Getting Results with CRM

By its very name, software for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) should be the “holiest of holy” tools for finding, winning and keeping customers. Yet many businesses struggle to leverage this tool beyond being a glorified Rolodex.

Lots of Systems, Lots of Promises
Most companies have a CRM system whether it is a homegrown database or one of the many commercial products ranging in price from a couple hundred to tens of thousands of dollars.

For an individual company, it is likely the purchase was made to pursue many of the promises of this tool for better management of the customer relationship building process. Such promises might be:

• Streamlined sales, marketing and customer service workflow and management
• More customers from a higher rate of prospect conversion
• Renewals, new product sales and referrals from improved customer relationships
• A better brand and reputation
• Relevant data with which to make more informed decisions

The strategies that work to accomplish these goals vary from company to company. What works for an information technology consulting firm is not the same strategy that works for retailer of specialty goods. In fact, similar organizations in the same sector may use CRM differently to capture the promises above. With CRM Software configuration, is required and therein lays trouble.

Many companies make the mistake of selecting a CRM system based on the activities they do now, essentially automating their current efforts. Yet, a good CRM system brings new power to the table, akin to hiring an additional key staff member. At times like these it pays to reconnect with the company’s overall vision, goals, objectives and tactics prior to putting the new resource to work.

When selecting or re-vamping a CRM system the starting point is a discussion on how things should get done.

Strategic CRM
With a strategic approach to CRM every click leads to measurable progress on strategic objectives. That’s a bit of an overstatement, certainly, but the point is that the main features of the CRM software should directly and clearly support the strategies set forth for the sales, marketing and client service departments as well as the organization as a whole.

Simple questions that need to be answered are:

• What is your Vision for the company and each customer-facing department?
• How are you going to get there?
• What milestones will you hit along the way?
• How will you know you’re making progress towards these milestones?
• What activities will enable your progress?
• What other tools and technology are being engaged (think Website, email, etc)?

The questions above will provide a great starting point with the ultimate goal of gaining context for how exactly CRM will benefit the company, how the benefits can be measured and ultimately how the program should be configured.

Take for example a software provider that sells to various sectors within the Oil & Gas industry. Let’s assume the company has made the following choices:

Vision: Sustainable, cost-effective growth through repeat customers & referrals

Strategy: Build and nurture strong customer relationships

Objectives: Engage customers based on the specific sector they are in and find ways to provide additional value.

Tactics: Tailor communications to each sector, client interest and pain points

Milestones: Success is measured by:

• # of customers
• # of renewing customers
• Improvement in perceived applicability of the software to each sector’s needs

The CRM software can do a number of things to support these strategic objectives, outside of the standard keeping of contact information and purchase history. For example:

• Online surveys can capture and automatically populate the CRM system with the specific sector and needs of prospects & customers (are they in the accounting department or out in the field?)
• Phone, email and mail campaigns can run with messages specific to customer’s sector and interests (“Saving money in the Field…”)
• Reports monitor how the tailored messages are affecting customer’s propensity to purchase.
• Other features could be engaged to facilitate teamwork and manage staff activities around pursuing these strategies.

In this particular case study, the results expected are a larger customer base that is more likely to renew, purchase other products and refer future customers.

Taking a Strategic approach to CRM not only allows an company to select the right CRM program for its specific needs and budget, but it also paves the way to having stronger customer relationships and more reliable income. Simply tracking contacts and sales with CRM leaves this great opportunity untouched.

Brian Pickett assists business with strategic CRM, website, and email technology solutions to achieve sales, marketing and customer service goals. For more information on Strategic CRM Solutions please visit PickettCRM.com.

Use Email to Gain Marketshare on a Tight Budget

Recessions force organizations to change how they operate, but the formula for winning, keeping, and growing customers has not changed. Your organization must provide value, distinguish & differentiate your product or service, connect with customers and build solid relationships.

A great method to employ on a tight budget is to bolster the use of eNewsletters and other broadcast email communications.

With the right Email Communications Plan, your organization stays in the forefront and reinforces your brand messages. You become the distinguished thought-leader in the field, a key differentiator for both prospects and existing customers.

Existing customers re-connect with your business regularly and receive additional value for being your customer. These stronger customer relationships frequently result in increases in referrals, up-sells, cross-sells and renewals.

Post these messages around the web and you will develop new contacts and increase your influence, prospect base and standing in your industry.

By being in regular communication with prospects and customers you’re now perfectly positioned to address their challenges and demonstrate that your solutions are their best value.

Additionally, as a sales tool, broadcast email communications can indirectly overcome typical objections. If price is a common issue, highlight a recent customer who found a way to defer the cost until the benefits were received.

As a medium, email offers a number of great benefits:

• It’s cheap to build and send.
• It is flexible, allowing for timely topics to be discussed.
• It allows for easy targeting. For different prospect & customer segments, send different messages that address their key concerns
• People are on email all the time! Speak to them where they are.
• It’s relatively easy to get feedback to make your messages more valuable.

In an economic downturn, almost all organizations are working with smaller budgets. Your competitors have cut back efforts and your prospects are demanding real value. This is the perfect time to build your company’s presence in the market and gain new customers.

With a good Email Communications Plan your organization can cost-effectively distinguish & differentiate itself, build value for prospects & customers and seize a leadership position in the marketplace.


Brian Pickett assists business & nonprofits with the key components of sustainable growth. Relationships are an organization’s greatest asset, a fact PickettCRM leverages to help organizations expand their customer/donor base. For more information on strategic CRM solutions please visit PickettCRM, Houston, TX.

Go from putting out fires to putting in infrastructure

Today’s topic is essentially a how-to for getting out of a crisis-led or scattered effort to a results oriented approach.

Has your organization been witness to this sequence of events?

1. Morning brings a crisis to the office
2. The team gets distracted from their duties and their time is absorbed with the immediate crisis
3. Decisions are made to resolve the short-term crisis as fast as possible
4. The crisis passes but leaves various quick fixes that don’t contribute to long-term goals, or worse yet, obstruct them.

Unfortunately, in this scenario today’s fixes can become tomorrow’s problems creating a self-perpetuating cycle.

Generally speaking, healthy businesses put in place the infrastructure to achieve long term prosperity and therefore face fewer crises in the short term.

Good infrastructure diffuses problems before they get started thereby reducing distractions, saving time, and improving service. Your team focuses on those things that achieve the greatest success at the lowest cost.

When problems do come up, with good infrastructure in place the team can quickly put the various solutions in perspective and choose the one that properly balances the short-term issue with the long-term goals of the organization.

As you’d expect, the results of good infrastructure are higher profits, greater control, decreased risk, and a less stressful work environment.

So what is good infrastructure and how do you get it?

Vision:
Define your BAHG (big, hairy, audacious goal). Get Zen-like and tell us where and what you are going to be in the far off future! Doing so gives your team something to shoot for and provides perspective for every decision.

Mission, Values, Beliefs:
Who you are and what you do. Telling everyone from customers to staff to executives the “who, what, and how” of the organization creates accountability and fosters teamwork.

Strategies:
Now that you have your Vision, Mission, Values, and Beliefs outline the big picture strategies associated with everything you do. Think of it like this: “these efforts are going to get your mission accomplished!”

Management Framework:
Collectively, this is the playbook that defines the tactics you’ll use to execute your strategies. Processes, milestones, and measurement systems are all defined in advance so you can monitor your progress and make adjustments as you move forward.

Tools & Technology:
These are the tools that amplify and support your people, processes, and resources. Investing in the productivity of your people saves time, improves accuracy, and gets better results across the whole team.

Implementation
Transition your team to the new “way” of doing business. Change can be a very disruptive process and should not be taken lightly. Whole books are written on managing change so I won’t attempt to sum up the best practices in two sentences. Hints are easy though. Here’s one: involve your team in every step of the process to get their “buy-in.” Having contributed to the new solution they’re more likely to use it.

Operations
With your new Vision, strategy, protocols, and tools in place “Be” the organization you want to be! It will feel new and different at first but as each day goes by the team will gain more confidence.

Maintenance
Run the protocols you defined in the Management Framework to measure and support your new “way.” Also, continue to involve the whole team by periodically asking “how well this working?” and “what can be improved?”

Now that you know the components of good infrastructure and the roadmap for getting it, the limiting factors are time, expertise & change management. Hire the right consultant to facilitate the transition and this short-term expense will produce many years of gain and a healthy, sustainable, and successful organization.

Brian Pickett helps business & nonprofits with the key components of sustainable growth. Relationships are an organization’s greatest asset; a fact PickettCRM leverages to help organizations expand their customer/donor base using Strategic CRM Solutions. Houston, TX based for more information visit www.PickettCRM.com.

Announcing PickettCRM

I am excited to announce PickettCRM, a new consulting business formed to improve the efforts of nonprofits and businesses.

What differentiates PickettCRM from other consulting firms is our focus on one of the biggest challenges facing all organizations:

What is the most productive means to find, win, and retain customers & donors?

Our solutions are called Strategic CRM Solutions as they combine a number of standard Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools into one solution to answer the question above.

Strategic CRM Solutions are composed of:

• Brand Vision & Marketing Concept
• Strategic Plan & Management Framework
• CRM Software
• Website Design & Development
• Email Marketing & Communications
• Project Management & Technology Support

Together they are more valuable than the sum of their parts.

We are ready to work with nonprofits & businesses that want to:

• Grow / Increase Income
• Reach a Broader Audience / Find New, High-Quality Prospects
• Keep Clients Happy & Donors Involved
• Lower Costs
• Generate Sustainable & Predictable Income
• Increase Productivity
• Make Strategic Improvements
• Build a Brand and Reputation

Keep PickettCRM in mind for projects of this nature. More information can be found on our website at www.pickettcrm.com.

Best Regards,
Brian Pickett
PickettCRM, Inc

Higher profits in times of economic turmoil

In times of economic turmoil, businesses tighten their belts and look to get the most productivity out of the resources they have. Be it people, products, processes, marketing campaigns, or customer service nothing is spared the microscopic lens.

It is good business practice to do so. Companies can maximize profit by maximizing the contribution each resource makes to the bottom-line.

Great! So why do most businesses wait until they are under the gun to do so?

The answer lies somewhere in that fact that in good economic times most every business benefits. Who needs to maximize resources when profits come without taking the extra effort?

The problem with this “strategy” is when the economic tables turn those same businesses are forced to make a change with little time and little experience. Forget trying to compete with competitors, these businesses scramble to stay profitable and stay in business!

Businesses that can take a strategic approach to maximizing their efforts will generally stay at the top of their field regardless of the economic conditions. These companies maximize the return on their efforts and therefore get the best profit possible when times are good or bad.

For those businesses forced to change when the economy takes a nose dive there is a silver lining. If they survive the downturn their newly efficient company will be positioned for higher profits, all the time.

Brian Pickett helps businesses get the most productivity out of their sales, marketing, and client services resources using Strategic CRM Solutions. Houston, TX based for more information visit www.PickettCRM.com.