CRM Evaluation and Customer Satisfaction

Jesse Hopps

A Customer Relationship Management System, or CRM, is a system that is designed to expand and grow as the relationship with your customers, clients and prospects changes over time. The capabilities of CRM software varies in its scope from simple customer tracking, to live chat capabilities, and to even more complex solutions that integrate data from various sources over a period of time (past and present). This information can be used to predict the future dynamic between your business and your clients. Although CRM has many uses, an increasing number of companies are focusing on customer satisfaction as the main function of this kind of software. However, before you choose one package over the other, you need to know what to look for in the ideal CRM software for your company.

As you might imagine, every company has different needs when it comes to customer relationship management. One huge consideration when evaluating this type of software are the difficulties that can arise throughout the implementation process. You need to ask yourself, “Do we have the experience & capabilities internally to facilitate a successful implementation or do we need to outsource?” It’s obviously more expensive to outsource your implementation in the short term, however, paying a consultant upfront might help you avoid some of the costly mistakes that can add up quickly if you’re system isn’t performing up to par.

In general, if you want your investment in CRM to exceed both your expectations and your colleagues, there are a few things you should look out for. First, as difficult as it may be, try to focus on the features of the software (including user-friendliness) and its ease of integration into your existing systems instead of the initial cost. The simple fact is that CRM software is pricey, but its ability to transform your customer’s experience and improve relationships will help pay for itself.

Keep your eyes open for specific features that the CRM software is capable of. For example, if you want to generate reports and use this data to identify opportunities you need to ensure the capability is part of the software bundle. Also, if the software you are evaluating will not integrate smoothly into your current business platforms, you will be forced to invest a great deal of time reentering client’s contact information, time that could otherwise be spent elsewhere in your business. Make sure the package is built for you. If you are a local business with relatively small transactions, you will not need CRM software to track million-dollar international accounts.

You may have heard negative stories about CRM software failing to deliver on its promises. This can occur if the software did not meet your initial requirements, was purchased before a thorough evaluation of needs was conducted, or if it failed to be implemented properly. Training is also essential for the successful implementation of a CRM program to ensure that every member of your team will embrace the new changes and understands the importance of achieving top-notch customer satisfaction.

If you are looking to put together a business case to obtain support from other decision makers, check out our CRM Business Case Template.

We also have a CRM Vendor Evaluation Template that you can use to conduct an apples-to-apples comparison of your top 3 vendors.

For other great templates to help you evaluate your need for CRM check out our Customer Relationship Management Section @ www.demandmetric.com.

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