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Salesforce.com: Should I use Salesforce to integrate multiple systems? We are in a very specific desktop/hardware niche.
JK
JK
Jason Kanigan, Business Strategist & Conversion Expert answered:

Have you talked to a Salesforce rep?
Seriously. They would be best and most knowledgeable to tell you whether their software can do what you want.

Business-wise, your post frightens me with the impression of unbridled, "The customer wants it? Let's build it--who knows or cares if it's profitable!" That's great if you've got a giant pool of money to draw on and are specifically looking for the winner solution that will take off and hit mass market success.

Which highlights the real problem I see here: your firm seems like it is doing far too much custom work. Without some repetition, using work you've done before, you're reinventing the wheel every time. Unless you're getting paid highly to develop these custom solutions, you're blowing cash and sinking towards debt every time you "buy a customer."

From what you've shared, it looks like there are critical issues with your business model.

Yes, you need some kind of analytics backbone to give you the data you want.

But first, you need to identify what measures are important to you--and buying customer and playing with apps is not where money is made.

How long have you been in business? What's your average cost of customer acquisition? And fulfillment? Are you making a profit? Do you know? From your post, it sounds to me like you understand the *technology* of your business, but not the *processes* of your business.

It sounds, honestly, like a snarled-up mess of day-to-day firefighting. I'd be curious what your accountant has to say about cashflow.

Have you mapped these processes out? Developed some KPIs to figure out what's going on and what needs to be kept tabs on?

Figure those out first. Processes flowcharted and measures determined first, tech to manage them last. Technology (your CRM, software etc.) comes last. Technology is glue. What do you get if you apply glue first? A mess.

I think you need more than a CRM consultation.

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