CRM: keeping tabs on your customers – from cradle to grave | Robert Peledie, CRM Consultant, Chorus IT
Robert Peledie is CRM Consultant at Chorus IT, a Microsoft Gold Partner in Bristol offering IT solutions and consultancy. Much of his work involves planning, customising and deploying CRM systems.
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Question: Our small business has grown to the point where paper records are no longer adequate for keeping track of our customers and developing our relationship with them. We’ve always thought that CRM systems are only for large companies, but lots of our competitors seem to have them now. What type of system should we be considering in order to make CRM a viable investment? - Catherine, Petersfield
Answer: Hi Catherine. You’re absolutely right: there’s a popular misconception out there that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is only for large organisations who enjoy bombarding us with junk mail! But that’s no longer the case - today my company has many clients with only a handful of employees.
That’s partly because CRM systems are no longer giant (or expensive) pieces of technology. It’s also because the current recession has made most businesses realise they can’t afford to miss a single lead. What’s more, it’s much easier to sell to current clients than to new ones; so your current clients need some attention, too. Enough reasons, I’d say, for any company to seriously consider sharpening up its relationship with its customer base.
CRM has been part of the IT landscape for so long now, we tend to think of it as a computing term, when really it’s about how well - or badly - we relate to customers. It’s about having a strategy in place to keep learning more about your customers' needs in order to develop stronger and happier relationships. To that extent, CRM is a must for any company that wants to sell the right product at the right time to the right customer.
So, what can CRM do for your business?
In today’s difficult economy, staying one step ahead of your competitors means having a 360 degree view of every customer. Only then can you keep track of what they’ve bought from you, when they bought it, and when they might buy again. This is where a system like Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you manage your relationship with customers ‘from cradle to grave’ by continually building up a picture of each one. That will allow you to better look after their needs –it’s the difference between making “an irritating sales call”, and “a call which magically offered just what we needed”.
The great thing about Microsoft Dynamics CRM is it integrates perfectly with your existing Microsoft programs such as Outlook and Excel. Starting with an initial lead (perhaps an email enquiry in Outlook), you can add this to a marketing list - based on business type, size and so forth – held on the system. Then once that lead becomes a ‘live’ customer, the system’s sales pipeline functionality kicks in and you can begin up-selling and cross-selling your products and services to your captive audience by automatically sending out regular newsletters and email updates.
Powering up your customer database in this way means CRM is ideal for:
| • | Keeping in contact: bothering to keep in touch counts for a lot with customers. It’s a basic practice you can greatly improve using CRM. | | • | Identifying key customers: by grouping customers according to their size, how much they buy, how often and so forth, you can target key accounts for special treatment. You may be surprised to find that those you thought were ‘key’ are actually not as profitable as you imagined – and equally you’ll discover some hidden gems. | | • | Arming your sales team: so they can talk confidently to prospects. It’s easier to sell when you have a customer’s details to hand, and see their history. After all, “Can I take your name again?...” is not a good way to make a customer feel special! A little personal service will increase revenue and shorten sales cycles. | | • | Automating processes: using the workflow functionality in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can automate day-to-day tasks like customer service to ensure your customers never ‘slip under the radar’. For example, a garage might use CRM to automate the process of reminding customers that their MOT is due by sending an email or letter 11 months after the previous MOT. A simple ploy like this adds to the relationship you have with clients and helps ensure you keep their business. |
Options to suit scope – and pocket!
Deciding what type of CRM system to invest in is less about the size of your operation and more about how you intend to use it in your daily business. As a small business, you have several options, including:
| • | Hosted solution – Several Microsoft Partners provide Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a software-plus-services solution hosted in their own data centres. It’s quick to get up and running, plus you have no capital outlay or maintenance to worry about. If you later decide to bring the system in-house, the hosting company will generally supply a backup for you to restore on-premise. At a monthly subscription of around £30 - £35 per user on average, it’s a great stepping-stone for smaller companies taking their first steps in CRM. | | • | On-Premise solution – Other companies like to have full ownership of their system and data. Having your CRM system in-house also enables you to integrate it with other programs (industry-specific software, accounting or postcode look-up, for example). |
If you’re going to need a heavily customised system, you’re probably best off choosing an on-premise solution; whereas if you simply need something ‘out-of-the-box’, the hosted option is ideal.
It’s also worth noting that if you choose Microsoft Dynamics, you can apply for financing to cover the cost of the software, hardware, service components and even training. In these tough times when budgeting is critical, Microsoft Financing is a great way to spread the cost of your IT investment, so you can put the technology you need to succeed in place now while conserving your cash reserves.
Having said all that, if you feel you don’t yet need a full-blown CRM system, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager (BCM) is an entry-level way to manage all your contact, prospect and customer information in one place. It lets you track leads throughout the sales cycle and makes it easy to create, personalise and track direct marketing campaigns in-house. BCM won’t give you a full sales pipeline, but it does - crucially – provide automated reminders to trigger specific actions; meaning clients won’t get left out or forgotten.
CRM involves the whole business
Finally, remember that to make CRM a truly viable investment, you must use it properly. Implementing CRM isn’t to be taken lightly - it’s an ongoing technology project that will affect everyone in the company and require constant nurturing. But it will almost certainly help to increase the efficiency of your most valuable asset - your people - and that’s a huge gain for any growing company.
I can’t emphasise enough, though, that the better you manage your relationships with customers, the more successful you’re likely to be, which is why CRM systems are now so popular among businesses of all sizes. There are solutions to suit every budget, so whether you choose hosted or on-premise CRM, or BCM, you can expect to build and maintain warmer and more fruitful relationships with your customers.
I hope this helps put CRM into perspective for you, but if you have any further queries, don’t hesitate to talk with one of the Microsoft Dynamics team.
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