CRM solutions help companies boost their business efficiency.

CRM solutions help companies boost their business efficiency, thereby increasing profit and revenue generation capabilities. Let us take a quick look at some of the measurable benefits that your organization can gain by implementing a CRM solution.

- Increase Customer Lifecycle Value

In most businesses, the cost of acquisition of customers is high. To make profits, it is important to keep the customer longer and sell him more products (cross sell, up sell, etc) to him, during his lifecycle. Customer stay, if they are provided with value, quality service and continuity. CRM solutions enable you to do that.

- Execution Control

Once the business strategy is put into motion, the management needs feedback and reports to judge how the business is performing. CRM solutions provide management with control and a scientific way to identify and resolve issues. The benefits include a clearer visibility of the sales pipeline, accurate forecasts and more.

- Customer Lifecycle Management

To keep the customers happy, you need to know them better. At the minimum, you need a centralize customer database, that captures most of the information from your entire customer facing departments and partners. Integrated CRM solutions, like CRMnext enable you to manage customer information, throughout all stages of their life cycle, from contact to contract to customer service.

- Strategic Consistency

Because CRM offers business and technological alignment, it enables companies to achieve strategic company goals more effectively, like enhanced sales realization, higher customer satisfaction, better brand management and more. Additionally, the alignment results in a more consistent customer communication creating a feeling of continuity.

- Business Intelligence

Due to the valuable business insights that CRM provides, it becomes easier to identify the bottlenecks, their causes and the remedial measures that need to be taken. For example, CRMnext provides real-time business focus dashboards with extensive drill down capabilities that provide the decision makers with the depth of information required to identify the causes and spot trends.

Small Businesses and CRM to 2011

These small-business  owners have different expansion recipes, but both have the same goal: to take their firms to the next level.

Like millions of other entrepreneurs, they must determine how to best allocate their limited time, and funds, to foster that growth.

"It's a lot of picking and choosing, and it's not like I have thousands of dollars at my disposal," says Bellacicco Breault. "I go with my gut with what I foresee myself doing, and I take it six months at a time."

Early indications of an economic recovery -- along with increased consumer spending and government efforts to loosen credit -- have business owners nationwide considering the best ways to grow.

After hunkering down during the recession, company chiefs are itching to invest in their firms again. And many expect they'll have the cash to do that.

Three-fourths of small and midsize business CEOs anticipate increased revenues in the year ahead, according to a survey released last week by executive-mentoring group Vistage International. Nearly six in 10 expect rising profits.

About half of those chief executives plan to increase investments in new plants and equipment, and 54% expect to bolster hiring.

"Small businesses have been playing on the defensive side so much -- they've conserved cash, cut costs and trimmed staff for two to three years," says Dan Murphy, co-founder of the business-coaching franchise The Growth Coach. "But now there is renewed optimism. They're starting to see some hope."

As owners breathe out, they're also considering what's next.

"They think, 'I've gotten through the storm. It's time (to invest again),'" he says.

A New Challenge

To offer guidance to expansion-minded entrepreneurs, USA TODAY last fall published a six-part series titled "Growing Your Small Business." It provided tips on topics such as exporting, filing trademarks and working with family and friends.

At the time, we asked business owners to apply for our 2011 Small Business Challenge, a three-month series that would chronicle a business' triumphs and troubles as it expanded.

For the 2010 challenge, USA TODAY followed five small businesses as they evolved from the idea stage to serving their first customer. For six months, the entrepreneurs discussed their progress, challenges and opportunities with three small-business experts.