Technology Systems to Maximize Customer Relationships
Although networking should be a priority for you and your business, it can produce its own problems. An issue that many business owners face when they network is the management of the fruits of your networking, what to do with the influx of contacts that becomes difficult or overly time consuming to manage. How the database of contacts is managed can make the biggest difference in having a productive month with prospects. In this resource, the Giersch Group examines the shift from the rolodex to the various technology systems entrepreneurs and small to midsize businesses should consider to better manage their customer relationships.
Does my business need a CRM?
Consistent follow up with networks, prospects, and clients are important to prevent any contacts from falling off your radar. Outlook, Excel, and CRMs (Client Relationship Managers) are all options for business owners that have outgrown their rolodexes and are missing important opportunities to interact with contacts.
The most important characteristic when considering a system for managing relationships is to find a system that best fits your needs and be readily implemented. All too often businesses pay top dollar for a fancy CRM that does not fit their business and isn’t fully implemented. An affordable system that is used is infinitely better than an expensive one that isn’t. If it is easier within your business to establish a process with systems like Excel or Outlook, then use them. Both of those systems are capable of handling most small business contacts. If you want a more comprehensive relationship manager, then a CRM may be the best fit.
What does a CRM accomplish for the Business?
A CRM can help provide a clearer picture of your customers and, if used effectively, increase marketing’s effectiveness. This is because it naturally lends itself to making customer development a systematic process and assists in its implementation. Systematic customer development will increase efficiency and allow for easy tracking and analysis of networking and customer development. This will help to identify strengths and areas in need of improvement within the business. In addition, it lends accountability of the sales staff by tracking response to leads, prospects, and aging contacts.
When the business owner has decided to get a CRM, they will face the challenge of deciding what CRM is right for them. CRM’s services range from simple contact management software to a sales tracker that even follows customer tweets on Twitter or Facebook updates. With so many options choosing a CRM can be daunting, but a useful and effective relationship manager can be immensely rewarding.
Barton Goldenberg, CEO of a CRM strategic advisory company says that evaluating a CRM comes down two three main areas:
Platform
- How much flexibility is there in the software/product so the company can create their own process?
- How easy is it to integrate data from other sources into the software or on-demand solution?
- Will it deliver what you need it to deliver in terms of performance?
- Will it offer portals or front end screens to help you and your colleagues to collaborate with one another?
Ease of Use
- Are you looking for on-premise (software housed on your machine)?
- Are you looking for on-demand/SAS/cloud computing (internet-based solutions)?
- Will you have the software on your machine when you travel or do you need internet connections?
Vendor Strength and Weakness
- What is the company’s reputation, in terms of longevity, users, etc.?
- Do they specialize in just one sector?
- What is their domain expertise in terms of your particular area of business?
- What professional services do they offer to help you get up and running?
The Giersch Group suggests asking these questions of yourself and your potential CRM vendor to help determine what technology best suits your business.
What are some CRM platforms?
Salesforce is currently the largest CRM provider. They provide an extremely comprehensive CRM that many large organizations enjoy. The chatter service allows for a live feed of information about any particular client that you are “following” (similar to Facebook or Twitter).
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Sugar CRM is an open sourced community that continually updates the Sugar CRM. Many of the CRM characteristics hold true between all versions.
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Zoho CRM is used by many small businesses due to its attractive price point. It provides a free edition with extremely limited services, but is a good introductory CRM.
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CRM Implementation
Now that you’ve chosen a CRM, it needs to be implemented as a full functioning device for your company’s growth. It is important that the purchaser and staff fully understand the requirements that are associated with instituting a CRM. Business Link, the government-supported advice network for small to medium-sized enterprises says about CRMs: "It is more of a business philosophy than a technical solution to assist in dealing with customers effectively and efficiently".
CRMs are undoubtedly a technical solution, but the business must have efficient/effective customer relationships as a core part of their business to fully utilize the CRM. If a company outgrows their rolodex and then purchases a CRM expecting a comprehensive view of customers without a business culture that prioritizes the customer, they are likely to be unhappy with their CRM. In the same way that CRMs should not only be considered technical, a company that is not technologically astute would have difficulty instituting a CRM.
A CRM is only as good as its utilization. As such it is important for management to encourage employees to use it for their client interactions. This generally requires a complete corporate shift. Sales reports should not be generated on the old system and then feed into the companies CRM. This is not only inefficient, but also limits how much information will be collected by the CRM.
Maximize your Relationships
In most business environments, it is important to keep your options open. For example, it is important to mitigate the risk of over reliance upon one customer by expanding your client base. However, in some instances that requires commitment (marriage, starting a new business, instituting a CRM) it is important to burn your backdoor. This will bring your CRM up to usable speed faster and it will likely be utilized more fully. Some ways to encourage employee utilization include top-down management utilization, rewards programs or incentives, and designating one employee as a “CRM Champion” to be the go-to person for any CRM questions.
A CRM provides immense individual client knowledge in a single location. Most business owners only start to use a CRM as an advanced contacts list. However, the most effective use of CRMs compiles financial, customer service, and other key points of information with sales information. A CRM should provide a 360 degree view of a client to assist everyone in a business to make informed decisions regarding clients in seconds.
Articles for Further Reading
- Porter-Rockwell, Brenda. “How to Choose CRM Software.” Jul 12, 2010. http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/07/how-to-choose-crm-software.html
- Trapp, Roger. “How Customer Relationship Management systems can be of benefit to your business”. June 5, 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sme/how-customer-relationship-management-systems-can-be-of-benefit-to-your-business-451821.html
- Peter Alexander. “Use Data to Build Customer Loyalty”. July 31, 2007. http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/techtrendscolumnistpeteralexander/article182362.html
For more information, please visit the Giersch Group at www.gierschgroup.com or contact us at prosper@gierschgroup.com.
