What attracted TeamScope Software to the CRM space?

Our mission is about helping groups of people – teams – work together to achieve their goals. For many teams, the process of managing communications and commitments with their customers and prospects is key to their success. We saw an opportunity to build software that enables that process.

Who are the TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® customers? What kind of companies are you selling to?

We focus primarily on small businesses – companies or workgroups from five to 200 individuals. The low cost and ease of implementation of TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® make it a perfect fit for this market segment.

Have you felt the increased CRM interest that many other companies have reported this year?

Absolutely. Pressure is on for teams to produce, and customers are demanding a high service level. More and more businesses are recognizing the power of software to help in this area – and smaller companies are realizing that it's not just for the Fortune 500 any more, that there are tools out there to help them meet their customer relationship needs.

There are a lot of CRM products on the market today. Does that make it hard to get noticed?

What really sets us apart is our high level of true Outlook integration. People recognize that TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® fits into and leverages both Outlook and Exchange Server more than really any other CRM system on the market.

Microsoft’s upcoming entry seems targeted close to your niche. How’s that feel?

We think it just validates and strengthens the idea that software can support the customer relationship process at the small business level. The functionality that we add to Outlook, as well as our pricing, will differentiate us from the Microsoft.

Is sales automation the primary goal for TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® customers?

While a number of our customers are focused on sales force automation, we find that many are using the software to manage the full relationship lifecycle. It's a tool that really allows one to manage all of one's contacts, communications, and commitments.

Is the Outlook / Exchange platform robust enough for managing and maintaining data over the full term of long-standing relationships?

Yes, for our target market, Outlook on the front and Exchange on the back end provide a great platform for this type of collaborative application. This surprises some who see them as "just good for e-mail".

Much of today’s workforce is very mobile. Does an Outlook / Exchange based product make sense for these companies?

Absolutely. The built-in capability of Outlook and Exchange for offline use, which we capitalize on, are tailor-made for supporting a mobile work force.

TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® is extremely flexible. Do you think of it more as a tool than a solution?

It's really both. Out of the box, it's a ready solution that gives you everything you need to manage your customer communications and commitments. And the high level of flexibility that's present means that you can continue building on and taking even greater advantage of its abilities over time.

What do you provide to help customers integrate data into the TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® environment?

We recognize that customer-related information shouldn't be forced to live in a vacuum. Our Enterprise Data Integration module allows you to transfer or synchronize your TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® data with any SQL compatible database you have in your organization.

What’s on the drawing board for TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook®?

We are very excited about the future possibilities for the TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook® product line. We will continue to increase TeamScope CRM™ for Outlook®'s integration with other business software applications. And we are always working on getting the maximum leverage from the Outlook and Exchange platform.