free CRM systems
I'm asking about free of charge, CRM systems. Do you have any experience
with them? I know TUTOS, but I don't like it.
I'm looking for not so much complicated system.
Looking forward read a response.
There are a number of CRM packages which can be found at
http://freshmeat.net. It may pose a problem if you find installing OSS
(Open Source Software) difficult because installing an OSS CRM will
normally entail installing a database server (MySQL or postgreSQL).
All this effort just to try out the packages really is quite
time-consuming. I have done all that and found that I don't need so
much features and set about to write a simple CRM for a friend which
is also accessible from a mobile handphone.
It may help if you identify the simple features of the CRM you want.
Believe me, I have found that CRM means a lot of things to a lot of
people. Even I find difficult to call my own homebrew software CRM. I
just added the features I wanted.
My situation was like this. My friend is a SOHO (and SOLO:-) business.
Running the business alone, he has to visit his clients and has little
time to be seated at the computer. When he is at his client's site, he
may check his inventory on his mobile phone (a Nokia 9210) on a
ridiculously slow GSM connection (9600 bps). So, the system has little
graphics. However, when an order is keyed in on the spot, the invoice
can be sent via fax or e-mail from the server right to the client's
office while my friend is still there. Similar thing can be done for
quotation.
Since the data is stored in a postgreSQL database, my friend can also
get various information from the system like revenue per customer,
recency of sales, frequency of sales and so on. Meanwhile, clients can
also order direct from the site.
You can quite readily cobble together a system like this if you know
PHP and database programming. However, I feel that the success of CRM
implementation is dependent on management's understanding of CRM. It
is an orientation more than a system. I find Kotler's Marketing
Management text used in my MBA course very useful for the development
of such concepts.
CRM is a business project not a technology project. I hope that this
gives you a little bit more to go on.