8 Mistakes Insurance Brokers and Providers Make when Getting a CRM System and How to Overcome Them Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, leading all enterprise-software categories, is forecast to increase at a 15% annual growth rate, reaching $36.5B, worldwide, by 2017. [a] Among all industries in 2012, CRM technology grew 12%. The insurance-banking-finance industry was one of the biggest spenders, following communications-media-IT services and manufacturing. "Customer service and support" was the most common use for CRM (for 37% of all uses), followed by "Sales" (26%), and "Marketing" (20%). [b] CRM software improves customer service and increases sales by maintaining all client data in a single location. A few years ago, some industries, such as life insurance, were slow to adopt CRM. Others who tried CRM found no benefits. Failures peaked in the early 2000’s when many organizations invested heavily in a CRM program that did not live up to expectations. Even more, 42% of purchased CRM software became “shelf-ware," software paid for but never installed. [c]

Research shows that investing in CRM technology pays off. For every dollar a company spends on CRM, it earns $5.60. However, to get this ROI and fully enjoy CRM's benefits, insurance brokers and providers should be aware of possible difficulties and follow guidelines when selecting a CRM system. [d] What Will a Successful CRM Do? With CRM, insurance brokers and providers can: • Respond more quickly to customer requests and improve closing rates • Ensure that all departments are "on the same page" to better serve customers • Develop targeted marketing campaigns via better customer profiling • Provide more personalized service and streamline sales-and-marketing processes • Take advantage of up-sell and cross-sell opportunities • Adapt to regulatory requirements more easily • Accelerate informed decision making • Reduce costs, boost market share, and increase profits • Improve broker and producer agility via mobile solutions and tools • Reduce busywork, freeing up time for more relevant customer contacts • Provide unprecedented visibility into the sales pipeline • Increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention

Why CRM has Failed Insurance Brokers and Providers Insurance brokers and providers were among the more than four out of ten CRM haters. Reasons why CRM failed them include: • Using an off-the-shelf, horizontal CRM that didn't meet functional requirements particular to a vertical industry, such as insurance • Poor planning • Lack of phased implementation (trying to do too much at once) ▪ Workforce did not buy in or adopt the CRM program ▪ Inadequate training ▪ Organizations were too big and/or workflow was too complex ▪ Inherent weaknesses in a given CRM product ▪ CRM software was not configured to an organization’s processes – an ongoing issue when brokers and producers do not fully understand their processes Guidelines for a Successful CRM ▪ Purchase a CRM solution configured for your business -- not an off- the-shelf product ▪ Recognize that CRM is not about technology only -- It is about knowing your processes well enough to configure the technology to your business ▪ Do not try to do everything at once or you may end up with a costly, complex system ▪ Get all departments that have customer contact involved: marketing, sales, accounting, and customer service ▪ Consider a complete customer view – do not get a CRM based on just one or two particular customers or a favored sales-support need ▪ Improve and resolve an existing customer-service operation before investing in CRM because CRM software cannot overcome a flawed process • Consider adding CRM enhancements, such as mapping On that last point, as great as CRM is, when mapping is combined with a CRM system, data are revealed graphically with color- and symbol-coding capabilities, as well as street and satellite images. This significantly helps CRM users to see marketing-and-sales intelligence that often lies hidden in spreadsheet rows and columns.

[a] http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/06/18/gartner-predicts-crm-will-be-a-36b-market-by-2017/

[b] http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/04/26/2013-crm-market-share-update-40-of-crm-systems-sold-are-saas-based/

[c] http://www.itp.net/490384#.UgUAoZKTjSg (Gartner)

[d] Nucleus Research, Boston, MA

Bob Sullivan is president of InfoGrow Corporation. Bringing 24 successful years of experience in CRM, mapping, lead management, business intelligence, and B2B market analytics, InfoGrow helps clients identify their best prospects, discover missed opportunities, focus reps on the most profitable accounts, and reduce marketing waste. Contact Bob at 800-897-9807, x224.

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