CRM as a foothold
Some years I buy the electric tool in one network. Usually, the buying process was mundane: twice a year I bought equipment there, checked it in the hall, the sellers made out a check and a guarantee. I recently needed a chainsaw. I went to the usual network, bought it. They asked for the name, date of birth, telephone, for a minute they issued a discount card with points credited for the purchase. A few days later the SMS about the action fell on February 23 - I bought a serious set of end heads. Then came the notification of the sale of new oil for my saw. So they increased the frequency of my visits. And why? As it turned out, relatively recently in this network implemented CRM.
The development of online communications, specialized sites, social networks and services has made inevitable adjustments in customer relations. Pampered and informed, buyers and customers seek to obtain goods (services) quickly, efficiently, efficiently. They are waiting for unobtrusive attention, perfect service, after-sales service (new items, promotions and even ... congratulations on holidays). If you just linger a little or misfire, consumers will go to competitors - the benefit is now everyone knows everything and finding the equivalent in most cases is not difficult.
No matter what field you work in - b2b or b2c, you sell concrete structures or balloons, in any case, your task has long outgrown the well-known classical money-to-money-capital turnover formula. Now the formula has expanded and requires paying maximum attention to the sale process. CRM systems play a significant role in the sales process. If earlier they were a lot of fashionable companies, who want to consider and take into account, now it is the necessary software, which, with the right approach, allows you to move your business to a new level.
')
If in 2007 I answered this question “analytical and operational”, then in 2015 I would definitely answer: cloud and desktop. Developers of all stripes felt the growth of the corporate software market and began to create their many systems competing with solutions that have been working since the early 2000s. Some of them can hardly be called CRM, some broke into the market and grabbed a powerful share.
Cloud solutions are being picked up to the peak of popularity - easy-to-deploy, intuitive, non-distracting employees from their favorite browsers. In the overwhelming majority of cases, they are delivered according to the SaaS model - that is, for CRM a monthly subscription fee is paid and the system is deployed on a third-party server (most often third-party even with respect to the vendor). In principle, such systems are suitable for small companies that do not really care about data integrity and security. Alas, when it comes to tripartite (and sometimes more) interaction, the risk of problems with software increases. In addition, cloud-based CRM is not only dependent on the Internet, but also on the connection speed. Since things are not going well with this in all of Russia, work in cloud services is sometimes very difficult. The most popular representatives in Russia are bpm'online from Terrasoft , amoCRM , Client Base ; for some reason, Megaplan and Bitrix 24 are uniquely attributed to the CRM class, which are essentially a corporate information system with a built-in CRM module.
The second class CRM - desktop . As a rule, these are systems with a long history and strong functionality. They are deployed on the client's server and are fully owned by him after a one-time (although there are both installment plans and rentals) for the payment of licenses. In such CRM, you can work offline, without fear of losing data. Desktop systems are distinguished by the development of modules, the presence of embedded integrations, configurators and SDK. Previously, such systems had certain requirements for hardware support of the company, today many of them are so optimized that a regular computer can act as a server. Some of the vendors of Russian desktops gradually go to the cloud, but nevertheless offer customers a choice. To date, the market for desktop systems has left Terrasoft and Freshoffice, which offer only cloud to new customers. On-site solutions are offered by a foreign vendor Microsoft Dynamics CRM (there is a cloud), RegionSoft CRM (there is no cloud, but there is a lease scheme), Client-Communicator Clic CRM (there is still damp web-CRM), and so on.
I am a supporter of desktop systems, so I will not unequivocally advise, without knowing the structure and features of a particular business. I can only talk about the economic aspect. If you do not plan to close your company in the next two years and implement CRM for business, then the desktop with all the functionality is cheaper: you pay once and for all, and rent payments for the cloud in a short period of time outgrow the cost of implementing CRM as a desktop project and become frankly unprofitable. After realizing this, there are two ways in business - either to buy CRM again and migrate the database, or continue to pay, because the base has been developed, the work is being done, there is nowhere to go. That's the calculation.
It's no secret that any CRM takes into account customers, products, transactions. Today, the line between CRM and ERP is almost erased - most of the popular systems have come to universality. Therefore, modern CRM-systems, in addition to their standard functionality honed over the years, perform a huge number of functions, meeting virtually any business need.
Planning, task and project management. An important functionality that allows you to organize working time and optimize project work. With the help of planners and project modules, you can work collectively on one task, sharing responsibilities and regulating deadlines. Reminders and alerts that come in automatic mode help you to forget nothing. These or other project planning and management mechanisms are provided for even the simplest CRM.
Setting up and managing business processes. In each company there are processes that occur periodically and according to one scheme: logistics supplies, inventories, purchases, and coordination. In the course of such chains of operations most often there is a weak link: forgot, missed, did not meet the deadline. As a result, whole divisions suffer. The mechanism of business processes helps to deal with such problems - you rigidly tweak the algorithm, determine the stages, put in charge those responsible, dates, actions and reminders - as a result, the work is coordinated and timely.
As an independent module, business processes do not exist in all CRM systems, therefore, if you need to create a graphical and logical algorithm of the process, you should carefully consider the choice and look at CRM, which includes such functionality.
Customer management and interactions with them. Even based on the interpretation of the abbreviation CRM, this is the main functionality. Until now, many companies are finding a place for their clients in Excel or, at best, Access. In this case, sooner or later, problems arise both with data samples and with damage to all information in the tables.
The task of CRM for business is to create a single workspace in the form of an interaction interface capable of processing data from the database and performing various operations with them. In this case, the user only accesses the data, but has no effect on them - they are stored in the database unharmed, regardless of the correctness of the operator's behavior. Well-known powerful CRMs help create newsletters, group customers, keep a history of relationships, and so on. All this makes CRM an indispensable assistant to front-office managers and salespeople.
Integration with services and equipment. CRM for business should be the basis of a single infrastructure, so if there is special equipment or services (website, online store), the program should be integrated with them. This is necessary both from the point of view of correct accounting and from the point of view of obtaining the most relevant data.
Accounting, reporting, analytics. Accumulated in CRM data should serve as a basis for decision-making and development of marketing and sales initiatives. CRM provides built-in tools for data analysis, such as a sales funnel, ABC analysis, summary reports. Some CRMs allow you to create unique reports that you need, for example, using OLAP or the Fast Report designer. In the CRM knowledge bases you can accumulate experience, best practices, survey clients. Thus, the system also performs the training function - the new employee will not have to ask every little thing, it will be enough to study the materials developed.
In almost all popular CRM, you can create templates of documents, contracts, commercial offers, form the primary and closing documentation. Programs (especially desktop ones) are easily customized and adapted to the needs of any business. But it will not be superfluous to remind that improvements require additional money and you need to be ready for this. As well as the fact that an ordinary programmer can not cope with the logic of new software for him, so it’s better not to save money, but turn to the vendor. Moreover, often the refinement of the vendor will cost you much less than the semi-annual salary of your developer, who has not coped with the task. In general, I recommend not to treat the vendor as a seller, but to cooperate with him throughout the project’s life, because no one except the CRM developer can provide you with prompt and professional service.
For a more visual representation of the use of CRM analyze two simple case.
It seems that the CRM retail store for sales is definitely not justified - the operator simply does not have time to enter into the system every buyer. I had to repeatedly come across such an opinion — and it is fundamentally wrong. Modern CRMs work with trading equipment, huge nomenclatures, POS-terminals and at the same time can be the cornerstone of the start of the loyalty program.
Of course, the process of introducing CRM in a large store or several locations is slow and expensive, it requires additional hardware and human resources. However, grateful customers will always return to the company that tied them with attention, quality service and loyalty program. That is why CRM projects successfully pay off and give a reason to build up from competitors who are not ready or unwilling to develop their IT infrastructure.
Recently, the "Zuckerberg Call" was published the cry of the soul of the owner of a beauty salon, who has not found his system. The author is either disingenuous, or meets only with the incoming proposals on CRM, lazy posherstit market. He stops at the first stage - the stage of collecting and entering data, and is silent about the other aspects of customer relations. Meanwhile, it is in the field of services CRM is becoming increasingly indispensable. Consider the situation. There is a salon, in the salon there is a paper customer record log and a discount card is provided after the accumulation of services for 10,000 rubles. How it all happens: a person is recorded for 30 seconds, then asked to keep checks to wait for the card, then write again and, if the client does not go very often, they may not consider him to be permanent. With CRM, the situation is different.
How much everything will be integrated with the cash register or serve only for customer management depends on the skills of the staff and the desire to build a unified IT infrastructure. Let's return to the beauty salon: he buys a lot of consumables and cosmetic products, which tend to run out very quickly. The receipt of products and their consumption can also be taken into account in CRM and it is easy to send an order in case everything is over. In this case, CRM (for example, RegionSoft CRM, 1C CRM, MS Dynamics CRM through connectors) will be able to work with cash register and discount cards. It will not be superfluous to plan the work of the personnel in CRM and calculate their motivation using the KPI mechanism - key performance indicators. This functionality can be done by almost all of the solutions listed in this article.
CRM in the service industry operates on two fronts - it performs its main function of tracking and managing customer relationships and works as an accounting system for the entire business.
Alas, as there is no single cure for all diseases, there is no absolutely universal CRM. Consider the system is based on a number of factors: the requirements, the need for improvements, the infrastructure of the company, the availability of a technical specialist in the state, the price. I basically put the price on the last place for several reasons:
It is much more important to understand who you are and what you need. If you simply keep a list of clients and look at the results of transactions, practically any of the modern systems is sufficient. If you are going to manage marketing seriously, it is better to look at CRM systems like bpm'online marketing + sales (Terrasoft) . If you have telemarketing, own production, several warehouses or a retail store, then it is optimal to choose RegionSoft CRM . If it is important for you to build capacious, serious and very complex business processes, I would pay attention to ELMA . For those who like to take into account corporate finance and work with complex analytics, there is a CLM CRM .
I speak mainly about domestic solutions, although I do not have the moral right not to leave a couple of lines of admiration for SAP , Sugar CRM , Salesforce , Microsoft Dynamics CRM . They have absorbed the best foreign practices, where the CRM paradigm itself has significantly outstripped Russia in its development, but these are “pontovye” systems. They remind me of luxury imported cars, when a bunch of lotions creates a wild cost, and the first spring thaw on the dirt road drives the owner behind the tractor. These CRM:
When choosing a CRM, it is important to remember that you are investing and entering into a long-term relationship with an IT system that will become an assistant for your business. But it will never be a panacea if there are no processes and relationships within the company, moreover, the introduction of CRM in such an organization can make even more confusion. Therefore, I advise you to look around you before buying, to understand the needs and demands of your company, to consider the risks, to study possible problems during implementation.
Decide to embark on the path of intensive development, detuning from competitors and new customer relationship management. You will receive a reliable assistant, a modern and up-to-date accounting system - a real foothold of your business.
The development of online communications, specialized sites, social networks and services has made inevitable adjustments in customer relations. Pampered and informed, buyers and customers seek to obtain goods (services) quickly, efficiently, efficiently. They are waiting for unobtrusive attention, perfect service, after-sales service (new items, promotions and even ... congratulations on holidays). If you just linger a little or misfire, consumers will go to competitors - the benefit is now everyone knows everything and finding the equivalent in most cases is not difficult.
No matter what field you work in - b2b or b2c, you sell concrete structures or balloons, in any case, your task has long outgrown the well-known classical money-to-money-capital turnover formula. Now the formula has expanded and requires paying maximum attention to the sale process. CRM systems play a significant role in the sales process. If earlier they were a lot of fashionable companies, who want to consider and take into account, now it is the necessary software, which, with the right approach, allows you to move your business to a new level.
')
What are CRM?
If in 2007 I answered this question “analytical and operational”, then in 2015 I would definitely answer: cloud and desktop. Developers of all stripes felt the growth of the corporate software market and began to create their many systems competing with solutions that have been working since the early 2000s. Some of them can hardly be called CRM, some broke into the market and grabbed a powerful share.
Cloud solutions are being picked up to the peak of popularity - easy-to-deploy, intuitive, non-distracting employees from their favorite browsers. In the overwhelming majority of cases, they are delivered according to the SaaS model - that is, for CRM a monthly subscription fee is paid and the system is deployed on a third-party server (most often third-party even with respect to the vendor). In principle, such systems are suitable for small companies that do not really care about data integrity and security. Alas, when it comes to tripartite (and sometimes more) interaction, the risk of problems with software increases. In addition, cloud-based CRM is not only dependent on the Internet, but also on the connection speed. Since things are not going well with this in all of Russia, work in cloud services is sometimes very difficult. The most popular representatives in Russia are bpm'online from Terrasoft , amoCRM , Client Base ; for some reason, Megaplan and Bitrix 24 are uniquely attributed to the CRM class, which are essentially a corporate information system with a built-in CRM module.
The second class CRM - desktop . As a rule, these are systems with a long history and strong functionality. They are deployed on the client's server and are fully owned by him after a one-time (although there are both installment plans and rentals) for the payment of licenses. In such CRM, you can work offline, without fear of losing data. Desktop systems are distinguished by the development of modules, the presence of embedded integrations, configurators and SDK. Previously, such systems had certain requirements for hardware support of the company, today many of them are so optimized that a regular computer can act as a server. Some of the vendors of Russian desktops gradually go to the cloud, but nevertheless offer customers a choice. To date, the market for desktop systems has left Terrasoft and Freshoffice, which offer only cloud to new customers. On-site solutions are offered by a foreign vendor Microsoft Dynamics CRM (there is a cloud), RegionSoft CRM (there is no cloud, but there is a lease scheme), Client-Communicator Clic CRM (there is still damp web-CRM), and so on.
I am a supporter of desktop systems, so I will not unequivocally advise, without knowing the structure and features of a particular business. I can only talk about the economic aspect. If you do not plan to close your company in the next two years and implement CRM for business, then the desktop with all the functionality is cheaper: you pay once and for all, and rent payments for the cloud in a short period of time outgrow the cost of implementing CRM as a desktop project and become frankly unprofitable. After realizing this, there are two ways in business - either to buy CRM again and migrate the database, or continue to pay, because the base has been developed, the work is being done, there is nowhere to go. That's the calculation.
What can CRM?
It's no secret that any CRM takes into account customers, products, transactions. Today, the line between CRM and ERP is almost erased - most of the popular systems have come to universality. Therefore, modern CRM-systems, in addition to their standard functionality honed over the years, perform a huge number of functions, meeting virtually any business need.
Planning, task and project management. An important functionality that allows you to organize working time and optimize project work. With the help of planners and project modules, you can work collectively on one task, sharing responsibilities and regulating deadlines. Reminders and alerts that come in automatic mode help you to forget nothing. These or other project planning and management mechanisms are provided for even the simplest CRM.
Setting up and managing business processes. In each company there are processes that occur periodically and according to one scheme: logistics supplies, inventories, purchases, and coordination. In the course of such chains of operations most often there is a weak link: forgot, missed, did not meet the deadline. As a result, whole divisions suffer. The mechanism of business processes helps to deal with such problems - you rigidly tweak the algorithm, determine the stages, put in charge those responsible, dates, actions and reminders - as a result, the work is coordinated and timely.
As an independent module, business processes do not exist in all CRM systems, therefore, if you need to create a graphical and logical algorithm of the process, you should carefully consider the choice and look at CRM, which includes such functionality.
Customer management and interactions with them. Even based on the interpretation of the abbreviation CRM, this is the main functionality. Until now, many companies are finding a place for their clients in Excel or, at best, Access. In this case, sooner or later, problems arise both with data samples and with damage to all information in the tables.
The task of CRM for business is to create a single workspace in the form of an interaction interface capable of processing data from the database and performing various operations with them. In this case, the user only accesses the data, but has no effect on them - they are stored in the database unharmed, regardless of the correctness of the operator's behavior. Well-known powerful CRMs help create newsletters, group customers, keep a history of relationships, and so on. All this makes CRM an indispensable assistant to front-office managers and salespeople.
Integration with services and equipment. CRM for business should be the basis of a single infrastructure, so if there is special equipment or services (website, online store), the program should be integrated with them. This is necessary both from the point of view of correct accounting and from the point of view of obtaining the most relevant data.
Accounting, reporting, analytics. Accumulated in CRM data should serve as a basis for decision-making and development of marketing and sales initiatives. CRM provides built-in tools for data analysis, such as a sales funnel, ABC analysis, summary reports. Some CRMs allow you to create unique reports that you need, for example, using OLAP or the Fast Report designer. In the CRM knowledge bases you can accumulate experience, best practices, survey clients. Thus, the system also performs the training function - the new employee will not have to ask every little thing, it will be enough to study the materials developed.
In almost all popular CRM, you can create templates of documents, contracts, commercial offers, form the primary and closing documentation. Programs (especially desktop ones) are easily customized and adapted to the needs of any business. But it will not be superfluous to remind that improvements require additional money and you need to be ready for this. As well as the fact that an ordinary programmer can not cope with the logic of new software for him, so it’s better not to save money, but turn to the vendor. Moreover, often the refinement of the vendor will cost you much less than the semi-annual salary of your developer, who has not coped with the task. In general, I recommend not to treat the vendor as a seller, but to cooperate with him throughout the project’s life, because no one except the CRM developer can provide you with prompt and professional service.
For a more visual representation of the use of CRM analyze two simple case.
CRM for sales: wholesale and retail
It seems that the CRM retail store for sales is definitely not justified - the operator simply does not have time to enter into the system every buyer. I had to repeatedly come across such an opinion — and it is fundamentally wrong. Modern CRMs work with trading equipment, huge nomenclatures, POS-terminals and at the same time can be the cornerstone of the start of the loyalty program.
- CRM provide effective accounting of stock items and warehouse management - using a system that has warehouse accounting (RegionSoft CRM or Clic CRM), you get full control over the warehouse online and you can send orders for missing items on time or request to the supplier;
- By entering customer data into the system and using discount cards, you can create loyalty programs for various groups of consumers;
- Thanks to reports with a variety of parameters, it is possible to analyze the structure of goods turnover and display irrelevant commodity items in time - this is how the store owner saves himself from illiquid stock in the warehouse;
- CRM helps to take into account the efficiency and productivity of each employee - in this way, management receives grounds for motivating or depreating staff.
- In addition to popular print flyers and TV ads, you can send out SMS messages or colorful HTML letters to your customers who have provided an e-mail when registering with the loyalty program. If you have an online store, you can integrate it with CRM. You can also integrate CRM with the site and get leads for further work right from there;
- Some CRMs are well-tuned to work with retail (especially MS Dynamics CRM succeeded in this with paid third-party connectors and RegionSoft CRM in the Professional and Enterprise editions) and can even be used to print price tags on special printers.
Of course, the process of introducing CRM in a large store or several locations is slow and expensive, it requires additional hardware and human resources. However, grateful customers will always return to the company that tied them with attention, quality service and loyalty program. That is why CRM projects successfully pay off and give a reason to build up from competitors who are not ready or unwilling to develop their IT infrastructure.
CRM in services
Recently, the "Zuckerberg Call" was published the cry of the soul of the owner of a beauty salon, who has not found his system. The author is either disingenuous, or meets only with the incoming proposals on CRM, lazy posherstit market. He stops at the first stage - the stage of collecting and entering data, and is silent about the other aspects of customer relations. Meanwhile, it is in the field of services CRM is becoming increasingly indispensable. Consider the situation. There is a salon, in the salon there is a paper customer record log and a discount card is provided after the accumulation of services for 10,000 rubles. How it all happens: a person is recorded for 30 seconds, then asked to keep checks to wait for the card, then write again and, if the client does not go very often, they may not consider him to be permanent. With CRM, the situation is different.
- Yes, more than 30 seconds are spent on the initial data entry. But now there is gender, age, date of birth, telephone, the history of payments and the structure of services used accumulate. Bottom line: the card was issued on time, a birthday greeting was sent, a colorful newsletter with new items passed, and the most interesting additional service for the client was successfully sold;
- Sometimes the VIP client is invisible, if you write it in a notebook. For example, client A visited you and spent 10,500 rubles - you gave him a card and he will not return to you again. And there is a client B, who spends the second year by 3000 per quarter. He walks not often, but steadily. Changing managers at the reception do not remember him - and in fact he has already been VIP for a long time and to ensure his more frequent arrival and larger check is a matter of several proposals;
- Formed customer portrait and portfolio services. By relating them to each other, it is possible to conduct effective promotional activities that beat precisely to the target audience;
- If we are talking about a network of salons, then the right CRM will allow real-time collecting and centralizing data collected from each point into a single database.
How much everything will be integrated with the cash register or serve only for customer management depends on the skills of the staff and the desire to build a unified IT infrastructure. Let's return to the beauty salon: he buys a lot of consumables and cosmetic products, which tend to run out very quickly. The receipt of products and their consumption can also be taken into account in CRM and it is easy to send an order in case everything is over. In this case, CRM (for example, RegionSoft CRM, 1C CRM, MS Dynamics CRM through connectors) will be able to work with cash register and discount cards. It will not be superfluous to plan the work of the personnel in CRM and calculate their motivation using the KPI mechanism - key performance indicators. This functionality can be done by almost all of the solutions listed in this article.
CRM in the service industry operates on two fronts - it performs its main function of tracking and managing customer relationships and works as an accounting system for the entire business.
Which CRM to choose?
Alas, as there is no single cure for all diseases, there is no absolutely universal CRM. Consider the system is based on a number of factors: the requirements, the need for improvements, the infrastructure of the company, the availability of a technical specialist in the state, the price. I basically put the price on the last place for several reasons:
- you can find good solutions in any price segment, even free ones, if we are talking about a single user (for example, desktop Clic CRM and RegionSoft CRM Express );
- the imaginary low price of a cloud, for example, may in three years outgrow the cost of a desktop project several times and knock down all your preliminary calculations;
- Experience shows that the average price of implementing CRM in a small business is about the annual salary of a middle manager. For some reason, managers often easily recruit “extra” employees, but actively resist paying for a tool that can not only free up the enormous time of managers, but sometimes also replace some of them. In most cases, the introduction of CRM is a low-risk and quickly paid back investment.
It is much more important to understand who you are and what you need. If you simply keep a list of clients and look at the results of transactions, practically any of the modern systems is sufficient. If you are going to manage marketing seriously, it is better to look at CRM systems like bpm'online marketing + sales (Terrasoft) . If you have telemarketing, own production, several warehouses or a retail store, then it is optimal to choose RegionSoft CRM . If it is important for you to build capacious, serious and very complex business processes, I would pay attention to ELMA . For those who like to take into account corporate finance and work with complex analytics, there is a CLM CRM .
I speak mainly about domestic solutions, although I do not have the moral right not to leave a couple of lines of admiration for SAP , Sugar CRM , Salesforce , Microsoft Dynamics CRM . They have absorbed the best foreign practices, where the CRM paradigm itself has significantly outstripped Russia in its development, but these are “pontovye” systems. They remind me of luxury imported cars, when a bunch of lotions creates a wild cost, and the first spring thaw on the dirt road drives the owner behind the tractor. These CRM:
- work poorly with Russian primary documentation. Raised on import invoicing, not all of them have learned how to form invoices, acts, invoices, and so on;
- difficult to integrate with 1C. Integration occurs through the modules developed by the vendor’s partners — and they are both expensive and difficult to implement;
- they have a completely different logic and structure - often there are difficulties precisely because of the specificity of the interface, which is different from the usual patterns. For example, try searching for the necessary module in MS Dynamics CRM - it’s easy to get confused in the menu logic.
When choosing a CRM, it is important to remember that you are investing and entering into a long-term relationship with an IT system that will become an assistant for your business. But it will never be a panacea if there are no processes and relationships within the company, moreover, the introduction of CRM in such an organization can make even more confusion. Therefore, I advise you to look around you before buying, to understand the needs and demands of your company, to consider the risks, to study possible problems during implementation.
Decide to embark on the path of intensive development, detuning from competitors and new customer relationship management. You will receive a reliable assistant, a modern and up-to-date accounting system - a real foothold of your business.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/286674/
All Articles