Salesforce.com recently announced that it will be moving into the content management space.  Gartner.com says that this move is “evidence of the growing interest in basic content management delivered through the software-as-a-service model.”

So far, SalesForce has had succeeded either because of or despite its “software-as-a-service” (SaaS) model for their CRM application.  The question now is, will companies like the idea of SaaS for content management? 

What is Software as a Service?

To quote Wikipedia: 

Software as a service (SaaS) is a software application delivery model where a software vendor develops a web-native software application and hosts and operates (either independently or through a third-party) the application for use by its customers over the Internet… As a term, SaaS is generally associated with business software and is typically thought of as a low-cost way for businesses to obtain the same benefits of commercially licensed, internally operated software without the associated complexity and high initial cost.

The critical success factor of SaaS is embedded within Wikipedia’s definition.  SaaS is ideal when the cost of owning the software is steep.  Instead, use of the software becomes a service.  The downside is that your data is intricately bound to this the SaaS company.  Sure, data can be exported, but it instantly loses its functionality without the software platform.   

The question then is, can SalesForce.com create a content management system with so many perks, bells, and whistles that businesses will be willing to “rent” the software platform in which their content is stored as opposed to paying outright for software?

Time will tell!  If SalesForce proves as successful in the Content Management space as it has in the CRM space, the answer is a certain yes.  But as we know, the winds can change quickly in the technology game. 

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Each e-commerce website might have a slightly different approach to their online sales process. Methods of how websites handle orders, leads, accounts, and communicate with other websites may vary.

In spite of that, whatever functions or actions your visitors take while shopping can be recorded as data points and can be transferred over to a database driven CRM system automatically if two systems are properly integrated. Salesforce.com is one of the best examples of CRM software that can be integrated with your ecommerce site.

At the end of your day you can look at your Salesforce account and know how well your business performed in relation to your goals. You’ll know how many products you sold, who you should contact with an offer and when, what time of day was best for business, customer demographics, etc. You’ll also have plenty of customer contact information to build a valuable profile for each potential customer.

Automated functionality within Salesforce will choose customers whom you should give most attention and care based on predefined criteria. Salesforce also will filter out bad customers, bad leads, and inactive accounts automatically.

Top 10 reasons to connect CRM software to your e-commerce website:

1. Application exchage (import your settings/data from other database driven software, use in tandem with other applications e.g. QuickBooks, google adwords, MapQuest etc, )
2. Estimate which PPC keywords bring in more money
3. Online/offline access
4. Make decisions on the fly (make decisions based on your business data)
5. Works the way your online business works (fully customizable to suit your online business model)
6. Provides the right information to the right people (data security, access levels)
7. Simplifies sales pipeline, less steps, more qualified leads
8. Enhances email marketing campaigns with personalized information
9. Identifies paying customers
10. Offers long term economical gain

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