Is it CRM software or CRM vendor or CRM implementation?
Keywords: CRM Best Practices, CRM software, CRM implementation, CRM vendor,
customer relevant business solution
CRM ( Customer relationship management ) Best Practice - Is it CRM software or CRM vendor or CRM implementation? What defines your best practices? Is your best practice circle of influence of CRM solution same as the customer influencing circle ( customer satisfaction and marketing opportunities )?
Circles of CRM implementation
types and CRM (customer relationship management )
opportunites
Usually, many companies either select a CRM vendor
or a CRM software and claim to start implementing CRM business strategy.
Some companies have enough leadership diversity and courage to chart the whole
map of CRM strategy and implement carefully segment by segment of CRM
requirements and its solutions which I am terming as CRM implementation.
The question is: Is your circle of CRM strategy same as the circle of
customer needs and marketing opportunities?
Since we all accept that CRM is a customer centric
business solution for faster and better business development, product/services
development and for profitability, the CRM principles and the customer needs and
customer expectations are key for understanding what you need for your CRM
solution. Thus if CRM strategy is the key business model then the CRM
strategy should include the delivery of the following customer centric
principles.
First let us understand what is important or what
defines customer centric business model.
- Customers are served well for their needs. The needs could
be as simple as asking a 'how to' question about the product or seeking an
explanation on 'what the service is'. Or it can be a complicated
question such as I left a file when I vacated the room, and thank you for
sending me the files by express mail, but I also kept one important one pager
inside the safe box which was not sent. Please check the safety locker
for any paper that might be sticking to the sides and send it to me as soon as
possible and charge me collect. Imagine level of trust and confidence
that the customer will have once this last request is immediately positively
satisfied. CRM is about serving well for the need; the rest comes later.
(relevant to the customer needs)
- Customer needs are served immediately with an
acceptable answer or solution. Real time solution to the customer is the
key. If customer is going to get answer after 4 weeks (typical
fulfillment services parameters), it is not CRM, it is marketing services in
the old way. In the above example, while it is acceptable if the front
desk at the hotel says that they will get back in an hour. If they say,
on the other hand, that they will get back tomorrow, it is not attending to
the concerns and needs of the customer. The paper may be such an
important document, the customer does not want to go through the anxiety for
full 24 hours. The best solution is that the service people immediately
go to the room and check out the safety locker and communicate it to the
calling customer. (immediate, acceptable, and responsive
communication or interaction)
- Customers have a way to get service/solution
through the self-service web CRM, 7x24 whenever possible. (self service web CRM)
- Customers expectation that their latest
information is available in the file and if not have a quick way to change
that information in the system is fulfilled (latest
customer information)
- Customers expectation that all their
interaction, irrespective of how different channels by which they have been
interacting (channel integration)
- Customers expectation that always the CRM
response system has the latest information, as late as just the last minute
(real time CRM system)
- CRM system taking advantage of marketing
relevance (right person, right message, at the right time) in real time during
the customer interaction however the customer wants to be served?
However, the system (includes people, software and hardware) should be
implemented in such a way that they are very intently listening to the
customer that they do not push selling over and above the immediate customer
relevant issue (marketing opportunities)
- CRM system or CRM software or CRM implementation
( solution )is actively soliciting customer experience with the
service/product/CRM interactions (CRM interaction
satisfaction research).
- CRM system or CRM software or CRM
implementation ( solution )is providing you with faster and better
product/service development information that the system influences the
product/service development (influence product/service
development)
Now think about your CRM vendor, CRM software
and/or CRM implementation ( solution ); whatever your current strategy is.
If the current strategy does not satisfy with an emphatic yes to all the above
list of principles of CRM operation, you are short in really taking advantage of
the promise of CRM solutions. Understanding how short your CRM implementation
strategy is and whether it is too short that it will fail your CRM investment is
a different topic to explore.
Never ask any thing less in your CRM ( customer
relationship management )system or from your CRM vendor. Otherwise you are
shorting your CRM investment.
The question is: Is your best practice circle
of influence of CRM solution same as the customer influencing circle ( customer
satisfaction and marketing opportunities )?
Of course all these things will bear better result
on the profitability only by using intelligent CRM operation, which is a whole
different dimension to CRM ( customer relationship management ) implement - the
dimension of CRM intelligence.
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