Interested in CRM? Then follow this and related topics in our Free Information Architecture newsletter. Click on Send me Information Architecture News for a trial.
An Introduction to Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Customer relationship management ( CRM ) can be defined as a strategy for maintaining the company's interactions with its customers sales and clients. Customer relationship management is a software that is used by many functional units of the organization such as customer service, marketing, technical support and management. The goals of customer relationship management are to attract new customers, maintain, manage, and to persuade its old customers to return to business and reduce overall marketing and customer service costs.
Benefits of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A CRM system may be chosen to allow for Canadian businesses to sustain a competitive advantage over its competitors. A few of the benefits are:
• Decrease in costs
• Increased knowledge of customer
• Increases customer satisfaction
• Shared data
• Targeted communications
When a successful implementation of a CRM has occurred, the benefits can allow for a business to implement a new and successful strategy and allow a the business to have a sustained competitive advantage. However, there are many issues facing a successful implementation of a customer relationship management software.
Challenges facing a CRM
The following issues are what the typical business could face that has to take into account while implementing a customer relationship management software.
Complexity of installation: Customer Relationship Management software can vary in size depending on the organization's needs. When the software includes multiple packages, server permissions, databases and security considerations an install all the CRM package can become a nightmare for a business.
Poor planning: Installing any software needs to require proper project management. Without an accompanying project schedule, risk management plan, context of install and redundancy plan. The CRM Software must be championed by the entire organization otherwise it is bound to fail. Such examples of poor planning are not allowing time for a phased adoption or a parallel adoption of an old CRM or previous customer software. Having the option of parallel or phased adoption will allow for staff to use the new CRM System while having the option of going back to the old just in case they cannot find what they're looking for in the new system.
Poor selection of CRM Software: A CRM Software must be catered to the business it is being installed on. A commercial off the shelf package is simply not sufficient due to unique business processes, unique functional units, organizational culture and information systems that vary from business to business. A custom solution is a more appropriate that will allow the business to take advantage of certain aspects of the customer relationship management software. Even though commercial off the shelf software may be appropriate for certain businesses it may not be appropriate for others. Therefore, is important during the initial phases of selection to select a software that will fit the needs of your business.
Poor usability: Many CRM software's are installed without the input of customer Service &Marketing representatives. One of the main issues facing the customer relationship management software is the poor usability and clunky interface. Another issue facing CRM Software is use a rejection upon implementation. Many customer service representatives will get used to an old system; when the new system is installed the immediately reject what is new. Proper change management must be in place in order to allow customer service and marketing staff time to get used to the new system.
Types of CRM
There are many types of CRM Software. They vary from streamlining phases of the sale process, marketing CRM's, social media CRM's, customer service and support CRM's, analytical CRM's and number based CRM's. Below are examples of each type of software.
Sales force automation: SFA is a type of CRM that streamlines the sales process which therefore minimizes the time needed that a customer service representative needs to spend on each sale. Another benefit of SFA is the contact management system which records and tracts the various sales process for each customer. The starts off at the point of contact to final sale.
Marketing: The marketing CRM System allows the marketing functional units to identify leads and potential clients. The CRM System includes various metrics such as click through rates, revenue and leads. It also allows for multichannel campaign such as e-mail, telephone, mailing and social media.
Social media: Social media is one of the most popular ways of advertising currently. It allows for business to keep in touch with its customers and lets the business know what customers are thinking.
Top CRM Vendors:
Video:Vocomo's mobile CRM
Interested in CRM? Then follow this and related topics in our Free Information Architecture newsletter. Click on Send me Information Architecture News for a trial.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Pentagon approves devices running Apple iOS6 The U.S. Defense Department okays government-owned handsets and tablets running the operating system, along with BlackBerry and Samsung's Knox
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Why stick with Microsoft? CRM expert Gene Marks says most enterprises will stick with Microsoft over Google and Apple. Is he right?
Friday, April 26, 2013
Coffee with Apple’s Tim Cook now at $500,000 The iPhone’s slumping sales may have cast a shadow on Cook’s leadership, but bids being pulled in by a charity auction featuring some coffee time with him proves the Apple chief is still very popular
Monday, April 08, 2013
Mobile trend hurts IE, Firefox Internet Explorer still accounts for largest desktop usage but its weak mobile presence has hurt its overall standing
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Analysts weigh in on Apple’s apology to China Three China-based industry analysts give their take on Apple's decision to apologize to Chinese consumers following two weeks of attacks from state-owned media
Monday, April 01, 2013
Apple fails to get iPad Mini trademarked The United States Patent and Trademark Office says the word "mini" merely describes the smaller iPad's size
Monday, March 25, 2013
Apple snaps up mapping app startup WiFiSLAM WiFiSLAM's indoor mobile navigation technology could help Apple get over its mobile mapping problems
Friday, March 22, 2013
Canadians at risk of Apple password breach? Security patch released by Apple is not available in Canada yet
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Five new Java fixes released Oracle promises to accelerate patch cycle amid growing concern over its ability to keep Java safe
Friday, February 08, 2013
Apple all alone in eBook price fixing probe MacMillan has become the fifth book publisher to settle with U.S. Department of Justice, leaving Apple Corp. the sole company facing the DOJ’s allegations of eBook price fixing
Monday, January 14, 2013
RIM nets 15,000 new BB 10 apps A little more than a week to the formal launch of its BlackBerry 10, Research in Motion reports snagging 15,000 new apps for its much anticipated new phone 
Friday, January 11, 2013
Mobile devices to get power boost from IPv6 The next version of the Internet Protocol will enable mobile devices to perform better and work longer, according to experts
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
RIM, Apple sued over 3G, 4G patents The Canadian smartphone maker and its U.S. nemesis are among 15 companies named in a lawsuit filed before a Delaware court
Monday, January 07, 2013
iPad, Android tablets to flood enterprise space Despite its much lauded effort on Surface, Microsoft will be thwarted once more in its bid to capture the tablet market as Android and Apple units are poised to make solid inroads into the enterprise space in 2013
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Samsung faces antitrust charges from EC The European Commission says Samsung abused its dominant position in the market by filing patent lawsuits against its rival Apple
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Oracle to end Java 6 security support After February 2013, Oracle will no longer post updates of Java SE 6 to its public download sites according to a post on the Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap 
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
No new trial in Samsung-Apple fight The judge in the US$1 billion trial has refused to order a new hearing in the case. However, both sides can appeal to higher courts 
Friday, December 07, 2012
Macs to wave stars and stripes Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company will spend US$100 million to bring some Macintosh manufacturing to the U.S. A columnist looks at what it means
Monday, December 03, 2012
Why Apple needs an enterprise strategy iPhones and iPads are sprouting up in organizations as bring-your-own-device strategies are embraced. But if Apple wants to be really taken seriously it has to do more
Friday, November 23, 2012
BlackBerry 10: Excited yet? RIM's long-term prospects may seem bleak, but a lot of short-term success could put it back in the game
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Steve Wozniak talks about the IT culture clash Apple co-founder tells a Toronto audience that rebellious minds in an organization can lead to brilliant ideas 
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The ultimate limit of data centre resiliency In Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath, customers may start to pay closer attention to where their cloud provider’s data centres are located, says CentriLogic president and CEO 
Monday, November 12, 2012
Apple and HTC bury the hatchet The two companies have come to an agreement after many months of litigation
Monday, November 05, 2012
Three more dragons to slay before RIM’s return Blackberry 10 needs to be cooler than the competition, says guest blogger Tim Collins 
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Top 3 business changes in iOS 6 update We've heard a lot of quibbling over the botched Maps app. But what features in iOS 6 are important to know from a business context?