Excellence in CRM

All pretty good reasons to address this subject within your business planning and day to day activities!

I am going to outline the main themes I feel are important to CRM.

BUT for most businesses, it is the simple things that can make a difference.

So I will share with you the elements which will have the maximum benefit for you.

How does it work in practice?

Essentially, the focus is how to capture and use client data and for this you will need some form of customer database.

At its simplest, this may be the contacts management section in Microsoft Outlook

The aim is to make sure that each interaction with a customer is added to a customer's contact history. Staff can then retrieve information on customers from the database as necessary.

One of the main benefits of this contact history is that customers can interact with different people in a company over time without having to repeat the history of their interaction each time.

You may also have an interactive website or automated phone systems etc. The information that comes from this can also be used effectively in order to achieve cost reductions and service improvements.

Making all of the customer data useful requires statistical analysis software as well as software that can help:

1. Design and execution of targeted marketing campaigns

2. Design and execution of specific customer campaigns, including customer acquisition, cross-selling, up-selling, retention

3. Analyse customer behaviour to aid product and service decision making (e.g. pricing, new product development etc.)

4. Management decisions, (e.g. financial forecasting and customer profitability analysis).

5. Predict the probability of customer defection

Implementing a CRM Strategy

This includes policies and processes, front-of-house customer service, employee training, marketing and information management The objectives of the strategy must be to consider a company’s specific situation and its customer’s needs and expectations.

Privacy and Data Security

Customers want the assurance that their data is not shared with third parties without their consent and not accessed illegally by third parties.

Don’t ignore the fact that customers also want their data used by companies to provide a benefit for them.

For instance, an increase in unsolicited telemarketing calls is generally resented by customers while a small number of relevant special offers is generally appreciated.

The Priceless Gems

If your relationship stinks, then data will not really help until you do something about it. (Remember the “Chicken and the Egg” argument over which existed first?)

So for me, the important building blocks are:

• Delivering Exceptional Customer Service
• Efficiently capturing and responding to client calls
• Handling complaints
• Leveraging clients through Key Account Management

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