Big Problems in CRM?

mguerra
Member

Posted 28-Jun-2004 03:50 PM
What do you consider to be some of the big problems in CRM?

Edwin Setzpfand
Member Council
Member

Posted 28-Sep-2005 06:42 AM
Mguerra,

If in CRM—in a nutshell—we want to conduct our business in such a way that our processes fit as a glove to the part of each customer's process that's interacting with us .. and thereby being flexible, proactive, responsive, friendly, etc., etc...

Then in order to enable such behaviour, we must transform and maybe re-invent our own processes from the inside out to make them truly customer-fitting, or customer-driven;

Often it is being overlooked that this is a strategic issue that needs to be initiated and driven from the executive level via every customer-facing operation down to each relevant back-office desk, rather than as an ICT excercise alone (as we too often can see from questions posted on this Forum) ...

Explore the Forum to find your answers ..

Success,

Edwin

Vishal Sarkar
Member Council
Member

Posted 03-Oct-2005 09:23 AM
Mguerra,

Alongwith the problem of being overlooked as a strategic initiative, other challenges to making a CRM initiative successful involve

- Getting top management endorsement and continuous support

- Re-aligning business processes to be customer oriented

- Training the front line support staff to be customer centric

Technology today, in fact, is least of the problem. It is figuring out how to best use the technology avaialble which is really important.

Explore the Think Tank to see what others have to say about your query.

Best,

Vishal

Helmar
Member

Posted 07-Oct-2005 02:28 AM

The reality on the ground, however, is that often it's driven bottom-up rather than top-down, as those in top management positions are usually not those with a particular affinity to people. They are usually numbers people. I know I am generalising, but alas.

From my point of view, the biggest problem in CRM echos Erwin's, namely: "we must transform and maybe reinvent our own processes from the inside out to make them truly customer-fitting, or customer-driven" That, however, is where it usually goes wrong, because what may sound simple on paper is a massive undertaking, especially in those (largely self-serving, faceless and psychopathic) conglomerates, where it's almost impossible to turn them inside out.

This leads to an old point of mine: the problem with CRM is actually one that isn't part of CRM. It's based in the company ownership, which again is based on the capitalist system. There it's really only about money, about ever-increasing profits and growth, about a system that is throroughly unsustainable to any but the most unenlightened, ignorant and greedy. Now we all know that this flies full in the face of CRM, unless your CRM is really SMCFL (screw more customers for less).

In summary: CRM as such doesn't have problems, only issues. Those issues can be overcome with relative ease. The real problem is a fundamental one, because it's of a different nature and not really controllable by those in Marketing, IT or Management.

And all that brings us to the irony and feebleness of it all. CRM, the way it was devised in the US, was not what it was supposed to be. It was just another 'buzz' to extend the life of an already terminally ill patient. Now, almost a decade later, do the nurses realise the following:

1) that the medicine ("CRM") they wanted to administer to help the patient recover turned out be his very undoing.

2) that the patient as he was lying there on life-support is not worth administering the real CRM to.

3) that it's almost impossible to fix up the patient so that he can start benefitting from and appreciating the real CRM.

4) that this is really an unwinnable battle unless the meta environment the patient exists in ("society") is initiating the paradigm shift at the same time.

As with life in general, a few nurses realise the implications this has on their own life and move on to hospitals or other places where their caring makes a real difference, while the majority keeps treading water, keeps wondering why the medicine doesn't work, while the patient keeps fading, but not without doing its utmost to insult and mistreat the very same people looking after him.

Life's a bitch, eh? Wink

Helmar

--
Helmar Rudolph helps companies succeed with their CRM-related business transformation process by utilising his unique "Diamond CRM" framework.

http://www.helmar.org

copparapu bobby(choudesh)
Member

Posted 21-Feb-2006 07:04 AM
Often it is being overlooked that this is a strategic issue that needs to be initiated and driven from the executive level via every customer-facing operation down to each relevant back-office desk
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I try to put forward a few words regarding the customer satisfaction and operation down to back-office desk. Mostly it depends on the forecasting and demand planning process.

Forecasting & Demand Planning of the Market

It is one of the very important strategy to build the organization more stronger than other companies in other words, we can say "competitors". This forecasting can be done through several ways.

(1) Survey Process
(2) Campaign Process
(3) Requirement Gathering
(4) Lapses in the market
(5) Seasonal approach

Let us discuss each one in detail, which could bring some idea to experience the forecast.

(I) Survey Process: The survey process is very fundamental; most of companies have this approach. It will be in several forms.

1. Telephonic Survey
2. Application Survey
3. Plebiscite
4. Door-to-Door
5. Internet or Web-based
6. Adds or Advertisements in Media (ex: Radio, Tv etc)

1. Telephonic Survey : Now-a-days, companies are surveying through Telephones, as part of survey to know the pulse of the pubic. This has been now implemented as "Tele-marketing" Process, where these centers are equipped with high-level data warehouse process to feed all kinds of information for thorough checking if needs. Even the Call-centers process for such demand planning or customer services were being implemented through this Telecommunication technology.

2. Application Survey has its own defective mechanism, but still people or organizations are also prefer to gather the information about the importance of products, how they are helping the customer society or the cost effective process or availability of the product in the market or quality checking or any other important information belongs to the competitors will be collected through this process. But there is another process of applying data and having a decision over their opinions or reviews would bring cheer to the company or organization.

3. Plebiscite system is playing remarkable role, in the area of collecting
opinions regarding the market or about the products or competitor’s products etc. In fact, the "Plebiscite" is also administering in the process of elections also to find out results of elections, if held—

4. Door-to-Door review process of the campaign analysis or finding out about
the product vulnerability and also about the how far it could make a successful attempt over the public mind to rise more sales, if not, how or why it could not be a successful product when compared to competitors’ in the market. Even sometimes, a free offer to the public like giving samples to each door and asking their review back about the product and to have unparallel market .

5. Internet or Web Based survey is one of the recent strategy deployed for the Software product selling. But it would go to only to limited group of people to have an access. Because across the lands i.e., states or countries, the survey would not reach at very helpful level. Hence it may be subject or limited to only few people who has an access to the Internet. But this is more likely implementing in the Western and European countries, unlike India.

6. Adds or Advertisements through media viz Radio, Television, Cable
Network etc., would be another source of having survey over the products. Most
Of the companies are getting feedback from the customers and reaching almost everybody any where in the world, nevertheless wherever they are through the help of the media. Hence it is another significant approach to reach the customer to have detailed analysis over the Products and to experience the forecasting.

As we discussed above, the Survey Process works with its 6 components to bring more information about the Forecasting of the market about the product vs. Customer. Now let us discuss another component i.e., Campaign Process.

Campaign Process:

Any campaign process will have mainly four reasons (1) Customer’s
Demand (2) Quality of the Product (3) cost-effectiveness (4) Availability of the product to the customer. Upon these factors the campaign strategy will be determined. In fact, the first campaign when it is held in the market, the raise of sales or the net revenue will indicate the lapses. Hence the organization will be having a basic understanding, why the product could not attract remarkable revenue against the rival products. Therefore, by correcting or taking those precautionary measures, the second campaign will be started to promote sales. In this process of the evaluation, the organization could notice the rise in the sales revenue or loss, by the findings of the difference between the first campaign and second campaign, whether the market was influenced by the product or not ? Technically speaking, it is one of the Key Performance Index process to evaluate how the customer demands the product in the market and to find out whether it with in reach or not ? Here Demand Planning is another question that we which has been discussed above. The product can always be in the market by applying the following strategy., i.e., (1) Discount (2) Customer Interaction. The discount Process can be of two types (1) Per Centage (2) additional plug-in apart from the buying object.

The Customer figure is important to determine the sales for number of products. It could be another great metric to evaluate the pulse of the customer to gauge the Revenue. Usually the customers demand the following: (1). Quality of the Product (2) Delivery in time (3) Low-cost or Right Price (4) Product Availability (5) Prompt Customer Service. Upon serving all these things, the customer Loyalty Index will be more and the Consistent Profitability Index will be shown in the company revenue analysis.

Requirements Gathering:

To access any market, the first thing is to realize what is needed in the market or the requirement of the customer. Let us say, there are five pharmaceutical industries working on the stress-reliving product. Of them, which is the cheapest and does not contain the side effects, when compared to others, will be automatically chosen by the customer. More than this, if the compound would be having another quality apart from the stress releasing and helping in easy digestion and fat reducing, it would be preferred by lot many customers than earlier. In fat, like Lipitor, Paxal, Alpazolam compounds need to buy separately for Fat reducing, Stress relief and good sleep respectively, but if one compound could make the difference, why not it would have a demand in the market ? for example : (later need to incorporate that compound name here).

Lapses in the Market:

Sometimes, the failures in the market taken place to the competitors would be an added advantage for the organization. These lapses can be of two types (1) Product Failure (2) Company’s market sustainability. Sometimes, the market strategy among the competitor’s would be as "your failure is my success". Hence if the products of other companies could not make much revenue or the products may have some of the lapses which also have drawbacks or flaws or side-effects, ultimately we need to take them into our consideration as it is one of the significant strategy to forecast our business based upon them. Secondly the company’s market sustainability, i.e., if there are certain companies competing with us, if their market strategy or financial drawbacks or failure in demand planning or not having enough resources to stand in the market for long time, though the product is good, because of the other failures, the company could not stand for much longer time. Hence such situation would be another advantage for the organization in the competitive market world.

Seasonal Approach:

In the Business World, there is a common saying i.e., "Keep in touch", means always stay closer to the customer and approach them seasonally always. This would reduce the GAP between the company and to the Customer as well. Therefore, the company would have always interactive information process with the customer to forecast the needs or requirements of the customer or to the market. So, it is said for fun-sake in winter "Stay Closer" and "Keep Warmer". This is highly relevant to the Vendor to stay closer and keep always him with a heat to buy the product immediately. This means, it is a strategic enforcement applying over the customer head by playing some sample tricks. Buy one free and get one free, or Buy two and get another one for 50% discount price. All these are examples of reaching to the customer to have successful story over the business.

Thus the experiencing the Forecast through the above said ways are very important to have good business in the company. These two key components (1) Demand Planning (2) Forecasting will play significant role in the Sales Analysis

choudesh copparapu
SFA/CRM/Data Integration specialist
Sea Shells Data Warehouse

shekhar
Member

Posted 21-Feb-2006 11:48 PM
I feel major issues impacting crm today are:

1. one needs to understand and convince one's organization what crm stands for! I have observed through interactions with individuals and organizations that persons managing crm function are either not aware how a crm process or software can facilitate generation of revenue to an organization and thus not able to present or convince the top management to invest in crm!

2. surprisingly some of the top management persons I have come across and who are leading independent profit centers consider crm as a one time activity or investment—in one such forum I had a senior person presenting and talking about introduction of loyalty card to generate repeat purchase—now loyalty card or such options needs to be supported with a very strong systems, processes and people to facilitate revenue—crm is not just an idea to be implemented as a process but a combination of ideas, systems, process and people to back it to add value and ROI.
3. and finally although I personally find crm area of enormous interest there is a major shortage of professionals in the crm in India—we need professionals who feel and think of crm very passionately to make a dent in the market

Helmar
Member

Posted 22-Feb-2006 12:15 AM
Shekhar wrote:

If top management still needs convincing that (the real) CRM is absolutely necessary to make life of both the company and the customer easier, then no amount of lobbying will do. Without top management support, CRM cannot be deployed successfully.

And one can't blame them. They've been brought up with the short-term thinking dominating their minds, and then with a very narrow focus to boot. CRM, as you are pointing out below is so much more and so much wider, so....

... it's not only in India where there is a shortage of professionals. Especially when it comes to CRM we need people who question the status quo, who can think outside the box, who have experience in IT, Marketing and Management, and who can put all that diversity together for those less informed to understand. But those—as you will agree—you can count on one hand. Most are still somewhere on the consulting and/or the IT side, with very little global vision or even social consciousness.

And so... one reapeth as one soweth, which is why 10 years later there is still so much confusion, so much inefficiency, so much time and money wasted, and so little tangible benefit for the customer, who is the 'C' in CRM.

Helmar

--
Helmar Rudolph helps companies succeed with their CRM-related business transformation process by utilising his unique "Diamond CRM" framework.

http://www.helmar.org