CRM SYSTEMS

As the WCA team used to sell CRM and ERP technologies we are often asked to help with this type of technology system selection.

CRM system selection can be an extremely time consuming activity which distracts from staff day to day tasks. You want to ensure a suitable vendor is not missed while ensuring an inappropriate one is not selected. There are several main problems:

To carry out this task thoroughly takes time
It is easy to get sidetracked by a skillful vendor into giving undue emphasis to their specific “best” functionality which distracts you from what has been defined as your “must have” functionality.
As part of the selection process you will speak to various vendors who will then phone you regularly chasing the sale. This distracts you from day to day tasks, dilutes your original focus and also means this initial selection process can also take far longer than anticipated. The end result can be confusion and a loss of focus on the original business goals.
The vendor advice is based on persuading you to buy from them. You need unbiased, knowledgable advice with your best interests at heart.

WCA are ideally suited to advise you, provide a more robust selection process, and save you time. This is because we understand not only sales and marketing disciplines and formal project management techniques, but also have an intimate knowledge of latest CRM technologies both browser and client server based and have specialist industry knowledge. Have us manage the initial selection process, provide an objective selection of a shortlist for you to send the ITT document to, or manage the chosen system implementation if required.

Several questions come to mind when selecting CRM technology, and we also suggest you look at the other pages in the Information section. This isn’t an exhaustive list of things to be considered, and specific business circumstances will lead to some areas being more important than others to you. But keep in mind that the goal is to improve sales productivity, look after who you have and find new customers that match the characteristics of your best customers.

Functionality - Where should it start and stop?

The problem in selecting a CRM vendor is that there is no definitive agreement on what CRM actually is. Some vendors “CRM” system will provide databases for customers prospects and suppliers and a diary and scheduler system, so information and dialogue can be recorded, and some form of reporting. Another may add to this core functionality marketing campaign management, a product database, maybe quotation management. How about call centre management, so linking into one system customer sales and customer service functions? What are your graphical analytics requirements? All of these are currently supplied as “Customer Relationship Management systems” but clearly are of wildly differing levels of sophistication and therefore cost.

It can be seen that the functionality that is right for you depends on your specific business need. Too little, or just as bad too much functionality will mean the system isn’t used as effectively as you would like and the commercial reason for investing in it will not be achieved. This may appear obvious but in our past experience as a vendor of web and network based systems, in the vast majority of cases the commercial need for the system isn’t clear or documented. This means that you may take on a system that costs you too much or does nothing for you.

We have intimate knowledge of successfully implementing CRM systems from both client and vendor, covering both the technology and business implications of the potentially expensive software decisions you make. External consultancy help can be very cost effective and show significant business benefits.

It’s a process not a technology

Remember, Customer Relationship Management – CRM – is not technology at all, though it is frequently viewed as such. CRM is a business process in sales, and when done right a whole business culture, which strategically manages a company’s interactions (or relationships) with their customers, clients or prospects. The aim is to look after these audiences better, so they become more inclined to order from you rather than the alternatives.

So overall, what does CRM software do? CRM technologies help the Company to organise both internal and external staff, automate tasks, and link up business processes into a cohesive entity focused on pro active customer satisfaction. Customer Relationship Management systems – software systems - underpin this business strategy by providing the information necessary for staff and management to be more effective and make better decisions that improve the Company’s performance in line with its CRM goals. It should do this by displaying the appropriate information for that system user in a simple understandable format relevant to their needs.