NetCRM vs. NetCRM+

NetSuite’s NetCRM and NetCRM+ products offer a feature-rich, web-based interface for managing an organization’s customer base. The advantages to Software as a Service (SaS) are huge. You get to leverage the technology platform and infrastructure of a fortune 500 organization at a fraction the cost. Why? Because you’re sharing the cost with thousands of other organizations. You’re all running on the same version, so it can be supported much easier. You’re receiving upgrades and new functionality several times each year rather than going through a painful and expensive upgrade every 3 or 4 years. Your costs are spread out over time, there’s no special hardware or software to install, you never have to worry about backups or your data going away, and you can access your business data at any time from anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer and an internet connection.

One of the challenges of software as a service historically has been limitations around customization and integration. Any organization looking to grow must take these capabilities or lack thereof into consideration when selecting their software. As NetSuite continues to lead the pack in the user-friendly customization and integration capabilities, a host of opportunities are upon us from easily pulling customers and orders into your accounting system programmatically to processing an order from the golf course using your PDA.

Product Overview

NetSuite offers 2 CRM packages – NetSuite CRM and NetSuite CRM+. Both products include everything that you would expect in CRM software including Salesforce Automation, Marketing Automation, Customer Support and Service, Productivity Tools, Business Intelligence and Analytics, and Real-Time Dashboards. Additionally, both packages include opportunity management, forecasting, and excellent customization capabilities. NetSuite also offers an Offline Sales Client, which allows you to use the software even when an internet connection is not available.

NetSuite CRM+ also provides upsell/cross-sell, incentive management (commissions tracking), project tracking, partner management, website & analytics, and a customer portal. Most CRM applications focus on managing prospects for sales opportunities. NetSuite CRM+ allows organizations to take that a step further with the ability to manage and upsell existing customers and gives them complete visibility into all financial transactions and website interactions without requiring any integration. This added functionality in NetSuite CRM+ sets it apart from competitors in the hosted CRM space such as Salesforce.com, Siebel CRM OnDemand, and Microsoft CRM.

Since NetSuite offers not only hosted CRM products, but ERP, eCommerce, and more, the CRM+ offering leverages functionality that is not typically associated to pure CRM applications. These additional modules used to support the rest of your business can be turned on at any time, and no extra integration is necessary. NetCRM can be fully configured and ready for use within hours of purchasing the product, and provides a user-friendly environment for ongoing customization and introduction/change in processes as an organization evolves.

CRM software should not just be considered a sales tool. It is about the interactions of the entire business with your customers in order to build a sustainable and successful relationship. Bottom line, NetCRM supports this relationship start to finish better than its competitors.