CRM - How to make it works?

In my last article, I wrote about how CRM is generally misunderstood in Malaysia and went on to state the CRM is in fact a business strategy, not a mere business tool.

But what must a company who wants to adopt CRM strategy do to achieve success?

I offer below some tips for you:

1. Be committed. Management and employee buy-in is important to ensure that your CRM strategy is a success. Those who are driving the adoption should hold multiple workshops for both frontline and back office personnel to prepare them for the changes that will come with the implementation of a CRM approach as well as manage their expectations. It is also a good idea to gather suggestions from your employees and implement those that make business sense. A sense of personal involvement in the project will get your employees to work towards a successful execution.

2. Plan carefully, implement slowly. Like I said in my last article, CRM strategy is simple but not easy. Therefore, plan your CRM implementation accordingly. Know which modules are important to you and do those first. Grow your CRM strategy by phase. It’s critical that you successfully reach a few easy milestones first to gain momentum and enthusiasm. Going big bang may be too much for you and your employee resulting in frustrations and jeopardize the entire project. It's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle!

3. Be patient. Investing in CRM is not like investing in a stock market. You don’t get to see the results of your investment in real time very soon after you’ve invested. Identify a few KPIs that are important to you and monitor them over the next few months after implementation. If you don’t see any improvement or if improvements don’t meet your expectations, study what went wrong, refine your processes and try again.

4. Get suitable technology. Some companies try to adopt a CRM strategy by maintaining important data in Excel or Word while others download free CRM software from the internet. This could work if you are a small company. But I would recommend that you purchase or subscribe to suitable CRM technology that will meet your business needs

5. Focus on the goal. It’s easy to get distracted with your own personal wants and needs when implementing CRM. It’s important that everyone is focused on why you’re is investing in CRM in the first place; and that is to enhance customer satisfaction, increase sales and profits while building positive branding for your company. Every decision you make in your CRM should move you closer to your goal.

6. Align everything. As I’ve said (again and again), CRM is not about buying software. You will need to review and change certain ways of doing things in the past that no longer is required or effective in a CRM environment. It’s essential that you and your project team understand your business and processes well. Align these processes to fit your new strategy. But the thing to remember is that, CRM technology does not alleviate your salespeople from their job. They still need to go out there and engage the customers. They still need to add the human touch in the relationship and not rely on blasting generic emails and SMS. The key sales processes must still be intact.

What The Hell is CRM???

What the hell is CRM? When I speak to my clients, I realized that many marketers still consider CRM as a tool; a computer software. Those who have the privilege of working with CRM technology use it as an address book where they go to retrieve customer contacts or as a library to check past customer transactions. Some who are a little bit more adventurous use CRM for keying in sales orders, track sales performances and perform some ‘advanced’ marketing initiatives like email or SMS marketing.

It’s no wonder that many of Malaysia’s emerging businesses perceive investments in CRM as a waste of money. Because of poor marketers who don’t understand what CRM is and how to maximize the value they get from it, many CEOs and business owners don’t appreciate CRM and consider CRM tools as being white elephants.

CEOs, business owners and marketers in Malaysia must realize that CRM is not just another hype-up product. CRM is a business strategy. And like all effective business strategies, it is an amalgamation of people, processes and technology.

CRM owners must understand that a CRM strategy is simple but not easy. It will need time to show results and must be continuously worked on. It is not a magic pill. It never was.

Proper training and a correct understanding of how to operate in a CRM environment are critical for CRM strategic success. Everything must move in the same direction and that direction is towards maximizing positive customer experience to optimize sales and profits while building positive branding.

On the other side of the supply and demand line, CRM vendors must also promote the idea of CRM as a business strategy that needs to be continuously studied and refined in order to be successful. CRM vendors must do more than just sell their CRM technology but also the right training, process restructuring, advice and good business coaching when helping their customers adopt CRM strategies.