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CRM - customer relationship management

Too often CRM is sold as a purely IT/marketing tool, and as a result, DMW Consultancy contends, CRM generally is not delivering promised improvements in business performance.

But things are not all doom and gloom: we are not saying that CRM initiatives or existing systems should be abandoned.

There are significant advantages for those businesses getting their CRM right. These advantages are not the province solely of the corporates: they are to be taken across the business-size spectrum to include SMEs.

We insist that what CRM needs for success is a comprehensive approach. We believe that we can assist in developing that approach and with it a successful CRM strategy for your business.

benefits of CRM

Where you experience CRM applied correctly, you experience businesses bringing their customers close and putting distance between themselves and their competitors.

Their investment in CRM is repaid by benefits including increased customer lifetime value, reduced churn rates, reduced promotional costs, efficiencies in business processes and increased staff per-capita yield.

changing face of consumerism

Your customers today are very different to those customers for whom CRM was originated.

Consumers are being taught that not only should they consider themselves as individuals, with their own individual needs, but also that the companies supplying them should treat them as individuals.

If your CRM effort is to succeed in the rapidly changing climate of the new consumerism, then your business needs to address your customers' demand for uniqueness through a comprehensive customer-centric strategy.

CRM falling short on delivery

Quite possibly you will struggle to identify examples of where your own experience as a customer has improved as a result of your supplier implementing a CRM system.

Certainly such experiences are not widespread. This we see evidenced in polls-like the BBC's, which have businesses, historically rooted at the bottom of the popularity lists, showing no signs of improved popularity despite their millions expended on CRM.

CRM and return on investment

It is difficult to obtain figures relating to return on investment in CRM systems. Some CRM ROI claims we see emanate from the IT side of the business and yet seemingly are not endorsed at senior management level or are not reflected in the accounts.

There is nothing, however, to suggest that CRM is in anyway special in respect to ROI assessment. What is needed is a structured approach that includes measures of performance.

pressure on SMEs

DMW Consultancy suspects poor performance of CRM to be prevalent amongst SMEs. We see instances of where CRM bogs down in data collection. Resources are exhausted by this effort and consequently little or no return accrues in terms of business opportunity and improvement.

In effect, the CRM system ends up little more than a contacts database; and an expensive one at that.

Software manufacturers are increasing their targeting of SMEs. They see SMEs as an important growth area. Marketing pressure is building on those SMEs who have not already done so to take the CRM plunge.

opportunity for SMEs

Resisting overemphasis on technology, and focussing on exactly what it is that makes your business attractive to existing and potential customers is key to success in customer relations.

For the SME taking on the challenge of breaking with the adversarial attitude UK businesses often tale to their customers, there are considerable gains to be made in securing a productive customer base and an advantage over competitors.

DMW Consultancy maintains that it is within the scope of SMEs to engage CRM with the aim of exceeding customers' expectations, building on the growing realisation that business and customer interests need not conflict.

IT solutions - nothing beyond the technology

In the 90s, IT took up cry of CRM as the 'next big thing' and pushed sales of the technology hard. This push is renewed today with major software manufacturers bringing fresh focus to the promotion of their products.

Yet much of today's CRM technology remains based on original CRM models. These were developed to suit a mass-production-oriented business plan, the main objective of which was to reduce unit costs.

It is still highly debatable whether or not CRM software has the refinement necessary to accommodate an increasingly demanding and sophisticated customer base.

CRM packages typically address:

Contact management
Activity management
Customer management
Lead/opportunity management
Sales forecasting.

This list illustrates the limitations of many a CRM application. Indeed, some solutions are so solidly based on contact management that the claimed CRM elements are hard to identify.

DMW Consultancy contends that IT solutions as they stand will not necessarily deliver gains. What actually accrues improvements in business performance is the effort beyond that of the technology cycle of collecting and collating customer data.

True, there are a handful of e-commerce examples of where CRM systems are excelling without any apparent human intervention on the part of the vendor. However, translating an IT-lead approach, successful in the marketing and selling of CDs and books, say, into the promotion of your products or services probably may not be even remotely feasible.

CRM solutions

DMW Consultancy's is not a unique view that for a CRM programme to be a success it must accommodate the objectives of all the people affected - employees, management, partners and, of course, customers.

Furthermore, the technology must support CRM practice - not dictate it or restrict it.

This approach to successful CRM is not a revelation. It is the product of common sense.

The clever stuff comes in the practicalities of preparation, implementation and maintenance of your CRM programme. How do you adapt to accommodate and promote the programme on all fronts? How do you find the correct balance between business objectives and processes, employee participation and customer satisfaction?

getting your CRM strategy right

In a consultancy role, DMW Consultancy can assist you in achieving the maximum yields from your CRM, whether you are contemplating CRM for the first time or revising or upgrading existing methods:

Needs assessment
Formulating CRM strategy
Building business cases
Determining the IT component
Budgeting for CRM
Selecting CRM suppliers
Planning and managing projects
Streamlining customer-facing processes
Facilitating organisational changes
Goal setting
Building CRM teams and teamwork
Return on investment measures.