CRM Software Industry News & Views

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business development and customer retention strategy often supported with customer affinity objectives, business processes and enabling CRM software applications. CRM strategies are designed to efficiently and predictably grow customer acquisitions and lower customer churn.

CRM business strategies and their supporting CRM software systems have become part and parcel in the pursuit of customer acquisition and retention objectives. For most companies, CRM software systems include the integrated modules of marketing software, sales force automation (SFA) software, and customer support software. Related functions such as mobile CRM, social CRM, Partner Relationship Management (PRM), quote to cash processing and customer analytics compliment operational CRM software systems. New technology introductions such as open source CRM, cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) introduce new consumption and management models for CRM software acquisition, implementation and operation.

To stay competitive business executives know they need a Customer Relationship Management strategy and CRM software system. However, figuring out which CRM applications best accommodates their organizational structure, company objectives, business processes and financial constraints can be a taxing and risk-prone exercise. Fortunately, there are CRM bloggers and CRM software review sites, some of which are expert, fair and impartial; while others are clearly pay for say.

Customer Relationship Management is a journey and achieving success is much more than a software implementation go-live event. Strategic benefits from CRM strategies and CRM software systems are dependent upon a change in company culture, a customer-centric perspective and a continuous pursuit that continuously adapts to changing customer needs and behaviors. Business executives must first understand that CRM is a business development strategy and then use CRM software as a tool to manage, automate and report upon the company's customer objectives. If implemented correctly, CRM software can increase the understanding and response to an organization's customers' needs in a timely, efficient and mutually rewarding manner.

CRM adopters have discovered repeatable processes and lessons learned which collectively lower risk while increasing the payback from CRM software. Industry and community websites and forums offer shared experiences, user generated content and group collaboration for the benefit of all participants.

Social CRM

CRM strategies and CRM software systems have succeeded in transitioning from the data management and streamlining of customer-facing transactional processing to mining customer information and using analytics in order to better serve customers. This transformation will continue to improve customer data segregation, analytics, and process improvement, however, the next CRM industry transformation is clearly social CRM.

Social CRM (SCRM) business leaders are piloting new ways to source and engage customers in ways that these customer desire. They are changing the conversation from monologue to dialogue, and they are engaging the customer in a manner that delivers a mutually rewarding experience for both parties. For these business leaders, social CRM goes well beyond just making the customer a pure monetary objective, and instead, makes the customer feel as though they are valued and an integral extension of the company's operations and future, such as a part of the marketing team for improved communications or part of the Research and Development team for better designed products and services. These business leaders recognize that early and frequent direct input and feedback from the ultimate recipient will improve their messaging and accelerate their development of new products.

Social CRM often requires new thinking and a clear understanding that the customer relationship balance of power has shifted from the supplier controlling the conversation to the customer controlling the conversation. Customers now are proactive, part of a much larger virtual community and are more intent on being heard and recognized as part of the product solution.

Customers are not unreasonable. They normally know what they want and will both help and reward suppliers that deliver what they want. They understand business economics and therefore social CRM need not be viewed as a threat. As more businesses recognize that social customers have new avenues to get what they want, when the want and how they want, these businesses will also understand they have an new opportunity to reduce market guess work, design higher fit solutions, deliver products that are more eagerly accepted, develop new products in shorter cycle times and ultimately acquire more meaningful and profitable customer relationships.