In order to maintain your ongoing customer relationships, you need a well-integrated computer system that will provide the information needed for the marketing and management tools that will ensure the profitability and future for your firm. Sales information and leads are generated from data gathered during everyday jobs. This detailed information should be available to your customer service reps as they assist customers. Customer history can also be provided to the sales department prior to soliciting additional business from any existing customer. The sales person has a genuine interest in true customer satisfaction and has the knowledge to offer additional services which may really be needed.
Separate databases cause customer communication problems instead of rendering true assistance.
It may appear to be less costly to buy several pieces of software. However these different software products may not communicate with each other, which will prohibit information exchange between sales, production, accounting, and ultimately your marketing effort to your existing customer base. In reality, what appears to be the least expensive path to success may turn out to be the most expensive. Centralization and standardization will ultimately lead to less paperwork, which means greater productivity and faster access to information. Additional savings and increased efficiency will be realized through reducing the redundancy of customer information being maintained in different departments.