SageCRM 7.1 New Features and The Benefits of an Integrated CRM System

In this post we review the significant benefits of an integrated Customer Relationship Management System and take a look at the new capabilities in SageCRM Version 7.1.

A Global View

CRM is more than just a great productivity tool for your sales and marketing staff. Integrating CRM with ERP like Accpac or MAS supports your entire organization in managing customer relationships–from initial marketing campaigns and lead generation, through the process of quoting and winning the order, and finally to order fulfillment and customer service.

The integration of CRM and ERP across your organization can transform your business as your staff works together more harmoniously and effectively. Duplicate data entry is eliminated. Your team can accurately identify customer requirements and fulfill them quickly and profitably. Integration with your financial system allows accounting staff access to critical customer information so that overdue receivables can be reduced, as your accounting and sales teams work in unison.

SageCRM Capabilities Overview

SageCRM is designed to help you build long-lasting customer loyalty and generate repeat sales. Built-in tools allow you to analyze, forecast, and report on key sales data. Marketing automation allows you to create, schedule, and track marketing campaigns. Let’s look more closely at the key capabilities.

Customer Care Automation
The ability to retain your hard-won customers is a critical success factor in today’s competitive market. SageCRM Customer Care tools give your team access to a complete view of customer data, including: purchases; call and escalation history; support cases; e-mail messages; and sales opportunities–enabling your team to provide efficient and personalized customer service.

Sales Force Automation
You automatically can distribute leads to your sales professionals based on criteria you define. Visual tools make it easy for your sales force to manage current and historical account details, activities, and opportunities. Point-and-click reporting and graphs give sales teams access to real-time data for on-the-spot analysis and evaluation.

Marketing Automation
Powerful yet easy-to-use marketing tools make it a simple matter to schedule and track marketing activities within a campaign. Each detail of a campaign and the results are visible, providing a single source of prospect information, eliminating guesswork.

Microsoft Outlook Integration
SageCRM is tightly integrated with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. Changes made in Outlook are synchronized to ensure they are appropriately reflected in SageCRM.

SageCRM Version 7.1 Enhancements

Now more than ever, companies need to maximize workplace effectiveness, drive staff productivity and put the customer at the heart of their business processes to stay ahead of the competition. SageCRM Version 7.1 includes new features to help your organization thrive.

Total Campaign Management
Campaign management in SageCRM  now includes full campaign workflow so organizations can map campaigns to their business processes for consistent execution. You can execute multi-channel marketing campaigns and then clone them for easy re-use.

Interactive Dashboard Enhancements
In Version 7.1, you can create tailored company dashboards for key accounts in SageCRM, re-size and reposition gadgets to view the data in the way that suits your needs, and even drill down to detail when required.

Communications Enhancements
New real-time synchronization between SageCRM and MS Exchange delivers a seamless calendar management experience in Version 7.1. You will appreciate your always-up-to-date appointments, tasks, and contacts within SageCRM–on your smartphone, laptop or desktop PC. System administrators benefit from a new single point of entry where they can manage existing Exchange users and add new users.

New Report Charts
In SageCRM Version 7.1 your at-a-glance business insights, report charts, and graphics now have more visual impact. It is easy to see comparisons, patterns, and trends in your data to support more informed decision making.

Sage E-Marketing For SageCRM
Version 7.1 includes a fully integrated e-Marketing system that enables you to execute high-quality, targeted email marketing campaigns. The e-Marketing system is a Web Service that requires an additional subscription. You can create drip marketing campaigns quickly and easily. The software automatically tracks open, click and bounce rates, enabling you to deliver hot leads to the sales team and calculate accurate ROI. A simple three-step wizard guides you through the process of creating an e-marketing campaign with ease. A selection of 90 templates helps you get started quickly. Follow-up call lists automate the connection between email and telesales.

Please give us a call with your questions regarding Sage CRM Version 7.1.