| The time has passed for polite
discussions about the theory of Customer Relationship Management
|
| Lets stop talking
about software and start
getting in peoples faces about this stuff.
Customers are being won and
lost every day because of basic customer truths.
And when your competitor gets it right,
customers may be lost forever. |
|
Why aren't
more businesses using what has been revealed about customers over the
last 10 years?
The basics of CRM
have shown that there are levels of Customer relationships that are available to every
size business
Put the CRM basics
to work for you
Even the simplest customer
strategies can provide profits. Sometimes it's as easy as just stop
doing the things that are irritating your customers!
We have been
wrestling with misconceptions of Customer Relationship Management
since almost day one - So one more time folks
Misconception 1:
You need a huge technology budget for
successful CRM
Customer Relationship Management has
never been about technology. Although technology can scale a
successful initiative and make it easier to rollout solutions, it
never promised to be a solution
Software Vendors who promised
complete CRM right out of the box have been exposed. CRM is not
software that can be purchased and distributed like a word processing
program!
Some small businesses have used
only customer knowledge to increase profits without any technology!
Know what is important to your
customers and then worry about software!
Misconception 2:
CRM is advanced
level Database marketing
Database marketing on its best
day, is an efficient way to locate the customers most likely to
respond to a company's offerings. Does it have value? Perhaps. But
value to whom? The Customer or the company?. They don't understand
that relationship building must start with an understanding of the
customer needs.
Misconception 3:
CRM is a project
with a beginning and an ending.
CRM is an ongoing strategy that must
not only, be implemented by owners or managers, accepted by employees
and championed by upper management.
FACTS about Customers and CRM
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-
Big organizations
are fighting against change, but don't count them out. Companies have gotten big by being product centered. Decision makers
have risen to power based on product focused determination. Now they
are being asked to change their focus. It is taking time but it can be
done. Take a look at the focus of the Y2K
project.
|
Symptoms of the changing customer
Competition is
heating up and seems to be coming from every
direction.
Already slim profit
margins are shrinking even more.
Customers know when a business is making an effort
and they are responding
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