Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMS)

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a broad term that covers concepts used by organizations to manage their relationships with customers, including collecting, storing and analyzing customer information.

CRM software is essentially meant to address the needs of Marketing, Sales and Distribution, and Customer Service and Support divisions within an organization and allow the three to share data on prospects, customers, partners, competitors and employees. The purpose of CRM software is to manage the customer through the entire lifecycle, i.e. from prospect to qualified opportunity to order.

CRM software automates many of the needs of Marketing, Sales and Support users, such as Telephony, or the ability to conduct phone calls and manage call data, and tools to capture, share and manage automated alerts on lead data as it passes through the sales pipeline. CRM software provides a standard framework for pushing leads through a sales pipeline and managing it amongst many stakeholders in real time, in order to provide better customer relations and grow revenues by creating more sales, and losing fewer customers.

CRM software helps organizations achieve their customer relations goals by measuring key performance indicators collected by the CRM software about customer lifecycle behavior.

Benefits include:

• isolating those marketing campaigns that drove the most and best quality leads,
• improving internal efficiency,
• complete customer histories and the ability to provide appropriate support and
• consequently retain customers.

Technology considerations

The technology requirements of a CRM strategy are very complex and far reaching. The basic building blocks include:

• A database to store customer information. This can be a CRM specific database or an enterprise data warehouse.
• Operational CRM requires customer agent support software.
• Collaborative CRM requires customer interaction systems, eg an interactive website, automated phone systems etc.
• Analytical CRM requires statistical analysis software, as well as software that manages any specific marketing campaigns.
• Support CRM systems require interactive chat software to provide live help and support to web site visitors.

Here at S.E.E.D.^© Technology Center we believe a company's CRM strategy is dependent on both the company’s current situation and the needs and expectations of its customers. Therefore, we do not see CRM as just a technology, but rather a holistic approach to an organization's philosophy in dealing with its customers. This includes policies and processes, front-of-house customer service, employee training, marketing, systems and information management. And it with these thoughts in mind that when we design your CRM Solution we will consider your broader organizational requirements.