CRM Breakthroughs

Hi all

Over the past few months I have found it harder and harder to maintain the blog - as you will see (know) by the lack of posts.

And, since the renewal is up in April I have decided to not waste your time or my money.

As of April 8, 2008, the blog will no longer function.

For those of you who have dropped by occasionally, thanks for taking an interest.

Best regards to you for the rest of the year.

Bill

Developing relationships with customers, as a strategy, has had a chequered past. Not every attempt has succeeded but the major frustration is this shouldn’t be that difficult. I mean the business world has been interacting with customers since … forever. Right?

So, if you’ve tried to get a better understanding of CRM or tried to get something a little more proactive happening, what has got in the way and what is getting in the way? Something is or we’d all be doing it.

Come on, own up!

We all start out enthusiastically enough and then, and then …

Email me with the one thing that has tripped you up. I’ll publish the results in a fortnight or so. (Or, if I can find a way to do it, I’ll get a poll up on this site! )

While businesses, large and small, look for ways to get a leg up on delivering a better customer experience, should they also be considering what customers may be doing to improve their experiences with business.

Is it possible for customers to have an absolute passion for your business? And if it is possible, what are you doing about it?

Customers are wise enough to know that businesses are trying to get to know them. They also know businesses do this to get them to come back and spend more money with them and refer friends and family to them.

So, it can look like all a business’s efforts aren’t about the customer at all - it’s all really about the business.

When consumers realise, fully, that businesses really are in business for themselves and consumers really are just that - people with money who might spend it at my place - the business is in serious trouble. Loyalty and ongoing relationship is at risk and, unless the business has a product that the customer will do without (think medicine and not much else), the chances of them going elsewhere next time is pretty much in the lap of the gods. So much for CRM.

So, let’s look at the R in CRM - Relationship. Because when you get the relationship right, under the right circumstances, it’s pretty hard to break!

Here are some ideas from a personal relationship perspective:

• love
• intimacy
• communication
• commitment
• equality and respect
• compatibility
• companionship.

The question is, do aspects like these pertain to a business relationship?

Certainly we can say we love our customers but how do we express this? What would our customers say or think? (Think back to the context of the simply being consumers of your product) Love is more than just a word. Love is an action.

Now, as you go through the list you may be thinking “Do my customers really think this way? This is just idealistic BS.”

Possibly. But let’s look at the alternative.

Let’s say your customers really do love you and your product. Your team know and love your business and customers as well. Think about that for a moment.

If that were the case, how strong would the relationship be?

Yes, profound isn’t it? People wouldn’t dream of going elsewhere. they would be evangelists for your business, even, at times, irrationally. But that is what CRM is about at its core: an absolute passion for the business people spend their hard earned cash at.

So, how are you building your relationship with custoemrs who know, at the very core, the end result will simply be more money for you?

Are they at risk of going elsewhere just because they can?

Importantly, as a business owner you want to love your customers, what about your staff?

The customer has their own perspective on their current relationship with you. Do you know what that perspective is? Are you willing to find out?

It’s important to understand a concept before launching into any implementation. If you wish to successfully manage customer relationships, you really do need to understand exactly what you’re doing. Over the next few posts I’ll give you my view and the CRM process any company can follow to develop a wildly successful formula.

What is CRM?

By definition we are talking about managing the relationship we have with our clients. It is knowing enough about our customers to provide, at the very minimum, a standard but pleasing level of interaction that will cause the client to:

1. return with more business
2. potentially begin making larger purchases
3. make purchases more regularly
4. provide referrals to your business so others will complete steps 1 - 3 as well.

How does CRM Work?

Getting CRM to work effectively is a lot more difficult. Developing standards and processes that are easy to follow but allow flexibility can be a minefield. Just today I wanted to buy a new motorcycle. I checked with my bank (that prides itself on service) that I could withdraw the right amount of funds and yet on the day, I wasn’t able to and, when I called the Bank, they were not able to help or change their policy.

So how is a small business supposed to make it happen?

CRM allows people within your business to make decisions that will assist your business and the experience of the customer to ensure both benefit. This, of course, means thinking through almost every process and creating a framework that people can follow.

The framework must allow for risk to be managed, services to be delivered and value to be gained.

At the end of the day the business owner requires three things most of all:

1. a profit to be made (otherwise why are you in business?)
2. the staff to feel they have achieved a great result from their efforts and look forward to doing it again
3. the client to consider your business a good place to return to

How Does a Business Get CRM?

To ensure these three things happen a business needs:

• systems people can easily learn
• systems people can easily follow
• processes to follow when things go awry
• data systems to catch information (data in)
• communication systems to add value (data out)

The problem with many businesses trying to implement CRM:

• they have processes that aren’t documented, even at a simple flowchart level
• experts within the business do not have coaching or mentoring skills to easily transfer their knowledge
• there is no formal training within the business
• there is no simplifying of overly complex systems
• there is no recording of what is happening with the client
• there is no “one centralised system” to capture and communicate data

If you review the above points you will have an idea of what you should be aiming for with CRM. You can do CRM with a shoebox if need be. You don’t actually need a complex and expensive system. (though, properly used, they do help.) And the bigger you are as a company, the more you will need technology of some kind, more than likely web based these days.

My point about CRM is that is is a strategy (”strategy before software”) not a software package! And any business is able to develop a proper CRM system with two pieces of very simple technology: pen and paper!

If you don’t know what you’re doing or where you want to end up, software is just going to make life far more miserable. See Point 2 of what a business owner requires.

Here are some more links about what CRM is and it’s intended benefits:

Samsinah Sudin

Customer Relationship Management

Small Business CRM

Duct Tape Marketing

Inside CRM

When you’re a small business how do you leverage your time to deliver the best possible service to your clients?

When I began coaching I looked for as many resources as I could to help grow my business. Coachville, started by Thomas Leonard, was a fantastic resource of materials as Thomas began his legacy of providing great value resources for people in the coaching profession.

Team 100 was one of the most common sense ideas I had seen and began working every hard on meeting its requirements.

“No man is an island.”

One of the biggest mistakes of the inexperienced small business owner is thinking they can do it all on their own. (I did!)

But one of the best realisations is that there are a whole stream of people who are looking for our help, if only we would look for theirs.

By developing the idea of a “Team 100″ a business gains advocates who will return the favour of referrals when the time comes. It also allows you the opportunity of referring clients of yours to qualified and excellent businesses.

Okay, so what is a Team 100?

Think of how much you like your doctor, or dentist, or florist. They are members of your Team 100.

What about your broker? Architect? Interior Designer?

So are they!

In the form attached here, there is a list of about 80 professions we use in every day life, some more than others but, over time we come in contact with most of them. The point is, when we are in need of a great (pick a profession) how do we go about getting one?

We ask people!

“I need a great gastroenterologist. Know anyone?”

Even with the 6 degrees of separation rule, you’re bound to find a good on eventually.

How Does this Benefit my Business?

Simple. What if you were to go to person whenever somebody wanted a resource? What if you were the one with “connections”?

I know a guy, Ron Gibson here in Perth, Australia. Ron is a great guy who knows people. You can be having a conversation about anything and Ron will stop, look in his compendium and bring out a great resource if you need one. Need a car? Ron knows someone. Need a lung? Ron will know someone! (well, not sure on the last one, but if it is ethical, Ron will be able to help!)

So, download the Team 100 form and start filling it in.When you find a gap,that’s the time to find a resource in that arena. If someone asks you if you now someone in a profession and you don’t, go find someone.

Some Guidelines

Here’s the real value in developing a Team 100.

You don’t just refer anyone! They must be good. Your reputation depends on it. But that is the value of this. Personal connection.

It must be ethical. No kick backs or referral fees. Just good, honest business practice.

Get feedback. Did the person contact them? Was any business done? Was it a good outcome?

Start Small

Don’t rush to fill the gaps. Make sure you link up with quality providers.

Let the Team members know what you are doing. They’ll appreciate the acknowledgment.

Stay in touch, create that web, or network, of contacts.

Over time you’ll be surprised how much will come back your way.

Enjoy!

Constant innovation, constant change, constant challenge to old ways.

There is a wave of entrepreneurs inhabiting the planet and the rest of us should sit up and take notice. The Internet really is a tool for the common person and many “common” people are making it their own and earning a great living from it.

In the beginning of the Internet, well, when it really fell into the hands of Joe Public, there was a sarcastic comment that “on the Internet, you really can be a dog”. It meant that “anyone who was no-one could be anything they wanted to be”. And, while it was tongue in cheek back then it is a profoundly true statement.

I’ve been reading some fantastic blogs over the past few years and we now have a couple of entities creating blog awards. These awards, while not massive in terms of payment, are a true reflection of how the world values information and the “new” world of blogging. Many of these blogs are run by individuals who simply had something to say. Many have gone on to have guest writers and to form affiliations with others - great idea.

And they are, slowly but surely, creating a new economy. Many of them promote the “free” philosophy: write for free, provide tools for free and promote others for free.

Some are asking people to pay for their services but many (Steve Pavlina, Darren Rowse, Leo Barbauta and the like) all provide really good information for nix and yet they have very large followings of people who hang off every word they write & speak.

Darren is the first to admit he is a geek. I haven’t been in personal touch with Leo or Steve.

These individuals and the thousands like them are creating a new economy that many traditional businesses may want to take note of. Sure, they are not amazon.com, nor are they e-bay but they are beginning to look like seek.com with their employment ads. They send people around the world to mini-malls and adsense ads when they pique their interest - so they are generating a new source of income. (Steve Pavlina suggests $40,000 per month!)

So where will this all end? Will it end? I know some governments are looking at how they can tax Internet Income. That will be a hurdle we will all have to deal with but it may not be for a while.

The key to all this, especially from a CRM perspective, is that these people are using the web to deliver value. In fact, the Internet and a couple of tools are all they are using. Traditional businesses are using the Net in far more traditional ways: newsletters, email, e-invoices, job advertisements.

But is there a hidden treasure trove for traditional businesses to maximise the Net for both them and their customers?

Is it time to review what we do and re-invent it via the web?

Do people just want the information and how we deliver it has become immaterial?

Can we, as traditional businesses, find more ways to deliver value (not: simply deliver more) and have our clients become more dependent on us and more involved with us?

If we can do this, how do we do it? What do we change? What do we add?

In the early 20th century there was a railway company in the US who, when flight became an option, dismissed it saying: “we are a railway company.” I think it was UPS who said “we are a delivery company, the mean is irrelevant.” The railway company is no more. They didn’t value the new economy of flight.

These pioneers of the new economy (Pavlina, Rowse and the like) are the models we need to research, look into and emulate into our own traditional businesses. Otherwise we will end up like the railway company.

During this series of articles we have endeavoured to provide information that allows business people to deliver their product or service knowing what the outcomes will be.

It’s referred top as a “closed environment” service offering.

The premise being:

“If you clearly plan your strategy and take the time up front to focus on your outcomes, you’ll know what results you can expect. And regardless of whether they are positive or negative results, you can exploit them to your advantage.”

Great in theory.

You just have to define your market well – however that is information your market will be only too pleased to provide you.

Can you imagine the alternative?

“Hi, I’d like to know what I could do to make your life easier.”

“Bugger off!”

I think not.

There are at least 5 distinct markets a broker needs to be able to satisfy in order to develop their reputation and grow their business. Some are obvious, a couple aren’t.

1. Client market (obvious; essential) – satisfaction comes by understanding the market, what its needs are, what time frames are required and knowing how to communicate with the market. It is mostly the traditional things like delivering good customer service, knowing how to market through various media, knowing how to close a sale and build strong relationships that underpin word of mouth referrals. Most people at least understand what is needed here.

2. Supplier Market (less obvious; essential) – this can range from finance companies that provide, of all things, finance. But they have their processes and policies that business owners need to understand and abide by. Again, building strong relationships can go a long way to managing these policies and procedures. It also extends to equipment suppliers. Building good relationshop with them will buy you leverage in terms of how your partnership grows and what benefits you can both make.

3. Peer Market (less obvious; highly essential) – Yes, knowing who to turn to when a deal is new or complex. Understanding your Peer Market is crucial if you want to gain further control of your business. The number of people I know who will dish off a deal to help someone out or will look at a complex deal and then ask for nothing in return while the broker who wins the deal takes home a nice sum of cash in commission. There’s a theme developing here – building strong relationships are key to the survival of the fittest.

4. Community Market (less obvious; essential) – another “sleeper” in the markets we need to understand and manage well. A community can be simply the suburb we have influence in but generally it is a lot more critical than that. The clubs, associations and social groups who we come in contact with all have an opinion of us and our profession. Some are well known and known well. Other are well known and well … “known” – if you get my drift.

5. “Change Market” (not obvious at all; more critical every day) – not really a ‘market’ but one aspect of our jobs we need to manage. Systems, technology, policies and legislation are constantly changing and, by keeping up to date, we will place ourselves in a solid position for our business. Ways to manage change is to subscribe to the right periodicals, attend functions and mix with people who are also keen to stay ‘ahead of the pack’. It’s also appropriate to acknowledge that dealing with change isn’t always comfortable hence the suggestion to get with peers who remain positive about the market even in the face of change. In fact, if you have colleagues who are generally complaining about the change, I’d limit the time I spent with them.

Summary

Review how well you manage each of the markets listed above. Write down 2 or 3 things you do, or can do, to get more in touch with each market – and then set aside a time to implement those ideas – weekly is a good idea.

Remember, success breeds success and as you begin to get the feedback you’re expecting, you’ll have a clearer path to the way ahead.

In 2003 I started my first coaching business.

Very exciting. People around me were very encouraging. My employer was sorry to lose me. The world was my oyster.

But I made some mistakes. As you would expect from a novice. No really big deal. It was my first time on my own. Mistakes are the things you learn from to grow.

But some of the mistakes are easily avoidable and when I mention them below you’ll see why.

1. Stick to Your Real Plan

Having a plan is one thing. Sticking to it is another. I had many opportunities offered to me in the first 6 months - and I took them all! Wrong! Stick to what you committed to do. If you’ve planned correctly (and this is crucial) you need to stick to your plan. Great opportunities that aren’t aligned to your goal may be well intentioned but they will be your demise.

2. Real Cash

I thought I would get good cashflow very easily. A good friend suggested I get an overdraft. I now wish I had. Ifyou have no cash it’s hard to d anything. I was looking at office premises, website, stationery and the like - all off what I had in the bank - which, at start up, wasn’t a lot. It made me fearful of spending any money. It meant that good ideas couldn’t be financed. And when you need to market yourself and you are desperate for cash - it shows. People sense it and you lose a level of credibility.

3. Real Support

Real support is support you get from your network that will send business your way. A great friend of mine, Barry Harrison, showed real support. He got me into seminars in his business and got me in front of many prospects. It was up to me to sell but Barry put me in front of between 75 - 100 people on a quarterly basis. All for free.

Another good friend, Justin Davies, worked with me on a CRM Strategy. Justin knew the right people who could help me and would get me to talk with them. It was very exciting. The problem became cashflow (see Point 2). But Justin was great in his support in terms of resources and energy.

4. Real Products

This is so critical. As a coach I thought I didn’t have to do this. Coaching was a loose process I could deliver on a case by case basis - wrong! It is important to have a process and model people can follow and understand. There is a term, “productisation”, that simply means putting what you have into a package people can buy. People want to know what they are getting for their money. And people will always do a mental calculation on the value of what we offer versus what they are prepared to pay.

5. Real Service

Having a plan to deliver on your promises without overcommitting is crucial. You need to know when to say “No” and be justified. You can’t do everything for everyone. I know, I’ve tried. It’s debilitating. So, ahead of time, sit down and plan what you are prepared to do and what you’re not prepared to do. Write up a customer charter and provide it to your clients. In the end all we have is our name. If that is smudged, the way up is a long road.

And so …

We all know it’s better to plan ahead and have a strategy. Just firing off in any and all directions is a recipe for disaster.

The biggest thing, in my opinion, is to have the cash and the support.

The cash allows you to do stuff.

The support help you do it and, if it’s good support they’ll tell you when you’re off track - listen to them.