November 13, 2008

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a tool that is used for marketing, sales, sales force automation, sales forecasting, customer service, order fulfillment and tracking, and a number of other functions.

At a time when the economy is weak, differentiation based on products or services alone is difficult. Competing on price alone is a recipe for failure. The only remaining bastion for your business to stand out is EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION and LOYALTY. This can be accomplished consistently and systematically through CRM tools.

The typical sales cycle begins with a marketing campaign. Assuming that you have a 1% closure rate, what do you do with the rest of the leads that didn’t close? What do you do with the original prospects list? Here is some of what studies have shown:

• Customers buy when they are ready to buy, not when you want to sell.
• Most businesses stop following up after the third attempt, the average customer requires seven attempts to make a purchasing decision.
• If you stop at three attempts, you are simply preparing the customer to buy from you competition.
• An effective CRM tool can increase sales by 25%.
• An effective CRM tool can increase customer satisfaction and retention while reducing operating cost.

Take action

• If you have a CRM tool, make sure it is configured and being utilized to its fill potential.
• If you don’t own CRM software, start researching and acquire a tool as soon as you find a tool that meets your needs.
• Devise a consistent marketing plan that includes multi-modal campaigns (mail, email, print, Internet, and other media).
• A cornerstone of a good CRM program is customer service. Self-service portals increase customer satisfaction, reduce operating cost, and increase sales.

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