“Where do your employees spend most of their time?”…the response I hear most is on the phone or in email…CRM is usually not in the top 2….so how are companies making the most of their investment when they purchase a CRM product?
It has taken me time; however, our CRM software is slowly becoming my best friend….why do I say that…I have slowly but surely realized CRM is a necessary tool for me to stay on top of my activities related to my customers and prospects. BUT…my company has made it very easy for me to use…the key is Integration, Integration, Integration.
When I meet with companies that are building their business by using CRM software to manage activity, maintain a customer base and produce new leads for sales people…this all equates to RETENTION and REVENUE:-) something we all can’t live without….So I started thinking about how can companies leverage this investment to encourage their users to live in CRM. Here are a couple of things to think about when making the case to integrate your products….
1) Screen Pops….Companies spend a lot of time and money on CRM products–so making them as productive as possible is always a goal and screen pops with customer information is always at the top of the list. For Example…when a call comes in from a customer and we automatically push that customers information to the call handler, this encourages the call handler to add notes, add activities and update information while they are on the call verses them having to go back to the account and add later. This helps the call handler to be more efficient and accurate with their information.
2) Make Calls directly from CRM-Having the ability to make a call from CRM helps build relationships because all of my information about my customer is available…notes, past activities, contact information. This will also increase productivity because I am encouraged to start my call process within CRM vs the phone. For Example, I find a contact I want to call and then click on their phone number and make the call. This process allows me to save call records of the duration of the call, add notes about the call, add activities, record the call etc…starting in CRM to initiate calls will increase activity in CRM will equate to good customer service and revenue.
3) Embed Call Control into CRM….this is a little deeper than above; however, you can embed call control, presence management, etc into CRM applications that keep the call handler within the CRM product.
4) Automated Outbound Dialing…I have had many customers use there CRM products for billing, collections, and follow up with ease by implementing a dialer application that is integrated into the CRM Client. Customer Service can search a customer or propect and with at click of a button, make a call, add notes, add follow up activities etc…this can easily be an automated process.
These are just a few of many ideas I discuss with my customers and prospects and have had great success helping to improve efficiencies. The easier the process, ideally the better the result.
Tags: CRM
