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The Key to Success - Customer Management
"Have a nice day." Four little words that are a fixture in every American vocabulary and very often made fun of in the United Kingdom and Europe. The phrase may be fun to chortle at, but perhaps more businesses should follow suit and adopt the fundamental philosophy that lies at the heart of its origin.
Walk into any Wal-Mart (A USA version of Asda and Makro rolled into one) and you will be greeted upon entry and thanked upon exiting by a smiling faced individual who's soul purpose is to compliment you, thank you for your patronage, and give you those four little words, "Have a nice day!"
To most Americans, it would be considered rude and bad business practice to spend their hard earned money on services or goods and then not be offered any thanks and good wishes after doing so. In fact, neglecting this important component may also cause a business to loose that customer.
Claire Cobb, Managing Director of Canonbury Services in London asserts, "The United Kingdom is a service oriented and driven country." "Yet nearly everyone will agree that our customer service quality is extremely low."
Customers should be at the heart of any business. Research has indicated that 80% of all business stems from old customers while the remaining 20% is generated through new. Yet too many are spending money on marketing and advertising in an attempt to capture new customers. What about the 80% you already have sitting in your databases and files virtually staring you in the face?
The equation is simple: No customers = No Profits = No Business.
There is a solution to this problem. This solution is quickly being adopted by numerous companies and has been referred to by various names and acronyms including customer management, customer relationship management, and CRM. No matter how you choose to refer to it, studies consistently show that when approached and used correctly, empowering your staff with the proper tools for CRM can dramatically decrease customer churn and increase customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty. What ensues can only be increased business and increased revenue.
Let us assume you are sold on the importance of improving relationships and better managing your customers. You have reduced the amount of money being spent on marketing and advertising with the intentions of initiating new customer relationships and are ready to begin generating more revenue from existing ones. What is next?
Customer Management and GoldMine expert, Claire Cobb has been working with CRM and GoldMine since its induction into the U.K. "Customer Management products such as GoldMine offer a low cost solution to what could potentially be a very high cost problem."
Even if all of the functionality is not used, a good CRM product, at its most basic form will give businesses the tools to:
- Monitor customer sales habits
- Assess what products or services may be relevant to a particular customer
- Keep every member of the organisation aware of all conversations, emails or any other correspondence with a customer
- Build groups and filters for many tasks including email and mail merges (a feature used by many for newsletters, monthly reports, and special updates)
CRM products are designed to arm businesses with the artillery necessary to battle in this competitive world of commerce. The cost is minimal to implement and maintain and the rewards can be immeasurable. Think of it as the European/UK way of saying, "Have a nice day!" Your customers will appreciate it and thank you in more ways than one. Most importantly they will thank you by staying a customer.
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