MODULES IN CRMWhat is CRM?CRM means ''Customer Relationship Management'', i.e. the concept of a planned and structured means of managing the relations with your customers. A CRM tool allows a business to manage customer relationships in a structured and organized way using software that is normally hosted in-house or on demand, in the cloud, for example, Zoho CRM.Application of a well thought out CRM implementation strategy combined with implementation of the right CRM tool for your business, helps give insight into your sales and marketing and customer support processes and improve team efficiency.

In addition, companies that implement a CRM often see substantial improvements in business processes, Sales team collaboration as well as business profit.Most normal CRM systems are divided into three (but not restricted to) main modules: Marketing Sales Customer ServiceMarketingThe Marketing module allows your marketing team to plan both long and short term Marketing related activities within your business.Marketing PlanningMarketing Plans can be entered into the CRM and budgets, targets and campaign related tasks can be set against the campaigns themselves. Campaigns can be specific to company size, location, preferred products etc., as all of this information is stored within the CRM.Campaign ManagementMarketing 'campaigns' might take the form of trade shows, TV ads, magazine commercials, and may target different potential customers, but leads gathered from these campaigns are entered into the CRM, thus giving you an accurate measurement of the success of each marketing campaign.Your CRM can be combined with an e-marketing application to target the right customers with the right products and to analyse their behaviour during an email marketing campaign. Over time, you can build up an understanding of what attracts customers to your products/services and how they behave whilst viewing the information in your marketing email and in your website. This provides you with a very powerful means of reaching your target audience and giving them best information in the best format.Lead ManagementA key purpose of a CRM Marketing module is to generate leads for Sales to qualify into real sales and thus revenue for the company. CRM lead management entails managing leads in a structured and organized way, evaluating whether they are worthy of follow up and grading them accordingly in order to convert them in to Sales opportunities for the Sales teams to follow up and close as sales deals.SalesThe CRM Sales module helps your Sales Managers structure their Sales team processes from presales through to quotations and deal closure. The CRM allows your Sales teams to capture key customer interactions (calls, meetings, emails etc). Sales Managers can then process this data and compare sales quotas against actual sales. In addition, the CRM can automatically alert Sales people with recommended courses of action and provide structured communication templates, decreasing administration and sales ramp time. This is known as automated workflow and can be customized to match your company's sales policy.Opportunity ManagementOpportunities are potential sales, potential revenue for the company. The CRM helps the Sales team by organizing all the relevant opportunity information into one central database and it helps business managers by giving a real-time window into sales status.Typically information stored on an opportunity is as follows: Prospective customer company details etc, Type of sales opportunity and product interest Expected sales revenue, Expected sales closing date, Key people in the sales opportunity and their roles within the deal/company, Key sales-related dates and milestones In most businesses a sales opportunity will have several stages. For example prospecting, qualification, quotation, negotiation and closed (won) or closed (lost). The opportunity stages can be customized to match your companys sales process. A CRM system helps improve the efficiency of your Sales team as well as relations with your customers during each phase by providing functions to assist the Sales representative in performing suggested sales-related activities and / or using suggested sales-related communication templates, all of which can be predefined by your company's sales policy/process or business model. Many of these can be automated by the CRM Administrator via liaison with the Business Development/Sales Managers, thus structuring the process further, helping to reduce ramp time and saving on Sales Admin time. Here are a few examples of how you might use a CRM in your organisation:Your Sales person has just had an initial meeting with a new prospect he/she can use the CRM to send a polite thank you email, stored in the CRM, which pulls all relevant information and can be sent in one or two clicks as opposed to thirty minutes of typing. Sales admin time is greatly reduced and your customer receives a courteous and personalised follow up.An large sales deal has been quoted by one of your Sales team. The CRM can be customized to send automated alerts to the Sales Manager to get involved as well as (for example) an automatic notification with all relevant details to stock control personnel to prepare for production.Or, for example, if an Opportunity is lost, the CRM system can automatically notify the Sales person to enter details of why the deal was lost so your company builds up a Lessons Learned database. These approaches are known as "Guided Sales Methodology" and this is where companies benefit from working with a CRM Administrator / Consultant to assist in making suggestion to improve their business workflow by using the CRM tool.Quotation and Sales Order ManagementOnce opportunities reach a Quotation stage, they can be converted to a quotation and, if they are set to the Closed Won stage, a Sales order. Most CRMs have standard functionality which allow your Sales team to quickly and easily create Quotation or Sales Order from an opportunity and this is then stored against the sales deal for easy reference. Most CRMs, especially those such as Salesforce.com can be integrated to ERP systems if required.Activity ManagementActivities are such things as Sales calls, meetings, discussions, internal notes, emails). Activity Management allows you to log all of your sales activities in one centralised platform, helping you to build a 360 degree view of customer communications. Most CRMs will allow you to synchronise these activities with MS Outlook/Lotus Notes.Customer ServiceA CRM allows you to effectively manage your companys customer support capability. This too can be customized to suit your business process and help you to provide what is stated in your Warranty based services, thus avoiding SLA (Service Level Agreement) non conformance issues. In addition, they can drastically reduce your support team admin time by building a company knowledgebase which can be used by the support team and even accessed by your customers in a self service portal. CRMs usually include the following customer support functionality: SLA/Warranty Management Resource Planning and Scheduling Solution Management - answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Call Center Management Collaborative customer support resource managementA CRM solution can substantially improve your business processes, provide visibility into critical business intelligence and make your teams more efficientCRM and ERP Integration The need for front-office and back-office synchronizationDo your customer service and sales reps struggle to obtain a single view of customers? Does your finance department strive to recognize revenues on time? Would you like to fulfill orders in a timely manner? It's time to get a better return on your data by integrating your back-office ERP environment with your CRM.When CRM and ERP applications are disconnected, employees find themselves trapped in tedious, manual tasks that are error-prone, slow down processes, and add to operational costs. Integrating CRM and ERP applications is essential to maximizing your investment in each system, reducing errors in data exchange, and improving overall organizational efficiency. CRM and ERP integration can also dramatically improve the return on investment of both applications and increase effectiveness of both tools. 5 Benefits of CRM and ERP Integration:1: Get a Single View of All Customer InteractionsCRM and ERP applications both have contact and account information from customers. ERP systems focus more on the back-end financial and fulfillment processes, while CRM applications contain information about prospective clients and support for sales. Creating a seamless experience between the two applications requires carefully creating integration workflows that ensure that all relevant pieces of information make it from one system to another.2: Fulfill Orders Instantly in Real TimeWhen an opportunity closes in your CRM system, it should trigger the ordering and fulfillment process immediately in your ERP. However, this usually doesn't happen, and a lack of real-time, event-based communication can mean that a crucial order is missed. CRM and ERP integration helps you ensure that your customers get their products delivered on time.3: Accelerate Cash Flows The cash collection process usually kicks off when a sale closes, and invoices and payment terms are to be reconciled with the customer. Without proper CRM and ERP integration, there are no workflows to generate automated reminders to customers, or to alert finance personnel that their cash flows are running lower than normal.With proper CRM and ERP integration, it is easier for finance to identify delinquent accounts and to recognize revenue in a timely manner.4: Quote Correct PricesCRM and ERP integration helps sales get access to the latest pricing updates from the ERP system. In this manner, sales reps have access to the latest promotional pricing from marketing campaigns, and can target their customers better when trying to meet their quotas. 5: Maximize CRM and ERP investmentsYour CRM application helps your reps collaborate better and be more productive. But when it is not synchronized with your back-office ERP, your sales reps stop using it, thereby resulting in lower adoption. As a result, you stop receiving the full benefit of your investment in not only your CRM system, but also your ERP application. Through a robust, easy to deploy, and intuitive cloud integration solution, you can truly reach your full potential with CRM and ERP integration. CASE STUDYHow can CRM help grow your business? World class customer experiences begins with your people. By providing them with the right tools to propel their productivity and amplify their impact, they can drive your organisation to achieve its goals and generate maximum return.

Phil CallaghanThis is the value of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, a truly experienced and proven way to build lasting growth. However, implementation of any CRM solution must be carefully thought through, and the support of experienced professionals can pay dividends in the long run. CRM technology, when placed at the heart of an organisation, can have an almost immediate impact on the top line, helping organisations to win profitable customers and to better serve existing customers. There are three ways to harness the power of CRM:1. Acquire profitable customersA well implemented CRM application will bring together multiple sources of information to support decision-making, allowing marketing campaigns to be targeted and managed most effectively. A sales force is a valuable and possibly one of an organisations most costly resources. With this in mind, its imperative that sales people spend their time selling, and less time chasing fruitless leads or navigating administrative hurdles.

The CRM tool should act as a sales forces compass. It should help the organisation understand where it stands today, and point in the direction it needs to take. It should be an integral part of the sales team at the start of the sales cycle it should help qualify leads, allowing resources to be directed appropriately.

Automatic triggers can be built into your CRM system to ensure the desired contact programme is fulfilled, and subsequent win-loss data can be collated and analysed, allowing organisations to continually hone their strategy for optimum success.2. Retain and maximise existing customersIts commonly known that its significantly cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. So it makes sense to focus resources that help to build customer loyalty, increase spend and encourage longevity. CRM allows you to analyse customer spend, joining up your marketing and sales processes. Additionally, you can build detailed customer profiles all of which aids the reduction of customer churn.

A great customer experience must be balanced with the need to control cost. An effective CRM tool can help make service improvements whilst reducing costs associated with managing customers, both by making agents more effective, and by automating data entry processes.

For advisers, the automatic generation of information, complete with pre-populated standard fields means advisers have the necessary detail available to handle queries most effectively, which can save valuable time. And because all information about the customer including historic data is held in one place, the adviser can more quickly handle queries as they have access to contextual information.3. Gain efficienciesProcesses Improvement: All businesses operate with a series of processes, often built around the most basic functions of the organisation and almost always repetitive tasks. These processes are vital to an organisations success they are what drive consistent service levels, fast decision-making and best practice.

Successful processes are key to all successful organisations. CRM reporting makes it easy to identify the most effective processes, and to ensure they are established across the organisation.

Help employees to excel: In an age where information is all-important, CRM tools can play an important role in ensuring employees are able to work effectively, adding maximum value to the business. Customers want to be helped quickly, and by the first person they speak to. They want quick solutions and correct answers. CRM means employees have the right information in the right place at the right time, empowering them to be effective and provide high quality service to customers.

Simplify your IT assets: As organisations grow, IT infrastructure tends to grow too. Soon, a number of disparate systems are in use, often with overlapping and conflicting data. It can be a time-consuming and costly exercise to unravel the discrepancies, and produce a less than ideal experience for customers. In addition, it can be more complex to maintain a number of systems, and adds to training costs too.

Providing one unified system with a single user interface, means employees can access all the necessary information in one place, without the need to switch from one application to another. This makes it easier for them to make good decisions, and reduces the risk of wasted time and effort.

A good CRM system will continue to evolve with an organisation, comprising accessible configuration tools to enable companies to further tailor the user interface. It should also allow companies to further develop their capabilities.ConclusionCompanies must keep focused on their strategy and find ways to achieve more with less. Tools which help companies maximise revenue opportunities and reduce operational costs will strengthen the organisation and position it well for a secure future. CRM is a powerful tool which, if fully harnessed, can play a vital role in sales, marketing and service provision.

However, to produce the required impact, it must be implemented with care. Correctly integrated with other IT applications, and aligned with business processes, a CRM tool can be immensely powerful, helping an organisation to gain better market positioning beyond an economic downturn. Working with experts reduces the risk of wasted time, effort and money and means you can reap the full benefit of a CRM system from the outset.

CHALLENGES FOR SME TO IMPLIMNT CRM-Stiff competition, narrow price margins...Sound familiar?Small and medium-sized enterprises have to overcome their own special challenges, often having to contend with: a lot of competition, comparable prices, specific customer requirements, price and product transparency driven by the Internet.CRM is essential for small and medium-sized enterprises. With countless competitors all offering similar products at similar prices, the only way to stand out from the crowd is through efficient and effective customer relationship management. Our CRM solution meets the needs of SMEs The right implementation of your CRM system is critical for your success. Our professional CRM solution supports you reliably at all times in all areas of your business. Your software has to be as flexible as your are. This also applies to your solution provider whose most important task is to understand you. CAS CRM is the partner of choice for successful CRM implementation.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analytical CRMDefinition:Analytical CRM comprises the analysis and systematic evaluation of customer data using business intelligence functions. The aim is to filter out the key facts from gathered information and gain customer knowledge. Analytical CRM allows customer satisfaction to be measured, for example, or trends among customers to move to other suppliers to be detected. Knowledge of customers' behavior can also be used specifically for communication and addressing customers in operational CRM, such as in campaign management.Example: Customers' buying behavior is analyzed in analytical CRM. This analysis reveals which customers have not bought anything for a considerable length of time. A mailshot campaign, guided by operational CRM, will address this target group directly and encourage it to purchase various products.STRATEGIC CRM

Successful strategic CRM is a complex set of activities that together form the basis for a sustainable and hard-to-imitate competitive advantage Strategic CRM shapes interactions between companies and customers to allow the maximization of customers lifetime value Recognizes differences between customers with respect to their economic value to the firm as well as their expectations from the firmMarketing and Customer Service[edit]CRM systems track and measure marketing campaigns over multiple networks. These systems can track customer analysis by customer clicks and sales. Places where CRM is used include call centers, heavily used in social media, direct mail, data storage files, banks, and customer data queries.TOOLS IN RM PROCESSComparing the Tools"CRM" has become something of a buzzword in the nonprofit technology sector, and is often appended to specialized databases that don't really fit the definition of a true constituent relationship management system. This is not to say that these software systems couldn't help you manage your relationships with your constituents, just that they don't meet the strictest definition of the tool. Below, we look at the four systems that do meet the definition: flexible, customizable, all-in-one systems able to integrate with your online communication strategy as well as your fundraising, case management, event management, and other activities.Free to Acquire, but Not to MaintainCiviCRMCiviCRM is an open-source, web-based CRM system offered for download at no charge. However, you'll almost certainly need a consulting firm to configure the software to your nonprofit's specific needs. Luckily, CiviCRM consultants are becoming easier to find, and there's an active community of nonprofit users who help develop and beta-test new developments. It's quite strong in helping you keep track of your constituents, households, and donations, and offers helpful event management and broadcast email functionality as well.CiviCRM does have a few drawbacks if your organization requires a CRM with sophisticated accounting and billing features, you may want to choose another system, as CiviCRM will require a lot of additional work. The user interface isn't always the most intuitive, either, although many improvements have been made in the past few years.With customization, though, it's a system that could help your organization function more smoothly. Some of the out-of-the-box functionality includes CiviCase, a basic case management system; CiviSchool, which is meant to manage educational programs; and a new feature called CiviBox Office, which allows for sophisticated, airline-style seat selection for ticketed events. Beyond these ready-to-go modules, customization of the software could cost anywhere between $2,000 and $50,000, based on the complexity of the organization's needs. A consultant would almost certainly need to manage the customization, and could also manage the migration from your previous system and any technical support that might be needed down the line.SalesforceSalesforce is a CRM platform used widely in the for-profit world. The company offers up to 10 user licenses of the Enterprise edition, one of the tiers of the system, free of charge to qualifying organizations. Salesforce also has an implementation called the Nonprofit Starter Pack that's ready-made to fit the needs of nonprofits. The system is cloud-based and doesn't require dedicated hardware or a server. Strong in household management, donation management, and member management, Salesforce is not as strong out of the box in event or case management.A defining feature of Salesforce is the App Exchange, a bustling online marketplace where developers sell applications designed to sit on top of the platform. There are hundreds of apps for sale, and many have been designed especially for nonprofits. These are usually offered on a monthly subscription basis, and the cost can add up, but it can also add substantial capabilities to the system.For smaller nonprofits, Salesforce is technically free, but to properly configure and support the system, you'll need the services of someone tech-savvy enough to navigate its substantial technical intricacies and possibilities. For instance, the apps you'd need to assemble a system that meets the requirements for most religious organizations could potentially cost you thousands of dollars per year. Larger nonprofits that need more than 10 user licenses would need to negotiate a contract with the company.CRMs with Subscription CostsSugarCRMSugarCRM is an open-source, web-based CRM system designed for for-profit businesses. The system vendors make no bones about their desire to challenge Salesforce for the title of most widely used CRM for enterprise. Consultants for the tool have also begun to court the nonprofit sphere.SugarCRM is a powerful and user-friendly system but doesn't have a widely available customization for nonprofits like the other tools profiled here, so a consultant would have to build in donation management, event support, and other basic features. Almost all of the out-of-the-box language is geared toward the sales process, although the fields and modules can be modified extensively. Still, many basic features that nonprofits need will require workarounds, and SugarCRM doesn't have the ability to integrate with a nonprofit's website as seamlessly as do other CRM products.An organization looking to implement SugarCRM would need to work closely with a consultant to tailor the software to the organization, but once the customization process was completed, SugarCRM might be a helpful relationship management tool. Pricing for SugarCRM is based on a tiered system there's an open-source implementation called the Community Edition, which is free. Most nonprofits would want to start at the higher-level options, which range between $420 and $1,200 per staff user per year. And a consulting company would charge fees around the $10,000 mark to get the system up and running.Microsoft DynamicsMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is the software giant's answer to an integrated CRM system, and is designed to be an all-in-one database accommodating all of an organization's needs. The Nonprofit Template, developed by Microsoft and available at no charge to sit on top of the CRM, transforms the out-of-the-box sales-centric tool into a nonprofit-centric platform. The system is pretty user-friendly, especially if you're used to Office products, and is able to handle donation management, reporting, member management, direct mail correspondence, and email. Event management and web portal capabilities are available for an extra fee but require additional configuration and more advanced technical knowledge to implement.[Editor's note: Microsoft Dynamics CRM is available as a donated product through TechSoup to qualified nonprofits and charities. TechSoup also offers NetSuite, an integrated, cloud-based business management software solution.]Other OptionsOther vendors have harnessed the power of CRM and offered managed packages, or products you can subscribe to that are built on CRM platforms but marketed toward specific segments of the marketplace, like cultural organizations. These come with most of the features you'd need already built in, and usually require a monthly or annual subscription.ConclusionWhether with volunteers, donors, constituents, lawmakers, or anyone else, your nonprofit relies on its relationships to do the day-to-day work that effects change in the world and meets its mission. Managing those relationships is an ongoing challenge, but finding the right tool makes it easier by eliminating unnecessary obstacles and helping you focus on the personal aspect of these relationships.A CRM isn't the solution for every organization, and those with specialized needs or highly focused interactions may benefit from a more specific system. It's not uncommon for donors to also be volunteers, or for constituents to donate. By tracking your relationships and making records quickly and easily accessible, a good CRM facilitates your work by letting you map the way people truly interact with your organization even when those interactions overlap.

CUSTOMER LIFE CYCLE

In customer relationship management (CRM), customer life cycle is a term used to describe the progression of steps a customer goes through when considering, purchasing, using, and maintaining loyalty to a product or service. Marketing analysts Jim Sterne and Matt Cutler have developed a matrix that breaks the customer life cycle into five distinct steps: reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty. In layman's terms, this means getting a potential customer's attention, teaching them what you have to offer, turning them into a paying customer, and then keeping them as a loyal customer whose satisfaction with the product or service urges other customers to join the cycle. The customer life cycle is often depicted by an ellipse, representing the fact that customer retention truly is a cycle and the goal of effective CRM is to get the customer to move through the cycle again and again.

CRM Implementation Process4 Key Steps in the CRM Implementation Process1. 1. Identify all areas of your business that touch the Customer or the Prospect.2. 2. Identify all of the business processes that manage the touch points with the Customer or Prospect.3. 3. Select the appropriate CRM and Sales Force Automation (SFA) system that will allow the business processes impacting the Customer or Prospect to be managed in the most efficient and effective manner.4. 4. Document those business processes and train the users on the utilization of the CRM system with a focus on how that system will deliver value to their daily work lives and how it will maximize their efficiency and effectiveness in managing their relationships with their Customers and Prospects.