CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which basically means it manages how a business interacts with its customers.

The CRM market is quite saturated, so it can be daunting, especially as this tool looks after most of your businesses sales and retention: Choosing the right one is a huge decision.

Step One: Decide whether you actually need one! The benefits are vast, though it depends on your current system and the size of your customer database.

Some of the benefits:

• Increased sales; through improved contact; better timings and by predicting needs based on historic trends
• Identify needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements
• Cross-selling other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements
• Identify which of your customers are profitable
• Send e-mails within a CRM solution and track in-coming e-mails
• Attach follow up tags against telephone calls and e-mails
• Ability to run marketing campaigns in specific CRM’s
• Ability to export information into MS Excel, Outlook, SharePoint and other MS platforms

CRM’s exist to optimize a business and to act as a reminder for chase-ups. Dependent on which solution you go for, most, allow users to easily import and export information via Excel files for marketing campaigns at the push of a single button.

Others allow users to run custom reports e.g. if you have a sales pipeline, a report can be produced to show which was successful and which you should come back to at a later date.

Where are they held?

Most CRM’s are hosted, which means that the information is held within the CRM and monitored by your CRM provider.

Security

Most CRM’s such as Dynamics 4.0 by Microsoft, allow companies to setup users and define individual privileges.

Each CRM can differ but if you have a question, feel free to pop a comment below and we will try our best to help you out.

What should I ask my new CRM provider?

• How do you import my contacts? Do you need it in an excel spread sheet via CD form?
• What security measures do you have in place for my information?
• Who has access to my database on your CRM solution?
• Is it backed up? If so, how often?

Customer Relationship Management takes care of your customers, whilst generating new leads; it can be vital in the growth and development of your business.

Which do you use?

Laptop or PC – whatever you have, one day it is safe to say that it will go slow and that extra bit of time it takes to load could feel like hours.

Let’s face it, staring angrily at a loading screen, is worse than watching paint dry.

But there are plenty of things we can do to speed things up again…

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With technology and computing constantly changing, Cloud Computing has defiantly revolutionised the way in which computers, licenses, and software are bought.

Cloud computing represents a shift in how company’s operate their IT, moving from in-house shared servers to huge on-line (cloud) servers.

Today: Shared resources, software and information, provide businesses with the benefits of anywhere, anytime, access to data, improved reliability, and software that is up to date with less danger of virus’s and other threats.

Before Cloud Computing

• Company’s physically had all IT resources within the office clogging up space
• Large amounts of internet bandwidth was required
• An awful lot of cooling was needed to stop servers from getting hot and damaged
• A large budget to include all hardware and software was expected

So, what is Cloud Computing?

Most people are already using it. I’m sure you are familar with Hotmail, yahoo, shared calendar appointments? They are all stored on servers virtually – this is Cloud Computing.

If your business is a user of a CRM software like Microsoft’s V4, all of your invoices, contact information and details stored on the program are again stored on a server where they are hosted allowing a user to access them anywhere.

Basically Cloud Computing is where a piece of information or document is stored on a server virtually and accessible anywhere meaning you don’t have to carry around USB sticks or be sat at a desk.

What’s in it for me and my business?

Cloud Computing is fast becoming the way forward for small businesses, there are numerous benefits:

• Pay only for what you use
• Easy fast deployment to users
• Monthly payment
• Requires less in-house staff
• Accessible anywhere
• Flexibility with hardware and software
• On-demand
• Less power hungry – making you even greener

So… If you like to save money, energy and time, it’s time to convert to the ‘Cloud’

Apple has previously released a new iPhone model in June so it’s pretty safe to assume the same will apply to the iPhone 5. That’s just over 2 months away and the rumours about what the new iPhone 5 will include are mounting…

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2011 is going to be a big milestone for Android with the release of Honeycomb which is specially designed for tablets. This will be the first Android version on tablets that isn’t just a modified phone operating system, it has a new interface called ‘stack tabs’. This however,  leads to a lot of questions arising for what to expect for Android in relation to smart phones.

The Motorola Xoom is going to be one of the first tablets released with Honeycomb pre-installed out of the box.

We’ve all been waiting for the news of Honeycomb on a smartphone

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With Google’s Android dominating the Mobile World Congress over in Barcelona with Android tablets and lots of Honeycomb. It seems as all the spot light had been on the mobile platform until Google’s head Honcho said that we could expect to see their cloud-based operating system on shelves as soon as Spring 2011.

Whilst Schmidt did his Keynote speech over at the MWC, he had rather a lot to say about Google’s new cloud-based operating system saying that: “It’s virus-free, very fast, and allows for remote management – the things that IT managers are always asking for. We believe cloud computing can be applied to the desktop. ChromeOS won’t run Windows apps, but there are some apps that you might consider as a substitution.”

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It seems as if BBC have now started integrating non-BBC channels into their BBC iPlayer in hope that consumers will start using BBC’s iPlayer as their new landing page for on-demand services.

It was announced back in May last year that iPlayer would start linking to other on-demand services such as ITV Player and 4oD, and nine months later, it is finally here.

It doesn’t stream everything in one app

You can’t have everything your own way – right? BBC have incorporated a global search within iPlayer to allow users to search for amazing programs like Snog Marry and Avoid or Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and once the user has found their program, they are presented with an external link to the on-demand program.

New partners in the ‘bigger picture’

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Your children spending a bit too long on your PC every night? Not sure what they are browsing and want to restrict them?

Did you know that you can apply Parental Controls within Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7.

We have got the whole process for you in a simple, easy and precise step by step guide for you.

It is necessary to employ a Windows 7 parental controls feature as one user will have an administrative account and the other account will be standard and restricted in terms of functionality and what it can do.

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Research conducted by a broadband comparison website ‘ISPreview’ has said that a good broadband connection can add value to UK house prices.

According to ISPreview, more than two-thirds of the UK – 68.8 percent of those questioned said that they would refrain from buy a ‘beautiful new house’ if it lacked a proper internet connection.

49.5 percent of those questioned said that they would be prepared to pay more for living at a house if it has a faster broadband connectivity than the house that they currently lived in.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, Twitter is currently having low level talks with Facebook and Google over the past month about both giants to acquire the micro-blogging giant Twitter.

The source which revealed to The Wall Street Journal said Twitter’s revenue of $45million last year, and valued Twitter between $8 and $10-billion, but added that the talks have “gone nowhere”.

The WSJ pointed out that a $10billion evaluation for Twitter is 200-times more than its last year’s revenue. Not only that but it is 100-times more than its estimated revenue of $100million-$110million for this year.

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