Let's be honest, most people yawn when they think
about CRM. Why is it your passion?

CRM is often misunderstood. People think about it as nothing more than a database, which, yes, if you think of it that way is pretty boring. But CRM goes way beyond that. CRM is a strategy that basically serves as the central nervous system for all the interactions a company has with its customers.

I’m someone who gets fired up about entrepreneurialism. Something like 99% of all companies in the US are small businesses, run by entrepreneurs. About 1/3 of companies fail within the first year and less than half will see year five. I believe the way a company manages its customers is the single greatest factor that determines whether it will take off or flop. A winning CRM strategy that integrates sales, marketing, and customer support makes all the difference. So, yes, there is real passion there for me.

What is your response to someone who says, I just need software to manage leads.

Before looking at software, focus on your primary use case. Will you be doing email marketing, pipeline forecasting, or sales force automation (such as scheduling meeting, calls, etc).? What departments will you roll out in the first phase? What are the business objectives of implementing the system? Once you frame in your requirements, THEN you can go to the marketplace and select the right the system. 

What is the biggest mistake a small business makes when approaching CRM?

Focusing on the trees and not the forest. Every day I have conversations with well intended CRM buyers who are dead set on a certain technology or a certain feature, but have little idea of what their overall strategy should be.

For example someone might call me up to talk about implementing a CRM for their company. Within the first two minutes, they are already steering the discussion towards caller ID phone integrations. If they are not a call center employing 100 + people on the phones all day, these bells and whistles have no place in a strategy discussion. People constantly focus on the little things when they have not mapped out something crucial like how their marketing department finds leads and passes them along to sales. These are the conversations that need to occur first. Technical aspects come later.

So you are a sort of business consultant too?

Absolutely. Unlike other IT consultants, CRM professionals need to first focus on business processes. In an initial discussion with a client, I listen to what a company does, what their goals are, and the approach they take towards working with their customers from both the front and backend. Then we map it out, discover room for improvement, and finally marry strategy with technology.

Do you ever find that a company needs to improve certain, non-technical business practices during this initial phase?

Often times, yes I do. For example a company might be forecasting an unrealistic percentage of opportunities won based on lead data. The CRM sales process is great at determining close rates based on certain indicators along the way.

I've just implemented a CRM solution. What are some new ways in which I can now engage with my customers?

Once your systems are aligned with your customer focused approach, you can send weekly email campaigns based on what is important to the client. You can trigger workflows so that clients that you have not contacted in 30, 60, 90 days, etc. can receive a phone call or personalized letter asking about their well-being (we miss you, how is your family...).

You can also set up a web portal where your customers can do something as simple as update their contact information or as complex as submit a trouble ticket related to a certain product. This information, once submitted online, is automatically routed to the right area (such as the contact’s record in the CRM) or the right person (a tech support agent in the case of the trouble ticket).

Okay, but what if I'm a small company. Can't I basically do all this on my own?

Sure. Of course you can, if you can name all your customers using your fingers. But as you grow, you’re going to be up a creek. Without a CRM system to manage daily operations, you will be left to rely on memory, gut feelings, and rogue ways of tracking customer interaction such as excel spreadsheets, pen & paper, or Outlook.

All of these lead to human error and they do not furnish continual contact that will nourish and support relationships with your customers. I recommend spending some time understanding CRM principles and how they enhance the customer experience while producing a steady stream of correspondence that will keep your company top of mind.

What are your thoughts on Social CRM?

I think it’s great. I love the concept. Social networks are taking off and there is no doubt the model is leaning towards a paradigm shift. Monitoring social networks is an excellent way to forecast market trends. Active social participation is terrific for building brand collateral and engaging with your account base.

But that being said, I’m going to be honest here. Aside from being a marketing tool, I don’t see much value in the sales cycle. Call me a cynic, but I’m skeptical.  I think there is a lot of hype surrounding Social CRM and not a lot of room for practical application. One of our clients told me the other day that social networking is great, but that her sales reps were interested in closing deals, not building communities. Fair enough. I have to hand it to her; she called a spade a spade.

I think it can be beneficial for a CRM to include certain social components. We’ve developed a Twitter integration tool for intelecrm and we’re working on integration with Facebook, Linkedin, and Hoovers. But again, this goes back to the bells and whistles. If your business model requires hyper-engagement with a certain market or community, then yes, you should be thinking about Social CRM. But really, think about your use case and your overall strategy first.

Now I’ll probably be crucified by my peers in the CRM industry for this response, but it’s my honest opinion.

When is Social CRM appropriate and why?

As I mentioned before, Social CRM is not for everyone. However, it can be an invaluable tool for companies who can gain from tapping into their clients’ conversations regarding shopping preferences, purchasing and decision-making behavior, perception and attitudes surrounding brands, and other more intimate customer insights. SCRM is, in essence, a new layer of tracking and marketing capability, allowing companies to penetrate into social networking sites.

When done right, Social CRM can help companies get closer to a true 360-degree view of its customers. This clearly will allow any business to more precisely optimize its marketing, sales and customer service efforts.

For anyone who still doesn’t understand what Social CRM is, it’s best described as: the convergence of conversations and relationships born out of social media with customer data and information found in traditional CRM applications.

Any closing comments you'd like to add before we wrap it up?

Yes, one thing that is very important, but always seems to be neglected is training and user adoption. As training comes after the implementation as the final step, companies tend to neglect it. I always tell people, look, your CRM is basically useless if no one but the project manager knows how to use it. If this is the case, you’ve just wasted a whole lot of money and time. It would be like buying 10 airplanes, but only having one pilot. You are not going to get people to use CRM if they are not properly trained. I can’t emphasize this enough. Take the time and train your staff.

Also, make it clear to everyone that the CRM is not big brother. Often times we hear top sales reps say, hey, you hired me for my Rolodex, I’m letting you see it! Make it clear to them that this is not the intention. The idea is to make everyone’s lives easier and to follow a customer-centric approach.

Also, as corny as it may seem, reward people for logging into the system and using it. You’d be surprised how effective it is to add competition to the equation and make a little game out of it. It has worked for many of our customers who boast 100% adoption rates.

One last thing. Why intelecrm?

Okay, sure. Well I’ll give you my 10 second elevator pitch. intelecrm was designed by people who are entrepreneurs and who know firsthand what it takes to grow a business.

The application is built on a popular open source platform that is universally known, so although we’re a small company, you’re not venturing into no-man’s-land. intelecrm is also pretty unique in that it is the only online CRM I know of that does not charge by the user. That means whether you have 10 seats, or 100, the price remains the same. We believe that a successful CRM strategy requires everyone’s contributions and involvement. Also, with intelecrm, you are getting Intelestream’s award winning approach to customer service. Rather than calling up a big company when you have a problem, the person on the other end of the phone is likely someone who knows your name and your story.