Ok, ok, so it's been quite a while since my last post.  No one ever said blogging was going to be easy.  After getting back into the swing of things here I decided to put my first post after the summer about a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  I spend a lot of time talking about the different ways to do CRM and do it right.  Today I am going to talk about more of the "Why?" and "What's in it for me?" regarding CRM.

Believe it or not the last three weeks have been the busiest in years (surprising since I have been swamped since coming to New York).  The discussions in the board room have been increasingly swinging one of two ways.  Some executives are are talking survival and others are sensing weakness in their competitors.  Either way if you have the right approach to CRM it can and should be a game changer for your business.

REVENUE RIGHT UNDER YOUR FEET

So what's one of the first things to go when times get tough... marketing.  Endless management meetings and countless discussions abound regarding how to make the numbers.  At the end of the day it's usually marketing first on the chopping block.  Not to say that's out of the question but many companies don't spend the time reaching out to their existing customer base where there are significant sources of revenue.

CRM comes into play in a significant way when trying to make the most out of existing customers in several respects.  If you are profiling your customers needs and staying in tune with them they are more likely to trust your messaging to them in difficult times. And, with the right CRM solution, you can also see immediate returns from moving marketing responses into your sales teams hands as soon as possible.

PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE

Here is some shocking news.  Technology can only go so far and its really up to your people resources to carry the load for increasing production.  The problem for many teams is that they don't have the basics in place and spend countless time doing reporting, organizing their efforts, and trying to reach internal team members to source information that should be available to everyone.

CRM is a unique set of tools that, when deployed right, can actually decrease the amount of time that sales people spend in front of a computer.  In the Internet and Mobile age sales people can also be armed with tools on the go to give them access to make more contacts or source better information on the fly.  When a streamlined CRM is in place leads flow faster and more contacts are made.  The law of numbers plays to your benefit because people buy from people they like that are sincere and responsive.

HAPPY CUSTOMERS BUY MORE OFTEN

The last topic for this post is one of the most neglected areas when it comes to CRM.  Like it or not how we take care of our customers can play as heavily into our revenue streams as the initial transaction.  One of the key tenants in customer relationship management is the linking of not only marketing with sales but also the customer service teams that keep our customer relationships strong.

When customers are in distress and need of assistance they usually do two things.  First, they reaffirm their faith in your organization when their requests are handled efficiently.  It increases their willingness to buy from you without hesitation and rave to others about your service.  And finally, customers usually share valuable information about the other products or services they are in need of to people other than sales.

So, can CRM be a game changer?  Absolutely!  There is so much opportunity when you deploy the right system that makes all of your people better and increases the bottom line.  In the past 10 years I have seen it happen time and time again.