Tweet

Customer relationship management (CRM) in medium-sized enterprises.

Written by: Hans-Peter Holzwarth

Article Overview: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the active set-up and preservation of long-term profitable customer relations by interaction with the customer. The interaction is made by use of suitable technologies, value increasing business processes and content employees.

Customer relationship management (CRM) in medium-sized enterprises.

The three CRM main components are people, processes and technologies. They are in an immediate connection with each other. No new customer philosophy, no call for the implementation of an outshining information technology, no new employee orientation and primarily no new software is CRM. CRM is an integral attempt at the profitable arrangement of customer relations under consideration of a purposeful staff qualification (soft factors), an integration of existing technologies and its expansion as well as the orientation of business processes towards exchange of value between the own organization and customers. Every test of the unilateral consideration is doomed to failure. A variety of the CRM introductions didn't bring about the hoped-for success because the main emphasis was put on only a component.

The question is now: Do medium-sized enterprises need CRM too?

Where the product life cycles and delivery times get shorter and shorter, the market rates drop, the customer requirements increase and the competitive pressure always becomes bigger must the middle classes meet the challenges of the global markets also in today's time? It must master the complexity of the market, show mutability and govern its business innovatively. With the tools which CRM especially offers the middle classes today, too it can retrieve all information at the touch of a button, therefore much time economizes and is for its competitors always unite step ahead. Information is immediately and everywhere always available through this. The reduction in the general sales costs and the marketing administrative costs on one side and the increase of the turnover and the profit margin on the other side can make every middle classes company of yield rich men.

What does CRM mean for the organization?

The decisive question is: How can the enterprise organization be made fit for CRM? Unfortunately, it is also the question for which there is no solution yet. Many enterprises start with CRM as a project. They notice, however, fast that CRM is more comprehensively than assumed first gets broader and more complex, the project. And it needs the punch-through on the operative divisions in the enterprise.

Enterprises having already early dealt with CRM, remarks now that they don't come further in the traditional organizational structure, sales separated of marketing and service. Courageously new approaches are tried out there. Many American enterprises have gone away completely of the function-related organization, for example. You line up along the enterprise processes and a so-called "Chief Customer Officer" is on executive board level responsibly for the arrangement of and improvement in all customer relations.

How to introduce CRM?

An enterprise should be more important than face of the many different services in the CRM gradually (THINK BIG – START SMALL).

1. The actual state inventory of the existing processes of sales and communication. In which state are the customer data? How many different systems (not only IT) are storing information about customers and prospects.

2. After a rough summary of the CRM-like state of the enterprise to himself, the decision can be made whether the internal know-how for CRM is appropriate enough or whether an external consultant is necessary, because the next step is the development of a target profile. Important questions are here: How do we want to communicate with our customers in future? Which information need in which decision phase does the customer have?

3. In the next step the area which promises the greatest benefit for the enterprise is selected. You start there.


4. Successful CRM projects stand out particularly due to the early inclusion of the employees who must work in the changed organization later. The employees these will in the project involved, must be assigned to the working groups according to their competence main emphasis. The timely inclusion of employees has a double advantage this one on time: on the one hand, the influence of existing values and entrepreneurial culture influences is guaranteed with that and on the other hand, this leads to a higher acceptance at the employees opposite the new CRM developments.

5. As soon as modifications are carried out with customer contacts in existing areas becomes the regular operation influenced. To keep the influencing as low as possible, a training concept has to be organized according to the user needs. In the centre of every training the benefit has to be addressed, not only the enterprise but primarily the working improvement for the employees affected. The transfer to the practice happens by a corresponding modularization of the training programs. So the users' newly acquired knowledge can practically clear use and open questions next week or with the help of a coach in the week.


6. Earliest now thoughts on the correct software can be made. Because depending on priority it can go in the direction of the data quality or in the direction of the operative translation into action first. And with the software choice, of course the usual steps come at a software choice: From the functional specifications over invitation to tender until the introduction.

Related Articles
  5.0 Micro Enterprises - What are they?: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Enterprise Growth in Uganda
  6.3 Limitations of Enterprise Survey data for gender analysis: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa 2007
  II.E. Contract Labor and Other Services: TRADE AND CAPITAL FLOWS BETWEEN CHINA AND AFRICA
  Market Orientation and Competition : Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises
  Conclusion: Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises in the southern and eastern African region

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Walmart ie ASDA uk - Hi there, Quite often I ask the staff, if they like to work at ASDA? Are you happy. So far I always had a good response. I do my regular shopping there. On my next visit I will ask a cross section of people about their working relationship with their employer. I don't know, what percentage of senior staff is from Walmart, USA. I believe it is important to have an excellent working relationship with your employer. Sometimes management has a lot to answer for. Kindest Regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"
Re: What Do You Outsource Mostly? - Hello, I outsource some management fields like business management, time management etc.. I like outsourcing these fields..as I have done business management course.. Initially I don't liked it at all..but after sometime I started getting interest in it.. Now I am searching some interesting management courses... Regards, Nelson
Re: BEFORE YOU DO! - One of the things I learnt about the book "BEFORE YOU DO" is that for every biz to succeed, relationship must be solid. I have to make decision on what type of relationship do I want to keep to make my biz and life move forward. The author explained that everything about our lives deal with relationship. And whatever way we handle our relationship will determine how we will grow in our entrepreneurship and life. This book is worth reading for everyone. cheers!
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
long-term relationship - I think most people are happy with attorneys when they have a long-term relationship. Intellectual property really benefits from this type of relationship.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Environment and productivity at the office

Basic Operating Question (BOQ) for Empowerment

2011 Global Brand Trends Letter

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.