To keep track of customers and maximise sales, you need a Customer Relationship management system. CRM as a technology is however only PART of the PICTURE. Remember People, Processes and Technology!
So what does a CRM system do?
A CRM helps manage contacts, opportunites and accounts. It also helps track correspondence, alerts users to tasks that need doing, and gives some management reporting on the sales pipeline.
CRM is really cool stuff! It's the kind of product Steve helped put in for Suncorp in 2001, but that cost several million! CRM is now becomming affordable for the masses. Steve has worked briefly with Microsoft CRM, with Onyx CRM and Sugar CRM and vTiger CRM.
How CRM Fits in Your Organisation
A CRM fits into your organisation as a supportive application for your SALES and SERVICE operations. This means you need a genuine picture of the people (organisation and roles) and processes in your organisation to properly benefit from your CRM. Without this picture, you cannot integrate the CRM correctly, and will miss real business advantage. This is a common mistake, don't get caught! if you engage a technology company, not a process improvement consultancy, you will likely get a point solution!
People and Processes
People need to use the CRM productively and with comfort. This means they need a consistent process. Business Geeks can assist organisations to gain consistency by running workshops to document organisational roles, workflows and additional data requirements. Steve has taught courses in business analysis and process improvement, and can use Business Process Modelling Notation to produce very useful workflow diagrams which can then act as a base for enhancing your CRM to meet you organisations needs. The same diagrams also then act as a basis for change management and training.
Back to Technology!
Some months ago, Steve adopted SugarCRM for our own CRM platform. It has a great feature set and is very usable. Since then, we have also installed it for a client, and the staff just love it! SugarCRM is "commercial open-source", which means we can influence the features it develops according to feedback from our clients. It also means we can help resolve any bugs!
If you have challenges organising your customer information, tracking and prioritising opportunities, and keeping track of customer interactions, Steve can help you get a company wide view of your customers by providing good a CRM solution as a hosted service or on your own server. These solutions are great value, and start at just $3,500, which includes a day of Steve's time to adapt the CRM slightly to your needs and train up to four staff.
Contact Steve now on 0423 311 839 for more information. This call is obligation free, and may be the key to getting control of your customer relationships!
