Think Before You CRM.
Taking care of your customers is good business. This tenet has held true since humans first began bartering. But in the age of the Internet, those handshakes that were once the bread and butter of customer relations have been replaced by emails and social networking. Enter Customer Relationship Management. CRM is a strategic approach for building loyalty that combines the personal touches of traditional service with the efficiencies of modern technology. A good CRM program draws on a detailed understanding of your customers’ buying habits to drive sales. It accounts for market nuances and the power of emotion for attracting customers. It is a new way of thinking about marketing in the digital age.
Not surprisingly, dozens of software companies have developed CRM solutions to help automate tasks and increase points of contact between companies and their customers. Unfortunately, owning one of these CRM programs is much like having a Ferrari on blocks. Sure you have a great car, but without gas, you’re not going anywhere.
In fact, CRM solutions have a high failure rate. The newsletters that have become such a favorite CRM feature actually have a declining rate of return. Customers don’t respond to these generic emailed articles they view as just one rung up from spam. Plus most consumers are pretty savvy to automative responses. They know the emails they get thanking them for a purchase or inviting them to a sales event are sent to everyone. It doesn’t make them feel special, which, ironically, is partly why CRMs were developed in the first place: to create the illusion of a personal touch on the Internet.
Sure, CRM software can really help you track all your customer interactions and purchase histories, allowing you to better target them with specific messaging. That’s probably its most important and effective use. However, having all this data at your fingertips is worthless if you don’t hand it over to a marketing strategist who can implement an appropriate program. Many companies rely on their sales staff to manage the software. Sales people are great at pitching. That’s their talent. But deciding what to say to whom falls under the realm of marketing. It’s a different task that requires the skills of a marketing expert.
The upshot here? Think before you CRM. Even if you’ve already purchased software, it behooves you to take a closer look at how you’re implementing this technology. After all, technology is only as smart as the people using it.
The first item on your CRM agenda should be to develop a strategic plan. The software is a marketing tool, not your marketing plan. Think about how you want to interact with your customers, what you want to say to them and what messages might generate sales. Then discuss actionable items.
The next step is to explore how the software can be utilized to enhance your strategy while reducing man-hours. Again, the software is a tool much like a newspaper ad or a radio spot. It shouldn’t double as your plan, nor should it be turned over to your sales staff for management.
Finally, execute your plan. Make sure the newsletters and emails you send out have value for your customer. They should be representative of your brand. And they should have calls-to-action. Your customer needs to know how to respond.
If you implement these basic steps when deploying your CRM, you’ll find that Customer Relationship Management can really boost your business. Not because the software has so many fancy features, but because you’re using those features in a smart and targeted way.
About the author:
Brad Mishlove is the CEO of Mishlove Strategic Partners, LLC, an entrepreneurial growth consulting firm. He works with CEOs and professional service providers to profitably achieve more clients with less selling. Please visit www.MishloveStrategicPartners.com for more information. To reach Brad Mishlove: 1-702-677-1173 or email: Brad@MishloveStrategicPartners.com
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I totally agree that the strategy (and commitment) must be in place before the technology. I would in the accountancy sector and most firms do not have CRM; the most advanced firms have Practice Management Systems but that it do to manage the client relationship but the job.
A great bit of advice Brad, people get so caught up in the whole process, that the CRM system becomes their misguided focus and sales plan and in the end the CRM system dies and with it the sales plan.
Look at what you want to do, then find something that will assist your firm in the simplest possible manner to achieve that goal.