Getting the Most Out of Mobile CRM - PCS
Posted by Glen Mund on Fri, Jun 27, 2008 @ 03:12 PM
by Rick Cook, InsideCRM
Mobile CRM is a whole different ball game from conventional CRM solutions. While CRM applications on mobile devices like smartphones and PDAs are designed to support the same goals and strategies as CRM on desktop or laptop systems, the way you apply mobile CRM is very different.
Making mobile CRM work for your company requires careful planning and a good understanding of how to design successful mobile CRM applications.
Pick the Right Platform
One of the most constraining choices you face when deploying mobile CRM is deciding which mobile device to use. Unlike desktop or laptop CRM, mobile devices are anything but standardized as each one has different sets of features. What's more, not all carriers support all devices.
Neither do all CRM vendors. While companies like Salesforce.com Inc, Oracle Corp and Sage Saleslogix make an effort to support multiple platforms, none supports all offerings. Your choice of mobile device is going to heavily influence what applications you can use.
Even if you decide to throw out all your mobile devices and your current carrier and start from scratch, you're going to face major challenges. For one thing, your users are going to have their own preferences, and will probably not be happy about having to learn a new device on top of a new application. You're going to be doing well if you only have to support a single platform for mobile CRM.
Because mobile CRM is so constraining, you need to carefully consider your options when choosing which mobile devices to use with your solution.
Design Applications Carefully
"Picking the right [application] - that's the dividing line between the ones who are successful at mobile CRM and those who are not," said Guy Waterman, senior director of service and mobile products for Oracle. This doesn't just mean choosing the right product. How you design and customize your mobile CRM applications is absolutely critical no matter what software you choose.
Mobile CRM does things differently, and in some cases reversely, from desktop or laptop CRM. "You got a much smaller device sandbox," said Chris Miller, director of product management for mobility products for Sage CRM Solutions. "The amount of space is much smaller than on a desktop or laptop."
To read the whole article, click here: http://www.insidecrm.com/features/getting-most-mobile-crm-051908/