CRM Sage: Learning, Implementing & Evaluating

Advertising my Jobhunt with Adwords

2011-04-26T23:10:00.004-05:00

I am starting an experiment to see if I can generate leads to succeed in my job search using Google adwords.

The results will be interesting...

Stage 2.2: Change Management

2007-01-05T16:32:00.000-05:00

CRM adoption and it's new ways of doing things includes changing employee attitudes, skills and patterns of behaviors. Change management is the process that gets employees, customers and partners through this period of transition.

You can accurately predict the success of a CRM project if Change Management has been given its appropriate weight. Implementing CRM means a different way of doing business; people are naturally resistant and fearful of change even it will do them good. Do you know anyone that has tried to quit smoking, or stay committed to an exercise plan?

Change management activities must be planned and given enough resources to permit them to succeed. Some important activities to consider:

Give employees ownership of the change; thier involvement and participation through questionnaires, interviews and assigned tasks is critical
Communicate the Vision with all of its inspiration and aspiration, use it gain support from the people who are to be affected by the changes
Generate agreement by explaining the CRM business case to each key stakeholder
Clearly communicate the conditions of success to all, the shot and long term goals
Everyone impacted by CRM should be able to convincingly answer why the project is important
Communicate regularly and often, use different channels, media and formats
Do not cover up setbacks
Celebrate victories as you achieve them
Never doubt the power of WIIFM (wiff-em), explain to all what's in it for them

Stage 2.1: Executive Sponsorship

2007-01-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

CRM is an organizational strategy and culture that puts the customer at the center of business process design. Most companies are either Product Centric or focused on Billable Hours. To become Customer Centric requires leadership and direction from the top.

An Executive Champion of CRM is an important communication link and change agent. The strategic goals of CRM are to add value to all client interactions through an integrated view into the customer lifecycle resulting in operational excellence, cost reductions and revenue growth. All of which interest the executive suite to varying degrees.

Every time I have been able to demonstrate to an Executive team that CRM can save people money, give them more productive time and increase their profits, they all pay close attention. CRM helps executives meet the strategic goals upon which their compensation and bonuses are measured. The challenge is finding the executive that is willing to step up to the plate.

Some companies appoint Chief Customer Officers, which is a great public gesture. However, it is more valuable and less risky in the long term if CRM just becomes "the way we do business."

Stage 2: Addressing Organization and Structure

2006-12-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

The second stage of successfully implementing CRM is addressing the Organization and Structure of your company. There is room for improvement in any company and if changes are to be made to corporate workflow and IT systems, there will be corresponding challenges of change management inside the company. These changes can be broken down into the following areas:

Executive Sponsorship
Creating a CRM Culture
Managing Knowledge
Adjusting internal organizational structures
Staffing Requirements
Employee Orientation and Training

Executive sponsorship often makes or breaks the CRM initiative and that is the subject of the next post.

Writing a Project Plan: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.6

2006-12-20T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is vital.

The Project Plan should include all parts of the job. All business processes, all people, all resources, vendors and technology to be included. A Project Plan is a written definition of what is required, by when and what it will cost; the plan must be agreed to by everyone involved.

There are no short-cuts. "he who fails to plan, plans to fail" is a time proven maxim. If you neglect to spend the initial time getting understanding and agreement. It will cost you more later on: more money, more time, more politics and more strained resources.

A signed agreement to a written CRM Project specification by all parties represented on the CRM Team has several benefits:

A rigorous analysis of the technical and business concerns of the project will prevent any party from taking short cuts or glossing over any ugly truths
A clearly written Project Plan reveal the misunderstandings of the CRM Team
Assumptions are stated up front and center
Ambiguity is removed
Having people sign off and agree on the Project Plan forces everyone concerned to actually read and think about the details of implementing CRM
Vendors can be held accountable
Internal stakeholders all know the part they play

In summary: Professional Project Planning is the structure of successful CRM.

Creating a Cross-Functional Project Team: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.5

2006-12-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

So how do you make sure "No one gets left behind?"

If you are going to create and organization that is "Customer Focused" employees are going to have to support CRM internally. Your CRM team should be Cross Functional if the strategy is going to permeate the organization and optimize all points of interaction with the customer.

Management, Executives, Front Line Employees and IT staff all need to be included. I've worked with teams that were truly inclusive and the team worked well together. The most interesting one was when the Union Steward representing 1,200 employees was also the CRM Team Leader.

One thing was for sure with that project. No one was excluded at the CRM team's meetings.

Recognizing CRM is NOT a Technology Project Alone: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.4

2006-12-08T12:56:00.000-05:00

Some say CRM is "just software." They usually spend a lot of money on CRM software and implementation services and see little Return on Investment.

You need to involve the company in the CRM initiative. Even accounting is touched by the system and they should have a say in the development of the CRM system beyond just approving the system purchase.

You want the whole company behind the CRM plan. No one gets left behind.

Status Quo Analysis: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.3.1

2006-12-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

Successful CRM begin and improves through analysis.

Analysing the Status Quo provides you with a company benchmark. Once you've done this you can measure the quantative success of your CRM initiative.

You usually starts by looking at the way you currently do business and mapping it out in flowchart form. Writing it down is important but making it visual will encourage discussion and business process innovation.

Think about the "burning business issues" that drag your team’s productivity down and distract employees from your company’s goals; anything that impacts the current day-to-day running of the business.

Also include the strengths found within the current ways you do business. It is important to identify both.

So how do you Analyse the Status Quo of your company? Start by setting up 30 - 60 minyte interviews with your sales, marketing and customer service executive and teams to ask a few key questions:

What is your customer sales and service cycle, from mareting, to sales to service and accounting?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your company’s current business processes?
What are your reporting requirements?
How would you improve the key business processes you are a part of?
What administrative activities are detracting from your productivity?
Define the factors that deliniate your most loyal customers from regular ones?
What is your competition doing?

ONce you have this done prepare a preliminary report and share it back with the people that you interviewed, get their feedback, make corrections and add this to your project file. We'll refer to it again very soon.

Defining Business Processes: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.3

2006-12-01T11:51:00.000-05:00

Business processes are the heart of workflow and they can make all the difference in the performance of a company. Look at Walmart, love them or not, they know how to keep finding efficiencies in the business process from ordering product from the manufacturer, getting it delivered to their distribution centers, keeping inventory topped up in the stores and letting manufacturers know about reorders because someone just paid at one of their satellite connected point of sales terminals.

O.K. That's pretty macro view. Here's another component. Sales Processes.

Every company has existing sales processes and infrastructure, some have documented them, some have not. In order to define sales processes it is important to interview key members of the sales team and have all staff complete a questionnaire.

The questionnaire should cover lead generation and follow up, sales methodologies, new business development, account management processes, sales operations, expense management, and sales management reporting. If appropriate, find out what technology is used personally and consider training requirements.

As you see, the process can get pretty granular if it is a complex sales scenario. Some companies also "shadow" sales reps on calls to understand what they do well. These interviews and questionnaires are compiled and used as the basis to find a better way.

Customer Segmentation Methodology

2006-11-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

A reader of the previous post asked "What is the best ways to define your customer segments?"

In order to implement a Customer Segmentation Methodology managers are required to:

Divide the market into meaningful and measurable segments according to customers’ needs, their past behaviors or their demographic profiles
Determine the profit potential of each segment by analyzing the revenue and cost impacts of serving each segment
Target segments according to their profit potential and the company’s ability to serve them in a proprietary way
Invest resources to tailor product, service, marketing and distribution programs to match the needs of each target segment
Measure performance of each segment and adjust the segmentation approach over time as market conditions change decision making throughout the organization

This is an effort that takes time and resources but it reaps cuts marketing costs for Product Development, Marketing, and Service while improving revenue results for sales and marketing.

Segmentation: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.2

2006-11-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons CRM got a bad reputation was ironically that it was often a solution initiative that overlooked the prime reason for CRM. Who exactly are our customers? Just importing in a client list and applying them to sales territories is the bare minimum.

Identifying Customer Segments, discrete customer groups that share similar characteristics, and determining how to best service them is a cornerstone of Successful CRM.

CRM helps you get closer to your customers but only if you know who the customers you should be actively pursuing are.

Avoid the trap of trying to find the solution inside the sales and marketing department. Marketing is like the X-Files, "The Answer is Out There!" You've got to talk to your customers in order to build your CRM requirements.

Once you have established your customer segments you can prioritize marketing campaigns, resource allocation, product development and pricing strategies to maximize economic value from high-profit and low-profit customers.

The Value Vision: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.1

2006-11-10T10:12:00.000-05:00

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” This Lewis Carrol quote from the 19th century sums up why so many people and companies never succeed.

Every success comes from a value vision; also known as a vision statement or value proposition. Think of it as three sentences that boil your business down to its essence. It's can be a source of inspiration and aspirataion while it guides your company's business decisions. A strong Value Vision should answer the following six questions.

Who are the customers?

What sector do you serve?

What do you offer as goods and services?

How are you different than everyone else in your industry?

Why would customers be motivated to do business with you, and only you?

What are you going to do with customers when you get them?

Does your company have a clearly defined business vision? If it doesn't then CRM isn't necesarily going to help your company be more successful.

However, when implementing CRM you have an opportunity to solidify and promote your vision internally, so that your employees can broadcast it externally.

Here are some different examples of Corporate VIsion:

Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change.

Wells Fargo
We want to satisfy all of our customers' financial needs, help them succeed financially, be the premier provider of financial services in every one of our markets, and be known as one of America's great companies.

Dupont Vision
Our vision is to be the world's most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer and healthier life for people everywhere.

Ever since 1988

2006-11-09T11:48:00.000-05:00

This blog is about doing CRM right the first time, the CRM industry and how to improve what you've already got.

CRM became a part of my professional life back at Comdex Atlanta in 1988.

My CRM life started just after I'd just graduated from University. I was responsible for Public Relations and marketing support at a "revolutionary accounting software company." They made a product called NewViews.

Marketing Rules 101; risk adverse is a psychographic characteristic of accountants, so revolutionary is a brand message to avoid.

Still, we had won PC Magazine's "award for technical excellence in applications software;" a serious industry honor. Pat Sullivan, president of Conductor Software International stopped by our booth. He had a product called ACT! and we ended up trading work copies of our applications.

Pat promised me that ACT! would make me 20% more productive. I installed and later that day had my epiphany of what CRM could do for sales, marketing and customer service.