Customer Relationship Management

Ana R.: Currently we utilize Maximizer CRM to organize our client information. For Marketing purposes I find it very limited and don’t care for their customer service. For instance I would like the ability to segregate our niche markets from each other, highlight stages that they are and keep their info. in the forefront so that we don’t lose contact. What do you know of Maximizer and could you recommend a better CRM system that is efficient and not costly?
Clyde A. Lettsome, PhD, PE, MEM Answer: I know nothing about Maximizer CRM. The only CRM software I have had exposure to is Surgar CRM. It came as a part of a package of software I downloaded years ago. If you are not familiar with Sugar, it is an open source CRM that I think many would consider to be among the best if not the best CRM available. A number of large corporations use it. What makes it and other open source CRM powerful is the fact that they are open source. Therefore, if there is a feature you desire that is not included, you can add it if you have coding skills. The version I used in the pass did not have the segregation of niche markets feature. They may or may not have included it since. Nonetheless, here is the link to the free version of Sugar and a few other free, yet good open source CRMs that may meet your needs: SugarCRM CE, ConcursiveSuite, SplendidCRM CE. If you need the complete versions, support and hosting, they all have those options available for a monthly fee. I would recommend before changing to any new CRMs you test it first.

Good Luck!

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