The Advantages of a Cloud-Based CRM System

Transcription

1 CRM Expert Advisor White Paper Ensuring your CRM delivers A method for choosing a Customer Relationship Management system that will really drive your business productivity Key Points Europe and related markets are facing an unprecedented decline in productivity and independent research shows that many businesses are turning to Customer Relationship Management systems to buck the trend However, to boost productivity, companies have to ensure that they choose a system that meets their particular needs and to do so, firms should work through a series of questions: What are the business issues companies are facing and how can a CRM solution help? Examples are increased leads, better qualification, improved customer service What is the CRM system for? Which units, departments, offices and other parts of the business will use it and what will they need it to do? How will individuals use the CRM system and what elements does it need to have to ensure people utilise it and get the most out of the platform? Is a cloud or on-premise CRM system required? Weighing up various considerations, including cost, reliability, data security, adaptability and unique marketplace factors What scalability will be needed? Taking into account business size, where the business is heading and whether it needs the flexibility to ramp up or down the number of users on its CRM system at a controlled cost How important is remote access? Assessing CRM needs in the age of smartphones and tablets, 24/7 business access and home working capability Do you need to link the CRM platform with other systems being used by the business? Including legacy databases holding customer records, accounting systems, other business applications and social media How much would you want to customise the system? Whether to provide a specific feature, such as asset tracking, or provide a particular screen for supporting specific business processes or the capture a complex level of workflow Even when a business does find the ideal CRM package, the journey is not over, as the company then needs to Contents Introduction REQUIREMENTS: Determining what you need from your CRM solution CLOUD VS ON-PREMISE: Achieving the right fit for your business PEOPLE STRATEGY: Assessing the importance of scalability MOBILITY: Deciding how you want to access your CRM INTEGRATION & CUSTOMISATION: Determining the added features you need 14. Conclusion: bringing it all together assess performance, gather feedback, train people to use it, enhance usability and look at additional areas where the platform can be used to boost productivity. 1

2 Introduction At a time when most IT departments are searching for ways to cut back on making new investments, there is one type of software that has seen its stock rise: CRM. One effect of the prolonged economic downturn has been to thrust the customer firmly back into the spotlight, as businesses recognise that the most reliable investment they can make in an unpredictable environment is in their own customers. It is by devoting resources to functions such as sales, marketing and customer service, thus encouraging higher customer retention rates, that companies will be able to boost revenues and make steps towards real growth. This drive to reinstate customers at the heart of business systems and processes is evident in the tremendous growth seen in the CRM software industry. The extent to which CRM is outstripping other functions in terms of attracting investment is demonstrated by a recent Gartner report, which revealed that the worldwide CRM market grew by 12% in 2012 three times the average for all enterprise software categories. i And there is still room for growth Forrester found, towards the end of 2012, that 41% of the SMEs it surveyed had already implemented a CRM solution and a further 25% planned to do so over the next 12 to 24 months. ii So why the enthusiasm? The answer to this question is that CRM enables companies to divert time and resources away from non-revenue driving activities and towards retaining the customers who will drive profits and sales as well as helping businesses achieve a better return on investment (ROI) in their new customer acquisition campaigns. Boosting productivity in the customer-facing functions is key and will give businesses a significant advantage over competitors at a time when many companies are struggling to achieve any productivity at all. As we discussed in our last research report, The Productivity Puzzle, business productivity in Europe and beyond is at a historic low as economies stagger out of the shadow of recession. iii The Eurostat Labour Productivity Index shows that output has dropped every year since the beginning of the downturn, iv while a report from global accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Key Trends in Human Capital, reveals that human capital ROI in Western Europe an analysis of the pre-tax profit produced for every pound, euro or dollar paid out in remuneration has fallen to 1.11 from 1.18 in This means that employers are now only getting the equivalent of 1.11 back for every 1 they invest in their staff. v There is a whole host of ways in which CRM can help with this. As a salesperson, you might often waste time pursuing leads that turn out to be lukewarm at best. A CRM system integrates sales with marketing operations, giving the sales team an overview of the level of qualification reached before they contact a lead, automatically assigning prospects to the right salesperson. From a marketing perspective, the entire sales cycle can be tracked through the CRM system, providing marketers and management with a way of measuring the ROI of their campaigns. Staff may also spend large chunks of their time compiling weekly reports a process which can be automated with CRM, enabling sales, marketing and customer service personnel to devote more time to building relationships with customers. And with a centralised system, executives can pull reports on demand or have them ed automatically, giving them a solid foundation on which to make management decisions. In The Productivity Puzzle, we outlined the specific ways in which a CRM solution can boost sales, marketing and customer service, helping businesses boost their overall productivity. Every business has different requirements and faces different pressures, so there is no magic one-sizefits-all solution. However, there is a broad method that every business can follow when selecting the CRM system that is right for them. In this guide, we examine the key areas for businesses to focus on in order to make sure they choose a CRM solution that will have a truly positive impact on their productivity. i. Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Customer Relationship Management Software, Worldwide, 2012, Apr 2013 ii. Forrester, The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites for Midsize Organisations, Q3 2012, Jul 2012 iii. Maximizer Software, The Productivity Puzzle, Apr 2013 iv. Eurostat, Labour Productivity per person employed v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, Key trends in human capital 2012: A global perspective, Jul

3 REQUIREMENTS: Determining what you need from your CRM solution Investing in any new software is a big decision and CRM is no exception. There are a number of questions any business needs to ask itself before it implements a CRM solution in order to ensure that it can get the most out of the system. The first of these and possibly the most crucial is to determine what you actually need your CRM to do. A family furniture business, for example, will have very different requirements from a multinational systems integrator. It has been said before, but the analogy loses none of its relevance: you wouldn t buy a Ferrari if all you need is a Fiat. Prior to installation, businesses need to ask themselves how many people are going to be using the system and with what objectives in mind. For companies that are intending to use their CRM primarily as a sales tool, a simple out-of-the-box deployment which will only be accessed by sales, marketing and customer service, is likely to be more than adequate. Who needs access to the CRM? In addition to integrating the CRM solution with the systems already in place, you may also require extensibility to other departments and business applications. If you want your CRM to span departments other than sales, marketing and customer service, you need to make sure that the solution you choose enables you to do so. Here are just a few of the Requirement questions you should ask Is your business ready to implement a CRM system? What are your goals for the CRM system? Which departments need to use the CRM solution? How many people will use the CRM system? How will you make sure your employees use the system? If you have an existing CRM what works well and what would you like to improve? Can you compare different providers? Can you test-drive the solution before deployment? How quickly do you need to start using the system? Extensibility to other applications In addition, you might decide that you need your CRM system to integrate with existing specific software, business processes or departments. For a construction business, it could be extremely useful to link sales with accounting through the CRM, so that the same system used to track and record the sale can also be used to cost-control and manage the project. In this case, the organisation should look to choose a solution that can integrate with legacy accounting and/or project management systems, as well as encompass a wide range of the company s operations. Some industries use a number of highly specialised systems and processes that may vary from business to business. A multinational investment bank would be likely to need a complex solution, tailored to reflect its operations perhaps linked to external systems and webbased information services. This is where a customised CRM system would be required, with forms, fields and workflows configured to fit the organisation s specialised processes. Organisational readiness Once you have decided what type of system you need in principle, you need to make sure that your business is ready for its deployment. This involves making sure that all the relevant people in the organisation support the decision: universal buy-in is a key in order to ensure that staff will actually use the system. This can be achieved by canvassing employees and departments to establish what they would find useful, what they would like to improve and how their operations could become more productive. After all, this is the underlying motive for investing in CRM and so it is crucial that the solution you choose is sophisticated enough to achieve it, without being so complex that no-one actually wants to use it. Getting a system that boasts all the whistles and bells imaginable may appeal to the IT experts in the business, but if all these complex features discourage ordinary staff from using the system, then it will be dead in the water. 3

4 Not only was it user friendly and easily integrated into our current systems but it was also able to meet our initial requirements from day one and adapt with our business as we continued to grow. Gary Hamilton, Managing Director, NI4Kids Getting the system up and running Once you have settled on your chosen solution and determined that it is the best system for your business, making sure that employees are able and willing to use it, you need to establish how quickly it will take to deploy. You might need it to be up and running within weeks a consideration that could influence your choice of solution or you may have the luxury of several months to ensure that everything is in place for smooth implementation. For a business that operates, for example, a sporting venue, quick deployment could be a top priority to enable it to manage a huge contact database balancing a variety of commercial activities, including sponsorship and ticket sales in time for a major event, without having to overhaul existing processes. Choosing a user-friendly and adaptable solution is especially important where speedy implementation is a major concern, since staff need to start using the system straight away. Making employees lives easier It is also important to assess and manage expectations and ensure that any secondary infrastructure (IT maintenance staff, for example) is in place before the system is installed. What s more, a culture which focuses on the customer has to pre-exist the CRM solution, so that the software enhances and streamlines processes that are already in place and performing. Whatever your business, you need to make sure that your CRM system is seen as making your employees lives easier and enhancing their ability to do their jobs not the solution to poor service! One way for staff to find this out for themselves is if you choose a provider that allows you to test drive their solution, so that you can be absolutely sure that it is the right fit for your business. The ability to review a range of systems another opportunity offered by a number of providers will give you the chance to weigh up all the available options. We had already identified the need for a centralised CRM solution, but we were keen to implement one that the sales team saw as easing their jobs rather than adding unnecessary administration. Richard Harris, Managing Director, Lely Ireland 4

5 CLOUD VS ON-PREMISE: Achieving the right fit for your business A consideration of who will be using the system and how it is going to be deployed will have a direct impact on the next question: whether to plump for a cloud or on-premise solution. In a nutshell, on-premise solutions provide greater security, low long-term total cost of ownership and a higher capacity for customisation, whereas cloud-based solutions require lower upfront costs while offering greater flexibility and easier implementation. With a cloud-based system, the CRM application is hosted on an external server, which is accessible through the internet and operates according to a subscription model, whereby you pay for as many licences as there are people using the system. In addition, some providers offer you the option to host your CRM on your own dedicated server, ensuring security and allowing you to host other business applications as well all in a preferred local location, to ensure you meet legal requirements for data storage. Businesses that choose an on-premise solution can host the CRM system on their own server, using their own in-house IT infrastructure. However, the options do not end there, as organisations can also decide to hold their cloud-based CRM on their own dedicated private server, paying an annual maintenance fee rather than renting from a host server, while on-premise solutions can also be accessible via the web and businesses may either own or rent the software. When considering cloud or onpremise, ask yourself Are you a start-up and/or are you looking to expand your company? Would you prefer lower recurring costs to a more substantial one-off investment? Do you want to move your entire IT infrastructure to the cloud? Do you have a developed IT support infrastructure in-house? Do you require integration with specific existing software? Do you have a legal requirement to store your data in a certain location? Would you like to reduce your existing IT Infrastructure to reduce costs? Do you need the flexibility to increase and decrease the number of users? How long will the implementation process take? Do you need specific resources or personnel in place in order to implement the solution? Have you included the full cost of implementation and configuration when comparing providers? Weighing up the cost Clearly, one of the main considerations when choosing between a cloud and on-premise solution is cost. A larger, more stable corporation with relatively constant staff levels and fixed overheads may be best suited to an on-premise solution. For these companies that have the budgetary capacity to make the large, one-off investment in the hardware and software required, and for whom lower long-term total cost of ownership (TCO) is a high priority, it may make financial sense to choose an on-premise CRM system and avoid recurring costs. What s more, if your company is a multinational business, you may already have the internal IT infrastructure and resources including personnel in place, meaning that the additional support requirements associated with CRM implementation can easily be absorbed into existing service levels. Conversely, one of the major attractions of a cloud-based solution is the fact that companies can avoid the high capital expenditure required to install the infrastructure on-site. Indeed, research carried out by Maximizer earlier this year amongst EMEA SMEs found that the cost-effectiveness of the subscription model came out on top in a list of the key benefits associated with cloud-based CRM. vi As well as enabling SMEs to sidestep large one-off payments, hosting their CRM application in the cloud also means that smaller businesses can avoid incurring other high implementation costs, including the additional IT staff often needed to install the system. vi. Maximizer Software, Getting Your Head In The Cloud, Feb

6 Maintaining manageable resource levels The fact that shifting functions to the cloud reduces the need for technical personnel is demonstrated by a recent survey of companies in the US already using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) carried out by ChangeWave, which found that more than a fifth had seen a reduction in their total number of IT staff as a result of this move. vii Maximizer s research corroborated the fact that this is perceived to be a major advantage of cloud-based CRM; with a third of the SMEs we surveyed citing lower staff and maintenance costs as a key incentive to move to the cloud. viii At a time when credit conditions are tight, it is no wonder that many businesses prefer to make a fixed and predictable monthly payment rather than a significant up-front investment. This helps to explain the increasing popularity of cloud-based applications, with Gartner reporting that 40% of all CRM software sold worldwide in 2012 was delivered as SaaS. ix It predicts that, by 2016, more than half of the CRM systems in place will be cloud-based, as companies turn to solutions that require fewer resources to deploy and maintain. This figure is confirmed by Maximizer Software, which has seen a significant increase (13% to 52%) in the number of companies requiring a cloud-based solution in the first half of Choosing to host your CRM application in the cloud also means that there is no need to make wholesale changes to the software or incur significant costs in order to benefit from the latest technology, as any recent upgrades will often simply be included or be available at a nominal increase in the fee another advantage for smaller companies with limited resources. Planning for the long term However, there are a number of factors that can affect the total cost of ownership of a CRM system over the long term. For medium and larger corporations in particular, investing in an on-premise solution may well turn out to be more cost-effective than the alternative subscription model. Smaller companies too need to do their sums carefully to make sure that they are making the best financial decision in the long run; this means reading the small print, so that they know exactly what is and is not provided with the solution they choose. Nothing if not reliable Opting for a cloud-based system does not mean that you will not require any IT resources whatsoever, and is contingent on a reliable connection to the web. Companies that are concerned about the reliability of their internet connection, or require heavy offline capability, may prefer to host their CRM on-premise or use an data exchange system. Maximizer s research into attitudes to cloud-based CRM found that the most pressing concern for SMEs (by quite some margin) was the threat of service outages and interruptions, with a full 71% of the companies surveyed citing this as a major source of anxiety. x It is therefore crucial that businesses assess the level of service provided by the solutions they are considering in the light of the conditions in which they operate, as well as making sure that they are fully informed about any extra charges for service additions, including additional storage or data backup. Securing the system What to do with data is a chief concern for businesses, especially those handling particularly sensitive information or vast quantities of consumer data. The conditions surrounding your data may determine whether you choose to deploy your CRM system on-premise or in the cloud. If you are a financial institution and require complete control over your data, you may prefer to house it on your own server with specialised security mechanisms and data structures. On the other hand, if you do not have a technical support team in-house, you may prefer a cloud-based option, since you will be covered by your provider in the case of any problems and will still be able to access your backup data should you need to. If ultimate control over your data, including the capacity to back it up yourself is required, an on-premise solution seems the natural choice. Location, location, location There is also the law to consider: if you work in an industry or region that is subject to strict data protection legislation and requires that you host data locally, or restricts cross-border data transfer, then vii. ChangeWave. Continued Momentum for Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud, Jan 2013 viii. Maximizer Software, Getting Your Head In The Cloud, Feb 2013 ix. Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Customer Relationship Management Software, Worldwide, 2012, Apr 2013 x. Maximizer Software, Getting Your Head In The Cloud, Feb

7 hosting your CRM externally may be off limits. Our own research into attitudes towards cloud-based CRM confirmed that this is a major area of concern for SMEs and it is crucial that your business is fully aware of local rules and that you are satisfied that your data will be secure. xi However, requiring close control over your data is not a reason to rule out a cloudbased system altogether. The cloud may still be an option, since many providers offer dedicated server options. For smaller companies in particular, the level of security guaranteed by storing your data in a purpose-built third party data centre may actually be higher than you could achieve cost-effectively with an onpremise deployment. Similarly, if you are legally required to store data locally, you can still make use of a cloud application if you work with a CRM provider that has a network of partners in your area or country. Tailored to requirements If you have opted to go with a cloud-based rather than on-premise solution, the decisions do not end there. Businesses are then faced with a choice between having their own dedicated partner-hosted server or sharing one with other companies. With a shared server, you can still be sure that nobody else will have access to your data while benefiting from lower costs. However, you need to determine the extent to which you need to tailor your CRM to the business, since sharing a server does limit your ability to customise or add other applications to the solution. In contrast, if you opt for a dedicated server, you benefit from a higher degree of customisation, security and integration, as well as giving businesses the ability to host other applications in the cloud. Customisation is one of the chief advantages of an on-premise system: high levels of configurability mean it can be tightly integrated with your company s existing applications and business processes. Larger companies may prefer to invest in a highly customised solution in the knowledge that it will continue to fit their business requirements over the long term. For companies in specialist industries like the financial, construction or medical sectors, it may be vital that your CRM integrates seamlessly with the software already in place for your particular processes to function effectively, in which case an on-premise solution is likely to be the way to go. If your business does not use industry-specific software or require extensive customisation, however, cloudbased CRM may be the most cost-effective option, as you will be able to use it straight out of the box. xi. Maximizer Software, Getting Your Head In The Cloud, Feb

8 PEOPLE STRATEGY: Assessing the importance of scalability As well as thinking about whether you need to tailor the system to the nature of your business, it is also worthwhile to consider whether you may need to adapt it to the size of your business too. In midsized and larger businesses, the number of people needing access to the CRM will be high but fairly stable, whereas small start-ups have a much greater scope for growth and are more susceptible to the winds of change. Paying for individual licences therefore makes little financial sense if you are a global corporation, whereas smaller businesses will benefit from the ability to scale the CRM system up or down according to the number of people needing to use it. The scalability afforded by a cloud-based application is particularly suited to the demands of smaller businesses, which also have the freedom to migrate to an on-premise solution should the nature of the business change in the future. A global software service provider with thousands of employees is unlikely to undergo frequent further expansion proportionally significant enough to have an appreciable impact on the size of the organisation and therefore the number of people who need access to the CRM system will remain constant. Equally, its size acts as a buffer against volatile market conditions, reducing the risk of major contractions with each economic hiccup. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, have much greater scope for significant expansion and contraction and much less protection against market conditions, which can result in significant fluctuations in the size of the organisation. With a cloud-based CRM solution, businesses can adapt to these changes easily with no need to invest in new software, infrastructure or personnel. They can simply alter the number of licences they hold, having decided on a minimum level to suit their business. The advantage this confers was recognised by the SMEs recently surveyed by Maximizer, which listed scalability as the second most popular benefit of CRM delivered as SaaS only beaten by the cost-savings possible through hosting the application in the cloud. xii The questions to ask yourself to ensure scalability Is your market volatile and easily affected by changing economic conditions? Is your business seasonal, requiring an influx of employees at specific times only? How mature is your business? Do you need selected departments to have access to the CRM at certain times only? Does your employee retention rate fluctuate regularly? Do you use third-party organisations which, on occasion, need access to your data? Bolstering processes to cope with growth The scalable subscription model means that businesses creating, or filling a niche in the market, need to make sure that their systems are robust enough to cope if they suddenly experience dramatic growth. For instance, a media products start-up that grows from a two-person operation to a 30-strong business in just a few years may begin to notice organisational deficiencies as activity increases. In particular, storing customer information in silos starts creating inefficiencies and leads to work duplication. Deploying a cloud-based CRM will allow such a business to increase the number of users rapidly with no additional infrastructure required to manage the increase in users, providing a muchneeded productivity boost, while ensuring that it is well-positioned to manage further growth in the future. xii. From our experience, CRM is an integral part of the growth of a company, as well as adding value when it comes to acquisition and funding. Paul Martin, Managing Director, Excel in Business Maximizer Software, Getting Your Head In The Cloud, Feb

9 Timing is key Commercial success or otherwise is not the only factor affecting the number of people needing to access the CRM. You might operate in a seasonal market, experiencing peak periods at certain times of year. A gift card manufacturer, for example, would need to expand its operations to coincide with holidays, including Christmas and Easter, increasing the number of users on the CRM system in order to cope with increased customer demand. Once the season is over, it does not need to pay for greater capacity than it requires, simply reducing the number of licences back to its original level. its CRM than a business that frequently fluctuates in size as a result of changeable market conditions, or deliberate working practices. If you engage third party providers to perform certain functions, the flexibility of a cloud-based model might also be a good fit for your business. You might take on a sub-contracted telemarketing team for a fixed period, for example, around the time of a merger, and need the call centre staff will need to have access to the CRM system in order to resolve queries effectively. Some providers offer short subscription periods, it is possible to ensure that the people who need access to your business can do so for a dedicated period of time. In short, every business needs to consider its own marketplace, how it functions within it and how it anticipates responding to developing conditions in order to choose a solution that will ensure its specific processes and operations become more productive. A company operating in a relatively stable marketplace that rarely sees significant changes in its workforce will have very different requirements from 9

10 MOBILITY: Deciding how you want to access your CRM In a globalised world, businesses are increasingly expected to be switched on and to deliver their services at any time of the day or night and from any location. Mobile technology is the enabler that allows organisations to meet this expectation, with employees using mobile devices to stay plugged in and thus allowing companies to become more flexible in the way they do business. This also applies to CRM, with research indicating that mobile functionality is having a tremendously positive impact on the businesses that have already put it into practice, driving sales and reducing inefficiencies. A survey by Nucleus Research found that businesses with mobile CRM functionality saw an average productivity gain of 14.6% xiii. Since web-accessible solutions are available whether you opt for cloud or on-premise deployment, all businesses can benefit from anytime CRM access. If you do opt to set up a web portal onpremise, make sure to check whether there are any additional charges levied for implementation of mobile access by your CRM provider. Maximizer s research into the area in 2012 indicated that businesses were beginning to recognise the merits of mobile CRM, with 46% of the SMEs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) that had systems in place revealing that they had already implemented web accessibility xiv. However, this finding also highlighted the scope for uptake to increase. Recent research from Gartner predicts that the trend will accelerate, with data indicating that the number of mobile CRM apps on the market is going to balloon by 500% by xv Do colleagues need access, anytime, anywhere if so ask yourself Does your sales team operate on the road? How distributed is your workforce? Are your business operations spread across wide distances? Do you encourage home-working? Do you regularly need access to business information when offsite? Do the majority of your staff have access to mobile phones, whether their own or business provided? Would you like to offer improved response times to customer inquiries? Do employees need to update the CRM system remotely and in realtime? Would it benefit management to be able to view business updates remotely? Going the distance Having mobile access to CRM allows customer-facing staff to spend more time meeting prospects and customers out in the field and to update the system wherever they are working. While this is useful for all types of businesses, it is especially valuable for companies with a xiii. xiv. Nucleus Research, Social CRM and Mobile Capabilities Boost Productivity by 26.4 Per cent, Nucleus Research Finds, Mar 2012 Maximizer Software, Everything, Everywhere, Right Now, Sep 2012 far-flung workforce and customer base. If you are based in a remote geography, or have partners or customers who are, then allowing all relevant parties access to the system without having to be on-site will speed up and streamline operations, allowing management to keep track of operations and sales cycles across wide distances through the centrally controlled database. Not only does mobile access to the system enable salespeople to spend more time out in the field, it also means they can make the most of their time when they get there. Some CRM solutions include integration with Google Maps, allowing staff to plan and amend their itinerary should plans change. If a customer cancels an appointment, for example, a salesperson will be able to view other customers and prospects in the vicinity and visit them instead, ensuring no time is wasted. xv. When on the road, my sales team can access information recorded by the offices and respond instantly to an issue or opportunity. The quick resolution of issues ensures satisfied and loyal customers, while maximizing new business opportunities helps keep the company profitable. Steve Davison, Managing Director, Minus 40 Gartner, Predicts 2013: CRM Goes More Cloud, Becomes an App, Has a New Leader and Changes Name, Apr

11 From personal contact to remote working It is also worthwhile assessing how crucial face-to-face contact with customers is for your business. We have a client that supplies specialised equipment to customers across a range of disparate and widespread geographies. It has found that the most effective sales technique for its particular product by far is going out to meet prospects and customers; its operations have then been transformed with the aid of mobile CRM, so salespeople can update the system in real time, eliminating the need for a sales administrator and enabling the sales team to spend more time visiting clients and making calls. so that employees can notify the business before supplies run out. For companies whose employees spend considerable amounts of time on the move, it is important to check that the provider they choose has developed an interface optimised for mobiles and tablets. A wide range of solutions include mobile access, but if staff do not have the capacity to view the information properly on their devices, then the functionality is wasted. With providers that offer a mobile or tablet demonstration, you can make sure that your expectations will be met. As well as helping businesses coordinate operations across wide distances, mobile CRM also enables them to manage increasingly flexible workforces. With flexible labour becoming more and more prevalent, businesses need to make sure that their CRM system is adapted to suit their people strategy. If your company allows or encourages employees to work from home, for example, mobile CRM is an important tool to ensure that the practice of home-working boosts business productivity rather than hindering it. Seeing updates as they happen You may also want to consider the importance of real-time information to your business; if your company operates a just in time inventory system, whereby replacement goods are ordered only when they are needed, mobile access is crucial 11

12 INTEGRATION & CUSTOMISATION: Determining the added features you need Ensuring that CRM software makes life easier for staff and enhances business processes is a key objective when deciding which solution to choose, as outlined in the discussion of usability earlier in this whitepaper. In order to ensure that the CRM solution meets the requirements of the business, you may require a system that can be integrated across multiple departments or locations, making information available enterprise-wide. In order to leverage the data in your CRM system as fully as possible, you may also need to integrate it with other sources of information. If you are a B2B retailer, you might benefit from linking your CRM to a credit assessment system, in order to monitor the reliability of your customers when it comes to paying up. Establishing requirements such as these before choosing a solution enables businesses to ensure they are adding value and increasing productivity through their CRM. Integration has made our quote and invoice process more efficient. We can now perform and view our financial activities more effectively. Gerwin Eersen, Managing Director, Gflex The nature of your industry will determine the type of integration you require, which in turn will affect your choice of CRM solution. A chartered surveyor, for example, would have very specific integration requirements, needing to link its CRM with a GIS (geographic information system) to visualise locational data in order to seamlessly manage customer property portfolios. A business to business ecommerce company, on the other hand, would need to link the CRM solution with a logistics tracking system to enable it to follow the progress of its deliveries at all times. Integrating the two will help support positive customer relationships, allowing the business to ensure that goods are delivered successfully and to respond quickly should anything go awry. Businesses are also increasingly using social media to form a comprehensive view of their customers. If tools such as LinkedIn figure in your business operations, you may be able to gain an extra edge by choosing a CRM solution that features social media integration. Determining the level of integration you require from your CRM is a central consideration and will influence the complexity of the system you choose, as well as your choice between cloudbased and on-premise. On-premise solutions tend to have more sophisticated integration capabilities than cloud-based options, although this will depend on the individual provider. Similarly, the level of complexity you require from your CRM solution is directly related to how you anticipate it will be used. If you have elaborate functional requirements, including specialist needs such as asset tracking, custom screens and complex workflow, which cannot be comprehensively fulfilled out-of-the-box, you will need to find a solution that can be customised to fit closely with your specific business processes. We can run reporting, jobcosting, profitability reports straight out of the CRM system. Basically we track our sales from inception to completion, so at any stage we can see exactly where we are in our sales cycle. Stephen Pinkney, Managing Director, CCI Technology Solutions This is often easier to achieve with an on-premise solution, particularly if additional custom screens or tabs need to be created from scratch or if complex workflow orchestration is required. If you have invested in the infrastructure in-house, your initial purchase may be able to include the custom software that you need. Less extensive customisation requirements can however, be met with both on-premise and cloud-based solutions. Existing screens and tabs can often be customised relatively easily using codeless configuration and customisation tools, without the need for high-level expertise. 12

13 When reviewing the level of integration and customisation you need, ask yourself Can your chosen CRM solution integrate with your legacy systems? Does your business use a combination of software applications? How do you currently collate your Business Management Information? Which systems hold data that you need access to within your CRM Finance? Do you use a separate Marketing Tool for online campaigns, such as marketing? Does your business use industryspecific software systems or business processes? Do you require tailored data fields for specific data? Do you need to integrate offline business processes into automated Action Plans? Do you need your CRM solution to link with external information systems? How strongly do social media figure in your business strategy? Does your CRM system need to be accessed by multiple departments? Do you need to synchronise your CRM application across different locations? Tools that give you what you need There is another option available: augmenting your system with additional modules which perform the specific functions you need. One example would be a module that creates a tab to hold your assets or products, so that your CRM is tailored to record and monitor what your business actually sells to its customers. An IT systems integrator, for example, whose clients have very different requirements, would need to keep track of the specific services provided to each of its customers a function that its CRM could perform with the addition of a dedicated module. Part of the CRM planning process should involve working out whether you need add-ons and which of the modules on the market will be useful for your business. Having made these assessments, you will be well-placed to find a solution that meets these needs. It comes back to who will use the system and what they will use it for questions that lie at the heart of the decision-making process. The additional features make our CRM much more responsive and, with the addition of Workflow Automation, the business is saving a lot of time. Jakob de Vries, Systems Engineer, Koninklijke Auping bv 13

14 Conclusion: bringing it all together It is clear from previous research that CRM can be a hugely valuable tool for increasing a company s productivity at a time when output rates overall are plunging thus giving the company a competitive edge. To fully capitalise on the benefits of CRM, however, an enterprise needs to implement a system that has the maximum impact on efficiency. Finding the right CRM system involves looking at how business objectives can be met by increasing staff effectiveness through the adoption of technology that not only provides a centralised location of all business data, but also gives the individuals within the business the means to better achieve their key goals. One way of ensuring that this is the case is to identify pain points within the business: where inefficiencies arise, which processes could be improved and what other areas see staff struggling. It may seem to be stating the obvious, but in order to choose a CRM solution that fits your business objectives, you need to have a clear understanding of what those objectives are; this requires conducting a full assessment of what is going on in the business, where the business is going and where the business wants to be. In this way, you will be totally clear on what it is you require from your CRM in order to ensure that it will boost your business productivity an objective that every business shares. This means finding a solution that will be widely adopted throughout the organisation, one that staff will be happy to use because it makes their lives easier, not more complicated, but it also has to enable a big enough sea-change to really transform the way the business is functioning. For example, if your sales team isn t getting the contact time it needs with customers and prospects in order to drive profits, find a CRM system with mobile access that will enable it to do so. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to what type of CRM solution will work for a company businesses need to make sure they ask themselves the right questions when implementing a platform. You need to find a solution with the performance levels, flexibility and functionality your business actually needs: if it is too complicated and off-putting, then staff will not use it and productivity will not increase. Equally, if you need complex customisation, make sure you choose a solution that delivers it, so that the CRM really makes a difference. And of course, all this needs to come at a cost that the business can afford. But there are enough variations and permutations of CRM systems out there that any company can find the combination that unlocks its full productivity potential. Finally, even when a business does find the ideal CRM package, the process is not over. Just as every business grows and matures, developing new needs, so its CRM system must evolve to meet those changing requirements. This means constantly assessing how it is working looking at who is using it, who isn t using, who should be using it, what it is being used for, etc. gathering feedback and making any necessary adjustments, training people to fully utilise its functions, ensuring that staff are indeed using it, adding new features and looking at new areas in which the platform can be used to boost productivity. 14

15 About Maximizer Software Maximizer Software delivers Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and professional services to meet the needs, budgets and access requirements of entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses and divisions of large enterprises. Simple, easy to use and affordable, Maximizer CRM enables companies to mobilise their workforces through all-access web, smart phone, tablet and desktop delivery methods. Easily configurable for organisations in any industry, Maximizer CRM optimises sales processes, enhances marketing initiatives and improves customer service to ultimately boost productivity and revenue. With headquarters in Canada and offices and business partners worldwide, Maximizer Software has sold over one million licences to more than 120,000 customers since Technology Partners Maximizer CRM Why Maximizer CRM? Visit for: Maximizer CRM helps small and medium-sized businesses maximize their marketing, sales, customer satisfaction capabilities and enhance their productivity and efficiency through the optimisation of what resources they have. Simple & quick to deploy, use and maintain Flexible access options through web, desktop and mobile devices Value for money with low total cost of ownership and monthly subscription models Expertise as a leader in pioneering CRM development, with more than 20 years experience. A test drive of the latest release Information on how CRM can support your role Tools and ebooks Resources and information on Cloud based CRM An overview of technology and features Online demos and features White papers and webinars on CRM best practices. UK & Eire Europe, Middle East, India South Africa Social T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: info@max.co.uk W: T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: info@maximizer.eu W: T: +27 (0) F: +44 (0) E: info@maximizer.co.za W: facebook.com/maximizercrm youtube.com/maximizer linkedin.com/maximizer Rest of the world Americas T: E: info@maximizer.com Australia, New Zealand T: +61 (0) E: info@maximizer.co.au Asia T: +(852) E: info@maximizer.com.hk 15