Is easy to get excited about your new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software or philosophy at your company. After all, it’s easy to get excited about anything innovative. The trick, however, is whether you continue to use your CRM strategy over time. Unfortunately, many companies fail to do so. Researchers at organizations such as the Gartner Group and Meta Group have found that anywhere from 55% to 70% of companies fail to implement their CRM strategies. If your CRM has become stale, consider these five tips for revitalizing it:
1) Don’t make CRM about technology. When considering your company’s CRM, don’t be fooled into thinking that a new software program or technology will resolve all your issues. The secret is to focus on business issues before you select how you will deal with CRM. Your first order of attack should be the business processes that you use to deal with customers. Companies need to consider their service processes, marketing, support, and current sales. There should be a mandate for how the company treats customers and there should be real thought given to what the company stands for before a CRM system is purchased. Of course, quality technologies such as Relenta CRM can help a company be more effective in implementing their strategies, but even with a quality system, companies need to figure out what their CRM strategy is without all the technology.
2) Communicate with your software vendors or select a very flexible CRM program such as Relenta CRM. Many businesses who fail to implement their CRM strategies point to the lack of communication between themselves and software sellers. In many cases, the problem comes down to lack of communication. Once you do know what your company demands from CRM technology, you need to be able to communicate this with a vendor. If you are smaller company and cannot have a custom-designed program, a better option might be to choose a very flexible CRM program that you can then customize. For example, Relenta CRM allows you to set up your own departments or areas of business and connect various files, contacts, e-mails, and newsletters with each section of your business.
3) Keep the CRM focus on the customer. While the whole point of CRM is to provide better service for customers, many businesses get so caught up in CRM programs, software, and carefully worded strategies, that they sometimes forget the customer. Just because you say that something is for the customer’s convenience, that does not make it so. Make sure that every action your company takes makes things easier for the customer.
4) Tackle CRM in small, strategic ways. Rather than trying to learn an entire new system overnight or trying to implement a complicated software program, make periodic goals for your CRM strategy, and stick to them. Set reasonable goals for your CRM. One way to make this easier is to use a simple program such as Relenta CRM, which can be used right out of the box. Simply switching to Relenta CRM for e-mail alone allows your customers and your staff to get used to Relenta CRM. From there, you can continue to use Relenta CRM for file transfers, customer service, and much more. That way, everyone on your team can gradually get used to the new program.
5) Make CRM company-wide. CRM is meant to be used by an entire organization. You’ll get very little value if only some of your team members are using CRM, or if only some of your staff understand what CRM really means. Take the time to educate your team members about CRM and its importance, and use a quality and simple solution such as Relenta CRM that allows your staff to get used to the idea without disruptive changes.
