What to choose between implementing a CRM system and a Customer Service in terms of development and investment priority? And why should we choose, is not your CRM software the foundation on which Customer Service is based?
And for what purpose do we implement a CRM? To serve Sales and support the growth of the business or to serve the Customer and improve the quality of the Customer Experience? Or to inform Marketing to guide them in the development of new products that meet the new needs of customers and allow the company to increase its turnover?
For all this, right? So, “foundation” is perhaps the key word here!
From back office to mobility, via the CRM!
At the turn of the millennium, CRM tools have quickly emerged as central elements of Business Development, Marketing and Sales for both small businesses and large businesses. Being linked to other corporate systems, the integrated CRM was suddenly able to fuel Sales and Marketing in Business Intelligence for the benefit of Customer Service, even on the road!
As a result, companies that have been able to use their CRM as an instrument for gathering customer data (structured and unstructured) via their Mobile Workforce have quickly been able to capitalize on a major competitive advantage over their competitors to acquire and develop potential customers… with convincing results in terms of sales.
But the fact is that the CRM technology has quickly moved beyond its primary function of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to become an essential Business Intelligence tool that powers multiple business functions and departments; Sales, Marketing, Management, Product Development, etc.
CRM at the service… of Customer Service
Marketing and Customer Service has now reached a breaking point or disruption, that is according to both the B2C and B2B sectors. Costs continue to skyrocket as the number of requests for information or personalized queries in the digital age increases while Customer Service budgets remain stable.
In the digital age, customer expectations seem to increase by the hour. Make a mistake or do not solve a problem in real time and a storm hits you on Social Media and your company will quickly see a drop in Customer Satisfaction… and its revenue. Interactions with Customers have changed drastically.
At the same time, many companies are exploring new approaches to better manage relationships with customers and trying to implement new Customer Service Management Systems that exploit technological innovations (omni-channel integration, Web-based self-service thanks to Bots, devices connected via the Internet of Things (IoT)), advanced visual and analytics workflows, sales force automation) and open up new possibilities for efficient and effective Customer Service and the management of Marketing Campaigns.
CRM++ at the service of the Customer Experience
Today, the CRM must fulfill its central role in terms of Business Intelligence, and evolve beyond just Customer Relationship Management software, to become an essential part in improving the Customer Experience along the customer journey because it is now the essence of the war in the digital age.
More specifically, the CRM must serve the Customer Experience by feeding the Business Intelligence (customer information) for Customer Service, for the Sales Team and for the Development of new Products responding to customer requests. In doing so, the CRM becomes a major asset of the Development Project Management on which the company will be able to capitalize on three levels:
- Data Valorization
- Automation and Process Optimization (Bots and Artificial Intelligence)
- Accelerated development of new products / services
Conclusion
This vision of CRM ++ is what Salesforce allows in terms of potential, if you know how to develop custom features within this foundation.
This vision is also the one that Analystik has embraced more than 15 years ago by repeatedly developing specific features related to its clients’ CRMs, but with “proprietary code” though!