Fixing the flaws of CRMs

There has been considerable hype on CRM solutions, the
productivity, the information, the improved customer
relationships, you name it. But everything has its
flaws, and the seemingly perfect philosophy has its
own too, both psychologically and financially.

Repetitive, menial work

Its hard work to populate a database; and it doesn’t
help if you imagine the number of hours people have to
type in the initial content of the database. It has
been said that doing this menial task can take up from
a few weeks to a good number of months, ouch.

This will slow down the whole system of the
organization, given the stress interns receive and the
panic managers have to go through because of the
urgency of the data. In order to solve this recurring
problem, a simple but marginally costly measure must
be made: hire temporary workers.

There is always a small pool in the market that is
dire need of a job. They don’t mind if it pays to
little, as long as it puts money in the pocket. Those
are the people companies must target so as the core
group of people in the company doesn’t get unnecessary
stress.

Design has a purpose You’re not blind; you’ve read the
subheading right: design does have a purpose in
company efficiency and it’s premised on basic
convenience. A well-designed data template must be in
store in company databases; there are a lot of
templates from the CRM systems but it may also
complicate things.

A good advice is to search through the net for
consumer reports and simply pick the recommended one,
preferably the one with sleek pull down menus and with
icons that truly represent what they mean. You have to
love the internet, no?

Less is more Sometimes, too much information is in the
CRM system, and it simply frustrates users to find the
information that they want. But then if there is too
less information, no progress shall be made.

What should be done to solve this problem? The answer
is good segmentation. The team must know how to
organize everything and keep information as
conversational and concise as possible.

There is no need of often-misleading jargon
reminiscent of audit reports. This is a section of the
business where the "KISS rule" applies; and for the
sake of efficiency and less headaches, be organized
and inputs should be as casual as possible.

Attention to detail Too many companies trust CRM
software too much and they wonder why their firm is
underperforming compared to competitors. The problem
in this case lies not on CRM software; it is the
complacency of managers.

Yes, consumer tastes can be effectively monitored, but
loyalty cannot be built with that. It still comes down
to each sales clerk in the business and how they talk
and look to customers.

The company’s image is practically in their hands as
they are the first people customers see. Not only
should managers pay attention to detail in their
database, they also shouldn’t forget a basic rule:
their personnel speak for the company.

Conclusion With all the hoopla surrounding the
business world about CRM solutions, it is natural that
some companies get complacent and virtually put their
companies on the information CRM applications provide.

Don’t get into that pitfall, thinking that it
"automatically" provides answers to marketing
questions. The heart of the company is always in the
people that handle it; it’s neither on the facilities
nor on the technology.