are: Integration with ERP; Integration with Customer Service; Integration with Websites; Consistent Mobile Use; and Predictive Analysis. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/taking-crm-to-the-next-level-a-quick-survey-of-advanced-features-69843

In a recent research by Gartner, it was found that failure to respond to customer complaints via social media channels can lead to a 15% increase in client loss. Customers get agitated if your brand fails to respond to social media complaints and that includes ignored emails or phone calls from customers. Social listening capabilities in your customer relationship management software (CRM) can provide your organization with the ability to tap into these conversations and comments immediately. You can understand sentiment and other measures of how you stack up to your competitors with the help of social listening. So, social listening matters to any organization even more now. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-reasons-your-crm-needs-social-listening-capabilities-69840

A good way to stay organized and increase sales is to Keep track of your clients with customer relationship management (CRM) software. This is true for any business. But, the question is how you can keep track of your clients. The answer is to track customer data. This can be done with the help of CRM software. You can do that with the help of CRM mobile app, by tracking leads, tracking sales, and by sharing customer data. To know more about how you can use a CRM to track customer data, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-ways-crm-tracking-leads-to-more-sales-69832

Retaining old customers is the most profitable task of any small & medium sized business. According to Forrester Research, it was found that retaining 5% more customers can increase profits by 25-125% and it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing client. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can be a vital tool for organizational client retention. Companies use CRM tools for preventing customer defection, increasing client satisfaction and improving cross-selling efforts. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-ways-crm-is-key-to-smb-customer-retention-69833

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was first developed in 1995, and since then it has come a long way. The main VoIP trend of 2015 is the adoption of VoIP by mobile device makers, and this, along with other trends, represents a growing role for VoIP in all businesses. Mobile VoIP is helping to increase employee efficiency. Unified communications (UC) is the new buzzword in business nowadays. UC allows integration between both text- and voice-based communications, including VoIP, teleconferencing, document sharing and even customer management systems. This integration helps in effective communications networks in an organization. Call analytics using VoIP are best used when paired with a customer relationship management system. To know more about these VoIP trends, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/global-voip-trends-and-what-they-mean-for-your-business-69828

Millennial working population is the largest group working today. Research shows that these young workers are ready to put in long hours—but they also expect mobility. According to a recent survey, it was found that for Millennials, the greatest perk for them is to work remotely. Mobility is an important consideration for them and not just a perk. In another survey, it was found that productivity increased when employees worked from home. Read more about how employees benefit from mobility: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/five-ways-unified-communications-can-improve-employee-mobility-69827

Are you investing in a new CRM solution or want to replace the existing customer relationship management solution? You must consider several points before taking your proposal to the next level. If you consider these points, it will help in the future. First, you must compare the features against their ease of use; then you must consider how the information is presented, and lastly, you must consider is how well the CRM solution will grow with you. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-considerations-when-justifying-a-crm-solution-67771

Nowadays, small businesses compete against larger companies by utilizing cloud-based business systems. Cloud-based business services are becoming more advanced.  Professionals must understand the cloud technology. There are different cloud servers to assist a business, but some are more vital than others. They are: Cloud Storage and Email; Cloud BI Solutions; Cloud Security; and Cloud Based Accounting. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/the-advantages-of-using-cloud-business-services-01323254

Global smartphone penetration is increasing. So, people are now depending on mobile applications and more people spend time with their smartphone. But, does that mean mobile apps are becoming important for small business. But, first we must know  little about a mobile app. A mobile app is now one of the most effective tools for reaching out to and interacting with customers. Nowadays, most companies have realized the effectiveness of mobile app and capitalizing this trend. Developing a mobile app is the call of the hour for any business because in any business, creating a blog, publishing a newsletter, building social media followers, and other common strategies might not be enough to build relationships with potential and existing customers. Abass Toriola (freelancer writer) writes in his article about how to develop a mobile app. To know more about this, follow: http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/step-step-guide-create-app-small-business-01322223

Email was invented four decades ago and it is still the most popular communication technologies. A Reuter’s poll conducted in 2012 showed that nearly 85% of people around the world use email to stay connected as compared to 62% that connect on social media. Nowadays, more than 71% of marketers use email as a medium to connect with customers and email marketing tools make it easy to set up a newsletter campaign. Marketers must understand why spam filters behave the way they do & is crucial in strategizing email marketing techniques. To know more about email marketing techniques, follow:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/it-small-business/understanding-the-technology-behind-email-marketing-69797

There are many flash storages and each range is giving competition to each other. Each range offers certain advantages, but each also comes with flaws. This makes the decision-making process very difficult, and customers have to think about the right selection. In order to make the right choice, you must know your exact purpose of buying a flash storage. Jared Jaureguy (Consultant) writes in his article about some important points that a flash storage buyer should consider before buying. Some of these are: Buyer should consider processing speed, data integrity, high performance, cost effective, stability, and must have more capacity. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/byod-cloud/what-type-of-flash-storage-buyer-are-you-69811

Websites are important for any business. But, in today’s world, there are many website hosting options. The best option depends on the budget and as well as the complexity of the site. There are many options available. They are: Free Hosting; Shared Hosting; Cloud Hosting; Reseller Hosting; Dedicated Hosting; Managed Hosting; and Collocated Hosting. To know more about website hosting options, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/hosting-facts/different-types-of-website-hosting-69802

Lack of knowledge sharing and transparency are the challenges faced by organizations nowadays. It was found in a research that 86% of the employees and managers blame workplace failures on a lack of collaboration, and 97% believe that information flow within a team directly affects project outcomes. Here ERP solutions come to the rescue. It is critical for small & medium sized business. ERP solutions helps in lowering and improving customer retention. Organizations can benefit from the implementation of the right ERP which include improved collaboration, transparency, employee satisfaction, and team outcomes. To know about key ERP benefits, follow:  : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/simplify-employee-collaboration-in-smbs-with-erp-69798

In cloud based CRM, vendor handles everything from hardware maintenance to software upgrades. But, when the vendor overhauls their system which in turn forces your business to change the whole system. So, a change management plan is necessary. Business must have alternative plans in place for other CRM systems. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-to-handle-change-management-when-your-cloudbased-crm-gets-overhauled-69801

Forensic accounting firm deals with many complex financial issues that require a full understanding of the situation and for this an expert is needed to handle the situation. Investigative accounting and litigation support firms require efficient business processes to discover the necessary data. Here, enterprise resource planning solution can help. An enterprise resource planning solution can give you a boost in productivity and operational efficiency. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/how-your-forensic-accounting-firm-can-benefit-from-erp-69778

Marketers nowadays want more audience segmentation and have more data at their end. But, they are forgetting to connect with real people. This can be done by delivering the message to the particular person in a timely manner. So, marketers need to use technology in the right manner. Columnist James Green in his article link, explains why marketers need technology which can help them to connect with more individuals at a personal level. Read more at:  http://marketingland.com/human-side-data-opportunities-marketers-141168

According to a research, it was found that email marketing and social media marketing are the two mediums which is most likely to see an increase in investment in 2015. Most businesses don’t integrate these two mediums. It was also found that by integrating email and social strategies together, organizations can improve their brand’s reach while adding leads to the sales pipeline. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/irfan-ahmad/2015-09-10/why-email-marketing-and-social-media-marketing-work-better-together

Without effective social media strategy, a company may suffer from low social media engagement, low email conversation rates, and little to no ROI. A business must create a good working team for this. Beth Romelus (contributor to Business 2 Community), writes in his article about some content strategy that can be easily practiced. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/5-steps-to-building-an-awesome-content-strategy-01322070

Earlier we have seen that CRM required manual input to fill in notes from sales activities and collect information about prospect behavior. But, nowadays, this is done with the help of technology and machine learning is one such technology. Machine learning is helping sales teams to fill in the notes. But, first we must know what machine learning is. It refers to a computerized data analysis where algorithms learn from new information and quickly decide what the next best action is. Web search results, credit scoring and email spam filtering are powered by machine learning algorithms nowadays. Such technologies are extending to CRM also. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/machine-learning-your-way-to-better-crm-69781