The Importance of Being Mobile
The Smartphone is perhaps one of the greatest introductions of the new millennium (though some may disagree). Web enabled mobile phones have been rising steadily as technological advances have increased speed and decreased price.
Although some may look at smartphones as vanity objects (a bunch of teenagers hanging at the mall Tweeting about Justin Biber, uploading photos to Facebook, etc.), many professionals utilize their smartphones as productivity tools.
Business Productivity On-The-Go
Barton Goldenberg, president and founder of ISM, Inc. released an article about the future of CRM. In it he notes that “Today’s software runs on desktops, laptops, and smartphones, with increasingly ubiquitous access to custom applications making CRM data and customer information readily available, anytime and anywhere.”
What Goldenberg is saying is that if your CRM doesn’t have a mobile app available, you’re basically behind the times.
Having a mobile app of your CRM helps facilitate field sales, out of office business meetings, and can even be helpful during networking events.
According to Nancy Keddy, CEO and Co-Founder of Touch Ahead Software, LLC, “Mobile CRM apps give us access to a limitless number of contacts and additional information and don’t’ require that we store that information on the mobile device.” This is an option that comes in handy when smartphones usually only come equipped with a couple of gigs of hard drive space.
The Bottom Line
If you or your organization is considering implementing a CRM solution, check to make sure there is a mobile component included.
If you already have a CRM and aren’t using a mobile application, contact your system administrator to see if there is one available.
Is Social CRM Necessary for Your Organization?
Social CRM (sCRM) is a-buzz in the marketing and software industries, and many organizations consider embracing it to become more involved with their customers. Although the media may make social CRM seem like a must-have, not every organization would benefit from that specific type of solution.
Since social CRM works by aggregating content about your brand or company from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and allowing you to respond through the CRM application, there is no definite benefit to using that type of CRM unless your customers are using these sites. While it is usually a good thing for an organization to have a presence on social media sites, it doesn’t necessarily mean it needs a software solution that heavily focuses on social media.
On the other hand, social CRM is worthwhile for organizations whose customers are active on Twitter, Facebook and blogs and who also publish any other social content. Since customers have more power than ever before to influence others’ opinions on an organization, it is important for a lot of companies to keep track of the conversations and engage in them. It allows them to participate in the discussion and address any concerns a customer might have. For instance, I went on Yelp the other night to look for dining suggestions, and I read a review from one girl who recounted her experience with a particular restaurant. She said she had a bad experience with the restaurant and wrote about it in her original review, but now she favors the restaurant and has changed her review. Why? Because after she posted her original review recounting her bad experience, the owner stumbled upon it and contacted her immediately to make amends. The owner changed what was wrong at the restaurant just because of her review. This is one example why it is important for organizations with customers active on social media sites to keep up with conversations. Organizations have not kept up with customers’ conversations in the past, but now social CRM allows them to address concerns by aggregating this content.
If you find that your customers are typically not on social media sites, but you still want to have an online presence and receive relevant information from these sites, it may be nice for you to have a CRM solution with web 2.0 integration. These CRM solutions allow you to access sites like Twitter or LinkedIn with the click of a button. This way, you can quickly gather information and stay in the loop about what’s going on without having to consume yourself with social media. This allows you to have social media as a small bonus to your CRM initiatives instead of being at the center of them.
10 Steps for a Successful CRM Implementation
With more than 21 years of experience as an IT support person and software developer, Nancy Keddy, Co-Founder and CEO of Touch Ahead Software, has "seen and heard about many CRM implementations that have gone poorly, but [has] also had the pleasure of being involved with many successful implementations."
In our white paper, "10 Steps for a Successful CRM Implementation," Nancy makes critical points on key elements that organizations must consider when considering a CRM implementation.
Without considering these key elements, a company's CRM initiative could fail. Read the white paper and see what valuable information you have yet to discover about correctly choosing and implementing a CRM solution!
Here is a preview of the contents of the white paper:
1. Business Process
When implementing a CRM solution, the organization as a whole needs to become accustomed to the application. Successful companies use CRM as a tool to give them the information they need so they can be more effective. When you implement a CRM system, you cannot hold the preconception that people do not like change or that everyone has their own way of handling information. Let us be clear here, it is not about each person individually, it is about the team as a whole. It’s about the organization’s goals and achieving them, which in the end benefits each person.
Hold your team accountable and get your statistics from your CRM. Do not allow users to provide other sources for their information. If they had ten meetings in a month, the CRM should have a record of those ten meetings.
Garbage in, garbage out! In order for the CRM to work optimally within your organization, you must ensure your users enter content completely and consistently. This way, the information you get out of the system will be helpful to you and everyone else.
2. Ease of Use
Ease of use allows for a smooth user adoption experience. Day-to-day activities need to be simple and quick. CRM is about having information at your finger tips. Managers need to access the pipeline and statistics quickly. The whole team needs to be efficient. Adding key information needs to be quick and simple, and it needs to follow the work flow. For example, if certain users are fast on a keyboard, the CRM should have keyboard equivalents to get through the process with less mouse clicking...
We hope you enjoyed the preview!
To continue reading, please click the link below or the image above.
10 Steps for a Successful CRM Implementation
A Response to Inc. Magazine's June 1 guide, "How to Build Business Alliances"
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100601/how-to-build-business-alliances.html
The process involved in determining which CRM solution is right for your organization is one that should not be underestimated and takes careful consideration. If from the start your CRM solution does not work well with your organization's goals, then there could be trouble.
This is the way in which the adoption of a CRM application is comparable to forming a business alliance. Inc. Magazine, the publisher that advises business leaders on starting, operating and growing their businesses, created a guide to forming a strategic alliance. After reading this guide, it became apparent that I could draw a lot of parallels to the process of CRM execution.
Inc. divides its guide into three sections: "Selecting a Partner," "Cutting a Deal," and "Making it Work."
Although best practices for CRM implementation has to be broken down into more than just three major categories, this guide definitely hits the nail on the head when it comes to making an important decision or investment meant to improve a business operation of any sort.
As Inc. insinuates, the selection of a partner is a very important part of the formation of a successful business alliance. It states that, "it pays to be very selective about whom you team up with." This holds true for organizations that seek to invest in a CRM application to improve operations, as well. While it shouldn't scare you away from adopting a CRM solution, you want to be sure that the amount of time and money you use to research solutions, purchase one, and train employees (which rightfully comes along with the implementation process) will be worth it in the end. You don't need to be skeptical if you are certain from the beginning that the CRM you choose is a good fit for your organization.
Inc. also claims that "cutting a deal" involves planning that sets your organization up for success with its new alliance. The same goes for CRM adoption. We can safely say that how well-though-out your organization's plan is for using CRM will determine the success of your investment. Inc. suggests that in this stage you need to "draw the big picture" and "establish subjects and a timetable for the talks." The better your employees understand the benefits of CRM to the team as a whole, the more everyone will get out of it. Time should be set aside for employees to be trained and educated adequately so they will know how to use the system to the benefit of the organization.
When you choose to implement a CRM system, "making it work" is very important. Similar to the importance of planning who will make which decisions in a company once an alliance is formed, it is important that a plan is in place regarding how the CRM will be used routinely and how each person can make the most out of it. In the case of business alliances, Inc. suggests finding a person within the partnering company who is really passionate about having both firms work towards moving in the right direction. Similarly, you should identify a person who is very skilled and consistent with using the CRM application within your company. This person would be someone who can lead by example and who employees can look to for help if they have questions. This should help improve the CRM adoption rate amongst your employees.
Although building business alliances and CRM implementation are two separate subjects, the best practices for building business alliances can be applied to how your organization goes about adopting a CRM system.
What You Should Take into Consideration
When it comes time for you
to start using a CRM system for the first time or to take the plunge and adopt
a new one, there are some things you may want to consider to make sure you are
prepared to use a CRM system for all it is worth.
CRM software is meant to
help your business in many different ways, especially to increase efficiency.
In no way is it supposed to make things more complex and stressful for you. It
can do great things for you such as keep you organized and updated, help you
identify problem areas and trends, and, of course, help you maintain
relationships with clients. There are countless ways in which CRM systems can
help you.
You may find yourself a bit
overwhelmed if you don’t have an idea of what you would like the CRM system to
help you to achieve. Do you want to see where you are lacking productivity? Do
you simply want to record contact information and keep track of communication
with clients? What about having the ability to create and share groups of
contacts?
Although it’s perfectly acceptable for you to want to do only one of
these or all of them combined, you should at least know what you expect the
system to help you with. This should be considered before you purchase
software. It might help to think of
what your organization’s pain points are and what data you plan on entering
into the system. Keep in mind that since you have to actually enter data to
give yourself and the CRM system something to work with, you cannot expect to
realize results without the user(s) giving input.
In order to use the system to its full
potential, to get the most out of the system and to realize the benefits, you
must learn how to use the system, and to your benefit. This is where simplicity
comes in as a valuable characteristic. The more simplistic your CRM
software is (simplistic meaning uncomplicated for the user), the better able you will be to use it for all it is worth because
you will have a better chance of knowing all the features really well instead
of just knowing many features slightly or not knowing them at all. If you pay
for software that has a million different complicated features, and they aren’t
helpful to your business or you have no idea how to use them, you may be
setting yourself up for frustration.
Written by Melissa Cocks
Touch Ahead Software LLC
Making CRM Work for You
There are many reasons why you may be dissatisfied with your business' on-premise CRM software. One of the common complaints is that the software requires companies' in-house IT teams' frequent and costly attention. The time and effort that your in-house IT team puts towards maintaining on-premise CRM solutions could be directed elsewhere to increase the productivity within your business. If this sounds all too familiar, you may consider opting for a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution. You can learn more about the advantages of SaaS here.
Additionally, like many business owners, you may become frustrated by software that limits your ability to integrate key company contact information with other applications and devices. A trend in today's CRM software market is Blackberry compatibility. When you're on the go and need to update or access your contact information, it's frustrating if you're unable to do so.
It's also important to make sure your CRM solution fits your needs. Many companies take a while to actually change their CRM software. People tend to fear unfamiliarity, especially when they do not feel they have time to learn the ins and outs of a new system. The solution to this is to have your software tailored to your business operations and needs. This way, you can still have features that you are accustomed to, and you can also add new features that would make doing business much easier for you.
Written by Melissa Cocks
Touch Ahead Software LLC
At both the ACG InterGrowth Conference in Las Vegas and the Growth Conference in Boston in 2009, we conducted a survey to gain insight regarding the alternative asset community's CRM usage and experience. The survey was administered to those who represented a private equity, venture capital, or any alternative asset firm. The survey was comprised of ten questions with multiple parts.
The following information summarizes Touch Ahead Software's findings.
CRM Software Satisfaction
42 out of the 55 companies (76.4%) questioned about satisfaction with their current CRM software responded that they were dissatisfied.
CRM Brand Usage
27 of the 61 different companies surveyed (44.3%) use a Microsoft Office application (i.e. Outlook, Excel, Access) in some way as a part of their total CRM experience.
7 (11.5%) use a Microsoft Office application to supplement another brand of CRM.
Of the total 61 companies surveyed:
o 22 (36.1%) use non-CRM Microsoft applications
o 10 (16.4%) use Salesforce
o 9 (14.7%) use ACT
o 5 (8.2%) use Microsoft Access or Dynamics CRM
o 4 (6.6%) use SalesLogix
o 3 (4.9%) did not know or gave no response
The remaining 8 companies (13.1%) use other CRM brands.
Most Valued Features for CRM Users
Survey participants were also asked to rate CRM features in order of what is most valuable to them.
The options consisted of the following:
o ‘Ease of Use'
o ‘Web-based'
o ‘Integrates with Outlook'
o ‘Integrates with External Data Base'
o ‘Ability to Get a Clear Snapshot'
o ‘Flexibility and Ease of Customization'
o ‘Schedule Management'
The results from the 14 companies that responded to this specific question:
o 42.9% ranked ‘Ease of Use' as the most important
o 21.4% ranked ‘Schedule Management' as the most important
o 14.3% ranked ‘Ability to Get a Clear Snapshot' as the most important
o 14.3% ranked ‘Integrates with Outlook' as the most important
o 7.1% ranked ‘Integrates with External Database' as the most important
They also found that the following CRM features were ranked as second most important:
o 35.7% ‘Ability to Get a Clear Snapshot'
o 14.3% ‘Web-based'
o 14.3% ‘Flexibility and Ease of Customization'
o 14.3% ‘Ease of Use'
o 14.3% ‘Schedule Management'
o 7.1% ‘Integrates with Outlook'
Drawing from this data, it can be concluded that amongst the group surveyed, the top three most important CRM features are ‘Ease of Use,' ‘Schedule Management,' and ‘Ability to Get a Clear Snapshot.'
Frequency of Switching CRM Software
30 out of the 57 companies (52.6%) who responded to the question "Have you switched CRM software within the past three years?" responded that they had not.
Usage of Business Information Services
It was found that 32 out of the 53 companies (60.4%) who responded to their question about using business information services (Capital IQ, Hoover's, Dow and D&B) do not use them.
Of the 21 companies that said they do use them:
o 18 (85.7%) said they use Capital IQ.
o The next most commonly used service was D&B, followed by Hoover's, Dow, Thomson Reuters, and others such as Manta, Merger Market, Capital Link, etc.
Data Views Used Most Commonly
After asking the companies about what they used most commonly for data views, they found the two most popular responses to be ‘contact information' and ‘deal tracking.'
Best-Valued Features
After asking the companies what features would be of the greatest value to them that they do not currently have, the two most popular responses were ‘user friendliness' and ‘integration.'
Written by Melissa Cocks
Touch Ahead Software LLC
75 Kneeland St., 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02111
866-960-9301
sales@touchahead.com
www.touchahead.com