Is valuable company data only in somebody’s head, in somebody’s pocket, on a napkin, or in some secluded Excel file that no one can find?
Are emails difficult to track because they are located in each individual’s email system?
Is it difficult for people in your organization to cover for each other when necessary, or to work as a team efficiently?
Are you using paper-based calendars?
Are your customer or prospect files always up to date, or is there a filing delay?
Are reports and forecasts difficult to obtain because they take time away from the important work of generating revenue?
Do you have a document library?
Can you easily find customer data?
These are the simplest of questions, but if you struggle with them…consider this..
A system that ensures that this critical data is captured and owned by the company, even when an employee leaves
A system that allows you to record or attach emails to customer or prospect records in a shared database (even your Outlook emails).
A system that allows you to record all of your interaction with a customer or prospect, including but not limited to seeing who said/did what, and when, even if they are in different offices and different parts of the world.
A shared electronic calendar that allows everyone in the company to see what colleagues are doing, and where they are.
A system that requires no filing, since all the notes and correspondence are immediately accessible on the contact record.
A system from which the manager can extract at will the reports he/she needs to see real-time information on the state of the business.
These are just some of the many questions that need to be asked to determine your needs, however, I can assure you there are more. NO attempt is made here to qualify your exact needs or requirements. The real issue here is to ask yourself if these issues can be eliminated, what advantage would it give your organization, your people, and most importantly, your customers? Something to ponder upon!? I assure you they all can be solved.
We all know it is important to know how your company is perceived by your customers or clientele. We also know that the level of customer satisfaction is directly proportional to how your business will do in the future. But as a manager or owner the magic question is: How do I measure this and what can I do about it?
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is the term applied for putting software, hardware and networking in place that improves a company’s dealings with its customers. In the simplest example, a customer might like to be able to access his supplier’s shipping system, so he can find out if the goods were shipped, when they were shipped and where they are now. CRM includes such customer touch functions as help desk, marketing, order entry, technical information and sales automation.
CRM begins when a potential client dials the company number. What happens when the call is answered is critical to creating a new client or keeping an existing one. For example, how many times does the phone ring before the call is answered? Surveys show that in today’s world people won’t wait any longer than five rings before hanging up. Having a phone system that can tell you how many hang-ups (the real ones) you get is critical to whether your company is going to go up or down the ladder of customer satisfaction.
When the call is answered another critical moment occurs. If they are put on hold the patience level doesn’t go much beyond one minute. So your phone system should allow for the caller to get to the department they want quickly. A telephone ‘tree’ can do wonders but you can’t have too many branches. Four is enough to challenge today’s demanding consumer or client. A live attendant is valuable because callers like to talk to a human but if all they do is quickly transfer the caller to a department where they are put on hold for longer than a minute the live attendant isn’t serving a very useful role.
When the caller reaches the respondent does that individual have any information on the caller? If the caller is already a client and the respondent has a pop-up screen on their computer showing information on how long the caller has been a client, what their preferences are, how often they call, their contact information and so on then the company has a definite advantage over a competitor without this technology.
CRM depends on two main factors: how helpful the employees are to the customer and how functional the phone system is in moving callers through the system. These will determine a company’s ability to retain customers and thereby create valuable revenues.
John Campbell is a Strategic-Partner with Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants, North America’s largest independent telecom consulting company.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps businesses drive growth by fully integrating the efforts of sales, marketing, and customer service in order to create a consistent and satisfactory relationship with prospects and customers. CRM increases the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, automates the sales process, and improves the customer support experience. It also provides a concrete set of metrics to help management measure sales and marketing activity against growth targets.
CRM is about understanding the buying habits and preferences of your customers and prospects, so you can:
► Attract the interest of lucrative new customers and close more deals.
► Strengthen customer relationships so that they buy from your company again and again.
► Provide value-added services that are difficult for competitors to duplicate.
► Improve product and service delivery processes so that it’s easy to do business with you.
► Increase your staff’s awareness of customer needs.
► Reduce customer frustration by customizing messages to their needs and preferences.
“The future starts now,” says the marketing slogan of the Buffalo Sabres, fi nishing one of the best
seasons in the NHL team’s history. SageCRM has brought the team success off the ice–as well by
bringing their database systems into the future–by integrating numerous departments.
“We had a combination of proprietary systems, custom database applications and-third party
products throughout the organization,” says Tom Matheny, database marketing manager. “The
lack of integration and functionality limited our ability to effectively grow and service our customer
base.” SageCRM Ties It Together
In 2004, the Buffalo Sabres implemented SageCRM, an easy-to-use, feature-rich solution
providing enterprise-wide access to vital customer information. The software has automated all
aspects of customer relations management, from account services and season-ticket information,
to ticket sales and processing.
“The greatest thing about SageCRM is the way it ties everything together for us,” Matheny says.
“Sales, marketing, and our account services department all use the same information. Often
our customers have requests that need to be handled by other departments. With SageCRM,
information can immediately be sent to a season ticket holder who is interested in sponsorship
opportunities. We can then schedule the proper response, and attach a detailed history to the
patron’s account. This has signifi cantly streamlined our administration—and made our fans much
happier.” Fantastic Follow-Up
The Sabres use SageCRM to record all communications with fans. “With the software, we create
a viable community with our followers, including ongoing outreach efforts and follow-up programs
after anyone attends an event. This strengthens cross-sell activities,” Matheny explains.
“For instance, members with club-level seating have the opportunity to purchase tickets to other
HSBC Arena events before they are offered to the general public. Members can choose to receive
this information by fax or email, and their preference is stored in SageCRM. This makes it easy to
communicate with them quickly whenever we have a special offer.”
Marketing Campaigns
With SageCRM, the Sabres create their own outbound marketing
campaigns. The software generates targeted lists, such as former
season ticket holders or concert patrons, and then tracks wave
activity for different variations on the list and program contents.
“SageCRM adds a new level of professionalism to our direct mail,
telemarketing and email campaigns,” Matheny notes. “The detailed
reports we generate with the software give us immediate results, so
we can tweak a campaign for greater effectiveness. Our campaigns
are at least 20 percent more successful due to SageCRM.” Insider News
The Sabres Insider club has grown to over 45,000 members this
season. Insider members receive news, special offers and advanced
information via email as well as exclusive content on the Sabres’
webpage, www.sabres.com. For example, Sabres Insiders were able
to purchase tickets to the fi rst round of the NHL playoffs before they
went on sale to the general public. The list is managed in SageCRM
and gives the Sabres an effective way to get information into the
hands of its fans quickly. Smarter Strategies
A customization of SageCRM allows seamless integration with
Tickets.com. Tickets.com processes orders and generates invoices
for Sabres tickets, while SageCRM handles all day-to-day operations
and communications. Data on the specifi c transaction, account,
and sales history is all downloaded directly from Tickets.com, then
merged to avoid duplication, and stored in SageCRM.
Diverse reports in SageCRM help the Sabres strategize for the future.
“We calculate demographics for each type of customer,” Matheny
says. “Our opportunity reports show exactly what percentage of
returns each of our sales campaigns provide.” Special Capabilities
The Sabres are very active in the community and always expanding
the role that SageCRM plays in those activities. The Key Attribute
functionality offered in the software provides the functionality
needed to manage attendees for special events, such as the Sabres
Foundation’s Aces and Blades annual fundraiser or their Street
Hockey Festival. Similarly, the Sabres use SageCRM to organize their
SabreKidz Club for children under 12.
Since 1992, Asbestway Abatement Corporation has provided environmental consulting services, focusing on asbestos removal, lead paint testing, and mold abatement. High quality service earned them a reputation for excellence, so the company was able to thrive for more than twelve years using manual customer relationship management methods.
By 2004, however, Asbestway was beginning to see the signs of having outgrown their manual processes. With only a document management application in place to store key documents, the company struggled to give employees centralized access to customer information, which in turn made it very labor-intensive for them to provide thorough customer service. Also, communication across departments was becoming increasingly difficult because other than the data kept in the document management application, each group maintained separate records.
Sharing information meant sending emails, giving verbal updates, or exchanging paper records. Thanks to a prior relationship with a SageCRM business partner who had helped them implement document management and an accounting application, Asbestway got their first introduction to CRM. According to Mendy Gorodetsky, president of Asbestway, “Within 15 minutes, we were convinced that we needed CRM.” Working side-by-side with their partner, Asbestway evaluated four leading solutions. Fortunately, the decision-making process was incredibly fast and direct. “SageCRM made everything else go out the window,” said Gorodetsky. “It wasn’t what we wanted; it was what we needed.”
Integrating SageCRM into All Areas of Business
Today, SageCRM sits at the center of Asbestway’s business, along with KnowledgeSync, both of which were expertly implemented by their business partner. The solution not only enables advanced customer relationship management, but also automates critical processes, particularly time-sensitive ones. Now, when Asbestway is working on a project with a city-mandated deadline, key players receive email reminders to meet due dates throughout the project. Similarly, if salespeople don’t receive a response to a proposal within a predetermined period, they receive email instructions to follow-up with the account.
Asbestway takes advantage of SageCRM in every functional area of business. For example, when a new contract closes, a member of the sales staff scans or downloads the information directly into SageCRM, which then sends automated emails to the jobscheduling staff. Once scheduled, an Asbestway technician receives the job order, which was printed out of SageCRM. On-site, the technician scans the job order’s barcode to transmit a date and time stamp back into SageCRM.
It’s a full-circle solution that enables management to track every aspect of every project, even field work. End-users also appreciate the conveniences that SageCRM affords. Gorodetsky explained, “At first, they were skeptical of using a software solution, but now they’re giving praises. It makes everyone’s job easier because they’re not chasing paper. Everything is right in front of them on their desktops.”
Experiencing Immediate and Long-term Benefits Since the implementation, Asbestway’s customer service has dramatically improved because representatives can access any account in SageCRM and provide to-the-minute status on projects. Previously, the rep would have had to search through filing cabinets to piece together an answer for a customer.
Asbestway leveraged SageCRM reporting to further improve customer service. Some clients require weekly or even daily job-status reports, often in a format particular to that customer. Asbestway’s staff used to manually create each report. Now, SageCRM automatically generates the reports according to the customer’s specific requirements. The time savings from this activity alone has rippled through the organization, enabling employees to focus on customer interaction, instead of laboriously compiling data.
The solution has also helped to expedite payment collection. Now, when an invoice is processed, the Accounting system sends an automated notice into SageCRM. If the status of that invoice doesn’t change from outstanding to paid within the appropriate timeframe, the sales person for that account receives an alert to contact the customer.
With one centralized SageCRM database, Asbestway has resolved their intra-department communication challenges. Teams can easily access shared information, each contributing to their particular area.
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
This checklist will make sure your solution contains tools that can handle:
Lead management
Feedback management
Email and contacts
Plus details on seven other vital tracking and forecasting features.
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
This checklist will make sure your solution contains tools that can handle:
Lead management
Feedback management
Email and contacts
Plus details on seven other vital tracking and forecasting features.
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
This checklist will make sure your solution contains tools that can handle:
Lead management
Feedback management
Email and contacts
Plus details on seven other vital tracking and forecasting features.
CRM is customizable almost to a fault. There are so many ways to implent and tailor CRM to your business, the options can be overwhelming. So what are the essential features all solutions should include? This free CRM checklist details the essential software that should be in your package, regardless of your industry or area of expertise
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