Whodunnit? 4 Suspects in CRM Murder Mystery

Although it is often mistakenly seen as a technique, CRM is actually a discipline - and it is not a single discipline like martial arts or meditation. It is a team discipline to which every customer-facing employee can contribute.

Whether those contributions are positive or negative depends on the teammates. In most cases where CRM decides to "fail", the reason is not technology - it is usually the failure of someone within the company that is critical to the CRM process committed to the concept.

Classic failure is top-notch from the start: an important C-level executive has been accused of overseeing the selection and deployment of CRM software, leading to a lack of resources for proper rollout and a not-to-use attitude is. The software is optional, dividing sales and marketing personnel into two camps: people who work with CRM and people who work despite CRM.

It is a predictable and tragically common source of CRM problems, but there are others within organizations that can ruin CRM - sometimes, without realizing that they are without it.

1. Sales Officers

Many times, CRM is introduced as a response to perceived problems in the sales process. There are times when a sales vice president or regional manager agrees with the idea of ​​CRM as a response to a rough patch - but unless these executives actually buy into CRM, it is very likely that they are fully in it. Will not use from and will return instead. For old behavior.

Then, even if the sales team is religiously using the application, the data exposes CRM that can be used to improve the sales strategy. Once salespeople realize that the use of CRM has no impact beyond their desk, adoption will be at a disadvantage. If the pattern continues, CRM applications can become a scapegoat if sales performance declines.

2. Support Staff

They are busy, busy, busy - and they are an important part of your loyalty efforts. Just ask them! However, when the support people decide that to get their jobs done, they can optionally enter information in CRM, it sows the seeds of disaster.

Their first understanding of customers is important - it can prevent a sales person from calling a customer who has a disappointing service experience, and in the same way it can signal a sale when the customer is looking for an ransom. Can be a great opportunity.

Consciously or otherwise, customers can sow the seeds of dissatisfaction with CRM by accepting the details from the record - and it can be contagious if not caught early enough.

3. Marketing Team

Do you really want to throw a curball sale? Contact a potential customer, then fail to put that information in the customer record so that when the salesperson calls, they have no knowledge of any relationship you have formed.

The seller approaches the target in the form of a cold call - but expects the prospect to be somewhat familiar. This seems out of the loop for the seller - and can damage the trust of the potential customer in your company.

After all, if sales and marketing are not talking to each other, how is it possible that the lines of communication with the customer will be open and running?

4. Sales people

Classic stogs for failure to adopt, salespeople bring it upon themselves in many instances. It usually starts with a failure of leadership, and a failure to understand how CRM can help each sales person make more money.

The successes of CRM users must be disseminated to the entire sales team to commit to adopting them. Again, this is a team effort. Operating in secret - hiding deals, sandbugging until next quarter, misinformation on the funnel - is not only bad behavior, but can also make sales managers' forecasting tasks next to impossible.

Sales managers who decide CRM cannot help as a fundamental function because CRM applications are a forecast.

Everything about leadership

How do you prevent these common suspects from sabotaging your CRM efforts? The answer is leadership. First of all, your leaders in sales, support and marketing should be not only with CRM technology, but with ideas that understand CRM.

Next, they need to be able to articulate why each customer-facing member of the team needs to use CRM and record each important detail of the customer relationship.

Finally, they need to encourage their team members to use CRM religiously. Incentives work for salespeople - so why not encourage other good behavior that helps you sell more?
Tag : Tech Tips
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