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How
to Achieve CRM Success
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Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is best
defined as 'A strategic approach that combines
the best practice processes, technology, employees,
and information across an organization in order
to attract and retain profitable customers.
Gartner Group's highly respected technology report
states that between 55 and 75 percent of CRM projects
fail or fall well below customer expectations.
Results International's CRM implementation record
has maintained a 100 percent success rate versus
the industry average of 45 percent for 15 consecutive
years... which happens to be the age of the organization.
Our approach comprises of a well planned six
phase process that adheres to the most rigorous
management practices and ensures customer satisfaction.
Use the tips below to ensure your CRM project
achieves the desired outcomes.
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Top reasons's why CRM projects
succeed
1. Ensure your CRM initiative has a clear strategy and
set of goals.
- Create a vision board.
- Your CRM strategy needs to clearly define how you
will improve your internal processes and interaction
touch points with your customers.
- It should also define how you plan achieve these
results.
2. The CRM strategy must be an integral part of
your business strategy.
- Successful CRM projects are often mapped against
a corporations' overall business plan. How you find,
develop and grow customer relationships today may
be far different than a short five years ago.
- The CRM system design should not lose site of the
customer, your users or your core business strategy.
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3. |
Ensure that your
CRM design addresses the unique value you provide
to your customers. |
- There are many CRM offerings in the market place.
Avoid the temptation to
deploy a CRM toolset based on someone else's success.
Your customers' buying habits are unique.
- Ensure that you evaluate tools against your specific
business requirements, priorities and processes. Not
everyone serves customers the same way, has the same
business processes, or has the same priorities as
your business.
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4. |
Ensure that your
CRM system improves the customer experience with
every touch point with your organization. |
- Make sure every touch point you have with the customer
provides consistent, knowledgeable, and high-quality
service.
- Leverage the data and processes in your CRM system
to ensure that all touch points share and leverage
key customer information across your organization.
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5.
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Obtain input
from key clients in order to validate your CRM strategy
to enhance the customer experience. |
- Find out how your customers want to be serviced.
- How can you better meet their needs?
- How can you collaborate for a true win/win initiative?
- What are other suppliers doing for them that they
like?
- The reasons why customers bought from you five years
ago may be very different from the reasons for today.
6. Make sure that CRM is a business initiative leveraged
by your IT group.
- CRM integration with existing systems and platforms
may be required by your organization.
- The greatest success will come from the coordinated
efforts of business users and technologists in your
company.
7. Properly define CRM metrics and objective expectations.
- Identify realistic goal posts of expectations before
the CRM roll out and system design.
- In this way you can set expectations, establish
methods to measure performance improvement, obtain
feedback, reinforce and duplicate successes.
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8.
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Review your CRM
strategy on a periodic basis to keep it in line
with market realities. |
- Look at CRM as a continually evolving entity that
is built to keep pace with customer expectations.
- Plan for several phases to the rollout out.
- Learn from the new CRM data at your disposal.
- Refine your strategy, set new goals and develop
plans to achieve these new goals.
9. Re assess your customer-centric culture.
- Today's market place is increasingly crowded with
new competitors that are no longer limited by geographic
boundaries. Many of your customers see little difference
between the products and prices you offer and those
of your competitors. As a consequence, quality and
service have become driving forces behind your customers'
purchases, loyalty and your bottom line results.
- Call your own organization and walk through the
process of 'buying' from your firm.
- Look at your company as your customers do. Consider
how they want to do business with you.
- Find out how customers find you. blogs and social
sites are new gateways that garner significant attention
from businesses.
- Develop your strategy, CRM design, processes, and
make decisions looking from the outside in.
- Measure, analyze and track customer service performance.
- In addition, consider CRM tools that will help you
to defy geographic boundaries, reach new markets and
accelerate growth.
10. Ensure top down leadership and employee buy-in
for CRM.
- Appoint an executive sponsor. Get employees involved
in the tactical CRM design.
- Get them excited about doing a better job for your
customers and making your
company more successful.
- Create momentum toward a competitive customer focus.
- Provide effective training so employees know their
role and the rationale for change.
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