© Sean MacEntee

There are some common mistakes that company's make in the process of purchasing, deploying and optimizing CRM software. One of these is deploying a CRM software system that isn't optimized for mobility. Since today's sales force is mobile, your CRM system should also offer seamless integration with mobile devices.

Another common mistake is trying to do too much with your CRM software right away. It is better to start your CRM system small and then continue to add to it, so that it will fit naturally into the way you do business. Many company's don' t do enough to ensure that their information is protected from the very beginning of the CRM software installation process. Always use the business name, credit card and email address when registering the administrator on the account, to protect you from legal ambiguity later about who can access the data.

© BITSoftware

SAP CRM is pursuing a new strategy in customer relationship management that is based on the concept of "social CRM." This is a big buzzword in business today, because it describes the methods that companies are using to deal with the implications of customers who have increasing control over the marketing and interaction around their online brands. Brand reputation, sales, service issues and loyalty are all more sensitive to the influence of customers' opinions and interactions online then ever before.

Thanks to social media, customer comments about products and brands are being amplified to have a much greater influence other people's purchasing decisions. Customers increasingly use the social media channels and online communities like Facebook and Twitter to consider the opinion of others in their decision-making process, and this is equally true of B2B and consumer companies.

© Infusionsoft

In the latest CRM software news, Gartner CRM SaaS vendor market guide has just listed smartFOCUS, which is a global provider of multi-channel marketing software. The vendor market guide is a comprehensive list of vendors that offer CRM software as a deployment option. Garnter notes that the number of CRM vendors that provide software as a service continues to grow, but some segments of the market like sales force automation have many vendor alternatives, while other segments like campaign management have few.

In the call center realm of CRM, BenchmarkPortal featured the its CEO and Service Agility's President on its monthly CallTalk show in April, which is broadcast directly over the internet. The show was titled "Go With the Flow: Tips for Optimal IVR Call Flow Design". The two executives discussed the basics of IVRs and offered tips for getting the best out of IVR deployment in a call center.