Another customer relationship management tool has come to
the fore in the form of CureCRM, a hosted software solution that tracks prospect and customer
conversations in e-mail applications and Twitter and triggers a CRM engagement on
the fly.
CureCRM, which launched to the general public Aug. 18,
also includes an automated, e-mail-based scheduling assistant. This enables
sales teams to schedule and place meetings into Google, Apple's iPhone and Microsoft
Outlook calendars, and sends reminder e-mails to all participating parties to
join a scheduled meeting.
The startup also offers a plug-in that lets users search
for contacts or e-mail conversations within Outlook. Similarly, another plug-in
sifts through e-mail in Salesforce.com and automatically log all contacts,
events and tasks to the leading SAAS CRM application.
CureCRM also promises Twitter Relationship Management, or
TRM, tracking conversations about brands on Twitter, as well as tweets from
prospective customers. CureCRM users can then respond to and administer tasks.
The Twitter integration could be CureCRM's sweet spot.
Twitter has made it clear it is becoming more friendly to businesses
looking to leverage its real-time conversations as promotional tools, and
salespeople and marketers are leading that movement. With CureCRM managing
their tweet streams, sales managers can better keep track of leads and
prospective clients.
CureCRM's Twitter integration pits the startup against CoTweet, which helps companies engage customers using Twitter. But Twitter is
only one pipe into CRM; CureCRM makes sure Outlook users and Salesforce.com
customers also experience the same e-mail CRM and scheduling benefits.
And because it wouldn't do to release a browser-based
application solely to the desktop in this day of roving corporate road
warriors, CureCRM can also be accessed via smartphones such as the iPhone, phones
based on Android and Windows Mobile, as well as the BlackBerry and Palm Pre.
CureCRM is offering four
packages out of the gate. Personal users can use the personal assistant, 7-day
e-mail retention, e-mail-powered CRM and support for free. The intro version
costs $29.95 per user, per month and adds team collaboration, mobile support
and SMS/Twitter integration.
The startup version costs $39.95 per user, per month and
adds an Outlook plug-in and personal mass mailer. The Sales Force version adds
the Salesforce.com plug-in for $49.95 per user, per month.
CureCRM is also offering a promotion: The first 200
readers to sign up here will be able to access CureCRM free.
Messaging & Online Collaboration News & Reviews 
