Using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system will enable you to develop a deeper relationship with your sales leads and customers through targeted communications, tracking actions and modifying your engagement approach based on results.

What CRM options are there?

There are a number of CRM solutions available to businesses at various price points either delivered as an internet based service or run locally. The optimal solution will be dependant on the complexity your customer base, mix of products and/or services and who will require access to your data.

Regardless of solution, flexibility and day-to-day ease of use are key to making your data work for you.

CRM basics?

There are three principle elements to building and using a CRM system:

• Capturing contact data. Designing a contact record to capture the right level and granularity of information to enable targeted correspondence with your customer base.
• Filtering data. Being able to ‘slice and dice’ your information to target individuals accurately with relevant communications. This is where a CRM system releases the potential of the information you have recorded.
• Recording results. Being able to track the results of your communications such that future communications can be based on this ongoing dialogue.

The CRM contact record – some basics

Every business has different information needs however, the basics of any CRM system is to be able to characterise individuals or companies with a series of attributes.

Mandatory data

Some attributes should be mandatory, for example the persons last name or their address post code. Wherever possible dropdown selections, tick boxes and the like should be used as this forces consistency in data entry which makes subsequent filtering much easier.

Consistency of data

Consistency of data is the biggest problem in any CRM system as inconsistent data makes data filtering very difficult (that well known expression of ‘rubbish in – rubbish out’).

For example, Hampshire and Hants are the same county but only the first 2 letters are the same. Filtering to get everyone in ‘Hampshire’ would miss out everyone in ‘Hants’ and visa versa.

Who owns your CRM data?

A strange question possibly, but very important. As your business grows many people will have access to your business data; both reading and entering information. Without somebody having overall data ‘ownership’ your CRM data quality will inevitably decrease which has a direct bearing on its value to your business. The data ‘owner’ has the responsibility of ensuring data quality through audits and staff training.

Finally, as your customer database is your business it makes business sense to guard who has access and the type of access they have to avoid both data loss to competitors and data breaches.

How can we help?

We can work with you, using our proven ‘Business First’ approach, to identify and implement a CRM system for your business. To discuss further please contact us.

To find out more about building customer relationships read our blog on Customer Relationship Management and see details of our CRM Business Service. For more information on email direct marketing see our blog on Email Direct Marketing.

The problem – how to manage your business contacts list?

As businesses we all collect contact details and other information about our customers and sales leads. The question is how to organise and use this information to benefit your business?

Understanding your business relationships

If you understand the business needs of your contacts you will be in a good position to create sales opportunities and build deeper business relationships.

Broadly, your business relationships fall into two categories:

1. Sales leads. Those people who have shown an interest in your business but have yet to purchase from you.
2. Customers. People who have purchased from you. You will be in a good position to develop this relationship further resulting in future sales opportunities.

Managing your business relationships

Communicate with your sales leads and customers in what ever format is most appropriate; email, text, letter, fax, telephone or even face-to-face! The key things are:

• Relevance. Make what you say relevant to their needs.
• Records results. These results will inform you how to continue an ongoing dialogue to grow the relationship.

How can we help?

We can work with you, using our proven ‘Business First’ approach, to identify how best to manage your business relationships. To discuss further please contact us or see our CRM Business Service.

For more information on email marketing see our blog on Email Direct Marketing.

It’s where people look for information about your business before making contact. It extends your marketing reach and increases business opportunities.

A website is a key tool in marketing your business

• Customers. It may be the first point of contact many people have with your business.
• Marketing. It extends your business marketing reach and allows you to compete with larger businesses on equal terms.
• Business growth. No website represents loss of business opportunities.

Key Points

• It’s where people look for information about your business. It informs them about you, your products and services.
• It engages with clients or customers. It supports your sales by allowing people to engage with you informally before making contact.
• It maintains business focus. It clarifies your business drivers. Underlying a successful website is a clear vision of where your business is now and how it will develop in the future.
• It’s a cost effective marketing investment. You can connect with clients and customers when and where they want.
• It has measurable benefits. Through website traffic analysis, it’s easy to identify which pages or goods and services are popular and what people are searching for.

In the race for new business is your website a competitor or a spectator?

Your website has to deliver 5 things

1. Support your business marketing. Through presenting your business effectively to decision makers.
2. Attract and retain visitors. Through creating search friendly results that promote visits.
3. Display and navigation. Display correctly on popular web browsers and with intuitive site navigation.
4. Content. Content must be interesting and relevant.
5. Call to action! Encourage visitors to undertake a transaction – to buy or contact you.

Consider the following in relation to your website

• What is your website doing? Is it actively promoting your business?
• Is it current? Like traditional marketing material, websites require regular updates to reflect both changes in your business and buying trends.
• Are you converting visitors on your website? Every visitor to your website is an opportunity for a transaction. Is this happening?
• Where do you appear in search engine results? Search engines constantly improve their search algorithms and your competitors improve their websites. Where do you appear?

Business marketing messages, information, products and services shape a website structure. Identifying the information architecture is the process whereby all these elements are brought together. The process identifies the major web pages and how the site will be navigated for intuitive browsing (website usability).

To design the information architecture requires a knowledge of the business. Business First is the process to gain knowledge and understanding thus ensuring the published website reflects the business marketing aims.

Large Websites

The larger the website the more important it is to review the information architecture to ensure information is placed logically within it, and to ensure there is room to expand without significant website redesign.

Reflecting Your Business

One important point worth noting is that the website information architecture should reflect the way visitors see your business from the outside, and not how your business in structured internally.

Your website must have immediate visitor appeal (see website usability guidelines) but there is a balance between sufficient information for the visitor to make a decision and too much that they won’t read. Getting that balance right is the hard bit.

Authoring takes into consideration your business marketing (see Business First), website structure (the information architecture) and SEO requirements (see SEO).

Services Websites

Services websites require sufficient and engaging information to persuade visitors that making contact with you is worthwhile. Think of it as your business CV, and like any good CV it won’t get you a job offer but it will get you an interview.

eCommerce Websites

eCommerce websites have different information criteria covering products, descriptions, pricing, availability, reputation, and security. It is important that your website covers all these in sufficient depth to encourage visitors to undertake transactions.

Approach to implementation

Depending on the nature of the implementation, skills required include business leadership, project management, and possibly business change.

• Business leadership to ‘sell’ the solution to interested parties.
• Project management to plan and deliver the solution.
• Business change where there are necessary operational changes required to implement the solution.

Read about developing new business ideas …

Approach to development

• Business management to understand the wider business context, evaluate the outcome, and commit expenditure for implementation.
• Project management to plan and execute the various strands of the development solution.
• Problem solving to ensure the development meets the desired business outcome.

Read about implementing new business ideas …

Read about evaluating new business ideas …

Approach to evaluation

How can things be done differently?