1. SMB Series
Effective
Customer
Relationship
Management
Software for
Small to
Medium-sized
Businesses

2. EffecƟve CRM soluƟons The unique needs of the SMB
for small to medium sized A SMB company (or division of a large
company) is defined many different
businesses ways. One way is in terms of company
revenue. The SMB organizaƟon has
sales of $10M-$1B. Another way to de-
fine it is in terms of the number of CRM
ExecuƟve Summary users. In this paper we define SMB as
those companies with 5-1,000 CRM us-
An effecƟve CRM soluƟon for small to ers.
medium sized business involves chal- The SMB has challenges of the large-
lenges. The important findings of this scale enterprise, but without the luxury
paper include: of large company budget. For the SMB,
• Improving business efficiencies and the cost and Ɵme to implement systems
driving increased revenues should is criƟcal. It is not unusual for highly
be the primary selecƟon criteria customized CRM projects to take many
followed by high user adopƟon months to implement with costs of
rates. $500K and above. These are prohibiƟve
• Users should consider cloud imple- for the SMB.
mentaƟons for lower overall costs The SMB has a parƟcular need to be
and reduced impact on IT organiza- “quick on its feet” – able to react quick-
Ɵons. ly to changing business needs. This abil-
• An integrated suite of applicaƟons ity to out-maneuver a SMB company’s
can improve the customer experi- compeƟtor is its primary compeƟƟve
ence by geƫng departments to advantage. Any CRM soluƟon a SMB
collaborate seamlessly. company implements, must meet this
• How easily a business user can challenge also.
make changes to the CRM system
without the need for programming It is imperaƟve for the SMB organizaƟon
skills is another important consider- to be able to change and adapt their
aƟon. CRM system as their business grows or
• ImplementaƟons should be com- as the market or compeƟƟve environ-
pleted in days. ment changes. If the company is limited
• And finally, the CRM soluƟon cho- in its ability to change, then it will not
sen should have the ability to grow be able to maintain its compeƟƟve
and adapt as a company’s needs edge. Ease of customizaƟon simple
and situaƟon changes. enough for business users to implement
is one consideraƟon that will help a
company keep pace as well.
IntroducƟon
Small to medium sized (SMB) compa- Cloud vs. on-premise CRM
nies have many choices of CRM soŌ-
ware opƟons, yet choosing a soluƟon In the past, CRM was implemented by IT
that actually meets their needs is a tre- departments as an on-premise applica-
mendous challenge. SMB have needs Ɵon. The process was expensive and
that are as great as any large company Ɵme consuming and when end users
but do not possess the financial wanted changes to the applicaƟon, de-
resources. Enterprise CRM soluƟons lays were inevitable. Staffing, mainte-
are far too expensive and complex for nance and upgrades also figured into
the SMB firm. Simple systems designed the IT infrastructure decision making.
for the smallest businesses do not have But the advent of hosted or cloud com-
the power and depth of features that puƟng has changed the nature of how
are needed. Many CRM products CRM applicaƟons are implemented.
designed for the SMB offer only part of Now vendors host the system in the
the soluƟon that may be needed and cloud, so SMB firms no longer have to
have limited capabiliƟes for a 360-
degree view of the customer and com- make expensive hardware or billed
investments. Companies are
soŌware
pany-wide CRM iniƟaƟve. This paper
reviews the challenges faced and bene- monthly perlowerand depending imple-
the vendor,
user
overall cost of
upon
fits received when a SMB company
selects and implements a cost-effecƟve, mentaƟon can be achieved if the CRM
applicaƟon is easily customizable by
integrated CRM soluƟon. business users. A robust soŌware en-
gine designed for customizaƟon can
also drive down implementaƟon costs.

3. The purchasing process of 27%
• Decreased sales and markeƟng
The purchase decision process has also costs of 23%
changed dramaƟcally. In the past ex- • Improved profit margins of over 2%
pensive on-premise versions required
the IT department to spend months an- An effecƟve CRM soluƟon can deliver
alyzing proposals from vendors. De- these business producƟvity increases.
pending upon the CRM applicaƟon, they The crux is in choosing the right applica-
would also have to figure out the Ɵme Ɵon for a SMB company.
to integrate expensive add-on applica-
Ɵons to deliver a completely integrated
soluƟon that would get departments Choosing the right CRM soŌware
across the company seamlessly collabo-
raƟng. There are many quality soŌware com-
panies that offer CRM applicaƟons.
For a CRM to be effecƟve, sales, mar- However when reviewing the capabili-
keƟng, customer service and operaƟons Ɵes companies need to be aware of the-
should all be involved to maximize a se common limitaƟons.
company’s investment in the system.
Today’s purchasing decision for the SMB
is more likely to be made by a company Search for complete cloud soluƟons
president or line manager. The primary
driving reason for purchase is end user The cloud arena has received much
adopƟon rates and how the system will aƩenƟon in the press and is a good ap-
improve business efficiencies and drive proach for many companies. Benefits
increased revenues. include a lower iniƟal cost of geƫng
started and the reduced impact on a
company’s internal IT resources.
CRM systems – the compeƟƟve ad- Unfortunately, most products in the
vantage for the SMB cloud market have major limitaƟons.
The SMB is oŌen where the compeƟƟve Some are strong in sales and markeƟng
pressures are most extreme. SMB or- but not in customer support or help
ganizaƟons need to effecƟvely focus on desk. Some are strong in customer sup-
its customers to get the most from each port, but weak in sales and markeƟng or
customer relaƟonship. Sales especially project management. Others don’t pro-
need an easy to use and navigate CRM vide access for the company’s custom-
if they are to adopt the system and ers and partners.
boost producƟvity. Moreover, many cloud CRM applica-
The lead generaƟon process needs to Ɵons require expensive add-on products
convert these leads successfully into from mulƟple vendors to round out
customers. With those SMB organiza- their funcƟonality. This increases the
Ɵons that uƟlize channel partners, they CRM cost and complexity requiring
need ways to channel leads to them in companies to managing mulƟple invoic-
a Ɵmely manner. They need a system es and coordinate system upgrades. A
to coordinate with the partners to iden- complete cloud soluƟon needs to offer a
Ɵfy and close new business quickly. single system that delivers all the func-
Ɵonality a company needs.
Moreover, SMB companies need to be
able to manage their customer support
costs and enable customer support over Chose a simple-to-use system that
the web to increase customer saƟsfac- drives end user adopƟon
Ɵon and influence retenƟon rates. Mo-
bile CRM soluƟons are growing expo- It may be that a company’s needs are
nenƟally in importance as more of a quite specific and a system that has lim-
workforce is mobile and needs access its in other areas will provide good val-
to the CRM system on the road. ue. One of the most poorly understood
facts about CRM implementaƟons are
that unless it’s simple to use, end user
CRM drives business producƟvity adopƟon will fail and the benefits will
never be seen to a company’s boƩom
Recent benchmark studies reveal that line.
CRM applicaƟons account for:
• Revenue increases of up to 41% per
sales person Plan for easy customizaƟon and
• Decreased sales cycles of over 24% growth
• Lead conversion rate improvements
of over 300% Keep in mind too that such a system
• Customer retenƟon improvements may require significant customizaƟon to
actually meet a company’s require-

4. ments. The easier a CRM is to custom- expensive versions of their soŌware and
ize by business users, the higher the users have discovered too late that to
adopƟon rate. Users who can adapt the get all the funcƟonality they need that
system themselves to meet their unique cost per user has skyrocketed well be-
needs are more likely to keep using a yond iniƟal budget consideraƟons.
CRM system. Also, make certain to plan
for growth, as the system chosen should On the other hand, vendors that have
be flexible enough to grow as compa- focused on the smaller businesses for
nies grow and change. This is especially years are trying to serve the SMB with a
true as more departments come to use less scalable version. They primarily
the CRM system. have offered ‘contact management sys-
tems’ which are too small for company-
wide implementaƟons and can’t offer
robust system insights into a 360-view
Look for ease of integraƟon of the customer. They can’t match the
Some CRM systems are good for one needs of selling into larger accounts
business unit but have liƩle capability either.
for another. As a result some compa- Conclusion
nies have two systems, one for business
units like markeƟng and sales, and an- SMB firms face special CRM challenges,
other customer support which aren’t yet their need for effecƟve, robust CRM
well integrated. Look for systems that systems is great. It takes much Ɵme for
can provide a soluƟon that is well inte- a firm to navigate through the choices
grated and equally strong across a com- available but it’s criƟcal to find one that
pany-wide iniƟaƟve. Avoid needing to meets the need of a company. Key
purchase expensive add-on modules or things to remember include:
applicaƟons as use of the CRM grows. • End user adopƟon rates and how
Plus built-in integraƟon with back office the system will improve business
applicaƟons such as QuickBooks may be efficiencies and drive increased rev-
important. CompaƟbility with Outlook enues should be the primary criteria
is another feature to consider. for selecƟng a CRM system.
• Cloud CRM system benefits include
a lower iniƟal cost of geƫng started
Look for lower cost of implementa- and the reduced impact on a com-
Ɵon, ease of customizability, strong pany’s internal IT resources.
support services • A totally integrated applicaƟon
SoluƟons from value-added resellers should be used across an organiza-
while highly customized and specific to Ɵon to get departments collabo-
a parƟcular industry are expensive and raƟng seamlessly to improve the
oŌen require an addiƟonal degree of customer experience.
customizaƟon contribuƟng to long im- • Business users need to be able to
plementaƟon. Without a strong sup- easily make changes to the CRM
port strategy and team in place, a delay system without a need for program-
in implementaƟon or downƟme aŌer ming skills to adapt it to their usabil-
the soŌware has been released to the ity needs.
end user could result. • ImplementaƟons are to be complet-
ed in weeks, not months and should
reduce Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO).
Demand stability, experience and • The CRM soluƟon should grow as
longevity in the SMB the company’s needs and situaƟon
Make certain the soluƟon being consid- changes.
ered is from a company experienced in
the SMB. Select a vendor who has im-
plemented many CRM systems for com- Soffront SoŌware: MeeƟng
panies in this market. That experience the challenges in the SMB
can make a difference between success
and failure of a CRM iniƟaƟve. A completely integrated cloud CRM
Soffront offers a totally integrated cloud
CRM. ApplicaƟons include sales auto-
Watch pricing and scalability maƟon, markeƟng automaƟon, custom-
Many large enterprise vendors are en- er service and operaƟons asSMB com-
tomer and partner portals.
well as cus-
tering the market with a watered down panies see the advantages immediately
version in an aƩempt to match pricing
points but have liƩle experience with a with an applicaƟon that can be used
SMB soluƟon. Others, in an effort to across an organizaƟon to get depart-
match pricing of compeƟtors offer less ments collaboraƟng seamlessly. No ad-
diƟonal add-on products are required.

5. With drag and drop customizaƟon built- a large number successful SMB installa-
in to the Soffront’s CRM, business users Ɵons in over 15 countries, Soffront
can easily make changes without any brings a degree of experƟse Soffront
need for programming skills. The load is well needed by the SMB. A single sub-
reduced on the IT infrastructure and scripƟon price of Soffront’s integrated
frustraƟng delays for end users are CRM offers customers a fully funcƟonal
eliminated. system to boost business-wide produc-
Ɵvity and improve the customer experi-
ence.
High end user adopƟon rates
Soffront features one click updates to Customer TesƟmonials:
record a contact with a customer or
prospect. This can boost producƟvity “Soffront is the central nervous system
85% over other CRM systems which of the business… we were able to see
may require as many as 20 clicks for the ways to save Ɵme and become more
same acƟvity. Ease of navigaƟon; single producƟve in every area of our business.
view screens to view an account record; We witnessed a quantum leap in our
and all communicaƟon viewable in a efficiency.” Monroe Diefendorf, Jr.,
one screen are factors that drive end- CEO, Diefendorf Capital Planning Associ-
user of adopƟon of Soffront’s soluƟon. ates.
Soffront is easily adaptable to unique
business models and changing work-
flows with drag and drop customizaƟon “We selected Soffront primarily for two
built-in. reasons: speed of implementaƟon and
cost. The enƟre system was available
online, and we did not have to purchase
Lower total cost of ownership any hardware or third party soŌware to
get started.” - Mark Herrington, Manag-
Soffront’s a fully featured integrated er of client hardware installaƟon and
CRM suite offering with sales automa- support, Central Service AssociaƟon.
Ɵon, markeƟng automaƟon, customer
service, help desk, project management
and other modules work together to
deliver maximum producƟvity with min- “You don’t need to be a developer to
imum IT involvement. Soffront offers make this system hum. Soffront’s new-
the most extensive suite of integrated est version is quite possibly the best
CRM modules for the SMB. Soffront’s CRM that I have ever used.” - Evan
experienced implementaƟon team can Rosenfield, Director of MarkeƟng,
help integrate with all types of back American Security Programs, Inc.
office applicaƟons. All of this translates
into lower cost of total ownership.
For more informaƟon, please visit the
Soffront website, www.soffront.com.
Lower implementaƟon cost, ease of Or call the company headquarters in
Fremont, California at 1-800-763-3766.
customizability
Soffront’s engine is extremely robust
and designed to be easily customizable,
so Soffront implementaƟons are com-
pleted in days. With implementaƟon
costs well below industry norms,
Soffront is well posiƟoned to serve the
SMB. AŌer the successful launching,
Soffront customers are well supported
by the most skilled engineers, 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. Soffront’s pricing
is some of the most compeƟƟve in the
industry, giving users a high return on
their investment.
A CRM pioneer in the SMB
Few companies can match Soffront’s
length and breadth of service to the
SMB. Soffront has been serving this
market since 1992 and offering cloud
based soluƟons for the last seven. With