I am currently working with a company that is integrating their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and email marketing platforms.
Here are some interesting facts from a recent AMR Research survey (registration may be required for non-clients).
* Expected increase in spending on CRM software from 2005 to 2006: 8.2%
* Companies planning to use “hosted” CRM applications in the next 12 months: 49%
Better marketers are using CRM and investing in integration of CRM with other systems such as email marketing platforms.
CRM spending is going up but more and more companies are looking at implementing it using the “software as a service” model. Check out “Bill Sweetman’s post on choosing a hosted software vendor”:http://www.onedegree.ca/2005/08/04/learned-ten-questions-to-ask-when-considering-hosted-software for more on this.
Choosing the right partner can mean the difference between success and failure of your project.