The correct use of CRM Systems to optimize the sales process
One of the objectives of using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is to review and optimize the effectiveness of your direct sales processes. CRM Systems allow us to gather metrics and analyse these to provide a continuous improvement loop that can be used to develop new sales initiatives.
The CRM System should define each step in the sales pipeline and with each step there should be associated metrics gathered. These metrics need to be analysed at an enterprise, big picture level as well as a process level in order to ensure compliance with corporate objectives, as well as divisional and personal targets.
At an operational level the data analysis of the sales process should highlight opportunities for identifying the most profitable areas of the business and refocusing the workforce accordingly. A key corporate requirement of CRM is also to be able to monitor the organizations profitability at a granular level on a day by day basis.
Effective CRM data analysis requires a well-designed central database that contains all of the customer and prospects data and the transactional data. This transactional data should consist of customer interaction history as well as financial / order history.
From a customer’s perspective the ideal interaction will be where the organizations operative has access to just the right amount of information to ensure that the customers questions are answered quickly and effectively, anda sales opportunity can be highlighted and closed where possible. As with all sales techniques, the key with CRM is to develop a good relationship with the customer.
CRM solutions aren’t cheap, but you have to weigh up the cost against the returns in the shape of more business from your existing customers and a better relationship with those customers. If the cost of finding new customers is six to seven times that of retaining an existing customer then the financial argument for existing in CRM starts to become very apparent.