New Idea2 CRM Goes Live

Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions are designed to enable enterprises to cost-effectively grow and retain valuable costs. Yet while permitting enterprises to focus on customers CRM apps too often do not focus on the customers who are buying, installing and their employees who using them. I have lost track of how many complaints and concerns I’ve heard about CRM installations and usability in the 14 or so years I have been covering this space.

Idea2 aims to provide a CRM solution that enables seamless interactions on sides of the conversations. It has made available its cloud-based CRM product for small- and medium-sized companies. It is focuses on driving user adoption to provide greater results than traditional CRM software packages.

Idea2 CRM solves traditional implementation challenges such as technology isolation, lack of executive visibility and poor user adoption. The solution organizes and synchronizes CRM with additional data assets such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and finance to create a unified customer view. By offering this integrated cloud-based workspace with a customized data structure, Idea2 CRM helps companies accelerate the process of customer acquisition and improve customer care to reinforce retention. This is accomplished by:

--Providing a unified view of all information and interactions related to a customer in a familiar 'social CRM' format
--Delivering an intuitive, role-specific interface that improves user adoption across the organization -- not just within sales teams
--Providing insight into the drivers behind sales performance and customer care metrics through an information dashboard with data export features
--Integrating customer support that extends online

Idea2 offers three versions of its solution that vary by level of customization. The standard package, Idea2Company, offers key functionality in a simple template that supports contact, partner, lead, prospect and customer management integrated with issue tracking.

For companies who have unique attributes that should be included in the implementation, Idea2Custom offers a solution that adapts to the specific data structures of an organization. Beyond customization, companies can achieve greater levels of productivity enhancement through Idea2Unified, which integrates Idea2 with relevant existing systems. Idea2’s end-to-end solutions are adapted to its customers’ needs and business processes at a fraction of the expense of traditional CRM providers’ products.

“Companies lose money every time there is a failure in communication,” said Grace Schroeder, CEO of Idea2. “Yet analysts continue to cite that as many as 60 percent of CRM implementations fail to meet client expectations. We created Idea2 to be more than just another CRM package. We align our solution with our customers' business processes rather than asking them to adjust their processes to work within the constraints of a traditional CRM. Then, because our tool is intuitive and easy to use, accelerated adoption supports a rapid ROI and ties Idea2 directly to the company's operation and success.”

Teo manufactures ISDN and IP telephones, NT1 ISDN network terminations, ISDN Centrex attendant consoles and Enhanced 911 (E911) response system. It selected Idea2’s CRM solution because of its integration capabilities and measurable results.

'At Teo, we are embarking on exciting new product and distribution strategies,” explained Thomas Beck, business strategy executive for Teo. “But first we needed to automate existing business functions by interfacing relevant sections to our existing ERP system, and by sharing information with our distribution partners. Idea2 delivered a customized solution, quickly and affordably, that improved our operating efficiency and channel sales capacity. Their team began by understanding our current and future business strategies and helped us automate existing processes which resulted in great efficiency gains saving us significant money and resources.”