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Is Your CRM Under-Performing

by Andrey Dovgan, Business Development Executive, BPMonline - December 31, 2014

‘Is your CRM under-performing’
 By  Andrey Dovgan

- Why introducing Business Process Management can offer large rewards

Recent research of 133 organisations by Forrester found that CRM strategy was lacking, with 27% of problems centred on difficulties with business process management. The concept of business process management (BPM) isn’t new, but its role and potential for supporting sales, marketing and service is now being realised.

The drawbacks of conventional CRM

The key flaw with traditional systems is that they were typically designed for managers not users. Those involved in customer experience can vary - from the salesperson through to the marketing and service department - but the main challenges they all face are fundamentally the same.

Too much time is focused on managing processes such as filling in lead cards, entering and updating data on a meeting or perhaps remembering to schedule a follow up call. A failure to implement the right processes and automate them can lead to a break-down in the sales, marketing or service cycle. If the CRM system is too cumbersome then the users will simply neglect key steps resulting in less sales and decreased loyalty.

A stepped approach - replicating the success of the ‘super-salesperson’

In any business your top people for sales, marketing or service often stand out, but sometimes it’s more difficult to know why these individuals are successful. Naturally, there are certain aptitudes that help, but if you dig deeper you will find there are always a series of common steps that they follow that lead to positive outcomes. This is where BPM, combined with CRM, can help identify and replicate these steps or patterns of behaviour, so you can apply them universally across the organisation.

Measure for measure

So where and how do you start to make improvements? BPM is all about observing and implementing processes that work and then running with them. We have one customer who recently seen a 100% increase in their up-selling capability, simply by focusing on process improvements in this area alone. So, not only can you enhance a sales process but you can also examining bottlenecks or processes that are inefficient and/or cause lost potential revenues.

If you have a process-based CRM solution it is possible to continually introduce and automate new processes to gauge efficiencies. So whether it’s a process around ‘customer data management’, ‘campaign management’ or ‘time-management’ you can design, execute and analyse different processes to see what works best to provide optimum customer experience.

What else does BPM do?

As you start to manage processes more closely, improvements become easier, as you build a blueprint that works for you. The multiple steps required to acquire and retain your customers can be automated, but also refined on a continual basis. What’s more, you will also see improvements in the daily running of the business. With crisper and more defined processes you are likely to see improved internal communications, you will save time and money on performing routine tasks and you will also find it simpler to train new staff as it is clear what roles and processes they should follow.

Agility matters

Whilst getting the right processes in place will help you attract and nurture customers, businesses still need to constantly review future changes. According to Forrester, 31% of companies blamed CRM shortfalls on poor business process design and 21% struggled with customising their CRM to fit with unique organisational requirements. By merging CRM with BPM you have the agility to constantly modify, test and improve your processes. Only those with the capability to evolve will continue to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Author: Andrey Dovgan, Business Development Executive at process-based CRM specialist, BPMonline (www.bpmonline.com) recently listed in ZDNet’s CRM Watchlist 2012.

 
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