Most people would think that signing up new customers would be the biggest challenge for CRM solution providers.  With several hundred vendors in the space the CRM sector is one of the most competitive environments in the computer software industry.   We caught up with Commence Corporation’s CEO Larry Caretsky to get his thoughts about this.  While he agreed that the competitive landscape does present challenges to his sales team, the successful implementation and utilization of the product has become a business concern as well.

“Commence has been providing high quality software and services to the small and mid-size business community for three decades, so we are a trusted solution provider” says Caretsky.  “Not too long ago the companies we did business with had technical resources on board or engaged a local business partner to manage the implementation of the CRM software, but that has changed. Most small to mid-size businesses today do not have these resources. This places the burden of managing the installation on the solution provider like Commence. Fortunately, we have a highly experienced team of people that have been engaged in several hundred CRM implementations, so we are able to properly ensure the successful implementation of our software.”

“The proper implementation however does not guarantee the product’s utilization.  The challenge here is that many smaller businesses cannot afford to recruit and hire experienced sales, marketing and service personnel. These roles are critical to the successful utilization of the product.  CRM does a good job of automating and streamlining internal business processes, but you need to have the processes defined in order to automate them.  Many companies do not have a well-defined process for qualifying leads or managing the sales process. Furthermore, they want to create e-mail marketing campaigns, but do not have a clear understanding of their target audience or what messages they wish to send out.  All of the above, lead to a lack of utilization.”

To address this, Commence has created an Onboarding program that is designed to ensure the proper installation, training, customization, and utilization of the CRM.   “What we have done is couple our CRM software with a team of highly trained sales, marketing and service personnel that can ensure that our customers realize the maximum value from our solution.  It has become a significant differentiator for us over the competition and has played a major role in assisting with customer retention. “

“We have evolved with the industry’s needs” says Caretsky.  “Commence is not only a software manufacturer but has become a sales and marketing consulting firm as well.”

To learn more about Commence Corporation’s Onboarding program visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com