The importance of having an integrated business was previously mention in the article: "An Integrated Business is a Successful Business and the Value of CRM".
Another area to consider is the linkage of CRM with Desktop Productivity Tools.
For example when I'm in Outlook and there is an email I want to save to the related contact I just click "Record to History". If I want to pop open and view the contact's history in SalesLogix CRM I just have to click "Go to SLX". What could be easier? So it's important that you can leverage your Desktop Tools...

Leverage Desktop Productivity Tools to Increase Productivity:
- Increase productivity by enabling employees to interact with other applications they use every day – in context of the tasks they are performing – seamlessly from within Sage SalesLogix.
- Integrate Sage SalesLogix with office productivity suites, email and calendar applications, alerting and notification, file sharing and document management systems, CTi solutions and more. (I've found having important digital documents linked to contacts and companies is a real time saver and memory jogger!)
- Share email, contacts, calendar appointments, attachments, and account info between Sage SalesLogix and other applications users rely on throughout their day.
- Stay productive by using drag-and-drop, one-click, screen pops and other time-saving shortcuts when working with Sage SalesLogix and other familiar desktop applications.
I have always liked having plenty of "tools" in easy reach to get work accomplished quicker and more effectively. Such tools help with employee engagement and user adoption. Make sure your CRM system can leverage desktop productivity tools!
What integrated desktop tools do you use with your CRM?
Topics: Productivity Tips Customer Experience Improvement Employee engagement Customer Communications