ist das Thema “Organspende”. Eine Veranstaltung des Deutschen Managerverbands in Stuttgart am 25.3.2010.
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Groupware vs. CRM
Mrz 8
Most users of CRM system use Microsoft Outlook or some other groupware in combination with a smart phone of Blackberry to plan their activities. While some of these activities are directly CRM-relevant, not all are. My wife’s birthday is important to me, but probably not for my colleagues and customers.
Yes, most CRM applications do have good integration with groupware, but this does not entirely solve the problem, because users do not want to clutter their hand-held devices and calendars with activities which are only relevant when in the office. In all the projects I have been involved in, this has been the first issue to be faced when the application goes live. i am not even going to attempt to suggest a solution. However, good solutions will always offer users a number of ways to organize their work, so individuals can work in the way that suits them best.
CRM Activity Management
Mrz 5
In the planning stage of most CRM Projects activity management does not play a central role. After roll out it suddenly becomes a major issue. Why? There are a number of reasons. From the personal point of view, not all activities originate from the CRM system, so how can conflicts be avoided? What happens when the CRM priorities clash with personal priorities?
These are the issues:
- Groupware vs. CRM
- Tasks with no specific completion dates
- Workflow management
- Daily work planning
- Cold calls and campaigns
These will be the topics of the following posts. Watch this site!
This is probably a fringe area of CRM. Many companies invite customers and partners to contribute comments and ideas for product innovation or improvement. I would see this as part of a CRM strategy though it appears that few companies link their open innovation sites to a CRM application. It is difficult to say if companies really use the information gained from customers, but take a look at some examples:
Take a look at this example.
[…] for several years, Xerox has polled 480,000 customers per year regarding product and service satisfaction using a five-point scale from 5 (high) to 1 (low). Until two years ago, Xerox’s goal was to achieve 100% 4s (satisfied) and 5s (very satisfied) by the end of 1993. But in 1991, an analysis of customers who gave Xerox 4s and 5s on satisfaction found that the relationship between the scores and actual loyalty differed greatly depending on whether the customers were very satisfied or satisfied. Customers giving Xerox 5s were six times more likely to repurchase Xerox equipment than those giving 4s.
This analysis led Xerox to extend its efforts to create apostles – a term coined by Scott D. Cook, CEO of software producer and distributor Intuit, describing customers so satisfied that they convert the uninitiated to a product or service.
Found in Putting the service-profit chain to work by JL Heskett, LA Schlesinger, Harvard Business Review, 1994,
No further comment required!
This is the controller’s point of view. Don’t go this way. Making this the aim of a CRM project will guarantee the failure of the project. Concentrating on cost cutting will result in a reduction of customer service in some way , which will in turn lead to a decrease of turnover. The aim must be the improvement of customer service. This will lead to an increase in sales and a reduction of sales costs in relation to sales. Watch for tomorrows post!
Does increased customer satisfaction lead to higher sales?
Of course, CRM Software on its own cannot influence the sales cycle. It can however assist sales persons to do that by
- improving lead qualification processes
- reducing the time required for administrative tasks
- improving the visibility of opportunities
- improving team processes
The most effective sales people will intuitively select the most promising leads out of a list of, for example, trade fair contacts. They will waste little time on hopeless cases. Even the top performers will however achieve better results if they are presented with better qualified lists. A properly designed lead qualification process supported by CRM software will improve sales efficiency in this way.
Whether or not the time sales people spend on administrative tasks can be reduced is dependent on the current situation in the organization. Generally, it can be said that a well designed CRM application will have positive effects, most strongly with regard to team processes.
As a rule, the sales cycle will be improved if the related business processes can be improved and this is where CRM software can definitely help.
Let’s assume that sales efficiency is increased if sales are up without higher cost of sales. Of course, there are a number of factors which can produce this effect, for example new or improved products or effective marketing campaigns. Again let’s assume that all conditions remain stable and the only change is the introduction of CRM Software. What improvements can be made? How about these:
- Increased revenues and increased share of wallet through faster sales cycles
- Cost efficiencies through lower cost of sales and better customer coverage
- Increased customer satisfaction levels leading to return business
- Greater innovation as a result of better customer contacts
My next four posts will approach these points in detail.
CRM on Mondays
Feb 22
A real life example of CRM on practice. It is Monday, customers are at work, possibly slightly irritable because Mondays are not the best day of the week. Our support persons feel much the same way. One customer calls and complains in an aggressive manner and gets an answer he does not like. The incident escalates and the expensive CRM Support module has not helped at all. The point of this real life example, is that the best CRM Software does not lead to improved customer relations unless embedded in a concept including processes and employee training.
Referring back to my comments on RFPs. this means that the selection processes based on functionality of the product will not necessarily lead to the selection of the right product. The processes and the capacity of the company to benefit from a software solution need to be considered before any products are evaluated.
Wo fängt CRM an?
Feb 19
Ein Blick auf die Liste der Anbieter von so genannten CRM-Lösungen reicht um festzustellen, dass nicht überall CRM drin ist, wo CRM drauf steht. Oder vielleicht doch? Wenn man eine Adressliste aufruft um einen Kunden anzurufen, ist das doch eine Kundeninteraktion, also CRM. Ein Produkt wie cobra CRM PLUS zum Beispiel will eindeutig eine CRM-Lösung sein. Das ist es auch, aber unterscheidet sich doch erheblich von den Lösungen von Oracle, Salesforce oder Pivotal. Andererseits, gibt es Unternehmen die durchaus die kleineren Lösungen für die Unterstützung des Vertriebs mit Erfolg einsetzen. Schließlich ist ein Corsa genauso ein Auto wie ein Range Rover, man muss eben nur wissen was man will.