wMobile is a mobile telephone client for the popular GoldMine CRM system and provides complete bi-directional interaction with the company’s organizational CRM system.  Christian Wettre, president of W-Systems Corp believes that the increasing success of wMobile lies in its ability to empower small and mid-size organizations who, for the first time, can easily and affordably adopt a mobile CRM solution.

“Most small businesses think that mobile CRM is just for the big players and is way out of their price range, but we’ve developed wMobile to provide a robust and practical mobile CRM solution that is scalable and cost effective for small to mid sized businesses”, explains Wettre.

 “What makes wMobile particularly suitable for small businesses is that we can provide solutions for very small numbers of users. We have a number of clients with only one or two users and many more with five or six, something that is not very common in the current mobile CRM space” adds Wettre.

Wettre believes that the future marketplace for mobile CRM is shifting and we will see many more businesses adopting mobile CRM solutions a much smaller scale. In fact for some clients, wMobile has already replaced the need for notebook PC’s and reduced the organizations ongoing support needs as well as initial costs.

“It is an exciting time for the wMobile and the message is increasingly reaching smaller businesses that mobile CRM solutions are entirely accessible and obtainable. There is a definite fit between the requirements of a small business and the benefits that mobile CRM can bring to their operations” adds Wettre.

W-Systems offer a variety of customer relationship management software applications and have provided cost effective and innovative solutions to over 600 customers across many industries and vertical markets. For more information visit www.w-systems.com

Most small business owners understand the value of marketing tools such as Mobile CRM but assume that such technologies are only accessible to the much larger corporations. However, as smaller businesses gain experience with CRM they are demanding to leverage the power of these tools outside the traditional office computing environment, explains Mobile CRM specialist Christian Wettre

These days, small businesses need solutions that are flexible and can change quickly as the business grows while requiring little or no IT support staff to keep them running and available.  Small business solutions should fit into existing often simple computing infrastructure without the need for investment in new servers and IT management and security technologies.

 Small businesses rarely standardize on specific mobile phone platforms and are often looking for solutions that can work on a variety of mobile phones already in use by their staff.

 Often, small businesses have few or no dedicated IT support personnel to maintain systems and need solutions that do not require constant attention and administration to support existing and new users. The wMobile Mobile CRM product has had notable success because it meets these small business needs. It’s ability to be installed on any existing Windows 2000 or 2003 server means it is available for use on all major mobile phone platforms such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm and iPhone.

CASE STUDY: A.L Wilson Chemical Company. Kearny, NJ (www.alwilson.com)

A.L. Wilson is a family owned business that designs, manufactures, and markets textile stain removal products.  Their products are sold through an extensive network of distributors in the United States and Canada. A.L. Wilson employs regional sales managers who are responsible for distributor relationships.

Fred Schwarzmann Jr.  President of A.L. Wilson was an early adopter of CRM for central customer management and felt that these tools should also be easily available to sales managers even if they were constantly travelling in their sales territories. Sales managers were required to submit call reports of interactions with distributor and customers as well as to maintain a product price book and take orders from both distributors and customers during visits. Mr. Schwarzmann felt that laptops were a cumbersome tool for someone always on the go and started researching options for how sales managers could better utilize the then rapidly increasing computing power of mobile telephones.

A.L Wilson purchased wMobile in 2005 and it was implemented without the need for any additional IT equipment purchases and without the need for any additional IT resources. Training on the system was accomplished within a few hours and users immediately adopted it as their sole CRM tool in the field.

To ensure adoption A.L. Wilson customized the product to directly reflect the sales processes in place.  A.L. Wilson sales managers makes joint sales calls with distributor representatives and take customer orders while on sales calls.  A.L Wilson arranged to customize wMobile so that it could easily record such joint sales efforts and so that users could log orders and confirm product pricing directly on their mobile phones.  Since the wMobile product uses a direct internet connection to the A.L Wilson office network all entries and orders were available to office staff in New Jersey immediately as the sales manager made the entries into wMobile.

Mr. Schwarzmann realized that the mobile phone market was changing rapidly and appreciated that since wMobile supported all mobile phone platforms, A.L. Wilson did not have to commit to a specific type of phone service but would be able to always enjoy the state of the art in such devices as they added value to the sales force.

As a result of the wMobile deployment, A.L. Wilson has greatly reduced the time to sales managers spend on administrative tasks and reduced the time central office staff spends on recording and confirming orders.  Since all information in wMobile is in real time the remote sales managers have 24 hour access to current customer information and product pricing.  Since the maintenance of mobile phones does not require IT support there are little or no IT related costs of providing CRM functionality to remote users.

Field reps no longer needed to generate and submit paper orders,daily reports and weekly summaries for their field activities, since the raw data was available centrally and the summary work carried out at HQ using Crystal Reports. This was particularly popular with the field reps.

A.L. Wilsons’s Fred Schwarzmann Jr. comments “wMobile delivered a solution that previously only existed as an envisioned desired state of affairs.  We were able to deliver a cost effective and meaningful CRM tool to our users that it has proved to have minimal IT carrying costs and a high return on investment during the three year since deployment.”

A.L Wilson they now introducing a programme to leverage some of the value of the wMobile technology back to the distributor field reps they work with. By generating summary reports using Crystal Reports which highlight the ‘New’ products placed for evaluation during a trial session. The distributor field reps then use these reports as a reminder to follow up on these trial product placments when they revisit the customer two weeks later. The results so far have shown a significant number are reordering  through this simple reminder process facilitated by the wMobile system.

The future marketplace for mobile CRM is shifting and we will see many more businesses adopting mobile CRM solutions a much smaller scale. As we have seen, many wMobile clients have already replaced the need for notebook PC’s and reduced the organizations ongoing support needs as well as initial costs.

It is an exciting time for the wMobile and the message is increasingly reaching smaller businesses that mobile CRM solutions are entirely accessible and obtainable. There is a definite fit between the requirements of a small business and the benefits that mobile CRM can bring to their operations.

Mobile CRM is rapidly becoming a must have for field sales and service organizations as they realise the tangible ROI that can be achieved through reducing office-based administration and enabling personnel to manage routine tasks and real time reporting ‘in the field’.

But with a growing number of mobile CRM solutions available, many organizations are in danger of choosing over-complex applications or irrelevant mobile extensions of existing CRM systems.

Christian Wettre, mobile CRM specialist and president of W-Systems Corp has the answer…”Keep it simple for both the mobile users and for your IT administrators”.

The ‘Virtual’ Business

According to the Gartner Group, there are just under 60 million mobile workers who are away form their workstations for at least 20% of the working week. And with recent reports suggesting that mobile CRM will grow to 20% of total CRM revenues by 2010, many organizations are now revisiting their current CRM provision as the ‘virtualization’ of business processes and procedures draws ever closer.

The reality is that more and more mobile devices are able to access high speed internet, and with an increasingly mobile workforce, flexible work patterns and a rise in ‘home office’ workers, it is clear that there is a demand even in small and medium sized companies for a new ‘virtual’ office hub, where information can be shared and analyzed across all channels of the organization in real time.

Keeping Customers Happy

Modern business practice has demonstrated that is typically more cost and time efficient to cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers than to acquire new business contracts. Therefore the most effective mobile CRM system should takes things far beyond simple email and text and provide the ability to access and manipulate customer information in real time and conduct transactions remotely.

Organizations have invested heavily in process improvement and information technology.  Mobile CRM is an opportunity to extend that investment to users who operate in the field outside the office environment.

Ultimately, a good mobile CRM system will enable users to better serve their customers by providing them with an enhanced sales experience where they are provided with real time information, answers and results.

By eliminating the dreaded “I’ll have to check on that and get back to you” response, customer queries can be immediately resolved or scheduled for resources back in the office. Customers are left feeling satisfied with the meetings progress, representatives are shown to be more in control of the sales process and the relationship is seen to be more transparent and therefore trustworthy.

And we all know that happy customers are more loyal, spend more, refer more and are less likely to switch to competitors.

 A Leaner Business

Ipsos Reid & Microsoft reported that 84% of professionals felt that mobile devices would increase their productivity and profitability In fact, many companies have report positive, measurable ROI statistics after implementing a mobile CRM application and the most common benefits reported by users include reduced office administration and desk-based tasks, lower operations costs and an increase in revenue through improved sales and staff productivity.

“Treo smart phones used for business have an average ROI payback period of two months and that field agents experienced productivity gains that equalled $11,125 in average savings per agent each year.” Dan Colquhoun, vice President, Frost & Sullivan.

Mobile CRM is a crucial part of developing a leaner, more profitable business and by providing accurate, real time statistics, Management can conduct regular analysis at any time and identify potential opportunities and areas for concern and act on them immediately.

Mobile staff are given greater freedom, flexibility and customer account management, whilst also raising the bar of accountability through the knowledge that Management have access to their current status reports and progress at all times.

Choosing the right time for mobile CRM

Ideally, companies should review potential mobile CRM applications before they need them to enable a greater analysis of the most appropriate solution for the business. But realistically, a company needs to implement a system as soon as any of its employees need access to customer and transactional data whilst out of the office.

From an individual users perspective, the right wireless CRM solution should support multiple device platforms (be it a laptop, PDA or other mobile device) to enable users to choose whichever platform best suits their circumstances. At an organizational level, it should allow flexible, scalable accessibility of information across the entire business network with the ability to adapt and develop as the business evolves.

What you should consider before buying a mobile CRM system

1.    Plan ahead

Plan ahead and take time to decide what your organization needs from its mobile CRM system before you need it and review the various options. Mobile CRM applications are relatively new so make sure you understand the new and unique value propositions of various solutions and evaluate the benefits your organization may receive from these solutions. 

The Mobile CRM market is expected to see rapid growth over the next few years as organizations embrace the positive results that such technology can provide to the overall profitability and productivity of the business, and so even if you don’t think you need it right now, you should probably start considering the options soon.

As mobile technology and device platforms are continuously evolving, make sure that you do not bind your CRM effort to a very specific hardware or software operating platform.  As systems such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone and Google Android develop, you can be sure your remote users will be asking you to provide support for their devices.

2.    Focus on the real world requirements

Avoid getting caught up in fancy features and applications that will not be used in a mobile environment.  Be realistic and understand what information and transactions your users will actually need to access in their mobile CRM system.  A user on a mobile CRM system is very sensitive to how features and information is presented to them as they are operating ‘on-the-run’ on a device with a relatively small screen and keyboard.

It is good practice to conduct a business process review involving your mobile workers prior to purchasing a mobile CRM system to ensure that it meets all your business requirements.

3.    Does the mobile CRM application meet your security requirements?

Security cannot be compromised, so ensure that the application meets your basic security requirements and supports your existing CRM system’s security concepts.  The system should meet the “Ooops – I left my mobile device in the taxi” test.

4.    Ease of navigation

Mobile CRM operates on small devices with small screens and small keyboards. It is crucial to ensure that the system is easy to navigate in order to encourage a high adoption rate by staff. It would be disastrous to go to the expense of implementing a system which users find difficult to use and as a result simply don’t use it.  Measure the “start-to-finish” times of key tasks such as looking up a contacts phone number, retrieving a list of today’s scheduled calls or entering a new contact.

5.    Speed of implementation

How quickly can the software be installed and fully functional? Can it be ready in hours, days, weeks or months?  Does the mobile system need specialized consultants for implementation and ongoing support or does it utilize commonly available IT skills? What will the day to day administrative impact be on the supporting IT department?  How easy is it to add users after first implementation?  How easy is it to replace a lost device for an existing user? Be sure you know what you are buying before you make the commitment. 

6.    Is it scalable?

Ensure that the system is flexible and adaptable enough to grow with the business as the last thing you need is to realise you need to change your system as soon as business processes change.  Make sure that the system can be .  Make sure that the system can operate with large databases – small devices do not have the computing and storage capabilities of your office servers – so what strategies have been implemented to accommodate large information needs.

The decision to include mobile CRM in the process mix is an exciting new opportunity and with an increase in the mobile workforce and the radically improvements in business productivity and profitability by those who do implement mobile CRM, organizations are well served to start evaluating mobile application strategies in the short term.

In response to customer demand for integration of mobile email correspondence with traditional CRM systems, software vendor W-Systems has launched wMobile version 1.7, the seventh release of their highly acclaimed mobile CRM application. wMobile works with all leading mobile data phones such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm Treo and iPhone.

Ramsey, New Jersey 

W-Systems announced today that the latest version 1.7 of wMobile includes a series of significant enhancements, including a complete built-in email center, which enables mobile users to process all inbound and outbound email with full integration with their organizations backend CRM system.

wMobile is a mobile telephone client for the popular GoldMine CRM system and its new functionality solves the traditionally difficult problem of how to record mobile email correspondence into an organizational CRM system.

The latest version of wMobile enables email to be automatically linked to the matching GoldMine contact record and filed in contact history. Users can view attachments in received email on the mobile device (with an appropriate reader) and the attachment can also be filed to GoldMine and associated with the email on the contact record.

“wMobile 1.7 delivers a unique email experience where an organization can deploy mobile email with complete independence of the mobile device used. The administrative convenience of this for both users and IT administrators is something our customers have asked for and we are proud to have delivered it” explains Christian Wettre, President of W-Systems.

The application was developed by W-Systems who offer a variety of customer relationship management software applications and have provided cost effective and innovative solutions to over 600 customers across many industries and vertical markets.

“wMobile delivers a unique mobile customer relationship management software application for any mobile phone platform and provides complete interaction with the server-based GoldMine CRM system” adds Wettre.

Ramsey, New Jersey, 

After a successful 2007, leading CRM software vendor W-Systems has awarded Top Partner status to five of their most successful wMobile partners.

Recognizing the outstanding commitment and support they have received from their expanding partner-base, W-Systems have announced their Top Partners as;

1.     Ticomix, Rockford, IL, United States (www.ticomix.com)

2.     Relationship Automation, Los Angeles, CA, United States (www.relationshipautomation.com)

3.     Longbow Consulting Group, Beverly, MA, United States (www.longbowcg.com )

4.     First Direct, Hopewell Junction, NY, United States (www.firstdirect.com)

5.     The Trainers Advisory Network,  Mississauga, ONT,  Canada (www.thetrainers.ca)

W-Systems has experienced phenomenal customer partner and customer acceptance over recent months with over 50 new active partners driving forward the wMobile Mobile CRM software product, a mobile telephone client for the popular GoldMine CRM system providing complete bi-directional interaction with the company’s  organizational CRM system.  The wMobile product allows small and mid-size organizations to easily and affordably adopt a mobile CRM solution.

Mark Durrant, President of Relationship Automation who is one of the five to be awarded Top Partner status said “Everyone we’ve shown wMobile has immediately grasped the power and ease of use.  Most systems we’ve implemented have been installed in an hour or so. It’s clear that they’ve put a lot of thought into making the system simple to use as well as powerful and have developed a system will actually be used”.

  “As a small software developer, we count on the enthusiasm of our reseller partner to reach out customers, we are grateful for the efforts, support and enthusiasm of our top 5 partners as well as our entire partner network for the success that allows us to channel resources back into the continued evolution of wMobile” says Christian Wettre, President of W-Systems.

W-Systems offer a variety of customer relationship management software applications and have provided cost effective and innovative solutions to over 600 customers across many industries and vertical markets. For some, wMobile has replaced the need for notebook PC’s and reduced the organizations ongoing support needs as well as initial costs.