The 5 Must-Have Features of a CRM Solution By Francine L. Huff

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1 Presented by: Vendor Guru TM The 5 Must-Have Features of a CRM Solution By Francine L. Huff

2 Table of Contents Executive Overview... 2 Introduction... 2 Standard Features of CRM Systems... 3 Must-Have Features of a CRM System Data Tracking and Integration Customer Support and Services Sales Management Marketing Automation Analytics... 4 Case Studies... 4 Conclusion... 5 About the Author... 5 Sources VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 1

3 Executive Summary Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are being implemented by a variety of companies looking for a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Without customer loyalty, many companies won t be able to thrive and grow. Today s consumers are more demanding because they have a greater variety of choices, including doing business on the Internet and via automated phone systems. Many expect access to customer service 24 hours a day. According to Douglas Gantenbein in Building Customer Loyalty, The right technology can create a pathway to great customer service by empowering employees to fully focus on the customer rather than spending their customer contact time looking up records or asking other employees for help. With information about a customer or a company s products at their fingertips, employees can put to work their experience and desire to succeed for any company that relies on satisfied customers. And satisfied customers become what a company really needs: loyal customers. A range of options exists to help companies improve customer relations. To make sense of the CRM universe, this white paper offers an overview of the following five must-have features that should be part of any CRM solution: 1. Data Tracking and Integration 2. Customer Support and Services 3. Sales Management Tools 4. Marketing Automation 5. Analytics An effective CRM strategy that implements these must-have features can help companies save time, increase productivity, build strong relationships, and complete more sales. It s important to choose the right CRM system to avoid costly mistakes. Introduction Putting the customer first should be one of the main goals of any business that wants to grow and thrive in today s competitive market. It is important for companies to implement tools that help them attract and retain customers as they integrate key aspects of their business to boost sales, manage contacts, and offer excellent customer service. The right CRM system software offer users flexibility as business grows. The key to a successful sales force is choosing the CRM solution that best fits your company. A successful CRM product should be built on its ability to embrace and empower your existing sales process and culture to make adoption of the solution quick and painless, according to Geary Broadnax, chairman and chief executive officer of Dovarri. The CRM solution a company chooses should, above all else, increase sales and work flow without causing unnecessary disruption. Businesses need to be able to quickly adapt internally to changing conditions in the marketplace. CRM solutions such as Pivotal CRM can allow companies to mold sales software to fit the way they do business VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 2

4 Standard Features of CRM Systems Choosing the right CRM features can allow companies to have more control over automating their business processes. Generally, CRM is used by sales, marketing, and service departments to connect data with people and streamline processes across the board, improving internal communications and record-keeping. Software solutions such as Siebel CRM can improve call-center efficiency, increase sales, and drive better-informed decision making across sales, service, and marketing teams. A basic CRM system will likely include the following standard features: Contact management Customer service and support Sales force automation When choosing CRM features, it s important for a company to keep its overall business objectives in mind. The CRM package a company uses should be compatible with the people and processes that support those objectives. Properly implemented CRM software helps increase revenue, margins, productivity, workflow effectiveness, and customer loyalty. Must-Have Features of a CRM System Companies that put their customers first by listening to them and responding to their needs are more likely to retain loyal customers and see improved financial results than companies that treat their customers like exploitable commodities, according to Right Now Technologies. The quality of customer interactions is important to long-term success. Research has shown that 95% of dissatistifed customers will continue to do business with a company if their complaint is satisfactorily resolved right away. The following must-have CRM features can help improve the quality of customer interactions, retain customers, and boost profitability: 1. Data Tracking and Integration Contact management is at the foundation of CRM. Being able to track data on individual customers and access that information at different levels in a company is crucial to building customer loyalty. CRM software should be able to integrate important data from various parts of a business so that information about customers, sales leads, vendors, inventory, etc. are accessible companywide. A contact management solution such as ACT! by Sage facilitates by: centralizing customer information organizing contacts into groups tracking all customer communications. 2. Customer Support and Services Automating customer interactions can help companies address customer requests and resolve customer complaints quickly and efficiently. A reliable call center or online help desk can provide customers with the assistance they need, while allowing a company to collect and process data about those interactions. CRM software should systemize the customer service processes to ensure consistently high service levels, quick response times, full accountability, and prompt problem resolution VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 3

5 3. Sales Management The right sales software can assist with organizing and following up on sales leads. A CRM package can help salespeople on the road communicate and process orders in real time. Entellium s Sales Force Automation solution allows companies to set thresholds that enable sales leads to be distributed equally or in ratios. Managers can then spend more time analyzing campaign effectiveness and improving performance rather than overseeing sales lead distribution and follow up. Streamlining the sales management process can shorten the time it takes to close a sale and result in more satisfied customers. 4. Marketing Automation Multi-channel marketing messages can improve the scope and effectives of a company s marketing campaign. CRM software that allows a business to break down all customer interactions, generate responses automatically, and collect data for building marketing campaigns to maximize the return on investment. Software such as RightNow Marketing can help businesses: 5.Analytics distribute large mailings without straining an IT infrastructure track results to improve response rates track leads through the entire sales process. Analytics, or organizing and analyzing customer data, helps companies make better decisions about the type of customer experience they offer. A company using analytics can find new opportunities for growing revenue and cutting costs, determine where its best customers come from, how to keep them, and how to find more of them. Companies can use analytics to find potential CRM problems and fix them before they end up losing money or customers. A successful CRM campaign will use analytics to encourage a more customer-centric corporate culture and optimize allocation of personnel and other resources. Case Studies The following case studies show how three companies implemented must-have CRM feaures to meet their particular needs. Black & Decker is a global manufacturer of power tools, hardware, and home-improvement products. It markets its products and services in more than 100 countries and has manufacturing operations in 11 countries. Black and Decker wanted to reduce contact center expense without sacrificing customer service. The company implemented a RightNow solution to deliver timely information about customers wants and needs to managers throughout its operations. The company has improved its internal processes and is able to make more informed decisions about what to sell. A streamlined customer contact center allows the company to handle phone, , and Web interactions under a common system to address customer issues quickly and effectively. Marketing and sales departments receive periodic reports and use data to fine tune promotions. The company says contact center workloads have fallen and that within 90 days of implementing the system, company volume had decreased 35%; it has continued to decline even as business has increased. The company also estimates an annual headcount savings of $175, VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 4

6 American Express Incentive Services (AEIS) provides business-to-business reward solutions including stored-value cards, American Express Gift Cheques, and a web-based reward management tool. AEIS was searching for a system that went beyond simple contact management and would allow the company to offer customers a high-quality experience during the sales cycle. AEIS chose a solution from RightNow that helps guide sales representatives through the sales process and allows management to monitor the progress of sales in real-time. The solution also allows the company to customize sales procedures and refine steps as needed. AEIS says adoption of the RightNow system has resulted in higher sales productivity and streamlined management of sales leads. The Guide Dog Association of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory works to help blind and vision-impaired people become more independent by offering instruction and free services such as guide dogs, canes and other mobility devices. The association faced the challenge of building long-term relationships, creating awareness and demand for its products, improving customer data management, and increasing customer retention. The Pivotal solution the association chose resulted in a significant reduction in the time it takes to perform administrative functions, increased the value/number of donations by 10% during a year that many of its competitors failed to meet their revenue goals, and reduced the time it takes to run queries from 24 hours to 5.6 seconds. Conclusion Companies that want to increase sales and profitability must regard customer service as a top priority. It s indisputable that customers are the number-one asset for most companies. Without them there would be no sales, and so eventually no business, writes Richard Snow, VP & Research Director for Ventana Research s Contact Center Performance Management. However, Ventana Research estimates that only 24% of businesses have mature data integration processes and systems in place. That means many companies still need to locate and implement a CRM system for building better relationships with customers. CRM systems can help businesses streamline customer interactions, organize and manage data, generate reports, and improve sales and marketing processes. Companies that take customer loyalty seriously and implement a CRM system should evaluate software with the five must-have features outlined in this white paper. However, choosing the right software is just part of the solution. Businesses that intend to grow and compete must create an environment that encourages people at all levels of a company to take customer service seriously and be willing to support a CRM strategy. About the Author Francine L. Huff is the founder and editorial director of Super Savvy Publishing LLC, which provides editorial and publishing services. She also is the author of The 25-Day Money Makeover for Women. Francine previously worked at the Wall Street Journal as the spot news bureau chief, a news editor, and copy editor. She has appeared on a variety of TV and radio shows, and has taught classes and workshops on personal finance, careers, and journalism. Francine holds a B.S. degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 5

7 Sources 1. AllBusiness.com. Ten Rules for Great Customer Service. (Accessed February 17, 2007). 2. Broadnax, Geary Customizing Your Sales: Familiarity Breeds Success CRM Buyer. 3. CRM Today CRM Techonology Improves Customer Relations Through Contact Management. CRM Today. 4. Entellium. What Is CRM Software? Entellium.com. (Accessed February 17, 2007) 5. Gantenbein, Douglas Building Customer Loyalty. Microsoft.com. 6. Morochove, Richard Essential CRM Features for Small Business. AllBusiness.com. (accessed February 13, 2007). 7. Oracle Siebel Customer Relationship Management Professional Edition. Oracle.com. 8. Pivotal CRM CRM: The Essential Guide. Pivotal.com. 9. Pivotal Customer Snapshot: Guide Dog Association of NSW and ACT. Pivotal.com. 10. RightNow Technologies. (2007). CRM and the Customer Experience. RightNow.com 11. RightNow Technologies. (2007). American Express Incentive Services improves sales processes and exceeds expectations of customer base with RightNow. 12. Sage Software. Sage CRM Solutions. (Accessed February 17, 2007). 13. Snow, Richard The Future for CRM: Where Information Management and Business Intelligence Intersect. BusinessIntelligence.com VendorGuru.com. All rights reserved. Page: 6