31 May 2011
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Customer relationship management (CRM) software, although mature and proven in organisations of all sizes across almost all key verticals, is evolving rapidly, with the benefits of the technology now clearly understood.
The April 2011 Computing white paper, What can CRM Bring to your Business? notes that CRM can deliver many benefits to multiple departments within an organisation, not just in the technology's traditional heartland of the sales and marketing department.
The exclusive poll of 130 senior decision makers in UK businesses of all sizes stated: "Customer retention is boosted, interdepartmental communication is improved, data and work duplication is reduced and workflows are made more visible to all. Information is centralised, leading to easier and more accurate business decision making."
Main benefits of CRM
According to the survey, the largest proportion of respondents (27 per cent) were found to have a CRM system that integrates with order placement, marketing, finance and other relevant functions. A slightly lower number (23 per cent) are using a CRM system that contains some workflow management capacity but no link to marketing or other business processes. Twenty-one per cent have a CRM system in place that is part of a wider enterprise resource planning (ERP) package. The fact that three-quarters of respondents are running a defined CRM system illustrates the normalisation of CRM software within business organisations.
The main benefits of deploying a CRM solution for more than half of the survey respondents (53 per cent) was increased availability of information, leading to improved customer service and retention. Forty-three per cent said that CRM allows for better targeting of marketing activity and 35 per cent cited improved visibility of cross-selling opportunities. Other benefits mentioned include better post-sales support and faster deal closing – enjoyed by 31 and 29 per cent, respectively.
The report goes on to note that CRM has come of age in the past five years: "CRM packages are now more customisable than ever before and have evolved to be able to take advantage of the growth of technologies such as web storage services and social media. CRM can now be delivered on demand as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Indeed, the popularity of CRM on demand has further accelerated the rate of innovation in CRM software."
Integrating CRM solutions with social networking
A key development in these next-generation CRM solutions is the ability to integrate with social media Web 2.0 web sites. Companies simply cannot afford to let their legacy CRM systems remain detached from the world of social networking, experts have warned.
During the next two years, 30 per cent of leading companies will extend the goals of their online community activities to the design of enhanced service processes, such as social CRM, according to Gartner.
The analyst company predicts that social CRM for customer service has the potential to bring "new and dynamic methods for improving customer service".
"Social CRM for customer service has only recently entered into the realm of contact centre infrastructure and customer service software components, where it has been met with significant hype despite a limited number of field deployments," said Drew Kraus, research vice president at Gartner.
I think Gartner is spot on in that social CRM could make a huge difference to the level of customer service that a company can offer its customers, since it can enable easier conversations on a more personal level.
But it is clear that businesses are still catching up because our own research shows that only 1% of over 6,000 UK consumers currently receive communications from their service providers via social media, yet they’re clearly missing a trick as a further 7% would find it useful to receive account/policy information via social networks.
The numbers may seem low but companies should take them seriously given the potential for customers, adept at using social networks such as Twitter, to amplify any negative customer experiences to a wide audience, potentially causing significant damage to brand reputation. Customers are equally good at communicating positive experiences, helping to stimulate brand loyalty among their followers.
Smart companies will look to capitalise on the inevitable growth in consumer demand for communicating via social networks and ensure that they’re well placed to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their customer services across multiple channels.
Posted by: Richard Burdge 14 Jun 2011
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