What is CRM

Contents1. Definition of CRM……………………………….3

(Customer relationship management)2. History……………………………………………43. Introduction………………………………………74. Types of CRM…………………………………..10

Analytical Collaborative Geographical Operational Sales intelligence CRM

5. Evaluation of CRM……………………………..136. Functionality……………………………………137. Implementation…………………………………148. Uses of CRM in industry………………………169. CRM circle in an organization………………...1810.Best practices of CRM…………………………1911.Case studies…………………………………….23

Bradford collage Singh home builders

12.Benefits of CRM……………………………….2913.Conclusion……………………………………..3314.References……………………………………...35

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What is CRM (customer relationship management)?

CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way.

For example, an enterprise might build a database about its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer had purchased, and so forth.The History of CRM

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Customer relationship management is a concept that became very popular during the 1990s. It offered long term changes and benefits to businesses that chose to use it. The reason for this is because it allowed companies to interact with their customers on a whole new level. While CRM is excellent in the long term, those who are looking for short term results may not see much progress.

One of the reasons for this is because it was difficult to effectively track customers and their purchases. It is also important to realize that large companies were responsible for processing tremendous amounts of data. This data needed to be updated on a consistent basis. 

In the last few years, a number of changes have been made to Customer relationship management that has allowed it to advance. These capabilities have allowed CRM to become the system that was once envisioned by those who created it. However, the biggest problem with these newer systems is the price. A number of personalized Internet tools have been introduced to the market, and these have driven down the cost of competition. While this may be a bane for vendors who are selling expensive systems, it is a bonanza for small companies that would otherwise not be able to afford CRM programs. The foundation for CRM was laid during the 1980s. 

During this time, it was referred to as being database marketing. The term "database marketing" was used to refer to the procedure of creating customer focus groups that could be used to speak to some of the customers of the company. The clients who were extremely valued were pivotal in communicating with the firm, but the process became quite repetitive, and the information that was collected via surveys did not give the company a great of information. Even though the company could collect data through surveys, they did not have efficient methods of processing and analyzing the information. As time went on, companies begin to realize that all they really needed was basic information. They needed to know what their customer purchased, how much they spent, and what did with the products they purchased. 

The 1990s saw the introduction of a number of advances in this system. It was during this time that term Customer relationship management was introduced. Unlike previous customer relationship systems, CRM was a dual system. Instead of merely gathering information for the purpose of using for

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their own benefit, companies started giving back to the customers they served. Many companies would begin giving their customers gifts in the form of discounts, perks, or even money. The companies believed that doing this would allow them to build a sense of loyalty in those who brought their products. 

Customer relationship management is the system that is responsible for introducing things such as frequent flyer gifts and credit card points. Before CRM, this was rarely done. Customers would simply by from the company, and little was done to maintain their relationship. Before the introduction of CRM, many companies, especially those that were in the Fortune 500 category, didn't feel the need to cater to the company. In the minds of the executives, they have tremendous resources and could replaces customers whenever it became necessary. While this may have worked prior to the 1980s, the introduction of the Information Age allowed people to make better decisions about which companies they would buy from, and global competition made it easier for them to switch if they were not happy with the service they were getting.

CRM, s Historical journey1980s Database Marketing Emerges1980s Database Marketing helped largerOrganizations rather than smaller organizations.1990s CRM appears as a two way communicationDevice2000s Internet age CRM revolution CRM expandsFrom stagnant storage to ready to use informationStorage2000s used most frequently in financial services, highTech corporations and telecommunications industry

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The History of CRM Software

CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a way for businesses to find potential customers. While the first iterations of CRM were used in the 1980s, it wasn't until the 2000s that it really began to shine. CRM software helps businesses identify and categorize existing customers. This allows them to see the specific demographics their products appeal to, in turn allowing them to market their products more effectively

Before CRM1. Before CRM, businesses did very little to retain customers after the

purchase, Many companies, especially larger ones, didn't feel any need to cater to the customers. Executives and higher-ups had the mentality that they could easily replace their customers. Though this may have been partially true in the past, upon entering the Information Age, everything changed. Beginning in the 1980's, customers began to become more aware of the products they buy, their alternative choices and the companies from which they bought.

In the Beginning2. Businesses in the 1980's began using databases to track existing and

potential customers. This is what eventually led to the creation of CRM software. Referred to as "database marketing," this method entailed sending out surveys to customers and holding focus groups. However, many drawbacks existed with this particular method. For instance, while companies could collect the data, processing, analyzing and interpreting it was a very difficult and time-consuming task.

The 1990s3. In the 1990s, the term "Customer Relationship Management" was first

coined. The 90s truly saw CRM technology and software evolve out of simple database marketing. Unlike in the past, companies were beginning to use CRM as a means to also give back to the customer. For example, many credit card and airline companies offered incentives such as reward points or frequent flyer miles. These programs were designed, not only to get new customers, but to improve customer loyalty by giving back to the customer.

The Early 2000s4. While the 90s saw an evolution in the concept of CRM itself, the early

2000s are when CRM as software really evolved. In the first few years of the

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21st century software companies began releasing improved, easier-to-use and more affordable CRM software solutions. Often customizable, this newer CRM software applied to many fields, as each could modify it to for their specific needs. This newer software also helped CRM mature, as companies could then collect more varied levels of information and process it much faster and more efficiently than in the past.

CRM Today5. CRM software is now primarily used in the customer service and technology

industries, Financial institutions, technological businesses and the telecommunications industry typically use CRM software more than other industries and fields. Unlike CRM software in the past, which offered static, or no changing, information, newer CRM software's information is dynamic, able to adjust and change as customers and their needs do, which is important when you consider that the world and people in it are, themselves, dynamic.

CRM Introduction

CRM, refers to Customer Relationship Management, has it origin in the Contact Management in 1980s. The aim is to establish a management mechanism to improve the relationship between enterprise and customer. As a business strategy, CRM effectively organize the enterprise resource in the department of marketing, sales and support; as the customer-centered management strategy with the information technology, the system intends to redesign the business function, recombine the work flow, and upgrade the satisfaction degree to appeal the customer, in order to gain profit. CRM exists as the management system in early times, but as the mature idea and technology in the management mechanism, it merges and rises in recent years. CRM software which supports this management mechanism became

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the sunrise industry in the software market and regard as the emerging technology which improve the enterprise management after ERP. The enterprises all over the world undergo a profound conversion because of CRM, which related to the communication and interaction between enterprise and customer or potential customer. Information technology and Internet not only change the management and operating mode but also impact the competitive capability. If ERP help the enterprise to optimize the internal management flow and other resources, CRM make the external resource especially the customer resource to be fully utilized, in order to boost the enterprise development.The origin and development of CRM inspired by three aspects: pull the demand, promote the information technology and renovate the management idea. In the aspect of demand, business flow reorganization (BRP) and ERP achieve the goal of optimizing and automating the flow in the field of production, inventory, finance and current of materials in 1980s. But the field of sales, paying not much attention to the marketing and after-sales service could result in the incomplete recognition of the customer and dealing with them without unified information. On the other hand, it is important for enterprise to keep regular customer and win new ones. This gave birth to the inconsistent behavior between reality and demand.The function of CRM could be reduced to three aspects: to base the business flow of sales, marketing and customer service on information; to integrate and automatically deal with the communication technology, (such as telephone, fax, Internet and Email, etc.); to process data of the above aspects and intelligent manage the customer, so as to offer support to the strategic decision.

CRM, or Customer relationship management, is a number of strategies and technologies that are used to build stronger relationships between companies and their customers. A company will store information that is related to their customers, and they will spend time analyzing it so that it can be used for this purpose.

Some of the methods connected with CRM are automated, and the purpose of this is to create marketing strategies which are targeted towards specific customers. The strategies used will be dependent on the information that is contained within the system. Customer relationship management is commonly used by corporations, and they will focus on maintaining a strong relationship with their clients. 

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There are a number of reasons why CRM has become so important in the last 10 years. The competition in the global market has become highly competitive, and it has become easier for customers to switch companies if they are not happy with the service they receive. One of the primary goals of CRM is to maintain clients. When it is used effectively, a company will be able to build a relationship with their customers that can last a lifetime. Customer relationship management tools will generally come in the form of software. Each software program may vary in the way it approaches CRM. It is important to realize that CRM is more than just a technology. 

Customer relationship management could be better defined as being a methodology, an approach that a company will use to achieve their goals. It should be directly connected to the philosophy of the company. It must guide all of its policies, and it must be an important part of customer service and marketing. If this is not done, the CRM system will become a failure. There are a number of things the ideal CRM system should have. It should allow the company to find the factors that interest their customers the most. A company must realize that it is impossible for them to succeed if they do not cater to the desires and needs of their customers. Customer relationship management is a powerful system that will allow them to do this. 

It is also important for the CRM system to foster a philosophy that is oriented towards the customers. While this may sound like common sense, there are a sizeable number of companies that have failed to do it, and their businesses suffered as a result. With CRM, the customer is always right, and they are the most important factor in the success of the company. It is also important for the company to use measures that are dependent on their customers. This will greatly tip the odds of success in their favor. While CRM should not be viewed as a technology, it is important to realize that there are end to end processes that must be created so that customers can be properly served. In many cases, these processes will use computers and software. 

Customer support is directly connected to CRM. If a company fails to provide quality customer support, they have also failed with their CRM system. When a customer makes complaints, they must be handled quickly and efficiently. The company should also seek to make sure those mistakes are not repeated. When sales are made, they should be tracked so that the company can analyze them from various aspects. It is also important to understand the architecture of Customer relationship management. The

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architecture of CRM can be broken down into three categories, and these are collaborative, operational, and analytical. The collaborative aspect of CRM deals with communication between companies and their clients.

Types of CRM are:

I. AnalyticalII. Collaborative

III. OperationalIV. GeographicV. Sales intelligence

Analytical CRMo In analytical CRM, data gathered within operational CRM

and/or other sources are analyzed toSegment customers or to identify potential to enhance client relationship.

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o Analysis of Customer data may relate to one or more of the following analyses:

1. Contact channel optimization

2. Contact Optimization

3. Customer Segmentation4.Customer Satisfaction Measurement / Increase5. Sales Coverage Optimization

Collaborative CRM

Collaborative CRM facilitates interactions with customers through all channels (personal, letter, fax, phone, web, e-mail) and supports co-ordination of employee teams and channels. It is a solution that brings people; processes and data together so companies can better serve and retain their customers.

Operational CRM

Operational CRM means supporting the so-called "front office" business processes, which include customer contact (sales, marketing and service). Tasks resulting from these processes are forwarded to employees responsible for them, as well as the information necessary for carrying out the tasks and interfaces to back-end applications are being provided and activities with customers are being documented for further reference

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Geographic CRM

Geographic CRM (GCRM) is a customer relation management information system which collaborates geographic information system and traditional CRM.

GCRM combines data collected from route of movement, types of residence, ambient trading areas and other customer and marketing information which are matched with relevant road conditions, building formations, and a floating population. Such data are conformed to a map and is regionally analyzed with OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) for visualization. This enables a company to examine potential customers and manage existing customers in the region.

Sales Intelligence CRM

Sales Intelligence CRM is very similar to Analytical CRM, but it is intended as a more direct sales tool. Features include the delivery of "alerts" to sales people based on analysis of such factors as:

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Cross-sell/Up-sell/Switch-sell opportunities Customer Drift Sales performance, good and bad Customer trends Customer margins

Customer Relationship Management evaluation:

When talking about relationship management in the context of software solutions, most people think of customer relationship management (CRM). However, relationships also exist between companies and their vendors, companies and their customers, vendors and their suppliers, employees, different departments of the same company, and so on. The Relationship Management Evaluation Center concentrates on CRM and supplier relationship management (SRM), as software and information and communication technology (ICT) play a major role in facilitating effective relationship management among all parties involved.

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Functionality:

CRM is to achieve the goal of customer management, sales, and market analysis to enterprise, family and individual.A. Customer management refers to the overall events with the customers, including the activity and deal of at a time and look at customer credit and information, etc.

How to implement CRM

Customer relationship management (“CRM”) is a term that refers to two things:

A company’s strategy for managing leads and customer data Software that manages that data

The implementation of a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy is best treated as a six-stage process, moving from collecting information about your customers and processing it to using that information to improve your marketing and the customer experience.

Stage 1 - Collecting information

The priority should be to capture the information you need to identify your customers and categories their behavior. Those businesses with a website and online customer service have an advantage as customers can enter and maintain their own details when they buy.

Stage 2 - Storing information

The most effective way to store and manage your customer information is in a relational database - a centralized customer database that will allow you to run all your systems from the same source, ensuring that everyone uses up-to-date information.

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Stage 3 - Accessing information

With information collected and stored centrally, the next stage is to make this information available to staff in the most useful format.

Stage 4 - Analyzing customer behavior

Using data mining tools in spreadsheet programs, which analyze data to identify patterns or relationships, you can begin to profile customers and develop sales strategies.

Stage 5 - Marketing more effectively

Many businesses find that a small percentage of their customers generate a high percentage of their profits. Using CRM to gain a better understanding of your customers' needs, desires and self-perception, you can reward and target your most valuable customers.

Stage 6 - Enhancing the customer experience

Just as a small group of customers are the most profitable, a small number of complaining customers often take up a disproportionate amount of staff time. If their problems can be identified and resolved quickly, your staff will have more time for other customers.

If you are collecting, using and processing personal information covered by the Data Protection Act you must comply with the data protection principles. See our guide on privacy and data protection in direct marketing.

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Uses of CRM in industry:

According to one industry view, CRM consists of:

Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team.

Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes (for example, taking orders using mobile devices)

Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them the highest level of service.

Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers understand and identify customer needs and effectively build relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners.

Many organizations turn to CRM software to help them manage their customer relationships. CRM technology is offered on-premise, on-demand or through Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM, depending on the vendor. Recently, mobile CRM and the open source CRM software model have also become more popular.

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Use OF CRM:

Here are three examples of how different companies can use CRM:

ENTERPRISE CRMMID-MARKET CRM

SMALL COMPANY CRM

Company A is a national insurance company that sells direct to consumers and uses a single CRM system. Thousands of sales reps across the country log in, enter prospect data and use the system to manage their sales activities. At regional and corporate offices, many departments use the data to run-real time reports – revenue projections, sales

Company B’s 60 employees use CRM to manage 1,200 customer records and thousands of prospects. The system links to the “request information” form on the company’s website; leads are intelligently routed directly to the sales rep for that territory. The CRM links to the company’s accounting software. When orders appear in the CRM system, they also

Company C has four sales reps, two account managers and a marketing manager. They use a web-based system and pay per user per month. They started with a simple version and upgraded when they needed more functionality. Their system tracks leads by campaign, assigns leads to sales reps, tracks activity, estimates revenue, launches and measures

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metrics, customer growth, customer satisfaction, and ROI for marketing campaigns – to effectively manage the business.

appear in the appropriate financial reports. The operations team uses the system to fulfill orders and track shipping and service history.

marketing campaigns, and stores templates for sales letters, emails and presentations.

Every company needs to store this information somewhere, and there are CRM products with very simple functionality and complex multimillion-dollar versions. When you use the right CRM system, you gain knowledge and power to keep your team on track and measure progress against goals..

CRM circle in Organization:

There is a universal, underlying cycle of activity that should drive all CRM initiatives and infrastructure development. All initiatives and infrastructure development should somehow be tied to this core cycle of activity.

As a cycle, the stages are interdependent and continuous. As you move from one stage to the next, you gain insight and understanding that enhances your subsequent efforts. You become increasingly sophisticated in your implementation of CRM processes and, over time, become increasingly profitable by doing so.

As shown in the Figure 1, for any organization, business starts with the acquisition of customers. However, any successful CRM initiative is highly dependent on a solid understanding of customers. Thus, our discussion will start there.

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Figure 1: CRM Cycle

Understand and DifferentiateWe cannot have a relationship with customers unless we understand them what they value, what types of service are important to them, how and when they like to interact, and what they want to buy. True understanding is based on a combination of detailed analysis and interaction. Several activities are important:

Profiling to understand demographics, purchase patterns and channel preference.

Segmentation to identify logical unique groups of customers that tend to look alike and behave in a similar fashion. While the promise of "one-to-one" marketing sounds good, we have not seen many organizations that have mastered the art of treating each customer uniquely. Identification of actionable segments is a practical place to start.

Primary research to capture needs and attitudes. Customer valuation to understand profitability, as well as lifetime value or

long-term potential. Value may also be based on the customer's ability or inclination to refer other profitable customers.

Analysis and research alone, however, are insufficient. To create and foster a relationship, we have to act on what we learn about customers. Customers need to see that we are differentiating our service and communications based both on what we've learned independently and on what they've told us.

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At the same time, differentiation should be based on the value customers are expected to deliver.

Develop and CustomizeIn the product-oriented world of yesterday, companies developed products and services and expected customers to buy them. In a customer-focused world, product and channel development have to follow the customer's lead. Organizations are increasingly developing products and services, and even new channels, based on customer needs and service expectations.

Most organizations today are not able to cost-effectively customize products for individual customers. However, products, services, channels and media can be customized based on the needs of quantitative customer segments. The extent of customization should be based on the potential value delivered by the customer segment.

Interact and DeliverInteraction is also a critical component of a successful CRM initiative. It is important to remember that interaction doesn't just occur through marketing and sales channels and media; customers interact in many different ways with many different areas of the organization including distribution and shipping, customer service and online.

To foster relationships, organizations need to insure that:

All areas of the organization have easy access to relevant, actionable customer information.

All areas are trained how to use customer information to tailor interactions based on both customer needs and potential customer value.

With access to information and appropriate training, organizations will be prepared to steadily increase the value they deliver to customers. Delivering value is a cornerstone of the relationship. And remember, value is not just based on the price of the product or the discounts offered. In fact, customer perceptions of value are based on a number of factors including the quality of products and services, convenience, speed, ease of use, responsiveness and service excellence.

Acquire and RetainThe more we learn about customers, the easier it is to pinpoint those that are producing the greatest value for the organization. Those are the customers and customer segments that we want to clone in our prospecting and acquisition efforts. And, because we continue to learn about what is valuable to each segment, we'll be much more likely to score a "win" with the right

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channel, right media, right product, right offer, right timing and most relevant message.

Successful customer retention basically involves getting it "right" on an ongoing basis.

Successful customer retention is based very simply on the organization's ability to constantly deliver on three principles:

Maintain interaction; never stop listening. Continue to deliver on the customer's definition of value. Remember that customers change as they move through differing life

stages; be alert for the changes and be prepared to modify the service and value proposition as they change.

And so the cycle continues. As you move from one stage to the next, you gain insight and understanding that enhances your subsequent efforts. Your development initiatives simultaneously become increasingly sophisticated as does your implementation of CRM processes.

 CRM Best Practices With the support of technology, the goal of CRM is to have a 360-degree view of the customer which will enable you to improve the quality and satisfaction of each customer interaction and maximize the profitability of your customer relationships... a win/win for both you and your customers. Depending on how you look at it, CRM can be practiced in companies at different levels. It can be practiced at the organizational level (ideally). It can be practiced at a customer facing level - anything that has to do with interactions with customers, marketing, sales and service. Or It can be practiced at the very functional level, like in a call center within a sales force, etc. While we can look at CRM on many different levels, our definition of CRM is at a strategic level i.e. an organizational level. CRM is similar to customer loyalty and relationship marketing in that the goal is to move your customer from a transactional interaction to an

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emotional relationship. The two components most often missing from loyalty and relationship marketing being: a) technology and b) the management of relationships with other members of the business network: affiliates, branches, employees etc. - i.e. recognizing your customer as a customer through any channel. The term CRM, arguably, was first put into the public domain around 1993, when Tom Siebel came up with it. So it is closely connected to Siebel Systems - an IT company. Hence the problem. Many executives are under the misconception that CRM is principally an IT implementation... which explains many of its failures -- and there have been many of them. If technology is applied to a faulty business strategy, all that is going to happen is that the company is going to become more efficient at doing the wrong things. If the core business strategy isn't put right first, you'll have failure. As we view CRM more as a strategy than a process... get the business strategy right first. Decide which customers or segments to target. Develop sensible customer acquisition, retention and development plans. Sort out the channel strategy first (direct or indirect) then sort out which products, services, bundles of value to offer the chosen customers. Once that's in position, then start looking for IT to support it -- but not until then. We spoke earlier about putting your customer at the heart of your business. Part of that process involves developing a "relationship" with your customer. How your customers define that relationship will vary. As the CRM marketer, it is up to you to find out what's important to that customer. At the end of the day, you want to be able to answer the question: "What’s the “one thing” that is distinctive about my customer relationships? As we are in a business of one sort or another, our goal as marketers, is to have CRM help us acquire, grow and retain profitable customer relationships to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Without a doubt, customer loyalty is a key driver of profitability. Creating customer loyalty must be an integral part of your organization's strategy - particularly in a time of industry consolidation. Understanding customers' requirements is fundamental to business success.

The most important basis for strategy development, however, is a comprehensive understanding of what drives customer loyalty and how

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strong those drivers are. The key to understanding what drives your customers' loyalty lies in finding answers to the following questions:

How does our business define customer loyalty?  Are our customers loyal? To what extent or intensity?  How do we create, build or earn customer loyalty?  How can we use customer loyalty strategically and tactically for

positioning?

The first step in answering these questions is to measure both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In working toward a thorough understanding of your customer, begin by looking at why your customers leave. Profitable CRM projects start by understanding customer needs.

Case study

1)Goldmine Premium Edition CRM software Bradford College CRM Case Study

As CRM in the Education sector becomes more and more popular, so does making sure you choose a business partner that understands the needs of educational institutions.Bradford College appointed Concentrix as their new CRM business partner to help improve employer engagement, streamline internal processes and provide a solid, reliable CRM system.

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Summary

This case study describes how the Concentrix CRM solution enabled Bradford College to:

Use technology to support employer engagement, the Train to Gain initiative, and help them achieve the Training Quality Standard

Provide users with a solid, reliable system which they could extend throughout the organization

More effectively engage with local employers and compete with other training providers

Reduce silos of information through a central database

Efficiently capture, store and report on accurate, relevant data

Bradford College is one of the largest Further Education Colleges in the UK, and the largest provider of higher education outside of the university sector in England. The college has been delivering quality education and training for over 175 years. It's earned a national reputation in a variety of areas and offers a wide range of educational courses.

As well as receiving the TQS Part A certification, Bradford College has also received TQS Part B's in Healthcare and Beauty and Complimentary Therapy demonstrating they have expertise delivering in these sectors. The College is also working towards securing the Part B in Building Services Engineering.

Key Strategy

One of Bradford College's key strategies is to engage with the local business community to provide training for employees. By developing its employer facing unit, Total Training Solutions, Bradford College offers services to business to help them improve productivity and competitiveness by ensuring staff have the right skills to do the best job.

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Total Training Solutions specialize in the design and delivery of cost effective, tailored training solutions to meet the needs of individual businesses. It offers a range of training services to employers, including Train to Gain.

Objectives

For organizations in the education sector, an effective CRM system is a vital component in a successful employer engagement strategy, as well as helping towards a variety of quality standards and accreditations. To support the Colleges Employer Engagement Strategy, the Train to Gain initiative, and to help achieve the Training Quality Standard, Bradford College approached Concentrix.

Before approaching Concentrix, Bradford College had had a rocky start with CRM. The college had invested in a CRM system with another business partner (unrelated to Concentrix). Unfortunately, the other business partner had not managed the project well, leaving the software poorly configured and staff inadequately trained, with limited in-house system administration and insufficient support. The results were an ineffective CRM system that was largely unused.

Getting CRM Right

Concentrix has a long list of satisfied clients in the education sector. It was through strong recommendation from another academic institution that Bradford College decided to contact Concentrix.

To ensure the colleges CRM project was successful, the first stage of the project was Concentrix undertaking a full scoping exercise. This included an analysis of the college's database, their existing systems, software and IT infrastructure, the objectives of their CRM strategy and potential future requirements.

Recommendations

Bradford College's previous CRM business partner had installed an old version of the popular CRM system GoldMine from FrontRange Solutions (GoldMine Corporate Edition). As an independent CRM specialist, Concentrix was able to take an unbiased view of the CRM

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software Bradford College was using, along with its implementation, configuration and design.

Although Concentrix had successfully implemented GoldMine Corporate Edition in many organizations throughout the UK, after investigating the college's requirements fully, Concentrix recommended they upgrade to a later, more advanced version: GoldMine Premium Edition. Concentrix also recommended that they build a new database for the College, which Concentrix would design and configure specifically to the college's requirements.

The CRM Solution

GoldMine Premium Edition has an easy to use, intuitive interface. It's a fully functional CRM solution built specifically to provide users with the information they need quickly and easily, while boosting productivity and providing a fully comprehensive view of the customer.

Because the College had previously purchased an older version of GoldMine, Concentrix could provide significant discounts on upgrade licences. So, rather than move to completely new CRM software, Concentrix recommended GoldMine Premium Edition as the sensible solution for the employer engagement team at Bradford College.

Concentrix deployed the new system using their proven CRM project methodology. Before implementing GoldMine Premium and building a new database, Concentrix produced a scoping document and deployment plan, and archived the existing database. Configuring the new system included adding a number of new fields specifically to help Goldmine support the College's Employer Engagement Strategy more effectively.

During the project, Concentrix paid special attention to user training, ensuring all of the staff who was to use the system was not only comfortable and fully competent with the software, but were also fully aware of the benefits it would deliver. In this way Concentrix worked with Bradford College to achieve buy-in from the users; an essential component in the success of any CRM project.

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Concentrix also delivered administrator training, which meant the college would no longer be dependent on a third party for the day to day running of the system.

The Results

Concentrix implemented the system on time and on-budget, completing the project in plenty of time for the College wide TQS inspection. Above all, through comprehensive training and well-executed change management, all users 'bought in' to the system. The new CRM system soon became an integral part of user’s daily working life.As well as having a centralized source of information, the new system has delivered greatly improved business processes increasing the efficiency throughout the department. Because Concentrix configured the software and database so it captures the correct data, users can quickly and easily enter and rely on the information for comprehensive and accurate reporting.

The redesigned, reconfigured, redeployed and upgraded CRM system now provides the tools the employer engagement team needs to achieve their goals. In fact, Bradford College has been so successful it was awarded the Training Quality Standard - the highest training accolade possible and endorsement of its excellent work with employers.

The Future

Just eight months after implementing the system for the college's employer engagement team, Bradford College contacted Concentrix to extend the system to its Health and Safety department. This included specific configuration of GoldMine Premium to the department's particular requirements, including screens that only users within that department could access.

Today, Bradford College is talking to Concentrix about potentially extending the use of GoldMine Premium to other departments, making the system web-accessible, and streamlining processes within the organization even further.

2nd Case study

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2) Michigan's leading new home builder chooses Lasso for sales and marketing software solution.

Lasso Data Systems, the leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions for the home building industry, is delighted to announce that Singh Homes, a Michigan-based real estate developer, has selected Lasso for their real estate sales and marketing technology solution. Lasso software is specifically designed for homebuilders and developers.

“We researched CRM systems and Lasso was the clear leader; it’s easy to use and it has a great interface with extensive reporting capabilities,” said Cathy Doig, Principal, Decision Real Estate, the company responsible for sales and marketing of Singh Homes, “Lasso addresses all our homebuilder needs in terms of data collection, easy linkage of registrants to one another and various detailed reports,” added Doig. “We also really appreciate the enthusiastic support and training from the Lasso Client Services team. The Lasso team took the time to show us every aspect of Lasso CRM.”

At any one time, Singh Homes is selling homes in multiple communities accommodating first time buyers as well as empty-nesters and senior-living options. Real estate CRM software, such as Lasso, has become a requirement for homebuilders and developers as they develop and enhance their online marketing presence and define their sales processes for new home prospects.

“We are extremely pleased to have Singh Homes select Lasso as their CRM solution and we are excited to work with their team to maximize the benefits of technology,” stated Dave Clements, Lasso Data Systems CEO. “Our goal is to deliver great value, make decision‐making easy and offer a simple setup process so our clients can quickly get going with Lasso in days, rather than weeks or months.”

About Singh Homes:

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Singh is a nationally ranked builder/developer that provides exceptional residential housing and commercial properties. The business venture began in southeast Michigan in 1973 with the development of a first home subdivision and apartment community. Today, Singh has become a multifaceted business by successfully developing and building upscale apartment communities, luxury single family subdivisions and homes, Walton wood senior living communities and premier commercial properties. Singh Homes has three corporate offices in Michigan, North Carolina, and in India. Singh's strategy is to design, build and market high quality real estate developments, as well as manage and retain ownership of revenue producing properties in premier locations. The company's success comes from thoughtfully conceived developments, careful planning, hands-on management, quality construction and astute marketing

About Lasso Data Systems:

Lasso Data Systems is the leading developer of innovative "on-demand" home builder CRM software for builders and developers. Lasso, deployed on over 1,200 projects globally, equips real estate developers, builders and sales agencies to convert prospects to purchasers and to sell their developments faster and easier. The company's software manages potential homebuyers online from interest list to occupancy including marketing, sales, inventory and contract management. Lasso works equally well for diverse developments from urban high-rise to suburban townhomes, single and master planned communities, golf, mountain and ocean resorts and condo-hotels. Lasso is designed for ease of use, rapid deployment and pay by usage, project by project to maximize each client's ROI and reduce their technology and financial risk. Lasso is a privately held company headquartered in Vancouver

BENEFITS OF CRM SYSTEM:

Customer relationships are becoming even more important for banks as market conditions get harder. Competition is increasing, margins are eroding, customers are becoming more demanding and the life-cycles of products and services are shortening dramatically. All these forces make it necessary for banks to intensify the relationship with their customers and

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offer them the services they need via the channels they prefer. CRM helps banks to provide lot of benefits to their customers; some key benefits are as follow.

Service provisioning throughout the entire life cycle of the corporate customer, from the initial stages to the establishment of a close, long-term relationship with profitable clients,

Optimization of the use of bank resources, such as alternative channels of distribution (internet and home banking),

Significant reduction in and limitation of operational costs through system automation and standardization,

Low maintenance and expansion costs owing to the use of modern administration tools which allow bank employees to make a wide range of modifications to the system.

CRM permits businesses to leverage information from their databases to achieve customer retention and to cross-sell new products and services to existing customers.

Companies that implement CRM make better relationships with their customers, achieve loyal customers and a substantial payback, increased revenue and reduced cost.

CRM when successfully deployed can have a dramatic effect on bottom-line performance.

According to a study conducted in the sector of banking, convenience of location, price, recommendations from others and advertising are not important selection criteria for banks. From customers’ point of view, important criteria are: account and transaction accuracy and carefulness, efficiency in correcting mistakes and friendliness and helpfulness of personnel. Thus, CRM, high-quality attributes of the product / service and differentiation proved to be the most important factors for customers.

Another study conducted in a European bank shows that with CRM, the bank was able to focus on profitable clients through efficient segmentation

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according to individual behavior. Information about ‘who buys what and how much’ enabled the bank to have a commercial approach based on the client and not solely on the product. Thus, the bank was able to better satisfy and retain its customers. Lindgreen and Antioco , ( 2005 )Eventually, CRM results both in higher revenues and lower costs, making companies more effective and efficient: effective in targeting the right customer base with the right services via the right channels, and efficient in doing this at the lowest costs. For example, those banks that are moving transactions from the more expensive channels to a less costly channel – like the call centre or Internet are therefore able to save money.

Give customer-facing employees the best tools available

Give your sales and service professionals the chance to deliver stellar

customer service every time they are in a call or at a customer site. With

optimally configured software solutions from Microsoft Business Solutions,

they can find information quickly, answer customer questions satisfactorily,

and ensure that your business fulfills or exceeds customer commitments.

Deliver high-quality service at all times

Happy customers generate return business, referrals, and excellent visibility

for your business. You want to make doing business with your company

efficient and rewarding for them—track customer preferences, be aware of

their account histories, and resolve any issues promptly. Microsoft Business

Solutions can empower your people to streamline customer communications

and interactions, offer timely, reliable information, and demonstrate yourOrganization’s accountability.Boost sales and service performance

Automation of business tasks can go a long way towards streamlining sales

and customer service processes, shortening sales cycles, and maintaining

consistent quality and productivity on your sales and service teams. In

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addition, Microsoft Business Solutions offerings allow you to review and

enhance the performance of individual sales and service employees as well

as entire teams, forecast and plan sales activity, and act on new business

opportunities

SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

Sales Force Automation is a technique of using software to automate the

business tasks of sales, including order processing, contact management,

information sharing, inventory monitoring and control, order tracking,

customer management, sales forecast analysis and employee performance

evaluation.SFA is often used interchangeably with CRM; however, CRM does not necessarily implyAutomation of sales tasks.

Sales Force Automation offers you the most powerful and advanced CRM

solution to empower your sales force team. Combined with major e-

Marketing features for today’s highly competitiveE-Business marketplace, this powerful sales automation tool will give your teama strong edge over competitors.

With Sales Force Automation you can get quick responses from your

customers, find out their interests and anticipate their future demand for your

product and/or services, which will greatly enhance your CRM.

Sales Force Automation is a low cost template-based online solution. Follow

our step-by-step guide to complete your program just in a few clicks. Don't

wait, start today and experience the power for yourself.

BENEFITS OF SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

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Manage all sales opportunitiesImmediately create a new opportunity list and turn every lead into a hot prospect. Follow-upusing the sales management tool and maximize the number of closed deals.Forecast revenues accurately

Because the sales information is being continuously updated in real time,

everyone on your team, including your outside sales force team will have a

clear understanding of future events, and can appropriately forecast product

needs and better understands customer demand.Close more dealsSales Force Automation will help company enhance the efficiency of sales process and giveSales team the tool to collaborate and transform sales prospects into profitable customers.Interactive and consistent customer leads and deal managementSecure team-wide access to detailed account data will provide easy collaboration among salesForce, customer service & support teams, and marketing personnel.Better understanding of customer needs and long term demands

Analyze current and archived sales data, which can allow company to

immediately see changes in customer demands and future needs. Anticipate

customers' demands before they happen and be ready for a successful future

Conclusion:

For any business, successful Customer Relationship Management navigation is becoming increasingly important in today’s competitive business world. Customer expectations are always increasing, and business services must increase along with these expectations. CRM is the method through which businesses can connect with their customers and therefore serve them better. Businesses with successful CRM strategy and applications will notice a large increase in sales, customer satisfaction, and simply the overall success of the business.

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o CRM is- to listen and learn, not tell and sell. o ECRM boosts the energy in company. o Strongest tool in retaining the customers

Today, CRM systems often present information in terms of maps, charts and graphs that are generated by report writers and visual profiling programs. Tomorrow, there will be voice-activated and speech-feedback tools, as well as other more elaborate visual aids using 3-D and CAD-style graphics. Armed with their own calculators and self-help systems, front-line workers will be able to quickly find answers to assist customers in their purchase decisions. The use of knowledge databases and artificial intelligence (AI) will make a comeback to allow the front line to focus on assessing the problem and quickly communicating a solution.

In our opinion, the idea of CRM is outstanding. Sales reps need access to real time data and real time order entry capabilities to better serve their customers. However the implementation of these ideas does not necessarily have to be costly. we’ve seen that it is the sales force that is driving the purchase of CRM systems, not the back office accounting folks. If the back office accounting folks are the key promoters of CRM, you can usually trace their enthusiasm back to pressure from the sales team. Our advice is to definitely use a contact management system of some kind, but give some consideration to accomplishing what you need by providing everyone in your organization with password protected and limited access to the data that is already contained in your accounting system.

References:

http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/crm/crm-introduction.html

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http://www.concentrix.co.uk/software/crm/case-studies/goldmine-premium-bradford-college/

http://www.zeelabs.com/CRM.htm

http://www.crmnewz.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/crm

http://www.crystaldecisions.com/

Merchantos.com.

CRM-Software-Guide.com

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