Marketing360 is about building and maintaining customer relationships, maximizing the value of those relationships to meet business objectives — increasing long term profitability.

The Wrap on CRM a Strategy or Project?

When I initiated this discussion, I started with my “Marketing” POV. I honestly did not think about the huge differences and the range of POVs based on those who participated in the discussion. As a result, I believe it has allowed me to gain a more “holistic” view of CRM and the various roles that are involved in supporting CRM initiatives. I knew the challenge with defining CRM as the technology (solution) first is a barrier and misconception to fully understanding and implementing CRM. That led me to realize that education is paramount in the roles we each play in the process and that though we “start” defining CRM based on what our role is, that we have to bring together all POVs and address the components that comprise those POVs in order to come to a clear (at least consistent) definition of CRM that we can agree on. So, here is my attempt to sum it up and document the common “threads” in all of of our comments which is consistent with other CRM industry resources:

• CRM is putting your customer at the heart of your business
• Technology enables the ability to have a 360-degree view of the customer that directs us on how to improve the overall customer experience — quality and satisfaction of each customer interaction — to maximize the profitability of customer relationships
• CRM can be practiced in companies at different levels — organizational level (ideally), customer facing level – anything that has to do with interactions with customers, marketing, sales and service,Or at a functional level — Call Center, Sales, etc.
• Our definition of CRM is at a strategic level i.e. an organizational level — with the core belief that CRM has to be the driver of the business strategy
• The goal of CRM, similar to customer loyalty and relationship marketing, is to move your customer from a transactional interaction to an emotional relationship
• We are all in a business of one sort or another and our goal (as an exec or provider of client solutions) is to leverage CRM to acquire, engage, retain and grow individual customer value via profitable customer relationships that create differentiation in experience and a sustainable competitive advantage (this is more commonly a marketing goal and not one that trickles down to every level of the enterprise, though it should)

I believe that captures the key points of agreement of our discussion (though it continues).  If I have blatantly left anything out, please don’t hesitate to point me back to that point in the discussion.  I have really enjoyed the dialogue with each one of you and look forward to additional opportunities to learn from one another.

Have a great weekend! See you next week. Thanks for visiting.

CRM Should Improve ROI

I am going to take a different approach to continuing the discussion on the Tenets of CRM. Given the discussion on the previous tenet — CRM Strategy or Project? I’ve decided NOT to provide my own POV up-front. Learning from the various perspectives, experience from professionals from all parts of the business was a valuable lesson for me, and I’m sure other participants. So, before I sum up what we’ve all discussed and provide my slant on it, I want to hear from you. Tell me what you think:

CRM should improve ROI.

Thanks for visiting and joining in the discussion.

Mark

The Tenets of CRM Cont. — Next Week CRM and ROI

Hi friends.

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July Holiday. Please check-back next week for the continued discussion on CRM as we continue to explore the “tenets” of CRM (supported within Best Practices).

Thanks for visiting.

Mark

CRM is a Strategy, Not a Project?

The discussion continues on the “tenets” of CRM. This one is almost a “duh”, what do you mean, is it a strategy? Here’s the thing. What many companies define as a strategy are actually a string or collection of “programs” (projects) designed to meet specific objectives at given periods. Though these programs can be part of the overall strategy, they are NOT CRM strategy. These initiatives focus on “tactics” and execution. That is not the end result of the CRM strategy. I’m sure that many of you share this POV and have had similar experiences. One thing I will say, which I have also done, is that separate programs can be created and implemented as long as they “fit” into a larger strategy to build and manage customer relationships with like objectives — engage, retain, grow the value. Because of lack of resources or more urgent needs, I’ve often started with these type of programs (low hanging fruit) while building toward the long term. I would say that it is more common than not in today’s economic environment and need to continually deliver results.

What is your definition of CRM Strategy? Is it closer to a project than a true “Strategy”?

Let me know what you think.

Is It CRM If It Doesn’t Affect the Customer Experience? Cont.

Yesterday, I posed the above question. Though there are varying POV on separating the two components, I don’t believe you can. Here’s why.

Building relationships with customers is all about creating a dialogue, listening and hearing what they say and need from you as a brand then responding with relevant strategies, communications that strengthen the relationship, continually deliver on the promise. Part of the brand promise is the experience customers encounter with the brand across all customer touch points. Experience is everything in keeping them engaged with the brand, coming back again and again to buy, refer their friends, etc. I’ve actually heard from clients and been a part of organizations that believe “a satisfied customer is a loyal customer and a loyal customer is a satisfied customer”. Nothing is further from the truth in today’s market of choices, options. Loyalty does not determine satisfaction nor does satisfaction determine loyalty. It is experience that generates and drives both. The experience must be at the core of the strategy. Two words to remember — relevance, experience — across all customer touch points — marketing, operational.

So, to answer the question. Yes, it can be CRM without affecting the CE. However, it will not be an integrated nor effective strategy for managing relationships for long term profit. Customers will come in out based on their experiences, regardless of relevance in offers, communications, etc. and eventually leave IF their experience is not one that demonstrates the brand is not listening, hearing and responding to meet their needs, using their feedback to make improvements.

I can share more specific examples of both if  you are interested in learning more. Please reach out and let me know how I can help.

Thanks for visiting. Tell your friends and associates to join the discussion.

CRM Isn’t CRM Unless It Affects the Customer Experience?

Last week,  the discussion focused on CRM best practices and the “checklist” for guiding the process. I would like to get further into the discussion and get you involved in sharing your POV and experiences. This week I hope to take what I call the “tenets” of CRM (listed in the CRM Best Practices discussion) to drill down on each of them and gain more insight and knowledge into how the tenets are being applied (or not) in various CRM initiatives. I would like it to point us all toward the significance of supporting each of the tenets — possibly adding a point(s) to the list. So, tell me

Is it CRM unless it effects the customer experience? Why?

This is the Year of Being Up Close and Personal

It is important to note that though consumer spending is on the rise, the impact of the down economy has translated into a new reality for brands / businesses. These realities increase the significance in CRM and these are the trends that are taking place:

1) Branding is more important than ever. Brands have always been and are increasingly becoming a surrogate for value – making brand differentiation all the more critical as generic features continue to propagate in the brand landscape.

2) Value is the new black: Consumer spending, even on sale items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. The era of “Because I said so” is over. This will more than likely challenge most companies

3) Increased focus on data analysis. Companies are investing in measuring social media, understanding customer value and modeling customer behavior. Investments in Lifestage Marketing will begin to have more prominence as the affects of our changing demographic behavior become more pronounced.

4) Customer Experience: Customers have more choices than ever, and are more frugal. This affords them the luxury of demanding more. This is the year that the CRM Marketer will be charged with offering a consistent experience across all company touch points and developing the infrastructure that allows for knowledge sharing and smart communication. Smart marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those companies that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the companies that survive and prosper. The customer’s online experience will begin to evolve and rival the customer’s offline experience – attentive assistants and all.

5) Personalization and customization: In order to be effective in this new year, companies will seek to know more about its customers and use that insight to talk, engage and interact with their customers more often and more meaningfully in new and innovative ways (including dynamic content, blogs to other social networking). 2010 is going to be up close and personal, like it or not.

Like it or not, 2010 is the year of being up close and personal. Building relationships has never been more critical now and going forward. The “new” economy demands it.

Thanks for visiting the blog.

CRM Best Practices Continued…

There’s more to it…just when you thought there couldn’t be more considerations and points to cover. Good news is, the list is shorter than yesterday. And it’s all relevant to helping you get where you want to be.

If you haven’t read the post from yesterday, scroll down and get in on the discussion from the beginning. Thanks for visiting the blog.

16. Collect Data – collect and use information from each customer interaction to make your chosen customers more valuable to your enterprise. Can you identify behaviors, attitudes, needs, propensities or intentions? Plan to clean your data regularly.

17. Test, test, test. Can’t stress this enough. Test CRM swith customers before making any decisions to rollout to entire customer base. Focus on ROI. Experiment with messages, positioning, offers, etc.  Re-test if there are still questions and components to be validated.

18. Monitor the customer experience. Keep your eye on the prize. Measure the results and soothe the inevitable hiccups. Walk a mile in your customers’ shoes. Don’t rely on complaints from customers about how horrific it is to do business with you. Put yourself in their shoes by going through the typical customer experience. It is amazing how many companies institute processes and half heartedly mystery shop themselves. Once you suffer through what you dish out, you’ll be shocked into a more customer-centric mindset. Guaranteed.

19. Automate processes. Having customers enter their personal information on a Web site versus providing it to an agent over the phone reduces the potential for human error. Also, customers may feel uncomfortable revealing personal data like medical and financial information to another person.

20. Empower the front line team. Give front line staff the ability to please the customer. Too often they can’t make timely decisions nor can they present relevant offers – effectively facilitating customer dissatisfaction and defection.

21. If you are purchasing a new CRM system, keep it simple. Don’t buy what you don’t need. The fewer bells and whistles, the less time and money you’ll need to devote to training. People don’t like change as it is; keeping things simple only makes the switchover that much easier. And train early and train often. You can add to the capabilities as the strategy evolves to meet your objectives.

22. Herald your successes to the rest of the organization. Identify quick wins and communicate them across the enterprise. Tackle the smallest, easiest task straight away and save the hard stuff for later. Success early on gets the ball rolling and motivates everyone involved. Success can be contagious and will get everyone nodding their heads in favor of CRM.

No matter “how” successful you are at developing and implementing your CRM strategy, NEVER forget to proactively listen to what your customers want from their relationship with you.  At the end of the day, you will want both the customer and the business to perceive that they are getting more from the relationship than they are contributing. While the company is most likely defining its benefits and costs in purely monetary terms. The customer is more likely to be weighing more intangible aspects of the interaction. In any event, there is satisfaction in both camps and the relationship is likely to go on. A win-win situation.

Regardless of where you are in relation to investing resources against CRM, the truth of the matter is, you CAN get started without having all the details taken care of and resolved. Focus on the most optimal opportunities, leverage the capabilities you have in place, create a vision for where you want to go, start applying the steps to get you there. It’s a journey, and not to use a well worn cliche, and there will be plenty of bumps along the way. Stay the course.

There are a plethora of resources and experts to support you. Let me encourage you to find one to consult with you and align your plan with your company objectives, set you on the road.

Next week…more on CRM and relationship building strategies.

CRM Best Practices

CRM is back in a big way! Businesses and organizations are starting to treat it like a core strategy. What a change from a few years ago where 70-75% of CRM initiatives were failing. With the help of other CRM related resources and my own experience, I’ve put together a list of “CRM Best Practices” to provide you direction on “how” to get started. I think you will find the following invaluable, something you can easily apply as you continue to get more into the world of CRM. (Note: These steps will vary based on your product, current environment, strategies in place, etc. These are meant to be a “general” guideline).

The question is not whether to implement CRM. The question is how to do it effectively? How do you create the strategy/vision, manage expectations, how do you organize around the customer, and how do you implement CRM best practices?

Let’s start with a definition. What is CRM? Simply put, CRM is putting your customer at the heart of your business. With the support of technology, the goal is to have a 360-degree view of the customer which will enable you to improve the quality and satisfaction of each customer interaction and maximize the profitability of your customer relationships, etc.

CRM is similar to customer loyalty and relationship marketing in that the goal is to move your customer from a transactional interaction to an emotional relationship.  The two components most often missing from loyalty and relationship marketing being: a) technology and b) the management of relationships with other members of the business network: affiliates, branches, employees etc. – i.e. recognizing your customer as a customer through any channel.

It is essential to have a solid grasp of which factors in your business relationship with your customers are most important to them.  Listen to your customers and then begin developing your CRM strategy because if you don’t satisfy your customers, they won’t come back. And remember:

a) CRM isn’t CRM unless it affects the customer’s experience

b) CRM is a strategy, not a project

c) CRM should improve ROI

d) Technology is a means, not an end

e) You want a 360-degree of your customer

These Checklist components are critical to longer term success of any CRM Strategy:

1. Get sponsorship from the top brass. If management doesn’t believe in the new approach, why should the employees? Implementing CRM requires working across organizational boundaries and breaking down long-term siloed behaviors and attitudes. You can’t do that by yourself! Many times the difference between a successful CRM strategy and a huge waste of money is backing from the executive suite.

2. Build a team. Prior to developing your CRM strategy or selecting your CRM software, form a CRM team with representatives from each department to make sure colleagues’ needs and concerns are addressed. Too often companies neglect to include the correct stakeholders, and the initiative fails to meet the needs of those tied to its results. Pick your CRM team wisely – everyone will need to own the customer experience. Remember in forming the team, consider people, process, and technology as all will be affected.

3. Define your business objectives? Your CRM strategy must be designed with your business objectives and customer requirements in mind.

4. Identify who your customer is. Is there agreement on definition of “customer?” For example, the marketing department of an automobile manufacturer might consider a “customer” to be a dealer, but the call center might consider it to be a driver.  Have consensus on this and other key definitions. Can you identify your customers across multiple touch points (retail, call center, mail, catalog, web and e-mail)?

5. Differentiate. Identify your customer segments – your high-value and high potential customers. Know who you want to serve. Understand what that customer wants? Prioritize. What is the customer worth and what is their potential worth?

7.  Agree on desired customer behaviors – build consensus on how you want customers to behave differently and what the customer experience will be… from the customer’s perspective. Design a different customer experience for each customer segment.

8. Define customer experience goals. Articulate the customer experience. How should your experience feel? Identify important business interactions e.g. high volume or high cost. Identify interactions that are important to the customer – high involvement and high perceived importance. Evaluate performance: How are these interactions currently handled by your company? Are there opportunities for improvement? Focus on hot spots: Identify the areas that require your greatest focus and will provide the greatest potential return.

Many companies don’t have a good connection with customers. That’s why firms should consider developing a systematic approach for incorporating the needs of customers into the design of customer experiences – ideally led by a senior officer who will act as the voice of the customer. The key to developing a successful new customer experience is to develop a response to a customer need that is unique, compelling, and adoptable. A response so attractive that customers are willing to change long-standing, often deeply ingrained behavior.

9. Have an integrated customer strategy. Today interactive marketing is a fragmented discipline in which marketers work with many different vendors to develop and execute marketing programs. Recognize that disparate databases of customer information prevent companies from gaining a holistic view of the customer throughout the organization. Break down those silos. Line of business managers are often employing tactics that address products and not customers. That is because they are still looking at accounts on file, rather than at customer relationships e.g. banks that send two offers within a short time span – one that recommends consolidating their debt into a home equity loan and the other that offers a balance transfer for their credit card.

10. Define and map data requirements – You’ll need to know what customer data is necessary and from what system it will originate. See your customer through the same lens. A firm understanding of the level of customer data – account or household level – is critical. Do you plan to append external data? If so, what types: household size, income, psychographics, ZIP, real estate information etc.

11. Standardize data. Various departments in your organization may see your customer quite differently from another. Using one integrated set of analytical data throughout the company can help executives to make key decisions about how much to invest in a particular customer.

12. Dialogue with your customers. Have a clear (and realistic) picture of who you are in the matter of serving your customer. What do you value? What are you really selling them (are you reliable? Are you the most creative?)? It’s not just a list of products, you need to focus on what you’re trying to be to your customers. Make sure individuals are recognized at all contact points. Have you truly defined your privacy policy? Understand your company’s boundaries for using data about your customers. And ask customers how they want to interact with your company.

Keep your promises. Remind customers of promises kept and take responsibility for promises unfulfilled. Respond quickly to customer queries. Whether they send an email or leave a message, or come to the service counter, customers’ time is precious.

13. Get personal. Customers hate to feel like the sales agent is reading to them from a script. Learn your customers’ personal needs and profiles and target your service to each individual. It will make them feel important and that you value the relationship. In order to do this effectively, you need to staff and empower your talent pool appropriately to deliver on the customer experience. To do this effectively, focus on people, process and tools.

14. Develop success metrics – How will you know if your CRM program has been a success?

15. Create customer engagement programs (acquisition, growth and retention). Customer engagement is a process, not an event. Too often retention is treated as a project, rather than a guiding principle.

Move your customers through the lifecycle… to maximize their value.

Check back tomorrow for the continued list…start putting the customer at the heart of your business. Get the help you need NOW.  And remember, don’t get overwhelmed. There is a process to apply. You will get there.

New Mission: Creating a voice in the market to educate and direct marketing stakeholders on focusing on long term customer value to maximize profitability.