The Myths & Realities of Customer Relationship Management By M. Danny Estrada, MBA CRM Practice Manager, Net@Work As we embark on a new year many of us are looking back at the past twelve months and asking ourselves what we could do differently. Most of us read publications and newsletters looking for suggestions when the answers have been in front of us all along. Customer Relationship Management is a science to some and an art form to others. Most importantly though, CRM is strategic and can provide you with the information you need to make decisions that are long overdue. The goal of our discussion here is to differentiate between the myths and realities regarding CRM and to remove some of the mystery around these types of solutions and their benefit to your organization.
Myths �� It is more expensive to acquire a customer than keep ones that I already have…the fact is that there are customers you lose money on every year and they should be referred to your competitors.
�� Quotas are the only way to measure true sales productivity…sales productivity should be measured by margins, profitability, customer referrals and customer lifetime value.
�� Only big companies can afford to do CRM right…you are competing in a global marketplace and service is the differentiator for companies of any size.
�� Most CRM implementations are seen as failed projects…when combined with other projects at the same time that require the same resources.
�� CRM will turn my people into data entry clerks…not anymore; the new paradigm is to provide people with the right information at the right time to increase productivity.
Realities �� Most companies do not know their customer profitability…you won’t know which customers to “fire” and which ones to focus on if you don’t know what they are worth.
�� Sales production is a measurement of the market and your ability to compete…people too often look at sales numbers without considering training, tools and the reason for losing business to competitors.
�� CRM in some form is prevalent in most established SMB companies…companies eventually grow to a size that require collaboration and synergy to continue exponential growth.
�� When CRM project goals are set before implementation projects usually succeed…take baby steps and find two or three things that you cannot do currently that will impact your bottom line now.
�� CRM is about making people more efficient…no one wakes up to do more revenue ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Currently the CRM Practice Director at Net@Work (www.netatwork.com Danny Estrada has been working in the field of Customer Relationship Management for the past 12 years. Specializing in business process and corporate culture, Danny uses his business and technology expertise to help companies sell more products and increase customer satisfaction. Danny also holds and Executive MBA from the W P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Danny can be reached at destrada@netatwork.com.
The Myths & Realities of Customer Relationship Management CRM - To learn more about this author, visit Marc Mandelbaum's Website.
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