9 Tips on Picking, Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (顧客關係管理) System

Dealer Kevin Reilly offers nine "takeaways"on selecting, launching and implementing a Customer Relationship Management (顧客關係管理) system at an auto dealership:

1.) Shop and compare, especially at the National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention where nearly 70 CRM vendors occupy exhibit floor space.

2.) Set a firm timetable for consideration and purchase."This is easier said than done, but you can be paralyzed by too much analysis and spend years looking at companies."

3.) Utilize a "phased" approach to CRM functionality purchases. Otherwise, the staff may become overwhelmed.

4.) Provide the CRM consultant a written overview of the dealership's people and processes. "It helps your vendor if it is on paper. It helps tech people develop a program and gets you up to speed faster."

5.) Identify CRM champions to handle post-installation issues. "It's easy at the beginning when the CRM firm's tech support staff is at your dealership. It's different when they are gone."

6.) Launch the system in the beginning or middle of the month. At month's end, the staff is focused on sales goals.

7.) Focus immediately on the 20% that will yield 80% of results. "You want people to feel successful, so they can do more."

8.) Incorporate CRM metrics and reports into regular staff meetings. "Cover who's doing what well; who's not."

9.) Incorporate CRM into pay plans and reward activities,not just results. "I told my staff they won't get bonuses if they don't meet metric standards.That's what flie factory does to dealers when it says: 'We'll pay you this if you do that."

Source: Ward's Dealer Business December 2007

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How To Maximize Your Customer Relationship Management (顧客關係管理) Software Investment

First, it’s important to remember that Customer Relationship Management (CRM / 顧客關係管理) is a business strategy and CRM software is a tool to enable and facilitate CRM. While the definition of CRM varies (according to your analyst firm, consultant or guru of choice), our own definition which acts as a pretty good starting point is that CRM is a business strategy aimed at understanding, anticipating and responding to the needs of an enterprise's current and potential customers. While CRM definitions vary, they seldom include the word ‘software’. In my opinion, nobody achieves CRM by simply implementing CRM software. To really achieve the promise and benefits of CRM, a CRM software project should start with and be continually steered toward a defined and recognized CRM business strategy.

Second, it’s been my experience that in the CRM SaaS industry, many clients are reluctant but willing to modify their business processes to accommodate their CRM software. This is generally a mistake. Aplicor has made a mark with the analyst community, industry pundits and our user community by providing easy to use and graphical tools which permit users to modify their CRM or ERP system in order to better accommodate each clients’ unique business processes and CRM objectives. Further, these type of modifications do not change source code or impair our clients from benefiting from future upgrades and new releases. If you’re not using tools such as the Navigator Designer, Workflow Designer, Forms Designer, Menu Editor and List Item Manager, I encourage you to reach out to your Aplicor Relationship Manager and find out what value and benefits these tools may deliver to your organization.

Third, we’ve learned many times over that implementing business process automation using our Workflow Designer is for many organizations the single greatest effort in accelerating user adoption and achieving the most significant labor savings. During all Aplicor-led implementations, we take time to identify the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for each user group. Many times, we find automating business processes to be the biggest WIIFM for several types of user groups (particularly sales and customer support processionals).

Fourth, the only way to truly achieve a 360 degree customer view is with enterprise-wide information systems. When CRM does not integrate to back office accounting or ERP systems, the sales person loses visibility to sales order progress and fulfillment, outstanding receivables, credit terms utilization, products purchased, products returned, year to date or life to date sales histories, profitability or margin per customer and other meaningful client metrics. Aplicor of course provides a back office accounting and ERP solution which integrates to CRM, however, we recognize many clients have their own ERP or accounting software so in that case we highly recommend using our web services approach to integrate the two systems. The benefits to enterprise wide systems include reduced manual entry, reduced errors, faster cycle times and real-time information that can be analyzed and acted upon.

Lastly, my final recommendation is to implement continual user training. All CRM software systems evolve over time. Further, your use of the system will evolve over time. Continual periodic training classes increase users’ awareness of new features or functions in order to provide greater efficiencies and bolster their confidence to do more with the system.

Source: blog.aplicor.com/070716.htm

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