What is CRM ?
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a term that has been over-used and over-hyped since it made its debut on the worldwide IT stage in the early 1990s. The initial uptake of CRM was low, because first generation CRM products were extremely difficult and confusing to customise and use.
Another key oversight was that businesses failed to recognise that CRM software is not necessarily the panacea to all their problems. Most failed to understand that CRM is first and foremost a customer-centric philosophy that must permeate their whole organisation. Creating a customer-focused strategy is a key prerequisite before embarking on a plan to invest in any CRM system. CRM software is merely a means to an end, i.e. a means to facilitate the implementation of such a strategy.
CRM software can help to:
Automate the capture and sharing of customer data in one easy to manage database, thus driving down administrative costs
Centralise your data and provide a single version of the truth, thus reducing confusion and miscommunication
Track incoming and outgoing correspondence and all activities (tasks, appointments, phone calls, etc.)
Aid the creation and automatic delivery of highly targeted marketing campaigns, thus making your offer more consistent with target audience’s need
Speed up and automate the customer engagement and knowledge building process
Enable swift and effortless extraction of valuable and actionable data such that customer-relationship strategies and profit-maximisation goals can be identified and achieved.
A successful CRM strategy will enable you to:
- Identify and secure more lucrative customers
- Drive customer satisfaction and engagement with you
- Create long-term value for yourself, partners and customers alike
- Attract greater loyalty from existing customers
CRM is more than just a sales strategy, it is a customer-centric philosophy that must permeate your whole business, Whilst deploying and utilising CRM software across your organisation is but one strand in this strategy, it is nonetheless a key component.