SMEs and CRM

Posted 29-Jan-2004 11:01 AM
The SME market has been identified as a hot one by CRM vendors, but are those vendors really listening to the needs of the SMEs or simply tryiing to modify existing large enterprise solutions and force fit them into the SME market?

Teri Robinson
Managing Editor

[This message was edited by Bob Thompson on 04-Feb-2004 at 05:18 PM.]

Paul Ingeberg
Member

Posted 06-Feb-2004 12:40 AM
Don't think so. Since "large" CRM vendors have focused on functionality and trusted (or initiated)internal processes and SuperUsers in large enterprises to set up internal routines so the users more or less are forced to follow the yellow brick road through the CRM system.
Smaller CRM vendors, like SuperOfficefor example, is already targeted towards SMEs and offer ease-of-use and an intuitive user interface. For many SMEs, a long CRM system implementation is not possible; the resources are few and time is money. Choosing a "standard" CRM system where only 20% has to be customized, offers a quicker ROI and choosing a CRM system where an Intuitive User Interface has been the vendors priority, gives the management the data input they need. In short: If its easy to use—the users will use it. Or?

Karen Maguire
Member

Posted 12-Feb-2004 01:16 PM
I agree. First, the business model of the behemouths depend heavily on add on revenues from consulting and configuration. Small business don't like hidden costs. And the small business owner earned every dollar he or she is spending. They can negotiate fiercly over small sums of money. Second, the behemouths will have to support small or non-existent IT teams. Companies who are currently in the SME space will fare best, because they know what they are up against. Anyone expecting to crack the SME market from on high is delusional.

Dr. Karen Maguire
Satuit Technologies, Inc.
CRM for the Investment Professional
http://www.satuit.com

Julian Sharp
Member

Posted 12-Feb-2004 05:59 PM
I agree with Karen. Hidden costs are the kiss of death on CRM projects for SMEs and the large CRM vendors are going to find this difficult.

Many of the CRM vendors rely on their professional services revenues and in my experience are very very expensive on daily rates that would make almost all SME Chief Execs faint.

On the flip side the traditional SME CRM vendors such as Goldmine and ACT! are not making much headway and are often sold by localised resellers as part of menu of solutions rather than by CRM specialists thus not getting the focus required.

The CRM vendors who have concentrated on the mid market such as Onyx and Pivotal have a worrying future as there is expected to be great consolidation and a number of solutions will disappear within the next 3-5 years. [This could become a self-fulfilling prophecy of course].

The vendors who do seem to be thinking on the right lines are SalesForce.com with the ASP model—you know exactly what you are getting for a fixed amount of money, and Microsoft who have the deep pockets for R&D and the channel to sell it to SMEs.