Elements CRM for Mac by Ntractive. Part desktop. Part cloud.

Ntractive develops and distributes Elements CRM™ for Mac

Ntractive is attempting to take the mystery out of Customer Relationship Management, while creating an Internet friendly stable system.  They seem to have hit the nail on the head with Elements CRM. 

Formed in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 2006, Ntractive was actually already working on the development of the Elements platform. Founders Justin Bartak and Dale Jensen teamed up to create Elements CRM. 

What Elements does is create an environment that allows businesses and individuals in charge of current clients and prospects to get organized and up to date.  ‘Elements will help small businesses compete with larger organizations by providing them with powerful tools to keep their business operating as efficiently as possible.’

I spoke with Jennie Belanus, a Senior Account Executive (who, no doubt, uses the software daily herself) about their product and how it works for business.  
 

Sales graphing is done with many available features in Elements CRM™

In layperson's terms, what does Elements CRM do for small business?

Belanus:  Elements CRM is a Customer Relationship Management Solution built specifically for Mac businesses. “Elements” is what we call our mini-apps in the program. There’s an Element for Notes, Calendar, Sales, Projects and more. Elements CRM was designed with an intuitive interface, making usability far superior to any other CRM application on the market. 

How does cloud based management differ from traditional CRM software systems?

Belanus:  Managing information in the cloud simply means managing through the Internet. Info is stored on remote servers, making it accessible anywhere there is access to the Internet, just like how you'd access your photos on Facebook. There are numerous cloud-based CRM systems available as well as CRM desktop apps. The vast majority of these are focused on the PC based business.

Elements CRM is a hybrid of the two- the shell operates off the desktop, offering a higher level of security and increased functionality, while the data is all stored in the cloud. Anywhere you have access to a Mac or iPhone and the Internet, you can access your business information; no syncing required.
 

Interesting features, like photo management, are available as well.

What do you consider some of Elements' most powerful features?

Belanus: 

1. Ease of use - this makes us stand out above all else. Elements is very
2. Mac-centric - which means it's beautiful and easy to use.
3. Sales and lead management - the core of Elements is how it seamlessly manages the relationship and communication with leads and clients.
4. Project management - the project management tool integrates with sales for managing extended and complex sales processes as well as internal projects.
5. Social media integration - social media has become very important in business, so we've built in integration to make it easy to keep up. Easily post your tweets to twitter right from Elements!
6. Online bill pay - this is really cool how easy it is. If you email a client an invoice from within Elements, you can have the online bill pay feature turned on so that in the email your client receives, there is a link for them to enter their credit card and pay their balance online.
7. iPhone App - our iPhone App is an extension off the desktop version of Elements. You can be adding a new lead on your iPhone while you are traveling in California, and the people in the New York office working on their desktops see that information instantly.

Ntractive will be releasing a 2.0 version of their iPhone App by the end of 2010. It will include some added features and a re-designed interface. And, within the next 12 months, Ntractive will be taking Elements CRM to Europe. 

Don’t you love it when local companies go global?

You can find Ntractive on the web, on Twitter and on Facebook!

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