Larry Caretsky, CEO of Commence Corporation, was recently interviewed regarding the rationale for getting into a crowded CRM space, populated with big players, such as Salesforce.com. Caretsky suggested, “A few years ago industry experts asked Jet Blue executives why they choose to start an airline when the industry was in turmoil and even the giants were struggling to stay alive. Jet Blue succeeded in becoming a significant carrier. Unlike the airline industry, the CRM space and is growing rapidly and no single vendor has more than a 5% market share. The new battlefield is the SMB market, which Commence has been servicing for almost twenty years. This is our core competency and we know how to compete effectively.” He also noted that there were elements missing in the CRM market that Commence could address more effectively, noting that, “Hosted solutions such as Salesforce.com addressed the difficulties associated with deploying traditional client server based CRM solutions, but utilization rates have remained low and customer renewals have been problematic. This is the direct result of a business model that does not include the proper planning and coaching required to ensure customer utilization. Regardless of the deployment model (in-house or hosted), there is still a reasonable degree of planning and mentoring necessary for the successful implementation and utilization of CRM.”
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is growing at a significant pace with other hosted solutions significantly surpassing traditional client server technology offerings. This growth has allowed several smaller companies, like Commence Corporation to quickly capture marketshare in the small to mid-size business sector.
About Commence Corporation
Commence Corporation is a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management solutions. The company’s products are designed to provide small to mid-size businesses with flexible solutions that leverage the Web to offer an integrated platform for managing sales execution and customer service. Commence supports several thousand customers through a world-wide distribution network, with outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
The Commence CRM client roster is impressive and includes ABC television, Alcatel, American Express, Bank One, Bank of America, BP, Brinks, Century 21, EDS, Exactech, Ford, General Electric, Handyman Connection, IBM, Merrill Lynch, PNCBank, Northrop Grumman, NYPD, New York Post, Princess Cruises, Raytheon, Shell, Siemens, Sprint, Steelcase, St. Luke’s Hospital, TDK, Tele Atlas, and Unicef are just some of the marquis clients. The company has embraced the small business CRM market as well.
Commence Corporation has posted the entire interview at: http://www.commence.com/CommenceCRMADavidandGoliathStory.asp. Commence is offering a small – midsize business site license program that will enable customers to add users at no additional cost. Site licenses start at a five user level and require an annual contract. Commence may be reached at 877-COMMENCE.
Commence Corporation
www.commence.com
Larry Caretsky
Marketing@commence.com
1-877-Commence
