‘CRM’ represents ‘Customer Relationship Management’, a process or method used to study more about customer requirements and behavior in order to build up stronger relationships with them. Hosted CRM can be defined as a web based CRM software where the CRM system is hosted at an Application Service Provider (ASP).

Today CRM programs have become the most useful tools for all marketing and service providing companies, irrespective of size or industry, so as to add to customer contentment. Hosted CRM is not as difficult or expensive to install as packaged solutions and also it does not requires vast infrastructure or important IT resources and too much time to organize. Hosted CRM software helps large, medium and small businesses to provide quality customer relationship management; but it is the small businesses who are benefited most.

The main benefits of Hosted CRM are

It only requires low initial cost because hosted CRM customers invest in limited initial consulting and mainly rely on the elasticity of the application to prop up the way they do business and to keep short process times.

Uncomplicated customization and expansion helps most companies to make rapid changes in their sales or marketing techniques.

The deployment cost is low and it puts an end to the need of setting up backend systems.

Fast Implementation - The expense of implementing hosted CRM is low and can be implemented within a few weeks. The process of implementation of hosted CRM includes initial setup, configuration, data migration and integration.

Users are able to access from anywhere through the Internet.

Provides facility for direct information sharing across locations: This means any information provided on the web can be transmitted back to the CRM backend.

In short, when using hosted CRM, small businesses can attain remarkable efficiency. They are able to make use of the CRM tools and strategies more effectively to serve customer requirements.

Apart from its many advantages there are also some drawbacks for hosted CRM. They include inadequate customization options and the chance of accessibility of information by third parties, who are involved in the process. Hence, hosted CRM is not the best option for those organizations that deal with receptive information.

Author's Bio: 

Praveen Ortec is the Marketing Executive of eSalesTrack On-demand Customer Relationship Management Software. eSalesTrack is a Web based CRM Software ideal for Small Business CRM needs.