CRM
Is Full-Box CRM the Next Big Thing?
We all know that CRM is a massive, multi-billion dollar industry; and according to Jon Bischke in a guest blog on TechCrunch last week, full-box CRM is quite possibly the next innovation that could conceivably change the very foundation of CRM software implementations. The way that it works now, CRM solutions are “empty box” CRM, meaning that it comes without any leads, leaving all the data entry up to your sales, marketing, HR, and every other department that uses the software. It can take a massive amount of time and resources, not to mention the wasted productivity getting the CRM setup. In fact, there’s already a slew of companies that sell this very service to their clients, among them being Marketo, Eloqua, and HubSpot.
What is Full-Box CRM?
Full-box CRM, on the other hand, arrives at your organization already filled with leads, which is a huge step in the CRM world. No more data entry, no more searching for new leads outside your system; it’s already available–you just have to search through your system. So you can see how full-box CRM could streamline your processes to an incredible degree, but where the heck do all these leads come from?
The answer to that question is social media. In the past few years, more and more companies and individuals are sharing more and more of their information on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and any other number of social networking sites. It’s easier than ever to find personal contact information for people, and full-box CRM takes full advantage of that. In order to populate the system with leads, full-box CRM vets contacts against their social networking profiles, adding legitimate leads to the solution. There are even services within larger CRM solutions that use a similar model, such as Data.com from Salesforce.com.
Possible Downsides to Full-Box CRM
By now, you’ve probably noticed that full-box CRM doesn’t come without it’s potential drawbacks. If someone has several social networking profiles, they can easily end up in another company’s full-box CRM as a potential lead, thus resulting in more cold calling from sales and marketing teams, which in the end may result in lost leads as people grow frustrated. Bischke also mentions that privacy concerns are going to be a big part of the development of full-box CRM, and no one has been able to draw a definitive line between what constitutes an online invasion of privacy and what doesn’t (a question that plagues Google every few months).
On the other hand…
The benefits of full-box CRM are undeniable, and could save companies billions of dollars in terms of lost time and resources in maintaining and vetting potential leads. It’s still too early to tell, but it’ll be interesting to see whether full-box CRM becomes the next big thing in CRM solutions.
Find more insider perspectives from our network of industry experts by visiting the Software Industry Insights page on the Business-Software.com blog. If you’re ready to shop, you can browse comparisons of top CRM solutions by downloading our exclusive report on the top customer relationship management solutions.
Amanda Andonian
Expert in Mobile, CMS, and Social Media
