The various pricing schemes can create confusion among buyers as they try to assess the total cost-of-ownership (TCO) of different CRM services priced under various schemes. For example, there are still several companies offering license-based pricing models. Also, some companies offer a subscription option in addition to a perpetual license option.

In July we did a comparative price analysis of four leading CRM solutions for mid-market organizations. Forrester Research defines mid-market organizations as any organization with revenues of less than $1 billion and/or fewer than 1,000 employees. The CRM solutions included in this TCO analysis are:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
• Sage SalesLogix
• Salesforce.com
• SugarCRM

For this analysis we looked at the following costs and requirements: for premise-based solutions we included the server and end-user (named user) licenses and annual support and maintenance fees. For on-demand solutions we looked at the annual end-user (named user) subscription fees. Each solution had to include mobile access, integration with Microsoft Outlook, a customizable reporting engine and configuration and customization capabilities.

We looked at the three-year TCO (total cost of ownership) for a 10-user; 25-user; 100-user and 500-user deployment. We assumed the following storage requirements: 5GB for the 10-user; 10GB for the 25-user; 15GB for the 100-user and 25GB for the 500-user deployments. For this analysis, we used standard list pricing as available in July 2011. Term, volume and other discounts (such as discounts available under the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement) have not been considered.

You can download this analysis here.

Here’s a preview of the 3 year TCO for a deployment of 25 users:

Here’s a list of things you should avoid posting:

1. Party Photos showing you drunk or with a hand somewhere it shouldn’t be.
2. That you are having a party – unless you really want more people than you invited!
3. Passwords – unless you can afford to lose the information or money it protects.
4. That you are planning to take a sickie.
5. Drama with your friends.
6. Issues with your parents or family.
7. How to get more connections, friends or followers – it sounds like spam.
8. Your bodily functions – really, no-one needs or wants to know!
9. Photos or events which reveal your were not sick that day at work.
10. Complaints about your boss.
11. That you hate your job and want to leave – it may happen sooner than you think.
12. Links to personal sites from a business account – keep business and pleasure separate.
13. Updates that you have escaped from jail and are on the run (stop laughing – this has been done!).
14. Pictures of your, or worse other people’s, body parts (unless this is part of your job – tattoist for example).
15. Anything which you are not comfortable with – don’t post it. Chances are that other people won’t be comfortable with it either!

Some of the above list may seem obvious, some not so obvious.
Can you think of any others which are definite no-nos when it comes to Social Networking?

With more and more security being set up on mail servers across the globe by both Internet Service Providers and company IT departments, it is becoming all too easy to fall foul of the SPAM/JUNK filter, resulting in your mail being quarantined, marked as junk or, worse still, deleted before it’s even made it through to the mail server itself!

In order to help you avoid some of the commonest pitfalls in an effort to increase your hit rate to your targets I have created this “Top 5″ list.

1. Don’t sound like a spammer from the start.
Normally, email filters examine the words in the email “subject line”. This is the header that you see when an email shows up in your email box. A good subject line can encourage people to actually click on and open an email, but you need to exercise care when creating your subject headings to prevent filtering.

Frequently, more sophisticated anti-spam methods used by Internet Service Providers use a “points system” that identifies trigger phrases commonly used by Spam. If an email goes over the “points limit” it is filtered out and is never delivered to a customer.

Some of the more commonly used phrases that Service Providers and mail clients filter out include:

Free!
50% off!
Click Here.
Call now!
Subscribe.
Earn $.
Discount!
Eliminate Debt.
Double your income.
You’re a Winner!
Reverses Aging.
“Hidden”.
Information you requested.
“Stop” or “Stops”.
Lose Weight.
Multi level Marketing.
Million Dollars.
Opportunity.
Compare.
Removes.
Collect.
Amazing.
Cash Bonus.
Promise You.
Credit.
Loans.
Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Serious Cash.
Search Engine Listings.

There are other problematic phrases that can trigger some Spam filters, or start adding “Spam points” to emails sent out, which should be avoided. These include:

Act Now!
All New.
All Natural.
Avoid Bankruptcy.
As Seen On…
Buy Direct.
Casino.
Cash.
Consolidate Your Debt.
Special Promotion.
Easy Terms.
Get Paid.
Guarantee, Guaranteed.
Great offer.
Give it away, Giving it away.
Join millions.
Meet Singles.
MLM.
No cost, No fees.
Offer.
One time.
Online pharmacy.
Online marketing.
Order Now.
Please Read.
Don’t Delete.
Save up to.
Time limited.
Unsecured debt or credit.
Vacation.
Viagra.
Visit our web site.
While Supplies last.
Why pay more?
Winner.
Work at home.
You’ve been selected.

Using quotation marks, dollar signs and exclamation points in subject lines will frequently trigger mail filters, as well as using all capital letters (shouting).

2. Addressing.
Make sure you use valid ‘From’ and ‘Reply-to’ addresses. Clearly identifying the sender is one way to convince the filter you are legitimate. Using a generic address is also one sure fire way to get added manually to recipient’s spam lists. If you’re sending them information you think they want, then be upfront about who you are and make that connection count. Research shows that most users judge the legitimacy of an email by the sender’s name and email address.

3. Calm it down
Using multiple exclamation marks or capitals (SHOUTING) to get your point across is certainly going to annoy the reader. Assuming it didn’t get caught in the spam filter already, that is.

4. Link the Link.
It is quite possible that you created a tracker URL to see when people clicked through to your company’s website. However, there is a mistake which many people (myself included) get caught out by – linking the link. Put simply, this is when you’ve created a tracker to go to your company website (http://www.sugaruk.co.uk) and have used the same address as the hyperlink text within the email “visit our website – http://www.sugaruk.co.uk”. It’s something we’ve all done. We want the person to see our website address in the email, as it will then get magically lodged in their brain and they will think of it all the time.

However, because the tracker in Sugar is replaced with a unique URL in the code of the email to allow Sugar to track WHO clicked on that mail, some mail clients see it as spam because the address being referenced is not exactly the same as the address being displayed in the email.

So how do you get around it? Simple. Use something like “Visit our website” as the hyperlink text instead of the address. Sure, keep the address visible in the body of the email if you really want to, but link from some standard text not a different URL. That way, you can be sure your mail won’t get filtered for linking the link.

5. White lists.
Get your prospects to add your address to their “White list” (a list stored within their email program to say which email addresses they trust not to spam them). This can be as simple as putting a link at the footer of your email called something like, wait for it… “Add my address to your safe senders list” which can send them to a page on your website or blog explaining how to add an email address to their white list in common mail clients (Outlook, Googlemail, Hotmail, AOL etc.). That way, you know that even if their mail server has passed it through, it’s not going to get caught by the spam filter on their personal machine.

This tip was originally posted on the SugarUK Blogs where you can find a whole host of other useful SugarCRM tips.

1. Web Access.
   Similarity: Both the Royal Wedding and SugarCRM were available via the Internet, live on 29th April 2011.
   Difference: SugarCRM is still available in a realtime form after 29th April 2011.
2. Audience of millions.
   Similarity: Millions of people watched the Royal Wedding in the same way that millions of users currently use SugarCRM.
   Difference: SugarCRM’s audience will just keep on growing unlike the Wedding viewers who turned off after seeing Kate’s dress.
3. Quality.
   Similarity: The wedding was held by one of the world’s highest ranking families. SugarCRM is one of the highest ranked CRM products in Global business today.
   Difference: SugarCRM is not stuck with tradition, pomp and ceremony. It does what it says on the tin and keeps up to date with modern trends and technologies (Social Networking etc.).
4. Cost.
   Similarity: We are told that the money put into creating both the Royal Wedding and SugarCRM goes into huge amounts, yet the cost to the man on the street is minimal.
   Difference: SugarCRM really doesn’t cost a lot of money to Joe Public and fees are only applicable to those people using the system, whereas the Royal Wedding and Royal family have high ongoing Total Costs of Ownership which everyone in the United Kingdom contributes to whether they use/approve of the Royal family.

This blog was originally posted on the SugarUK Blog pages and has been edited following the event.

A CRM system is not a stand-alone solution that magically gives you a better insight into your customers and delivers customer loyalty. CRM should be the fourth step in an up-front business planning process that first addresses business goals, processes, and people.

A business must establish clear goals and objectives, identify the processes that need to be in place to achieve those goals, and implement the communication and training required for employees to act in support of the desired objectives. Completing these tasks—which are potentially challenging and time-consuming—is a key success factor to ensure a successful CRM implementation.

Once business goals, processes, and people are in place, companies need to ensure that they select the right technology to enable their people to support the desired business processes. A company should not have to change business processes to accommodate technology, but should instead select a flexible, intuitive, and open CRM solution that supports both current and future business processes.

Understanding Your CRM Users And Their Needs

It is important to understand that there are two very different groups of CRM users in a company. The first group consists of customer-facing employees who use the CRM system to manage their daily customer interactions. The second group is the management team, who use the CRM system to report on past and future company performance.

Customer-facing employees should spend their time with customers, not entering data into the CRM system. For the front-line staff, flexibility and ease of use are critical. A flexible CRM system allows each employee to tailor the interface to work they way they work. An intuitive CRM system reduces barriers to adoption. A CRM system should simplify and automate repetitive tasks for employees, but many CRM implementations fail because they actually add complexity.

Management needs to be able to get business metrics from the CRM system, so flexibility and openness are critical requirements. Can the CRM system adapt to the unique processes of the company? Can the CRM system integrate with other software applications such as billing and order management systems?

So this leads us back to the process companies should go through before selecting a CRM system. Business goals, internal processes, and employee training need to be considered prior to CRM design and implementation. A good understanding of sales, marketing, and customer support processes will allow the company to configure the CRM user interface so that employees can focus on customers and not get lost in a data maze. A good understanding of overall business goals during the design and implementation process will ensure that management can measure, track, and report on the key metrics they need to understand past and future company performance, allowing them to make the right decisions to grow the company.

Employees should be aware of company goals and be trained on the necessary procedures to meet these goals. The CRM system should mirror these procedures so that system training becomes reinforcement of established processes, not technical training on a CRM system.

A great way to introduce CRM in any company, large or small, is to involve key employees from the earliest  planning stages. When employees understand the capabilities of the system, how it follows existing processes, how they will interact with it and how it automates and simplifies repetitive tasks, they can not only socialize the implementation with their teams, but they can make valuable contributions regarding the processes and desired functionality of the CRM system.

So here it is…The Secret To YOUR Success.

The two main acquisitions by Salesforce that give me pause are its puzzling $250m+ acquisition of hobbyist Ruby platform Heroku that no one was actually paying to use in production. Now, Benioff and Co. are shelling out $276m or so to acquire Radian6, a social media monitoring and analytics company.

What the #$%& is going on here?

Salesforce.com has spent more than half a BILLION dollars on a) platform tools that no one really cares about and b) a “cool” set of tools that really doesn’t add anything major to its core offerings (where, I should point out – Salesforce.com makes all of its money).

I think Radian6 does some cool stuff, really I do. But this multiple is ridiculous – and dangerous for the industry. It was bad enough hearing everyone freak out about Color getting a trillion dollars in funding (OK, maybe I’m off by a hair or two here) – but this type of overspending makes those shouting “BUBBLE!” seem like wise sages right now.

Salesforce paid a ridiculous multiple for a company probably struggling to grow profitably in a space that has not matured into a “must have” portion of the app stack for small and mid-sized businesses and may not for several years. While it is great to get insightful data from social channels, what companies have proven to have the right actionable processes in place to leverage this data in any valuable way?

Agin, social media monitoring is a useful tool – BUT – Radian6 was already tightly integrated into Salesforce.com. AND – I imagine that only about 15% TOPS of Salesforce.com’s user base really gives a damn about the kind of social media intelligence that Radian6 provides. Remember, Salesforce’s bread and butter is still the SMB and midmarket – areas where “brand monitoring” are not as critical as in, say, the Global 2000 (where Salesforce.com pretends to be a big player).

So, to recap, Salesforce.com has spent upwards of $500m+ to bulk up a platform that does not serve its core user base, and for a social media monitoring tool that its core user base has no desire or need to use.

Wow.

Just imagine, if Salesforce.com spent that money making its core CRM product actually easier to use, contain a less “Siebel in a browser” look and more of a modern web app feel, more reliable and less vulnerable to universal outages, etc. Imagine if they kept their actual core user base happy and actually still built CRM tools?

I guess we’ll never know…

When I think of where CRM is going, or at least where I think it should be going, I really like that technologies like Riak are out there. The explosion of data, from social media, to email and more generic web activity – which can and should be tracked in a CRM context – causes headaches for most traditional, relational-database CRM models.

Let’s face it, CRM for the B2C set has always been a touchy subject. The data volume for large B2C organizations made for a lot of anonymity along the value chain, and a lot of sales and marketing decisions were made with guesswork or statistical data. Imagine, being able to base your market decisions on real data, analyzed more effectively and faster – oh, and with very little data loss along the chain.

NoSQL databases are an evolutionary step in building frictionless, agile web applications and total web platforms/experiences for large organizations. I am excited about where concepts like Ruby and Riak can take CRM.

Think about it – what would you do if you knew you could collect ANY data around your prospects, customers; emails, web activity, files, activities, web meetings, chats, Tweets etc. – and manage that with no data loss in an intuitive UI which helped you to identify your clear advocates, problem areas and untapped opportunities?

A more fluid approach to CRM could be coming – we are just now seeing the tools that we all might consider de facto standards in a few years. One thing I love is that SugarCRM is built with flexibility and agility in mind, so a Sugar on top of a NoSQL data approach might not be too far off.

Just stupid.

The post implies that open source will not grow in the cloud because enterprises want the tried and true expensive and inflexible nature of the Oracle database.

Wait…what?

While I will not argue that the beauty of the true cloud is that you can port any environment over to it (thus big companies will put their Oracle-driven stacks in the cloud) that is only a small fraction of the what the cloud is about.

This post is a great example of the kind of short-sightedness in some enterprise IT departments that can hold true innovation back. The real value of the cloud is being realized by the smartest companies and the most innovative – building scalable, fluid web properties and flexible, custom applications.

What are these next generation cloud stacks built on? Not Oracle, that’s for sure. The leading cloud environments and highly scalable web properties in the cloud are being built using Ruby, and Riak-based tools.

The relational database will very much be part of the cloud – but Oracle will only be a part of the story. For scalability and flexibility – open source is the only way.

Or, companies can keep using outdated concepts in the cloud and see how long the remain competitive.

Many have probably seen that Salesforce.com has acquired web conferencing tools provider DimDim for $31m. (The rumors of this deal had been percolating since before Dreamforce so for many this was no surprise at all.)

The deal pits Salesforce.com in many ways against some big companies and very popular products – Citrix’s GoToMeeting and Cisco’s Webex, in addition to IBM’s Lotus Live set of offerings. With its recent platform buy in Heroku, and this new move, it is funny to see Salesforce continue to add competitive concerns and look to enter in large markets where it has no clout, rather than look to live above the competition in one market where it already does well. Confident move?  Yes. Smart move?  Well, we’ll just have to wait…

And while the DimDim acquisition clearly places SFDC in competition with the likes of WebEx and GoToMeeting, Salesforce would like to look at this differently. Salesforce instead sees this as a pocket acquisition to bolster its Chatter functionality – a tool it is already basically just giving away to gain some stickiness for its actual paid apps. So, if SFDC does not really see much future for DimDim save for part of what is now a free add-on, then the $31m price was not a huge price to pay to make a cool new collaboration feature a little more robust.

But again, if Chatter is basically free at this point, why buy DimDim? The product was open source under the GPL. Couldn’t SFDC simply create an integration to the free tool and offer up that integration along with a simple installer to add video and screen sharing tools to Chatter?

I think the answer here is two-fold. One, I have not yet seen SFDC do anything that resembles open source. Yes, they have opened up their toolkits and platforms for developers, but everyone does that. There is just not that type of culture alive at SFDC in my opinion. This is a company steeped in the grand history of proprietary software.

The second reason (which is definitely intertwined with the first) is that due to SFDC’s multi-tenant model, adding DimDim-like resources without wholly owning the code would be problematic. As we know, in order for SFDC to really have a tight handle on anything its users touch, it has to run on its monolithic platform. This makes upgrades and other things easy, but does set limitations on how SFDC can go to market with technology it doesn’t own.

It will be interesting to see if the nature of a GPL licensed piece of software sitting inside a huge multi-tenant database has any effect on the way in which Chatter users are empowered to make, own and redistribute changes.

All in all, this is chump change for SFDC, and while it plots them theoretically against big names like Webex, I can’t see Salesforce actually making any huge headway into standalone video conferencing with the DimDim technology (After all, Cisco’s Unified Communications suites are pretty awesome and light years ahead of where a DimDim-powered Chatter tool is today). Most likely, Salesforce.com will only relegate the functionality as a nice add-on to Chatter.

One of the curious things I have seen, however, is that Salesforce.com continually seems to be moving away from its core product message. While SaaS and “the cloud” have permeated the company’s message to date – at least in the early years when the company was ramping up we heard a lot about the actual business software it was developing.

Now, apart from Chatter, I have not heard much about actual CRM features from Salesforce.com in what seems like years. Now, I am sure they are developing the apps – don’t get me wrong. It just does not seem a focal point anymore.

Why? Well, there are a number of possibilities. I’d like to explore two potential options. (Both, one, or neither could be true as I am just postulating here.)

One explanation about the perceived lack of actual feature/CRM development is that the actual Platform capabilities of Force.com are a reality. (And not, as one observer called it – “Farce.com.”) What I mean is that if Force.com is even half as easy to use as say Sugar Module Builder and Sugar Studio – customers can build features they need so that Salesforce.com does not have to do so. This is a possibility – but the limitations of the multi-tenant model make truly deep code-level customizations hard to perform and manage in terms of upgrades etc.

Another option, and this one is far fetched I admit, is that Salesforce in time will shift its revenue model away from application subscription fees and into data services fees of various types.

Huh? You mean Salesforce.com would STOP charging for what has proven a potential multi-billion dollar business?

Well, yes and no. Salesforce.com has created a huge revenue stream for itself, granted. However, it’s prices are proving too high for the market in terms of value received. Even Microsoft is coming down to SugarCRM price levels. For Salesforce.com to compete effectively against better engineered CRM software and highly competitive pricing – it needs to innovate in new ways.

Salesforce.com’s multi-tenant model makes it difficult for the company to offer a lot of different vertical, geographic, etc. solutions, since there is technically “one version” of the system. But – Salesforce.com’s multi-tenant model makes it perfect for another concept – data collection, segmentation and other data-centric services. Having one HUGE database of customer, product, sales information, etc. about thousands and thousands of companies – coupled with data from it’s Jigsaw acquisition and the type of customer sentiment data from Chatter – and that becomes a valued asset.

Salesforce.com seems to be on some sort of track around this, with plans to offer  a free, stripped down version of Chatter to any interested party in the coming weeks. This would allow non-Salesforce.com users to enter data into their huge environment and allow Salesforce to leverage that data in any number of ways. I think of Salesforce taking the cue from Google – understanding thew value of data and information, not plain out of the box apps.

I do not think Salesforce.com would abandon what is a highly valuable revenue-stream any time soon.  But it does seem to have an innovation gap happening in CRM. And if it were to couple seriously interesting (to marketers especially) data services with its core CRM tools, it might be able to at least sustain its bloated pricing rates for the time being.

I have railed against the company’s multi-tenant architecture as limiting for some time. But here I think its huge database might be how it remains a relevant company in the future.