Company #1
Company’s Customers
Salesforce is a type of cloud-based CRM software that enables firms to connect with and acquire more data regarding their clients. It has achieved this by exploiting the importance of data storage and free accessibility to attract a customer base. Overall, Salesforce has been capable of leveraging cloud technology and building a range of applications for enterprises to connect to their customers better and enable them to gain critical insights into their services via the use of analytics and applications. The company has several cloud platforms, including a marketing cloud, a service cloud, health cloud, community cloud, app cloud, Chatter cloud, analytics cloud, IoT cloud, Heroku engagement cloud, and commerce cloud, among others (Salesforce, 2020). Therefore, it targets companies embracing the use of these clouds.
While the applications are vast, the three main business functions that utilize this software are customer service, sales, and marketing; regardless, when customized, its capabilities can extend beyond these functions. The CRM component mainly focuses on assisting businesses with seeking out, acquiring, and retaining customers, and much more. On the other hand, in the sales component, Salesforce is utilized by organizations to assist with tracking sales and spending. Furthermore, in marketing, it is essential in helping firms track customer journeys while at the same time providing multichannel marketing campaigns.
Salesforce Products
Specific Customers
Pricing
Total Annual Cost = (1.75 + 37.50 + 1.25 + 40.00) * 12 = $966.00 per employee/month
Company #2
Oracle’s Customers
Oracle specializes primarily in developing and marketing cloud-engineered systems, database software and technology, and enterprise software products (Oracle, 2020). The company also develops customer relationships and supply chain management software. The target market suits its large and diverse product portfolio, and it can be categorized in several dimensions. These are in terms of the industry, customer need, and size, geography, and budget. For instance, when it comes to the industry, most of Oracle’s products have broad applicability for businesses across the spectrum, and these include healthcare, IT, and commerce, among others. The second is a customer need, in which it provides solutions across software platform need (data analysis, web computing, mobile integration, and database, among others), computing infrastructure needs (computing and storage services), and business technology needs (customer service, e-commerce, sales, marketing, and supply chain, among others).
Third, when it comes to customer size, Oracle offers products capable of serving the demands of small, medium, and large-scale companies. This often integrates the element of the customer budget in which they provide a variety of product subscriptions with features that suit the different-sized companies (Oracle, 2020). Lastly, in terms of geography, the company targets clients from both local and global markets. Moreover, these products have been customized to comprise country-specific features and local language capabilities.
Products
Specific Customers
Pricing
Total Annual Cost = N/A
Company #3
Company’s Customers
Tableau Software specializes in providing analytics software, which enables its customers to analyze, visualize, and share information. It has achieved this by creating nine product lines, and they include desktop, prep, server, online, data management, server management, mobile, embedded analytics, and developer tools (Tableau, 2020). Due to the availability of a broad range of products, Tableau Software has been able to target customers ranging from sole proprietors to large corporations, in which most fall within the medium-sized bracket. This mirrors its positioning statement, “analytics for anyone,” which affirms it as the accessible and intuitive business analytics choice (Tableau, 2020). Overall, the Tableau software focuses on simple and easy access to self-service analytics for non-technical business users. Furthermore, it constitutes attractive visualizations, including an intuitive user interface that positions the company well with executive decision-makers who seek to have information presented clearly and in different accessible formats.
Looking at its largest customers by industry, the company targets computer software, information technology and services, and the healthcare industry. This further substantiates that the company develops software that suits the specific needs of businesses falling within the before-mentioned niches. Moreover, upon considering geographic location, Tableau Software targets businesses established in both local and international markets. However, most of its customers reside in the United States, France, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Products
Specific Customers
Pricing
Total Annual Cost = (0.70 + 0.70) * 12 = $16.8 per employee/month
Salesforce CRM Implementation
Lessons Learned
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics have enabled organizations to understand their customers better. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been the center of the commerce industry. Although the conventional techniques can occasionally boost high-performance values, the overall results have not always been up to the mark. The primary principle behind CRM is to develop a closer relationship with customers and tailor product and service offerings to align with consumer tastes closely (Kulpa, 2020). As in the analysis of the three companies above, I have learned that although CRM tools are derived from one central principle, it is essential for a business to choose an appropriate CRM solution. This is because there are three different types of CRM; operational, collaborative, and analytical, that have different features.
Therefore, although Salesforce is one of the top CRM software in the marketplace, subscription to the option with full features does not apply to every business environment. A business must have an accurate understanding of the capability of the CRM platform being selected. Complete evaluation of its specific features, and what will be required to integrate it with the existing systems. This goes far beyond reading the marketing material from the vendors. No single product will probably perform everything that the business requires “out of the box”; thus, it is essential to explore which third-party tools should be integrated into the CRM ecosystem. Furthermore, this builds onto the second lesson that I have learned, which is that integration with existing systems is one of the foremost factors to consider when purchasing CRM software. This grounds other CRM-related implementation challenges that revolve around data migration and overcomplicating the implementation. When purchased CRM software seamlessly integrates with the existing system, it becomes easy to transfer data from one software to another, and overall simplifying the implementation process.
References
Khandewal, A. (2018). Key challenges organizations face when implementing Salesforce CRM.
Kulpa, J. (2020). Why is customer relationship management so important?
Oracle. (2020). Oracle.
Salesforce. (2020). Salesforce.
Tableau. (2020). Tableau.