If you are skeptical about the benefits provided by Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Member Relationship Management (MRM) solutions, you are not alone. In fact you should be skeptical! Several studies have shown that the failure rates on CRM/MRM projects are over 50%, and the associated professional services costs are 5-10 times that of the 6-figure software costs. In addition, according to a report from IT advisory firm Gartner, nearly 42% of CRM licenses purchased go unused. . Can we say negative ROI?!

Unlike CRM/MRM software -- focused on sales and marketing of products and services and possibly providing an inward-facing support solution -- the Fuze Suite is focused on providing unparalleled support and service and extending it beyond your support staff directly to your customers and members. However, similar to some CRM/MRM software, a by-product of the Fuze Suite is that rich customer and member information is naturally captured on an individual and aggregate basis for your use in sales and marketing efforts.

We believe that customer and member loyalty and long-term sales are dependent on this focus on customer and member support and service. Ultimately we all have the same objective: to make sales. However our focus is different. We follow 4 primary tenets to remain grounded:

1. Make it easy for your customers/members to understand what products and services you offer.

2. Make it easy for your customers/members to review broad information relevant to selecting the best product or service for their individual needs.

3. Make it easy for your customers/members to access and use your products and services.

4. Ensure that all your support channels are consistent, and that your customers/members have the ability to quickly and easily interact with a real person as necessary.

By focusing on the support and service side and extending it to your members and customers, the Fuze Suite can immediately produce a significant return on investment (ROI) by getting customers and members from a phone and in-person channel to use the much more cost-effective self service and online support option. And if implemented correctly, an online/digital support channel actually provides a great and welcome 7x24 alternative that puts your customers/members in control.

Future evolution of the Fuze Suite will include customer/member profile information, but we will never lose our focus on service and support.

With the Fuze Suite, you can incrementally evolve your support and service offerings, immediately achieving a healthy ROI and improving your members' and customers' experience, while positioning your organization to reap the benefits of a full-on CRM/MRM offering at a pace that makes sense for your organization.