Performance Tools for CRM

Customer relationship management has many different aspects that should be taken into consideration when constructing a CRM strategy, if it is to be comprehensive and effective.

Customer relationship management refers to the many different processes and aspects involved in an organization’s various dealings with customers and clients. It can roughly be divided into some broad phases, which should all be considered when crafting a complete CRM strategy.

The very first one for an organization just starting out would of course be new acquisitions, which is concerned with making new contacts and selling existing services and products to new customers. This is very important in the earliest stages of a company, when success or failure at building a customer base would dictate survival. A startup intending to sell office machines to companies would be well advised to focus on new acquisitions as much as possible, for instance. This might figure into the strategy through the use of incentive programs for salesmen, as well as via intensifying marketing and advertising to prospective clients.

Once a customer base has been set up, it of course also becomes important to maximize these relationships. This may be done through two more aspects of customer relationship management, which are up-selling and cross-selling. These are similar processes that involve improving the monetization of particular customers by selling more premium and expensive products and services, and new products and services, respectively. Going back to the office machine scenario, these processes can clearly be seen in selling upgraded models or by promoting other machines to existing clients.

Of course, dealing with customers is not all about maximizing revenues and profits, but also about maintaining these relationships. This is done through the interrelated processes of customer retention and customer service. These refer to the various support activities that an organization performs apart from its main services or products. In the case of companies that provide technologies or hardware, these would include technical support and repair options. Apart from providing valuable support to customers, these activities, if performed well, would also help keep relationships healthy and thus ensure continued patronage.

Now, planning a strategy in light of these various aspects may seem quite daunting and difficult but with the proper approach, it can be done systematically. In many cases, the use of objective measurements and data gathering can help managers get a firm grasp on both what is currently happening and what needs to be done. In the management sense, these measurable quantities are known as metrics or key performance indicators.

As their name itself implies, key performance indicators or KPIs are important metrics that are intimately associated with one or more key organizational objectives. They should be chosen in alignment with the CRM strategy and the various goals that make it up. The role of these important metrics is to allow managers to get a concrete picture of organizational performance. In most cases, even just the process of selecting and defining the appropriate metrics to use as key performance indicators can greatly help in clarifying the internal business processes and strategies of an organization. The implementation of any strategy will surely be helped by the judicious use of KPIs.

CRM Support Articles about CRM Customer relationship management, metrics, Strategy

Customer relationship management is a very complex field with many facets. A useful tool would be the CRM scorecard to describe and improve performance holistically.

Customer relationship management or CRM refers to the many facets of creating, maintaining, and improving an organization’s relationships with its clients and customers. It can be broken down into a few broad divisions that consist of more or less distinct processes. One would be new acquisitions, or forming relationships, such as by selling products or providing services to new customers. Another would be upselling, which refers to upgrading the relationship with a client by providing them with more expensive products and services. Still another is cross selling, or broadening the relationship with customers by selling them new products. Customer retention and customer service are the last two broad aspects that deal with keeping the customer base happy and coming back for more through various support activities. Thus, it can be seen that customer relationship management consists of many facets – fortunately, a CRM scorecard is a powerful tool for describing, monitoring, and improving CRM performance.

A scorecard, in the business sense, refers to a strategic management tool that aims to take into account all of the various factors and aspects of an organization’s condition and performance. The balanced scorecard approach consists of attempting to describe an organization through its financial, customer, growth and development, and internal business process aspects. The term balanced scorecard was used in reference to the prevailing attitudes when it was first introduced, which focused too much solely on financial measures of success. This paradigm aimed to provide a more holistic picture of the organization by also taking into account the various other non-financial factors that play roles that are just as important.

In practical terms, this approach consists of selecting a set of metrics (or measurable quantities) that together would be able to describe each of the four aspects of an organization. Now, there are very many possible selections for these quantities and thus, it is very important to have a well thought out process to determine which ones to use.

In many cases, it is most beneficial to start with a top down analysis of the organization’s various functions and responsibilities. In particular, with respect to customer relationship management, it would be best to define the different kinds of customers that the company serves, and the needs and requirements of each. This should be done by first looking at what the organization as a whole aims to do and is equipped to do, or in other words, by formulating a coherent mission. Then, more specific goals would follow this overall mission, depending on the particular functions and processes of each department and smaller part of the group.

The CRM scorecard would then be populated by the key performance indicators relevant to the various defined goals. A particular department would then have a different scorecard from other departments, and this specificity will help give managers a better view of what is happening, and also what needs to happen. The proper formulation and implementation of such a scorecard is sure to be a boon to any CRM manager.

CRM Support Articles about CRM Customer relationship management, metrics, scorecard