Today's Technology
New
Internet technologies have arisen, such as Computer Internet
Integration (CII), Chat, Push, and Callback, which enable
one-to-one customer/consultant conversations and let advisors
take control of the customer's browser to help them navigate and
buy. However, in the same way that companies have traditionally
had problems managing effective in- house call centres, today
web companies are finding live customer service to be time
consuming and labour-intensive.
Some
companies say they have the solution. Microsoft (obviously in
there somewhere) will be releasing their new customer
relationship management product, MSCRM, due out by the end of
the year. This promises increased sales force automation for
small businesses and is, apparently, not aiming at the
enterprise market. www.greatplains.com
While a
company aiming at the both the SME and enterprise market is
SalesForce, www.salesforce.com. They aim to become the world's
first "enterprise automation utility" by delivering (CRM), sales
force automation (SFA) and financial software over the Web,
competing directly with giants such as Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP
and Microsoft Great Plains. And with customers paying as little
as $65 per month for their low-end service, it's a more
affordable CRM application, which is apparently quick and easy
to implement.
The
Professional Edition application (its current offering) does not
allow for real-time integration with back-office systems and
offers only limited customisation. To address these shortcomings
Salesforce.com has announced its Enterprise Edition, which is
aimed at larger companies, plus an introductory offline edition,
available for use on a laptop, and a wireless version accessible
via any PalmOS device.
Another
solution comes from Transform People International (TPI). Unlike
the aforementioned companies, TPI is not a software company.
It's a management consultancy, specialising in behavioural
analysis and transformation, organisational change and training.
Naturally they focus less on the technology and more on
developing connections and transforming behaviour, attitudes and
styles - the grass roots of CRM - know how your customer thinks,
what their needs and wants are; how you think and how to best
engage effectively with each person to generate optimum results.
It's the
value of knowledge about customer needs and buying habits that
is becoming more important along with changing business cultures
and deepening connections with customers. TPI understand this
and have launched their new Connections Tool as a result:
http://www.transformpeople.com/connections/tpiintroduction.htm -
an online diagnostic tool that aims to improve connection and
communication with customers in 4 simple steps. Rising above
regular sales techniques, the Connection Tool builds on both CRM
technology and behavioural understanding. The output provides a
written summary of the main characteristics of the person, with
an overview of how they act when under pressure. It also
provides an overview of what drives that person, with key
tactics and strategies for better connection.
http://www.transformpeople.com/downloads/tpi_connections_tool.pdf
The TPI
Connections Tool grew out of Transform People International's
experience in delivering organisational change in many global
corporations across a wide cross-section of vertical markets
ranging from communications and technology to packaging. As well
as an acute awareness that, by understanding behaviour,
businesses can improve communication and develop relationships
more successfully.
Technology V Culture
An
Information Masters survey revealed that, "Technology and
information are responsible for, at most, 25 per cent of your
CRM competence. Other assets that are important include brands,
messages (sadly neglected), staff knowledge, policies, processes
and rules."
And,
according to Robert Shaw, founding director of the consultancy
CRM Best Practice, (www.crmbestpractice.com) "The danger is that
many organisations are now investing huge sums in the wrong
things. The technology is excellent in many cases, the problem
lies with how we apply it."
"We invest
too much time in selecting one-hit solutions and too little time
in creating the business vision," adds Robert. "Bad CRM is easy.
You just read the press, go to a few exhibitions, choose some
software, hire some systems implementers, and bingo, you have a
Web site, a call centre, or a mailing database. Most important
for good CRM is to have an offensive strategy, not a defensive
one. Waiting until competitors threaten you, then responding to
them or copying them is a recipe for failure. You need to take
time out to create the vision."
And that
vision includes developing an analytical attitude towards
customers', staff and client behaviour. A vision mirrored by
Transform People International.
How you
asses the person you're developing a relationship with, how you
assess your own behaviour and your organisational behaviour, and
how you engage with people are crucial to making CRM more
effective," Says Ian Mills, Director of Transform People
International.
Arthur
O'Connor, leading expert on CRM and columnist for eCRMGuide.com,
agrees, "Some businesses spend a fortune striving to engage,
attract, and sell prospects -- only to take extreme measures to
avoid interacting with these same people after they become
customers."
He adds
that the Call Centre hasn't been the best choice for those
striving to improve CRM. "Many companies brought in poorly
trained, ill-equipped people to serve as their primary customer
interface," says Athur. "Resulting in Corporate Schizophrenia."
Evidently
then, it is the behaviour of staff, the behaviour and experience
of your customers, combined with a winning strategy and good
technology that will improve a CRM strategy's chances of
success.
Afterall,
a CRM package only has real and tangible value if it is backed
by a strategy, agrees Ronni T. Marshak, senior vice president of
the Patricia Seybold Group.
"In
building a robust customer relationship objectives should
include reducing the cost of acquiring new customers,
cross-selling and up-selling to existing customers, closing more
sales, targeting more lucrative markets, and creating conditions
to make those goals more obtainable. "Most of those conditions
have nothing to do with CRM technology itself," says Marshak.
"A company
that wants to become truly customer-centric rather than just
paying lip service to the notion may have to reengineer
fundamental business processes and change prevailing attitudes
altogether," he concludes.
Evidently
then, the success of CRM rests on both technology and
organisational change and the willingness of organisations and
individuals to assess and analyse behaviour to improve
connection and deepen relationships.
The best
technology in the world cannot incur the required cultural,
organisational and behavioural change that is needed to drive
effective CRM strategies. "The difficulty is getting people to
change the way they work, to use the technology and to interact
with the customer differently." So says Micheal Juer, Director
of Sales Pathways Ltd,
"There is
now a shift occurring where businesses are beginning to realise
that they have to work with their customers, and technology is
becoming a secondary issue to that. But it is that cultural
shift that you need to do, in order to actually deliver good
customer service and differentiate yourself from your
competitors in the market place."
Customer
relationship management should be seen as a strategic response
to a set of customer, staff and business needs. And as long as
businesses focus on those crucial points and not just technology
alone: working with customers and facing organisational and
cultural change, their CRM results will improve.
7 Tips
for CRM success
1. Define
your business objectives and goals against which results can be
measured.
2. Give
each CRM project three dimensions: people, processes and
technology.
3.
Establish a systematic approach to project management including
team development, IT, marketing, services, sales and management,
as well as software.
4. Clearly
identify corporate and customer needs. Research requirements,
behaviour and how to engage and deliver effectively.
5. Manage
organizational change effectively. The human factor is
imperative to a project's success.
6. Invest
in training - more essential than any piece of software.
7. Focus
on proactive selling, management and relationship building to
effectively upsell and cross-sell.
Useful
CRM Resources and Software Providers
http://www.crmuk.co.uk/
http://www.crmcommunity.com/
http://www.crm-tech.co.uk/
http://www.ecrmguide.com/
http://www.eccs.uk.com/
http://www.transformpeople.com/connections/tpiintroduction.htm
http://www.allegis.com/
http://www.peoplesoft.com
http://www.applix.com
http://www.azerity.com/
http://www.eassist.com/
http://www.firepond.com/
http://www.salesforce.com/
***
Cheryl Rickman is author of 111 winning ways to promote your
website successfully and runs
http://www.webcritique.co.uk.
where she offers in-depth website appraisals, web usability, web
copywriting and content services, plus a free e-bulletin on web
promotion and links to useful resources.
