CRM today Part 3 of 3 The unrealized benefits of CRM software

As discussed in the previous blog posting there can be significant challenges in utilizing CRM software.  To assess the true value of CRM software you need to examine the benefits as well. 

When looking at CRM software, are you getting the full view of the benefits?  Some of the traditional benefits assigned to CRM software are,

-          Shared Information

-          Improved Customer Service

-          Better marketing

-          Better communications

-          Easier administration

When you look deeper into the benefits of CRM software, it becomes apparent that the benefits vary based on level of implementation, integration and utilization.  More often than not, some of the benefits of CRM systems remain unrealized, for example,

-          Reduction in infrastructure requirements.  Digitize your customer files and documentation, less file cabinets and office space.  If you have integrated communications, file sharing, and information sharing with your CRM system, do you even need a office?

-          Social Media integration.  With systems like Batchbook, Chatter and other CRM social media integration tools, your customer profiling can take on a whole new dimension.   With updates and workflows triggered through social media updates, your ability to tailor your sales and operations process takes on a whole new dimension.

-          Adaptive sales processes.   With data from the CRM software you can establish your most attractive vertical markets.   After these are identified you can quickly tailor a sales process to exploit the market and combine it with semi customized marketing campaigns, and then tailor your CRM system to report the outcome. You might ask “What is the big deal, I do this every year.” With a well implemented CRM system you can shift your marketing efforts and structure in a period of days, not months or years.

CRM today Part 2 of 3 The challenges of CRM Software

With the brief overview of CRM software provided in the prior blog post in mind, lets move on with the next series installment,  the challenges of CRM software.  With the broad scope of this article series, the challenges that with will view are equally as broad, but to the same extent common amongst all most all CRM software systems.  

Here are the challenges most common with CRM software, 

1) Cost / Benefit or Return On Investment on the CRM software.   With all software implementations there typically is a evaluation process to determine the Cost  / Benefit and ROI, usually able to utilize solid tangible figures.   With CRM software there is the challenge of quantifying the value of the intangible improvements in customer relationships, customer acquisition, and customer retention prior to the implementation of the software.  Surveying and other tools can be used post implementation to quantify these aspects, unfortunately it's too late to add this to the implementation evaluation. 

2) Current technology infrastructure.   While this is becoming less of an issue, there are still challenges with integrating CRM software into existing software and hardware infrastructure.  Some examples of this are legacy or proprietary systems, such as accounting or inventory management not having the appropriate interface to integrate into a CRM system.   This can result in reduction in the the effectiveness of the CRM software as there is a limited sharing of information between.  CRM Software thrives on having the ability to fulfill all of the customer needs, and access to all customer data is imperative to addressing this.

3) Stakeholder adoption.  This is by far the greatest challenge with CRM Software today.   With even the best planned, supported, and implemented CRM, stakeholder adoption can be a challenge.   Time and time again the best designed and implemented CRM system fails to live up to expectations due to a failure in the stakeholders adopting the habits, tools, and business processes that CRM systems require.  There are many ways to better engender stakeholder adoption, some examples are,

a) Change is hard, accept that it will take longer that you think to get the results that you hope for.  Plan for a supplementary adoption plan.

b) Provide appropriate incentives to aid in adoption.   Building incentives in to the adoption plan are great, but if you fail to forecast the outcomes, even the best planned incentive will result in failing to meeting adoption expectations.

c) You might want to adopt a phased implementation model that allows you to implement the most prepared stakeholders first.   With a successful first step implementation this allow you to leverage this success to other stakeholder groups. 

Do not let these challenges cloud your view of CRM software.  In the next installment of the blog series I will review some of the emerging advantages of CRM software. 

CRM today Part 1 of 3 What is Customer Relationship Management software?

It seems like a simple question, but what is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software?   A strict definition is,

"Software that is used for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support." Wikipedia

Sounds pretty broad, lets put it in perspective.   Here are some examples of CRM software I have implemented.

- A newsletter / mass emailing system that integrates emails capture from the client's website, social media interaction and daily email communications with little or no user intervention.   This saves that client 10 hours a month in administration and now allows them to reach their entire stakeholder base with clear, consistent communications.

- A client website and management back end.  The client has a system that allows membership applications, payment and accounting all automated and all online, a website that has a private members area that is customizable base on a specific members interests, and a built in training and support system that includes videos, FAQ's and trouble ticket management.

- Discount membership website that provides membership management for all stakeholders, payment processing, accounting functionality and the capability to allow member to tailor their discounts and offers on a 24/7 basis. 

CRM software encompasses a broad range of interactions, processes, and customer interaction / relationship tools.  In the next 2 posts we will investigate CRM Software in further depth and discuss further the state of CRM today.

8 things to take into account when you are moving your office

Here is a quick list to get an idea of how ready your new location is for you to move in based on your technology needs.

1) Find out if the location is pre-wired, and the standard it is wired at, such as Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6.

2) Determine where the network connections terminate.  D0 you have 24 hour access, if not what are the restrictions?   A restriction can be a big deal if your network is down.  The termination point should be in a network closet, such as the ones below.

3) Find out who currently provides internet / network service to the the location.  Hopefully your current provider does, otherwise you might incur cancellation fees if you have to terminate a service agreement.

4) Determine the distance from the network wall jack / power outlet to each work station.   Look for issues such as a cables stretched across the room.

5) Ensure your lease agreement covers who is responsible for network cabling that is currently part of the property. Substandard wiring can be very costly to troubleshoot. 

6) Be aware of wireless signal interference due to walls and equipment, as well as router location.   If your router / access point is located in a network closet, the wireless signal for the router might not be strong enough to cover you entire office all on it's own.

7) If your landlord provides internet / isp service, make sure to find out about any bandwidth capacity limitations, or speed limitations.  "Free" service tends to come with a lot of restrictions. 

8) If possible, check the density of wireless networks at the new location.   More networks mean the great opportunity for interference and problems.  You can change the network density, but you can be aware of it's impact on your wireless network.

As always, please let me know if you have an comments or questions. 

Economical Internet Service

In most locations there is only a choice between the telephone service provider and DSL (Century Link) and the cable TV service provider (Comcast).  There are more options, and sometimes they are even more economical, 

• Freedom Pop uses the Clearwire network to provide Wi-Max service.   The service is new but the price at free for 1 GB and $30.00 for up to 5 GB it is hard to beat.   They ask for $89.00 for the device to start, not a bad deal.  Check out the link below.  Freedom Hub Burst
• Clearwire offers their own service, but it is a little more expensive.  Again it is Wi-Max service, it is around $100 for the device and plans start out at $34.99 per month for Unlimited internet access. Check out the link below, Clear Internet
• HughesNet offers satellite internet, meaning you will need a dish, at a very reasonable price starting at $39.99 a month, no hardware included.  Because it is satellite it means you can get it just about anywhere as it is not limited to network coverage.   There is always a minor latency issue, but with he latest versions, the speed and bandwidth issues appear to be resolved.  Check out the link below, HughesNet

As always if you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments.