The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management

Transcription

1 The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management

2 Customer Relationship Management Typical consumers in the United States and around the developed world have grown accustomed to a personalized experience in almost every aspect of their lives. With large, more established companies increasingly becoming a part of everyday life for many consumers, these businesses can leverage the resources to mine massive stores of data to find trends and create customized options for customers. If every company was able to tap into this same kind of marketing and managing power, it could greatly improve the bottom line for smaller businesses and the customer experience for consumers. A solution to this problem already exists: customer relationship management software. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 2

3 Table of Contents PAGE 4 What Is CRM? PAGE 5 Why Should I Care About CRM? PAGE 6 Do I Need CRM? PAGE 8 Is My Business Ready For CRM? PAGE 13 Taking Your Business To The Next Level

4 What Is CRM? Customer relationship management (more frequently referred to as CRM) refers to the way a company or business facilitates, manages and improves its interactions with current and future customers. With CRM software, it is possible to centralize the administration and record keeping of all the CRM interactions within an entire company. With the widespread availability of computers, Internet services and CRM software, the benefits of a well-run CRM system are no longer reserved for only the biggest corporations. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 4

5 Why Should I Care About CRM? CRM does matter to your business. Think of all of the best interactions you have ever had with a company, any company. This can be in the situation of purchasing a product or service for the first time, or perhaps returning to the same business as a repeat customer, or even contacting a company when there is a problem with a previous purchase. All of the best customer-service experiences will include a few common factors: personalization of the experience, knowledgeable employees who understand your situation, and a system that allows the business to respond to your needs in a timely manner. We have all been victims of a one-sizefits-all philosophy of customer service. It feels impersonal, disorganized and removes the human element of working with a business. CRM software can make sure you have all of the positive elements of customer service interactions to improve customer satisfaction, attract new customers and increase your sales. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 5

6 Do I Need CRM? Implementing a CRM solution is a big business decision to make. As your business expands, how do you know when you should invest in a CRM system? Here are 4 signs that your company needs a more efficient way to manage your customer data and relationships: Sign #1 Sign #2 You are relying on personal memory to keep track of your customers preferences, requests and requirements. CRM is all about differentiating based on what individual customers need. But it is just not practical to rely on your memory to do this. What will happen once you get past the number of accounts you can reasonably remember? How do you even know if you are forgetting someone or something? Would the system break down if you had to call in sick? CRM can put all this important information in one place that is instantly accessible to everybody who needs it. You do not have one system for keeping track of the current statuses of your clients. Did that last order get shipped out to your client who said they must have it by Tuesday? How many clients are due for a quick check-up to see if they need to reorder? How many current claims are open for returns or refunds on items? If you do not have a centralized system that, not just you, but all relevant employees can easily access (or worse, if this system is still paper-based), then it is time to look into a CRM software to manage the day-to-day statuses, allowing you to focus on building those customer relationships and growing your business. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 6

7 Sign #3 Your records are not accessible or shareable in one place. Using your inbox might seem like a great way to organize all this information. But syncing all this information across multiple devices and sharing your inbox with multiple employees who might need this information is not always a great idea. With CRM software, especially cloud-based software, your records are accessible anywhere and by the people who need to use them. Changes one employee makes are reflected everywhere, allowing you to always have the most up-to-date information. Changes one employee makes are reflected everywhere, allowing you to always have the most up-to-date information. Sign #4 You do not have a firm grasp on the past, and you do not know what will happen in the future. Even if you are using a paper-based or digital system to store and keep all your records, how accessible is it and how often do you use that information? Are you aware that certain customers always seem to request the same thing around the same time every month or year? Can you reliably say how much impact that last promotion had on your bottom line? And, perhaps even more importantly, can you leverage this information to make predictions about what your customers are going to need so you will already be prepared right when they ask? CRM software is designed to let you see the big picture as to what is happening with individual customers and across your business to help you grow. If any, or all, of those situations are true for you right now, do not worry. These are common challenges faced by many businesses. As your business grows, strategies and systems that seemed to work just fine before will no longer be able to support a larger company. Take comfort in knowing that CRM software is out there and ready to take your business to the next level freeing you from the mundane tasks of organization so you can focus on why you started your business in the first place, whatever that may be. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 7

8 Is My Business Ready For CRM? A CRM solution that is haphazardly or impulsively purchased will likely do very little good for your business. Truly implementing a CRM system in a meaningful and impactful way is a commitment of both time and money. How do you know if your business is ready to implement a CRM system? If any or all of these 6 statements are true for you, your business is ready for a CRM solution. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 8

9 1The number of clients you have, or want, is too large for your current system to handle. If your business has recently experienced a period of growth, or you have tapped into a new market of customers, it is very important to make sure that you are ready to handle the higher demands. And if you recently experienced a surge in growth, but are now noticing some of those customers fall off, it could be because your business system cannot handle this number of people. A CRM system can merge several currently separate databases into one streamlined system that can grow with your business. If you only ever use a system that is just enough for right now, then you will never be able to grow to your full potential. 2You want to get to know your customers better and improve your relationships with them. There are some things that humans are just better at doing than computers will likely ever be. Initiating and maintaining real human contact and relationships is one of them. That being said, a computer will almost always be better at organizing and sorting data, and then recognizing complex patterns than a human will ever be. A CRM solution gives you the best of both worlds. By unloading the tedious data analysis to a machine, you can focus on the human aspect of your business. This is what your customers will remember, and with the insights a CRM software can offer, you will be a whole lot more informed while doing it. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 9

10 3You want to improve internal communications within your business and/or you want to increase collaboration between employees. Today s businesses in the New Economy must embrace collaboration and teamwork, and fortunately there are tools to make this a reality in a way that was never previously possible. Many of the currently available CRM solutions, especially those that are on-demand or cloudbased, take advantage of the flexibility and mobility the Internet has to offer. CRM systems can give everyone on your team access to the data that is relevant to their jobs, empowering them to make the decisions they need to when they need to. 4You want to optimize your marketing. Businesses that embrace CRM systems have the advantage of accessing their company s data in order to efficiently identify strengths, weaknesses and trends. This information can directly inform your marketing strategy. With CRM software you will be able to identify trends with the habits of individual customers or accounts as well as larger trends within your entire business. Leverage this by targeting your marketing towards your strengths and also your weaknesses, by first addressing the weakness and then touting that as exactly what it is: paying attention to customers needs and responding accordingly. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 10

11 5You want to simplify lead management. New customers are an important component of any business growth strategy. However, the costs for signing on new customers are significantly high for many businesses. CRM software can help reduce these costs by streamlining information, making it easier for your sales teams to enter data and get a customer going with your business. By having access to all existing and previous customer trends and preferences, your sales teams can also quickly find a situation that is comparable to a lead s, and offer services or products that meet their needs. You want to increase productivity and revenue. 6The promise of CRM software increasing productivity and revenue is very real. But it is not because the software offers a magic solution to all of your business challenges. Rather, CRM software can simplify what you are doing and remove tasks from employees that are better done by a machine, allowing your business to make better use of its largest asset: human ingenuity and perseverance. CRM solutions give your employees the tools they need to be most effective, and this will translate into your bottom line. It is very important to remember that a CRM system will not be a silver bullet to immediately fix all problems that your business is having, or will not automatically result in higher profits from day one. Rather, a CRM system is a tool, and a very powerful one, that when used the right way can drastically improve your business. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 11

12 Does My Business Need CRM? Not sure if your business is ready to adopt a CRM system? If you answered yes to any of these 6 questions, a CRM software may dramatically improve your business growth and performance: 1 The number of clients you have, or want, is too large for your current system to handle. YES NO 2 You want to get to know your customers better and improve your relationships with them. 3 You want to improve internal communications within your business and/or you want to increase collaboration between employees. 4 You want to optimize your marketing. 5 You want to simplify lead management. 6 You want to increase productivity and revenue. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 12

13 Taking Your Business To The Next Level Happy, loyal customers are the foundation of any successful business. How do you know if your new or existing customers are happy and satisfied with the customer experience you offer? Here s an exercise to help you and your team determine how your current business processes are performing, where your company s strengths are and where there is room for improvement, to take your company to the next level. Imagine you are a new customer to your own business. You are interested in the product or service that your business offers. Now, ask yourself the questions in the next section. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 13

14 Becoming a New Customer Who is the first person I interact with? What kind of information does that person already have about me? What does this interaction look like or feel like? Is it an enjoyable experience for me? How long does it take from the time where I sign up to the time when I am actually using the product or service? How many different people do I interact with throughout the entire process? How many times do I have to offer the same piece of information to somebody? If Something Arises How long does it take to get a response from somebody at my business? How many different ways do I have to connect with somebody (phone, , live chat, Facebook, etc.)? When I get in touch with somebody, do I have to re-explain my entire situation to him or her each time? When it is time to renew or reorder, what does this process look like? If a salesperson or representative that I have been consistently working with leaves the company, what does the process look like to start working with somebody new? When I have a problem or issue that needs to be resolved, what does this process look like? As a customer, if I do not remember the agent or sales rep I was working with before, how long does it take for me to be re-routed to a person whom I have already worked with before? Or, am I comfortable working with somebody new because they already understand my exact situation? The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 14

15 After a Transaction is Complete How does the business reach out to me after I am already a customer? Do I receive any follow-up that is individualized to me and my needs? How do I know the product or service I purchased has positively impacted me? Happy, loyal customers are the foundation of any successful business. By being honest with yourself about the state of your business, you can objectively and accurately inform yourself of where to go next. All of the above questions center around a connected organization. If you can recognize that there is room for improvement in any of the above areas, then a CRM system is likely a worthwhile solution for you. If you can honestly say that your customer service is currently exemplary based on the above questions, ask yourself again, but this time imagine you have doubled the number of customers you currently have. Would your answers stay the same? If not, a CRM solution implemented now may be exactly what you need to ensure you can scale and maintain your high standards as your business grows. The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 15

16 CRM Solutions That Will Grow Your Business If you want to improve your customer experience and grow your business, you need a simple but powerful CRM solution to enable your sales teams to work and sell smarter. SAP Digital for Customer Engagement is specifically designed for small businesses like yours to get your CRM system up and running in minutes, so you can start improving your customer experience and accelerate your business growth. +? Learn more about SAP Digital for Customer Engagement See demo or get a free trial Questions? An SAP representative can call or chat with you now The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management 16

17 The Ultimate Guide to Customer Relationship Management