Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Hoyt Mann, President of Phaseware, responds to our round table topic “Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive this Economic Crunch.” Hoyt’s recommendation to focus on retaining existing customers in sage advice for any business.

Contributed by: Hoyt Mann, President, Phaseware, Inc.

Much attention has been given to the ways in which CRM can help generate new customers. In an economic downturn, your company must also focus on retaining existing customers. In the course of retaining these customers by keeping them completely satisfied with their interactions with the company, new customers may emerge through referrals. But those existing customers must be taken care of first. Read more »

Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Contributed by: Tom Millay, General Manager, Consona CRM

The customer retention component of your CRM system will keep companies competitive during this economic crunch.  Who can afford to lose customers as discernment is exercised when money becomes tight?  Never before is providing the right products/services, to the right customer, at the right time been more important.  

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Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Ronald Lang, the CEO of Majestic Consulting Group offers our readers simple recommendations for leveraging your CRM system to maximize your client base. His insights help both product and service-based organizations discover new revenue opportunities.

Contributed by: Ronald Lang, CEO, Majestic Consulting Group, Inc.

A critical part of building your CRM strategic plan should be an effective “Customer Profile” to identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.  While new customers come at an extreme premium today with longer sales cycles, existing clients would be more receptive to hear your offerings, especially if it can be a positive impact to their business. Read more »

We Don’t Need CRM!

Mention the prospect of a CRM system to a sales team that is not automated and your suggestion may not be greeted with excitement.

In fact, some sales representatives believe that the primary purpose of CRM is to enhance sales management functions such as performance reporting and forecasting, and that it does little to make the day-to-day activities of the sales force easier and more effective.

Others may perceive CRM to be too complicated, and fear that the system will add a new layer of complexity to their jobs. Or they may fear that the tracking of their activities will reveal inadequacies.

But, for many businesses, CRM has clearly demonstrated its ability to provide immediate value to the sales force by improving their ability to sell, and significantly increasing their success rates. In fact, a recent survey conducted by research firm CSO Insights found that almost 72% of firms surveyed indicated that CRM was having a positive affect on sales force performance.

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The CRM Advisor
You ask the questions, and our resident CRM guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question:
“We are in the midst of our CRM implementation, and our consultant is recommending extensive customization. How much modification should an out-of-the-box CRM solution typically need?”

A: There is no black-and-white answer when it comes to CRM customization. The level of customization required will vary greatly from one company to the next, and will depend on a multitude of factors, including the functionality contained within the solution you chose, the level of complexity and uniqueness in your customer-facing processes, and the needs of your users.

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The CRM Advisor
You ask the questions, and our resident CRM guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question:
“We are about to embark on a huge CRM initiative, and would like to seek advice from an analyst early on in our project. Who are some of the leading research firms who cover this space?”

A: Analysts can be a great resource for information about CRM solutions, as well as the existing vendors and their offerings. So, your decision to work closely with one will benefit you greatly in the long run.

Many industry analysts cover the CRM market place extensively, including larger firms like Gartner, The Yankee Group, Forrester Research, and IDC, as well as smaller independent firms such as 451 Group, Beagle Research, Nucleus Research, and ISM.

Finding the right firm to work with will take some thought. Some vendors offer complete, in-depth product reviews that highlight both the positive and negative attributes of each solution, as well as research, polls, and studies on general marketplace trends.

Others focus mostly on best practices and strategic business planning, steering clear of direct sales processes and related solution evaluations because they prefer to take a more vendor-neutral position.

Which analyst firm you ultimately decide to work with will depend on what your needs are, and what kind of role you want the analyst to play in your project.

Submit your question to the CRM Advisor at CRMadvisor@business-software.com.

By Katherine Jones, Director of Marketing at NetSuite

We all know that our sales teams should be leveraging the businesses advantages of mobile devices when they are out of the office. But like most things, it can be easier said than done — that is, done well.

Wireless connectivity has become mainstream in today’s workplace. Here are some stats from IDC and Gartner: IDC says 40% of workers now travel for business and they say this will rise to two-thirds by 2007. Gartner reports that there will be 41.1 million mobile professionals worldwide by year end 2007.

Planning for your mobile device integration is not intuitive — it does take some thought. Here are five points I think are important to remember in creating a mobile workforce.

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Shopping for a new CRM system? It’s best to see any potential CRM software in action BEFORE you buy.

Here are a few CRM vendors that make their solutions easily available for a quick “test-drive”. Check out the following CRM systems:

Infusion CRM
Offers periodic live demos that show you - first hand - how to grow your business quickly and profitably with CRM.

InsideSales.com
Offers a free trial sign up . They promise a 2 minute setup which provides you with full access to the only CRM with built-in telephony automation.

Salesforce.com
Provides a variety of streaming clips, in which company experts will walk you through the sales force automation, marketing automation, customer service automation, and analytics applications.

Entellium
Get a live demo of eSalesForce that’s personalized for your unique business needs.

Leadmaster
Check out their free no obligation 30-day test drive, or simply watch the quick tour demo.

SugarCRM
View a variety of role-based demos for sales, marketing, and support, as well as executives and administrators.

Sage Software
View a live demonstration of SalesLogix, brought to you over the Web.

Big Help for Small Business:
Get More of What You Want, Without Working Harder (Or Spending More)

There comes a point where you simply can’t work any harder. There are 24 hours in the day, and even if you worked all 24 of them, your business can’t grow if you keep doing things the same way.

There is one major thing that prevents businesses from growing - always putting immediate revenue ahead of doing the things that are required to grow your business. Your number one responsibility as a business leader is to prepare yourself and your business for its growth. This is true in any size business. You need to focus time on working ON your business versus working IN your business. And to do this, you need to find a way to “make room” in your days to do the things that ensure the long term growth and success of your business.

In this “Big Help for Small Business” article series, I will give you ideas and practical approaches that you can apply in your business to accomplish the things you need to do to grow it. Here is a preview of the topics for the year ahead:

Developing Your Brand
Why should you care? Because the only thing your competition can’t copy or under-price is your behavior, and how you serve your customers. THIS is what branding is about. It’s not about your logo or your advertising strategy. And if you’re not doing it, you’re losing business. Period.

Your Customers
Your customers are your greatest asset. Do you know who they are? Have you put them to work for you? Developing and managing the right relationships with your customers will keep them happy, coming back, spending more money with you, and recommending you to new customers.

Marketing
Many businesses waste a lot of money on marketing that doesn’t work. An integrated marketing plan that supports your brand, and targets the right customers in the right places will have a big payoff. You don’t need to be bullied by people selling advertising.

Reach more of the right prospects, and increase your chance of converting them into customers. Consider PR, partnerships, events, customer marketing, and the Internet. It’s easier than you think if you have a clear brand platform and you build a marketing plan.

Sales
How you sell is even more important than what you sell. Does your sales team deliver a consistent experience to your prospects and customers that reflect brand values? Do you have a clear sales process? Is everyone trained? Having a specific sales plan, training, and measurements will increase your revenue and your profits.

Employees
You business, your customers, and your brand are all in the hands of your employees. What is your plan for ensuring that your employees do what you need them to do? Interview, hire, inspire, and lead your employees so they deliver value, free your time instead of drain it, and do all the right things for your customers.

Leadership
It is so important to be intentional about your role as a leader in your business. Everything you do (and don’t do) speaks volumes to your employees and customers. Your leadership behaviors have a big impact on the success of your business. Are your communications and behaviors enhancing the performance of your business or degrading it?

Stay tuned each month for an article on one of these topics that you can use to reach more customers, inspire your employees, make more time in your days, and build value in your business.

You can build the business you desire.

About the Author

Patty Azzarello is the CEO of Azzarello Group, a unique services organization focused on helping business leaders actually get done what they want to do, and get a bigger payoff from their hard work.
www.BigHelpForSmallBusiness.com.

You ask the questions, and our resident CRM guru shares her wisdom.

Q: “My company has decided that hosted CRM is the best option for us. What should I look for when choosing a service provider? “

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