2 posts tagged “microsoft dynamics crm”

The idea of CRM has always appealed to me. The concept that you could look at all your interactions with a customer and then discuss what has been happening with apparent authority does, I believe, enhance the customer relationship.

Of course the ability to mine the CRM system and locate prospects for new products and services is also incredibly useful.

My first experience of a CRM system (though it was called a ‘Customer follow up System’ then) was back in 1985 when I implemented it at a BMW car franchise. Of course back in those days the idea of a PC or terminal on every desk was fanciful because of the cost implications.

Moreover, it was not a particularly user friendly application. It was a green screen text based interface and asking a group of guys who were focussed on selling high speed motors to use (probably for the first time in their lives) a keyboard was a step too far.

The deployment was simply printing out reams of paper each day with their ‘to-do’ list activities and people to follow up, and then collecting the papers back, after much chiding, so the their scribbles could then be deciphered and manually input into the system.

The great thing was that the service and parts departments were also on the system so the salesman could talk about the last service or the new radio they had had fitted recently. Mind you, occasionally the customer would get upset because their car was in for service on the very day they were being called (and had just been presented with a huge bill) – but that was the only draw back of the system.

Remarkably this was a major step forward in terms of customer relationship management and certainly did produce an increase in sales because of improved customer loyalty. It was quite unusual for car salesman to call you to ask how you were!

Of course nowadays CRM is a great deal easier to use. For instance, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is so familiar with its ‘Outlook’ and ‘Office’ look and feel that the effort in training is minimal (relatively!).

I guess another significant difference is the ability to customise CRM to meet you precise needs. I think I would have given a used car salesman’s  right arm for the ability to easily add a few fields here and there rather than compromise and use fields that were ‘spare’ (at that time).

I suppose that the only thing that does surprise me is that almost 25 years after I completed my first implementation of a CRM system that there are quite so many companies who still don’t use one. Particularly considering the ability to start at a low cost through hosted services or even buy outright for a few users.

Interestingly, even the franchise that sold me my car doesn’t appear to use CRM. My warranty is about to expire and they haven’t been in touch to suggest a renewal. Or maybe, because it’s an Alfa Romeo, they have worked out, using Excel, that it’s not worth it!   

I have to start this blog with an apology. I’m going to talk about a phenomenon I’m going to call ‘Property Ladder Syndrome’ and it’s based on a British television program – so if you don’t watch UK TV then you may not appreciate the parallel I’m drawing. However, I hope to explain what I mean anyway.

Property Ladder is a program on our Channel 4 that is presented by (a seemingly constantly pregnant) Sarah Beany. She has been a property developer for quite a long time and has been successful at it. The program format is that she follows some first time developers travails as they take a run-down property and convert it into a pristine, saleable property that is supposed to make them a considerable amount of money. It’s not a competition – it’s real people making real life decisions with their own money.

The format goes roughly like this: Introduction to a couple. Look at the house they have bought – either  1970’s décor or falling down. Talk of their budget for the development. Sarah telling them that the budget is too small and their target sales price too high.  Then her offering advice on how to not spend so much money or add value by changing the plans.

For instance a couple might decide to refurbish the house and have three huge bedrooms. Sarah suggests that you could get four bedrooms in the same amount of space and that would add a twenty percent premium to the sales price. The couple then look at each other and then almost in unison say that the original vision was to have three bedrooms and nothing will change their mind. They also suggest that Sarah ‘has got it wrong’. In effect they ignore all of Sarah’s knowledge and experience, suggest that she doesn’t know what she is talking about and then continue down the path they started with. Often they won’t even let Sarah explain how she has reached her conclusions.

So?

I’ve had a ‘Property Ladder’ encounter this week. It went like this.

“We are having a bespoke software package written because our business is very specific”

“Well, knowing what I do know about your business, I think you ought to look at Microsoft Dynamics CRM because it does most of what you want out of the box so you wouldn’t have to wait for your development, you can customise it to your precise requirements, you won’t be locked into one person to support your business application, it works like the software you are familiar with and in my experience you will find it will be very competitive in terms of price compared to a bespoke system”

“But we’ve decided on what we want we won’t consider anything else”

“Don’t you think it would be at least worth sparing an hour to look at CRM before discounting it?”

“Er, no”

At the end of the program, Property Ladder, not Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sarah returns to the amateur developers. They are very tired and often vowing never to do it again. They have overspent on their budget and surprise, surprise, the target they set for the asking price is discounted by three estate agents. In short they’ve spent all their savings, lost 6 months of their lives, and ended up losing money. Sarah looks into the camera and says (with a lot less smugness than I could muster) “If only they had listened to me they …….”

Well, this week, when a customer I advised some months ago came back to me and said they would like to look at CRM because their bespoke development by their lone developer was taking too long, running over budget and wasn’t going to achieve what they wanted it to I turned to my imaginary camera and said……