Best Practice: Requirements of CRM Processes
2012-09-24
It is imperative that companies have detailed knowledge of the behavior, needs, and hidden potential of their current and prospective customers – which they can apply to identify and take resolute actions for boosting revenues and income. Such knowledge can be gained primarily by:
It is imperative that companies have detailed knowledge of the behavior, needs, and hidden potential of their current and prospective customers – which they can apply to identify and take resolute actions for boosting revenues and income. Such knowledge can be gained primarily by:
- Expanding actionable knowledge, and systematically strengthening relationships with customers
- Contacting and caring for customers in a consistent manner
- Obtaining and applying information that is company and channel neutral
- Systematizing and optimizing customer-centric activities through the customer lifecycle
The requirements of CRM processes concern how to offer and provide services to customers, in order to maximize their level of satisfaction.
In this article, we address:
In this article, we address:
- The requirements that companies define for CRM processes in marketing, sales, and service
- How to analyze processes in a sound and structured manner and define requirements
- The success factors to consider in practice when defining the requirements of customer processes.
Put the customer in the spotlight
Most companies these days are quite opaque when it comes to the area of precise customer requirements. Achieving transparency on this facet alone would be a big leap forward in integrating customer requirements into company processes.
The key to success is to focus on processes that customers consider important. A strategic approach is necessary to identify such processes. This means conducting a top-down analysis to identify customer groups, their contact points, and long-term requirements. Although this may sound obvious, most companies underestimate the task at hand and are thus snowed under when trying to accomplish it. A strategic approach enables one to determine the weak points and incorporate the customer needs properly and on time into the required processes.
Customer processes are intertwined with the target groups and lifecycles – hence, they cannot be identified and analyzed in isolation. For instance, when launching a new product for group A customers, it may be important to quickly provide detailed information. This would mean focusing primarily on marketing processes like campaign management and sales processes like visiting the customers. For group B, on the other hand, it may be more significant to emphasize easy access to the service hotline and handle complaints promptly. This would mean highlighting services like queries and complaints management. From a corporate perspective too, the goals to be achieved will differ, for example, “ensure multichannel communications at all times,” or “provide good access via the call center,” or “make all employees aware of customer preferences and customer histories,” or “clearly define processes for managing complaints
Most companies these days are quite opaque when it comes to the area of precise customer requirements. Achieving transparency on this facet alone would be a big leap forward in integrating customer requirements into company processes.
The key to success is to focus on processes that customers consider important. A strategic approach is necessary to identify such processes. This means conducting a top-down analysis to identify customer groups, their contact points, and long-term requirements. Although this may sound obvious, most companies underestimate the task at hand and are thus snowed under when trying to accomplish it. A strategic approach enables one to determine the weak points and incorporate the customer needs properly and on time into the required processes.
Customer processes are intertwined with the target groups and lifecycles – hence, they cannot be identified and analyzed in isolation. For instance, when launching a new product for group A customers, it may be important to quickly provide detailed information. This would mean focusing primarily on marketing processes like campaign management and sales processes like visiting the customers. For group B, on the other hand, it may be more significant to emphasize easy access to the service hotline and handle complaints promptly. This would mean highlighting services like queries and complaints management. From a corporate perspective too, the goals to be achieved will differ, for example, “ensure multichannel communications at all times,” or “provide good access via the call center,” or “make all employees aware of customer preferences and customer histories,” or “clearly define processes for managing complaints
Thanks for helping us understand this topic. You have written it in a way that makes it very simple to understand. Thank you so much.
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Customer relationship management