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When you are running a small business and thinking of automating the systems and processes within your organization you need to take a careful approach towards selecting a CRM solution for your company. There are a number of excellent small business CRM software solutions available so much so that it may be confusing trying to determine which will be the best CRM software option for you.

Microsoft outlook is one such option which is used by millions worldwide and is well regarded. Others include web based CRM solutions, Open Source CRM solutions for small businesses conventional Windows based CRM and Apple Mackintosh CRM for small businesses. (By the way if you are looking for CRM solution for enterprises, check creatio.com website - https://www.creatio.com/page/what-is-crm - CREATIO leads the way in the space of low-code BPM and CRM). There are many more options available to you but to help you focus on those which may be the most relevant for you, let’s have a look at the advantages and the various features the following solutions provide:

Web based CRM software for small business
Microsoft Outlook for small business
Open Source CRM for small business

Web based small business CRM software is where the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is hosted by an Application Service Provider (ASP), typically the vendor of the software. These web based CRM applications are delivered as services over the Internet, rather than on your local network like conventional CRM software.

Organizations that use web based CRM systems don’t own the CRM software. Instead you subscribe to the CRM services by paying a monthly or annual subscription “service based” or “pay-as-you-go” fee that varies from supplier to supplier. So, is it right for you? It could be if you are looking for:

A lower cost of entry and lower total cost of ownership
No costly hardware server infrastructure
Access from anywhere provided you have Internet access
Automatic upgrades to your CRM solution
Rapid transmission of information across organizational locations
There are other benefits and features. However those above show how this could be the cost-effective solution your business needs. Online small business CRM software is worth considering, particularly if you are mobile much of the time and have a remote CRM requirement and / or have a widely dispersed workforce.

MS outlook manages emails in a very efficient manner but the underlying issue with this software is that it has a weak database engine. Therefore it can not perform all the tasks which are expected from a CRM application. Microsoft Outlook small business CRM software applications can, therefore, add great value through the cost-effective management of data and systems. The primary benefits are as follows:

Improved functionality, more offered features, managing solutions, improved database support for different purposes, easy to set up and working, no integration required for other company CRM software or systems, sharing of outlook features like address books and tasks as well as calendars, increases sales and service functionality etc.

The extra cost required for product or training etc. is minimized. Synchronization process is not required. You can also efficiently work offline. And no integration with third party databases is required. So it can be said that the CRM applications completely integrate with MS Outlook and utilize the entries that you make everyday.

With the use of a single application, you can completely carry out your business operations. Moreover, you did not have to toggle around or buy additional software for which your people would need to be trained. With the use of the familiar interface, you can save many hidden costs. Furthermore, the installation costs are negligible. You can also capture contacts and associate correspondence data to the same without much hassle.

For every small business, this might not be a suitable solution as MS Exchange is rather expensive. But the companies that can afford this software should walkthrough the product offerings and realize the unending list of features available with it. And this is developed on the newer .Net platform.

For those small businesses which need a complete, fully maintained and supported CRM solution, open source CRM solutions may not be the way to go at least for the moment. However solutions such as Open Office are increasing in market share as they prove them selves to be a reliable alternative.

People are attracted to all kinds of open source products because by and large they are free. However, small business must consider any hidden costs before taking this CRM option. If you already have the infrastructure and expertise to implement, support and maintain an open office CRM solution this can make a great deal of sense especially if you then wish to customize it. Proprietary CRM software can be difficult and expensive to customize and using the vendor’s in-house support team could be very expensive.

On the other hand your choice of open source solutions at the point of writing this is still limited and you would need a skilled IT team to manage the implementation and ongoing support as support is not readily available and whatever support there is can be expensive.