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CRM in SmallBiz: Disappointing Misconceptions

In the last few months there has been quite a lot of discussion
on CRM (customer relationship management) solutions in the forums
and ezines. Although it is extremely positive that people finally
started to talk about the one concept that will make the future
of a business successful or unsuccessful, there are quite a few
misconceptions about the term. Those misconceptions make people
lose time and energy finding solutions in areas they should not
be even searching, instead in concentrating on the really
important things.

First, the simplest and the least obvious: Customer Relationship
Management is about RELATIONS between people (yes, business is
done by people, not companies). It is NOT technology. Business
did exist before computers, so relations between business people
existed before computers, i.e. CRM was not invented with the
invention of computers (just the name CRM was). The good
practices of relating with your customer did not become obsolete
with the introduction of computers, though the TOOLS changed. So
we use the same practices, but we take advantage of the
possibilities that technology gives. It certainly is a different
experience for the buyer if he is met on the web site by a human
voice or keyboard chat (LivePerson, FireTalk, HumanClick) which
is what technology now makes possible. The technology enables us
to see how the customer is navigating through the site, and, if
we want to, interrupt him and offer assistance. But I wonder
whether the customer will welcome that. If you are a salesman in
a brick and mortar store, you would watch the expression of the
customer and, based on that, decide to approach him or not.
On the net you cannot see his face (it's questionable if
he'll let you even if possible). In any case, CRM is NOT
technology, so you will not find your CRM solution among SW
vendors. Which brings us to the misconception number two.

Business people tend to search for a CRM solution among SW
developers and vendors. "They know the technology, which I (the
business manager) don't know, so they will know my needs and
how to implement it". If a business manager would object to such
a suggestion he would be labeled "old" and "overdue". In today
fast business lane, fortunes are made fast, and young managers
tend to "buy" a CRM software solution. CRM should already be in
place, functioning, BEFORE starting IT implementation (who has
to forward which info to whom to be ready for who, when? Who has
to respond to what in how much time?). CRM Software solution is
only a TOOL for procedures already in place. Let me draw a
parallel.

With the invention of cars, the way we conduct business changed.
We could do much more business and do it better. But never once,
it occurred to us to let auto designers lead and ENFORCE the way
we are building relations with our customers. So why does
everybody think that software designers are capable of that?
They might be brilliant SW developers, but still they wouldn't
know how to better customer retention in a company manufacturing
furniture. So why do we try to do that? Because it is easier not
to lose time over enforcement of customer retention rules in our
own company, when we can pay someone to do it. Because we have
the money, but we don't have TIME. Well, we can't do that. We
cannot avoid our involvement in the process (and our hours, of
course), although I know most of you didn't want to hear this.
Which brings us to the misconception number three.

You search for an SW solution for your CRM, buy it, and let
those people do their job. As good manager, you organize weekly
meetings to have your finger on things. Because you selected a
SW vendor which is a respectable company, the first thing those
people do, is to organize internal audit. They pass out forms to
people in different departments, to find out exactly what are
the needs of different parts of your company. Alternatively,
they conduct interviews. And that is good. That is much better
then them trying to force their "proven" flow of documentation
upon your company. But what they are actually doing is LEARNING
the way your company functions. And the teaching is done by
people who work in each department, that most probably, don't
have the whole picture. So the integration of the whole picture
is done by the SW vendor. Can they learn in a fortnight or a
month?

I would suggest another approach. Find an "oldie" within your
company, preferably one year from retirement. The one that does
know how your company lives, who preferably worked a bit in
sales, a bit in procurement and a bit in support or reclamation.
If he doesn't like computers, all the better. If

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he later likes
the results, you can be sure everyone else will. Assign him full
time as a liaison, and let him guide the implementation. Have
everyone know all the doors must be kept open for him. Remember,
CRM implementation is about KNOWLEDGE of how your company
functions. It is about how EXISTING customer care procedures
(remember misconception number one?) are automated (complemented,
modified) by computers. And if there is no such person(s) within
your company? Well, that leaves YOU. I bet you didn't want to
hear this, but remember that everyday customer relation
procedures will be done by your people, not the SW vendor.
Which brings us to misconception number four.

CRM is sales automation. No, no, no, it is customer support. No,
no, no, it's the lady who says hello answering the phone on the
helpdesk. No, no, no, it's the operator who chats with the
potential customer on the web site. Actually, it is all of the
above. In a company, sales people seldom talk with the support
people. And vice versa. As if those were two different
non competing companies so they have little to talk about. Last
few months everybody talks about customer retention. Which is
normal as it is much easier and cheaper to sell again to an
existing customer, than to get a new one. But only if he
received good customer support and service, that is. So a good
CRM SW solution would have some data common to everybody (name,
address, phone, etc), but also data needed by sales,
procurement, helpdesk and support. This does not mean you have
to have an ERP system, it just means that you need some extra
fields which are specific to each department. Ideally, you
yourself would be able to add some extra fields as needed,
without becoming a programmer. Which brings us to misconception
number five.

After the first year of coughing and hiccuping, your CRM
solution is finally in place and humming nicely. You are getting
all that nice data you needed, and you are finally able to watch
and build your customer relations. So you are home and free. If
you need an extra report, or an extra field, you'll call the SW
vendor and he will make the necessary changes. Well, that's not
entirely true. The life of your company is not static. It
changes daily. The same way, your CRM solution cannot be static.
If your sales person needs to call an IT liaison, explain to him
the change he needs, then to the SW developer, then wait for
implementation, you can be sure that he will not do it. He will
rather scribble it into his note book or the Excel sheet on
his notebook. He should be able to do just that in your CRM
solution. Which means you should have a modifiable solution, one
in which you can add fields and tell the system how to handle
them. But that means you will have to invest time to learn how
to do it. Or leave it for later when you will have more time.
Which is misconception number six.

People tend to search for a CRM software solution when they
cannot cope any more with the traffic. By then, it is too late.
It is late in the sense that you have to implement a solution in
which you have to invests time, and time you don't have. That
means that the implementation will be much longer, it will cost
much more in hours, lost business, poor customer service, which
means you will spend more hours dealing with a customer, you
will have less hours in sales, you will have to hire more
people... There is no nice way to tell you, so I will say it
straight out: You should start implementing a CRM system, the
moment you start using PC in promotion and sales. And that is
now, isn't it?

So what really is the difference between a CRM software system
and old, traditional relations with your customers? Documentation
and analysis. With a CRM software system you have historical data
which you can analyze. Analyzing our customer support data we
found out that about 60% of our helpdesk activity was done with
new customers (within 2 months of purchase) which is normal, but
about 90% of those incidents were trivial questions about simple
use of functions. Although we were issuing three manuals and
giving a six day course to our customers, we decided to issue a
special cookbook for novices, based on the most common questions.
The style was light, simple and straightforward, one page max per
function. It was a double jeopardy. Novice interventions dropped
to about 30% and the customers had a feeling they were driving
the system, not the other way around. So we were both happy. And
that's called customer satisfaction, right?

About the Author

Dinko Bacun
CEO of Tendriks
dinko@tendrix.com
http://www.CarpioHelpdesk.com