CRM software

[fullphat]

Hi Guys,

Im on the look out for a decent piece of software for holding customer contact details. It doesnt have to be too advanced...

Im running Vista Ultimate and would prefer a desktop solution instead of a web solution.

Any suggestions / recommendations??

Cheers

Martin

[Red V8]

ACT!

[Plotloss]

If you use Outlook, Microsoft Business Contact Manager is free

[fullphat]

Thanks guys,

I looked in to act but I dont beleive its Vista compatible. I use windows mail so the business contact manager is out of the question unfortunatly as well.

[bosshog]

Hi,

just out of curiosity - why don't you want to use a web based one?

To me CRM's like saleforce seem to be the way forward - actually let me re-phrase that - no local software seems to be the way forward - no IT headache, doesn't matter what PC/Phone/device you are using or where you are in the world - you always have access to your app.
cheers

[bga]

bosshog said:

Hi,

just out of curiosity - why don't you want to use a web based one?

To me CRM's like saleforce seem to be the way forward - actually let me re-phrase that - no local software seems to be the way forward - no IT headache, doesn't matter what PC/Phone/device you are using or where you are in the world - you always have access to your app.
cheers

We've gone down this route with Zoho & it suits our business perfectly in that we can all access it from home or a client site (where we spend most of our time) with internet access. In the same way all of our email & calendaring is through google apps which are accessible online or will integrate with Outlook (calendaring for a small cost).

[muppetdave]

I've found Act to be pretty useful, although I don't use it too in-depth - mainly contact management as opposed to detailed sales data - I've got the Sage that links in to it, but haven't got that side configured as yet...but that's another question!

[fullphat]

I suppose lookinhg in to it a bit more a web based solution wouldnt be too bad, Ive been tolod Sugar CRM may be worth looking at

[Timsta]

I've recently started using Sugar CRM. It has many more features than I need, and is a bit of a learning curve, but is a very nice piece of software.

[JustinP1]

I have been using ACT for about the last 6 or 7 years or so, and only kept with it through familiarity.

The older versions were clunky, however the version I have now takes about 30 seconds to open the database...

To be frank, if it were free you would live with it as it is pretty much a shareware quality app. However the fact that it is being peddled by the biggest accounting softward giant in the world is a bit laughable!

I would really recommend if you are looking to start out NOT to get stuck into the ACT trap... Save yourself some money and have a look at some of the shareware apps out there that do the same thing.

[bosshog]

If you do look at web based one, then I can definitely recommend Salesforce.com CRM. We've been using this with no problems, and what's handy is there are applications that run within salesforce that you can add. For example we have many many contacts and leads, and we end up with lots of duplicate accounts etc, and we use an app call DataTrim (all part of salesforce) that cleans all leads etc automatically. THe only real issue we have is if the internet connection goes down, which has happen a couple of times this year, but other than than its been very good.

[Timja]

Used to use ACT now using Goldmine for a year - much better for what we required.