Oct
15

By CommenceCRM

Are CRM Product Reviews Losing Credibility?

Gold top 10 winnerConsumers looking to purchase specific products and services often turn to the internet to begin the process of gathering information about what’s available to them.  The internet is a wonderful, quick and efficient source of information, enabling you to hone in on specific products or services and visit individual company websites or read product reviews.

While the amount of information can be overwhelming, you can always count on that one report you can’t wait to get your hands on once you see it – “The Top 10 Report”.  Consumers who download these reports feel as if they have hit “pay dirt” or have they?

Top Rated CRM

Today there is a top 10 report for almost any product or service including CRM software. But can you rely on these reports to provide you an unbiased review of the product or service you are interested in?  Unfortunately, there is a reason to be concerned. Why? The fact is many reports charge a fee to be included in them.  This is known in the industry as “pay to play” and has become so prevalent that some of these reports may no longer provide the credibility you think they do. They instead simply list the companies that have agreed to pay to become part of the listing.  This isn’t quite fair to the consumer but this is business and things are not always fair.

Web CRM Reviews

So what can you do if you are looking for a specific product or service, or in this case an online CRM system?  Use the reviews as a starting point then do more homework about the company or vendors you may be interested in.  Check how long they have been in business and how many successful implementations they have done. What kind of customer service can you expect? And if you are focused on online CRM software, where will your data be managed and stored and how can you get access to it if you need to

Social Networking

Another great source of unbiased information is Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. These social networking sites represent the public at large who often provide excellent unbiased feedback about specific products and services.

Image “Gold top 10 winner” by Sam Churchill on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

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