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Unified CRM solution will boost performance |
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Integrated core systems will contribute to effective and efficient customer intimacy
Because many business managers have experienced or read about CRM implementations gone awry, they are savvier about the related problems. The challenge has not changed, neither has the goal. It is still every company's aim to deliver greater satisfaction through service, sales and support that are informed by a consistent, comprehensive understanding of the individual customer. What is different today is the understanding that a CRM application cannot guarantee that personnel will use CRM technology to improve business performance. Employees use purpose-built systems for marketing, sales or resource planning. They also use basic communication and information systems, from the telephone to email and scheduling software. But when these tools are not connected, valuable customer information gets lost. These conditions contribute to the isolation of important aspects of customer interaction into "stovepipes" of understanding, virtually trapping an important exchange that took place during a web conference, or locking data in a hosted sales force automation solution, such that the call centre, service and support personnel cannot find out what a customer just purchased.
In the wake of highly-publicized failures, business decision-makers would be wise to select CRM software that fits now and can be implemented immediately to generate a return on the investment. Each day that passes without a solution in place is a lost opportunity to gain value from capturing customer data that, combined with the transaction history, leads to insights that enhance the relationship with the customer. While incorporating core communications tools and information systems can transform a CRM implementation into an infrastructure for customer intimacy, the same approach can transform business insight. Business insight is a means to understand the cumulative significance of customer information. Nevertheless, we find companies' information tools may undermine their attempt at customer intimacy. Though these tools collate data, they confine analysis to the CRM software. Integration extends business insight beyond a CRM add-on. Business insight that is designed as a layer over enterprise applications including CRM can provide broader, richer understanding by tying in data not only from CRM software, but also from the rest of the systems that support business function, such as finance systems, order processing systems and HR systems. This leads to corporate knowledge that supports understanding, learning and prediction of customer behavior. Then, there's the question of how to act on that insight. By integrating the productivity systems used company-wide, your insight can be shared through the most common channels, from email to calendar alerts. Better-informed employees are empowered to take action. Tying in core systems contributes to effective, efficient customer intimacy. CRM technology that can be implemented for immediate results and takes into account infrastructure IT systems - not just the operating system, but email, portal, scheduling and other systems - promises long-term options for extracting even greater use and value from existing technology investments.
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