Listen to each other or to the resellers?
Which decision to make?
To start the year 2021 well, many executives are wondering which CRM management tools to choose. Some ask me my opinion on the set of tools on the market. For my part, all management tools have advantages and disadvantages. No tool is perfect and 100% compatible with your DMS system (apart from the tools offered by your DMS provider). So you have to ask yourself, are the drawbacks manageable or can we live with them? Who works with IT tools? It is therefore necessary to include the personnel assigned to it in all decisions so that you can optimize your new acquisition.
Having done a 4-year doctoral study on the impact of the involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of management tools on organizational performance, we know very well that the user remains at the center of this decision. The question to be asked is: “will this IT tool improve the quality of life of the staff affected and increase organizational performance? ».
The price
Is price the major issue in the choice of a CRM management tool or rather its user-friendliness and after-sales service? The year 2021 will be filled with good and bad surprises as it is every year and customer service will become an essential department in terms of financial impact. CRM management tools must simplify your processes so that you can get to work as quickly as possible. Some tools decrease your productivity because of the loss of time to enter information or to understand the tool.
The main objective: acquire new customers! The CRM management tool must adapt to your business and not the other way around. Do your homework before making an informed decision and don’t forget that the financial benefits of this investment remain at the center of your decisions.
Why a CRM?
First of all, we know very well that we need to manage our customer database. A good tool actually combines marketing strategies (actions), sales management and after-sales service management. A good CRM allows the centralization of your customer database, the personalization of customer follow-up per user, the omnichannel customer relationship and the qualification of the customer experience to name a few.
By the same token, you will be able to obtain satisfaction and performance indicators for both the customer and the employee. Tools that make it easy to access information quickly while building customer loyalty and attracting new potential customers. The ultimate goal: improved sales! The Salesforce organization (2020) explains how a CRM solution can support your business: helps your sales team accelerate productivity, enables customer service to deliver an omnichannel customer experience, enables the creation of personalized marketing campaigns, allows the development of applications and processes, and most importantly, provides a single resource for all your needs.
The unification of all services
The best CRM platform should manage :
- The automation of strategic marketing ;
- Sales and business relations;
- Mobile working;
- Customer Service;
- Social networks;
- e-CRM marketing;
- Customer support (internal).
Knowing the customer’s journey in the field. In theory, everything seems perfect, but in practice, the implementation must be done in a way that fits the company and not all other companies. Customization for organizational success! Take the time to meet with suppliers, get presentations (be it virtually) of everything that is offered in the industry and make your decision. It is really important to make sure that the system fits your DMS and not the other way around! The words fly and the processes are concrete. Studying a CRM tool is not a child’s play.
Yanick Jomphe is a training consultant and a specialist in the implementation of CRM reminder systems. She holds a B.A.A., M.B.A. and Ph.D. on the impact of stakeholder involvement in the implementation of management tools on organizational performance. Online training available at [email protected]
