Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems - what is it and why bother?

1. CRM
What is it & Why bother?

2. Customer
Relationship
Management
Anything that helps you manage your relationships with
potential, existing or past customers…

3. Before it was called CRM
It was good old fashioned customer service
Using ‘old school’ minimal tools
• Typewriters
• Scraps of paper
• Asking customers to confirm bookings by letter
• Missing alarm calls
• No targeted direct marketing or effective data management
Then we discovered a brilliant new technology called….

4. The Post-It

5. Back to basics
• Prospects
– Capture prospect data
– Mailshots / e-shots
– Recording conversations / interactions
– Producing / tracking quotes / proposals
– Conversion to customers
• Customers
– Keep customer notes and call logs
– Important dates
– Managing relationships

6. Customer Relationship Management
Awareness
Interest
Desire
Customers
Prospects
Action
Contacts
Companies
Opportunities
Conversion
Pipelining
Tasks
Events
Interactions
Data
CUSTOMER LIFECYLE
Direct marketing
E-Campaigns
Telemarketing
Networking
Opportunity management
Tracking
Follow up
Business Processes
Sales Processes
Service Delivery
Project Management
Invoicing
Support Systems
ENABLESCRM
“Moments of Truth”

7. Is it for you?
• Benefits
– Better management of data means better marketing
– Better internal communications
– Better relationships means increased sales and happier customers
• Not suited to
– FMCG / small value, hit and run sales (eg Smarties)
• Suited to B2B and B2C companies where there is
– A long ‘courtship’ in the sale
– Higher value contracts
– A long-term relationship

8. But it is all too complicated!
• There are hundreds of software packages
– I have spent weeks on software evaluation (for myself and clients)
• Cost
• Usability
• Functionality
• Keep it Simple Stupid
– Insightly is brilliant (I am not on commission!)
• Free* version (up to three users)
• Simple
• Effective
*Low cost if you want integration with Google Apps / Outlook

9. Insightly.com
• Real benefits for SME marketing
– Task management
– Contact management
– Sales reminders
– Sales pipeline / opportunity management
– Note taking
– Project management
– Lead tracking / reporting
Check out the features and sign up for a free trial at:
https://www.insightly.com/features/

10. First Steps / Top Tips
•Think about your own ‘sales workflow’ for different
products or services
•Be systematic (it does take discipline)
•Don’t try it all at once – see which bits work for you
•Go for the low hanging fruit
–Save time / improve admin
–Improve your marketing data
–Improve internal communications
–Provide better service