Why Leading CRM is vital?
We operate within a global economy that buys, sells and communicates in countless ways.
Our competitors are everywhere and the barriers of market entry are low, increasing competitive intensity. Commoditisation is happening with breathtaking speed.
Happy customers tell the world – so do the unhappy ones. Companies and careers rise and fall through Social Media.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process of tracking and analysing all of the interactions you have with your customers and prospects. This is why leading CRM is vital for business success.
With CRM you can use sophisticated software that is used as a tool that centralizes, simplifies, secures, and scales our customer engagement, or simply develop a discipline routine and rhythm utilising Microsoft Outlook and setting up key categories to track you client.
So what’s in it for you as a leader?
Here are six key reason for leading CRM.
Reason #1: A Forward View of Your Business
CRM is also a future view into trends and events that will be leading indicators of your revenue and profit metrics.
Reason #2: Growing Your Business
Prospecting is not just a salesperson activity – it is a collection of manual and automated activities across multiple channels that result in a lead or opportunity.
Reason 3: Replicating Best Practices
Leading CRM systems can be used to embed your best sales or customer service processes that will guide your people through every customer interaction.
Reason #4: Doing More with Less
Your people’s ability to juggle an ever-increasing number of tasks, opportunities, cases, communications, and information is in jeopardy without the right tools. CRM is key to helping them manage their complex world without dropping the ball.
Reason #5: Risk Management
CRM can help track events and provide an audit trail to make it easier to control sensitive information.
Reason #6: Customer Intimacy
CRM can provide customers with the impression that you understand their needs and preferences – in a scalable way to allow you to remember these things for thousands of customers at any given time.
Here’s your chance….
Take 10 minutes to complete the questions below that focus on where you’re currently at in terms of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) within your business. You will immediately identify the critical factors that will help you develop strategies to gain commitment and support for innovation.
Instructions
Evaluate each criterion in terms of how you would rate the current demonstrated levels of performance.
1 = Very Low level of demonstrated performance
2 = Low level of demonstrated performance
3 = Moderate level of demonstrated performance
4 = High level of demonstrated performance
5 = Very High level of demonstrated performance
Reflect on these critical actions that you observed in the workplace in the past six months. As a leader of innovation, these are the first steps to take as you go on your quest for being an effective creating a high level of customer experience.
In relation to CRM within your workplace, do you have….
A variety of ways to develop, enhance and maintain customer relationships?
Business and information technology strategies linked across all departments so as to gain the greatest impact?
Fundamental changes made to business processes and information systems that support Customer Relationship Management?
Strong executive and management support to succeed in the implementation of strategies and initiatives?
Initiatives introduced with a successful proof of concepts that are “do-able” so as to have a significant impact on the business goals and objectives?
An existing Customer Relationship Management initiative that you can successfully leverage from?
Collaboration between technologists and business people who understand the needs of the business and the customer?
A steering committee to integrate and prioritise the department needs so as to make choices on how the data is going to be organised?
Set priorities for incrementally adding subject areas, applications and features for future projects and initiatives?
In place competent and committed people within the organisation who support the Customer Relationship Management strategies?
Staff placements / positions and structures between business strategies and information technology activities that will support the alignment of Customer Relationship Management?
Information that is a By-Product of Customer Relationship Management that can be packaged for sale as a product or service?
Processes to effectively capture data about the interactions your company has with its customers?
Scalable Information Technology architecture to capture quality data and types of analysis that is required to meet current and future customer needs?
Outsourced projects and initiatives during the start-up phase because of the company’s low level of relevant Information Technology skills and experience needed to succeed?
The utilisation of external consultants, vendors and packaged software products to be available to jump start the Customer Relationship Management projects and initiatives?
A strong vision from management to get the Customer Relationship Management projects and initiatives started?
A plan to manage the relationships with external consultants so as to transfer knowledge and expertise to in-house personnel?
A contract that spells the requirements and responsibilities of the external consulting company to impart and transfer all relevant knowledge and expertise?
A data strategy that uses a unique customer identifier across all channels to integrate and use customer data?
A data warehouse that is built incrementally with well defined subsets that is strategic to the organisations goals?
A process of adding new data and functionality every few months to reinforce the value of the data warehouse to projects and initiatives on a regular basis?
In place formal operational practices to gather and integrate data from different divisions or departments?
A commitment from divisions and departments to assist in changing attitudes and practices regarding the way they collect, manage and share customer information?
A comprehensive and integrated view of individual customer needs?
The use of packaged “off the shelf” Customer Relationship Management solutions that can be integrated with existing and other business and Information Technology systems?
Initiatives that are linked to back-end order-entry, fulfilment and shipping systems?
Fast and rapid development cycles for projects and initiatives that are successfully implemented?
Project schedules with built in “slack time” that allows for unforeseen delays?
Short term milestones and prototyping to break projects and initiatives into logical stages?
Incremental deliverables that can be tested and evaluated?
Data that is collected by capturing useful, relevant and meaningful customer information?
Identified what the captured data will be used for so as to generate additional profits from products and services?
A clear focus on the critical data that is needed for analysis so as to not waste time, effort and money?
Responsibility and confidentiality when collecting large amounts of information from trading partners and websites?
A well thought out policy for ensuring customer privacy to enhance trading partners and customers to share and impart data?
Customers recognise that their information is regards as highly sensitive and that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it?
A clear understanding of how to handle confidential, sensitive data because of privacy concerns?
Appropriate incentives developed to keep your best staff from leaving your organisation?
Staff that are skilled and experienced in data warehousing?
Creative and aggressive policies that encourage your best people to stay, including salary scales, offering bonuses for staying until the completion of the project, and commitments to provide them additional desired training?
Standardised data warehousing to save money by having a single source for all reporting and decision making across a decentralised organisation?
Marketers and sales people “allowed access” to the customer data to so as to up-sell and cross-sell products and services?
Appropriate tools and training so that staff (marketing analysts) can directly access and work with the data?
Non-technical personnel “allowed access” to data by not having to go through the Information Technology department?
A structured training and development plan to assist people to move from a direct marketing strategy to a relationship–oriented strategy that supports Customer Relationship Management?
A proven recruitment process to hire analytical and technical people with the relevant skills and knowledge?
Competent marketing and sales personnel with a positive attitude that supports Customer Relationship Management initiatives and projects?
A blend of content and commerce on your website in order to profit and prosper – (content attracts customers; commerce pays the bills)?
A carefully planned strategy for the amount of the messages sent through the various channels such as e-mail, surface mail, website, SMS?
Your action plan…
List the top five identified performance gaps and consider possible solutions that are easy to impact and will give you the greatest impact to your customer and organisation
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In summary, what are we saying…
As a workplace leader, CRM will make your business more efficient and increase your revenue per employee by creating repeatable successful processes. It will also provide you with a competitive advantage in a multi-channel customer environment. CRM will also enable you to look into your near future and be predictive of your revenue and will mitigate the risk and costs of staff turnover. You can use it to engage in a cycle of continuous improvement which is often needed for business survival.
