| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?
CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you answer this question about your company's CRM initiative? It depends on how honest you are in answering some other questions, including: Do your people have real decision-making power to provide great customer service? Do you have the right people with the right knowledge and skills? Are you including people across the board, not just in your customer service and call centers? The bottom line is that people skill sets need to be similar to the technology they are using -- information sharing needs to be fast, focused, integrated. Let's Start With the Leaders For CRM to become the strategic engine, not just a tool that people opt to use when they choose, managers and leaders need to demonstrate the new vision through their day-to-day actions. Leadership is about making a vision happen. If you want your CRM strategy to be the engine that drives growth and profitability, take a look at what your leaders are doing and how they are behaving. The heart of strategic change is when the leadership makes the conscious choice to focus on actions that matter. When an organization undergoes significant and fundamental transition, leaders must be teachers and role models of the new actions and behaviors. Leaders who successfully transition to new operating values and practices are those who recognize they are on a steep learning curve and adopt a personal learning ethic that others can model. What About Everyone Else? Just as any change needs good leaders, making CRM the strategic engine requires good followers. People need to have the knowledge and skill sets that will translate the vision to a seamless customer experience. Having the skill to build personal and professional networks of information and knowledge will allow managers and employees to think and act in less linear ways. There is a need to learn to behave as integrated teams, not individual contributors or functions. Teaming, problem-solving behaviors across job boundaries, knowledge-discovery skills, personal networking outside the department, and building relationships to share knowledge and information are rarely seen metrics on employee performance evaluation forms. Yet these are the skills required to drive the CRM strategic engine. Those skills need to be valued, encouraged, and rewarded by the organization. Don't Take New Roles For Granted To move CRM deeper into the ethos of the company culture, clear and unambiguous roles for leaders and employees need to be communicated. When people have a role beyond that of being an individual contributor, accountability, involvement, and interest in making CRM the strategic engine all increase. The key is communicating what new roles leaders and employees are expected to fill. As social scientists and consultants, it has been our experience that there is always a portion of leaders and employees who can't or won't adopt the new vision. This is why there are always tough people decisions involved in a large system change initiative. Copyright 2002 Dailey & O'Brien, Inc. (c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Secret to 100% Success With Your Marketing There's a secret to marketing, which is so simple, yet so effective once you learn it and apply it, you'll be amazed at the great results you can produce. This secret will prevent you from failing with your marketing pieces. Getting Personal - Innovative Marketing for Small Business Owners The small business marketing strategy you can't afford to miss Everyone loves a story. Even if you don't particularly like reading them chances are you love watching them, either on TV or at the movies. A Jack Of All Trades Is Often The Master of None You've heard variations of that saying your entire life. Consider: a marketer to all markets . The Power of because... "Do it!", "Do it now!", or "Do it because.. Ten Tips for Creating a Winning Proposal - Part 1 If you want your business to grow and attract new clients, you'll have to start creating meaningful proposals. The goal of a proposal is obviously to be awarded new work. Quick and Instant Marketing Soup Everything happens Quickly and Instantly on the Internet. In the blink of an eye your easily transported around a whole planet. These Four Things Will Make Your Direct Marketing Successful Direct marketing is built on four things. The other way to look at it is that when you think direct marketing is not working only one of four things can be wrong. An Easy Start to Mail Order Listing names of Big Mail Requestors, and sending out packages ofBig Mail is an easy way to get your start in the business ofselling by mail. There are a number of mail operators pulling in an easy, extrathousand dollars a month, by what you'd hardly call work--doingnothing more than receiving money for advertising a list ofpeople's names interested in receiving Big Mails, and sending outenvelopes stuffed to overflowing with Big Mail. Avoid These 5 Web Site Blunders! The Web is intended to help people find information quickly and easily. So why do so many sites make it difficult for users to get what they need? While neat design can add impact to your message, make sure the message itself doesn't get lost in the mix. Multicultural Marketing - Taking Care of Business At Hand Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is getting the attention of small-business and other organizations looking for an edge in diverse ethnic markets. "Gone are the days when businesses succeed with a 'one size fits all' approach to marketing. Customizing Booklets By Industry or By Company Customizing booklets can be done by industry or by company."110 Ideas for Organizing Your Travel Business Office" or "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Beauty Salon" or "110 Ways for Organizing Your Fitness Center" are examples of customizing a generic booklet about organizing your business life according to specific industries. Effective Lead Generation How to Gain your Prospective Clients' Attention and Generate the Leads You Need to Make Your Business a SuccessIf you've ever tried to get a child who is engrossed in their favorite video to do another task you know you must first get their attention. Often the best way to do this is to use their name so they realize you are speaking directly to them. Marketers VS Consumers Predators VS Prey The distance between marketing consultants and the real world can truly be mind boggling. When a marketing consultant tells someone to send out 10,000 postcards in order to get a 3% response rate and that the actual sales will be something less than that . Have You Tried Cause Marketing? To help promote your small business or professional practice, consider tearing a page out of the corporate marketing playbook. For years big companies have partnered with nonprofits to co-promote their brands. Why Do They Buy? A recent issue of Entrepreneur magazine included a marketing story with five important questions all business owners should be able to answer about themselves and their competition.Understanding these five critical areas will help you better develop and implement your marketing plan, and sell more to your customers and prospects. Where Are Your Leads Coming From? Most B2B marketers spend a great deal of time analyzing the performance of their programs and initiatives. The reason is obvious: With the growing pressure on marketing to produce measurable results, it's critical that every marketing dollar is invested wisely. Marketing - Like a Game of Chess Have you started thinking about your Valentines Day Promotion yet?It may sound like a strange question on the day before Thanksgiving but it really isn't. When scheduling your promotions it is like a game of chess. Customers Are Like Vampires No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and they don't come out only at night. According to legend, vampires don't come in until they are invited. Your Secret Marketing Weapon As a professional service provider, you're paid for what you know. People come to your firm for the expertise you offer, first and foremost. 5 Print Ad Essentials! Writing an effective print ad, particularly a classified advertisement, requires that you remember five essential points. Failure to implement these points correctly can cost you much in the way of time lost and a sale missed.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
