The following glossary from leading providers, Outsourcery has been designed to explain some of the terms associated with CRM software:

Collaborative filtering – CRM software enables businesses to suggest products or services to a customer based on what other customers with similar preferences have purchased in the past. This is particularly popular with internet retailers.

Cross selling – CRM systems allow you to successfully identify buying trends and exploit these to sell additional goods to your customers, based on their purchasing preferences.

Customer analytics - Customer Analytics analyses data about an enterprise's customers and presents it so that better and quicker business decisions can be made. CRM analytics can be considered a form of online analytical processing (OLAP) and may employ data mining.

Customer loyalty – CRM software is specially designed to encourage customer loyalty and as a result, develop more profitable relationships with clients.

Data Mining – This refers to the process of Analysing information, in order to identify consumer trends, patterns and new business opportunities.

Module - Some CRM software packages and other applications are modular i.e. You can add on features like building blocks to the core product to give it additional functionality.

One-to-one marketing – CRM systems allow you to develop a personalised, interactive relationship with customers.

Segmentation – CRM software allows you to segment your customers into groups, each with common demographic attributes. This will allow you to market to these groups effectively and assess their value to your business.

Territory Management - Usually part of the sales module of a CRM system. Territory Management allows companies to effectively manage geographies, sales personnel, and leads while aligning resources with opportunities.

Up selling – One of the main benefits of CRM software is that it allows increased opportunities for up-selling to customers. By analysing consumer trends in detail you can identify potential opportunities to sell new products and services to your clients.

Vendor- The company/corporation that is the developer, manufacturer or authors of the CRM software. Vendors are sometimes known as ‘software houses’, or ‘merchants’. In the case of CRM 4, the vendor is Microsoft.

Web-based CRM – This refers to CRM software that provides full access to users via the Web, ensuring data security and integrity. Hosted CRM 4 from Outsourcery is one such software solution.

Workflow Management – CRM systems enable Workflow Management. This is the automation of policies and procedures, which result in improved customer service. CRM software can play an integral part in developing marketing campaigns or sales processes.

About Outsourcery

Outsourcery are a leading providers of hosted CRM 4. From their secure data centre, they provide secure CRM 4 hosting solutions to SMEs across the U.K. To find out more, visit http://www.outsourcery.co.uk/crm4