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CRM tools are critical to a business’s triumph, as they permit companies to gather leads, change prospects into clienteles and cross-sell products and services to current customers. New sets of existing CRM tools are on the market with new features that can make a small business owners consider switching to and spending in a different CRM system is worth the cost and effort.

In many cases, switching is worth the cost when the business ponders on the added functionality that their business will appreciate. Many new CRM tools integrate finance and marketing software programs. This means that users do not need to complete supporting sales tasks using diverse programs.

As great as these new features are, there is one that all trades should look for when picking a new CRM software program: a high degree of customization. Here are just some of the explanations why businesses should only choose CRM programs that they can customize.

Differences in Business Practices

Companies function too in a different way from each other to depend on an out-of-the-box CRM tool that lacks customization selections. For example, the same highly customizable CRM tool can be used for a for-profit education institution to trace graduate job placement efforts and a non-profit organization trying to track donors for an upcoming moneymaker if the fields themselves could be appropriately customized. Instead of “Lead” the CRM tool could group the names under a “Donor” or “Graduate” tab. Although simple, this is just one example how a customized CRM tool could better mirror the actual workflow of an organization.

Targeted Customer Records

The types of data your organization needs to be successful within the sales pipeline is different. For instance, some organizations collect company names for their sales prospects while others enter the first and last names of their connections. Sometimes a lot of this information is not recognized early in the sales cycle. Many CRM tools require one type of field to be input into each record in order to be saved. For example, Zoho’s CRM tool needs that a last name be entered for each record and will not create a new item deprived of it.

If an organization starts its sales cycle by identifying target companies without a singular contact, some other type of information will need to be entered into the “Last Name” field, which causes inexactitudes within the database. This is why it is important to be able to customize each field of a CRM tool, even the required ones, to better reflect how an organization actually operates. With the ability to better aim customer records, companies don’t have to alter their own workflow to meet the needs of the CRM tool.

Ability to Evolve or Adapt

Businesses naturally change over time to come across market demands or evolving customer needs. This often means that the CRM tool selected today may not match what is needed in a business a few years from now. A highly customized CRM tool can be modified to a business’s needs in the future. Switching to a new CRM tool is a hassle, as businesses must train end users on how to use the system in addition to transitioning the actual client data over to the new software program. For this reason, it is important to find a CRM tool that can adjust to changing business needs over time.

Deciding to shift existing operations to a new CRM tool is not a decision that should be taken lightly. However, it may be worth the added cost or effort to move to a CRM tool that can better encounter a company’s needs. A highly customizable CRM tool is one example of a CRM tool worth the effort, as it allows businesses to use a system that thoroughly matches what they need.

Source: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/why-highly-customizable-crm-programs-are-in-demand-71691

The goal of customer-centric CRM is to improve customer value. It treats relationship marketing as a continuum as opposed to treating it as a means to an end. Companies that view CRM as mere software end up automating business processes, instead of using the tool to optimize customer transactions and increase consumer experience.

The Customer-Centric Approach

A customer-centric approach to CRM uses users as the axis around which all thought processes related to a business revolve. This idea is built on the belief that every user is unique and so are his/her needs. In order to reap customer loyalty, enterprises should recognize this uniqueness, and customize their services and products to attend to these needs. In their book “Customer Relationship Management: Concept, Strategy and Tools,” V. Kumar and Werner Reinartz define CRM as the practice of analyzing and utilizing marketing databases, and leveraging communication technologies to determine corporate practices and methods that will make the most of the lifetime value of each client of the firm.

Key Metrics for Customer Centricity

Since businesses are mainly about profit-making, your goal must be to maximize customer value (both current and future) for your company’s advantage. Customer value is determined by a customer’s involvement to the net profit of a company. Towards this end, ask yourself these questions:

• Can you measure the lifetime value of a customer? If yes, how?

• What is the link between customer loyalty and profitable customers?

• Does customer loyalty always pay? If not, identify cases when it does not.

• How can you augment your marketing resources to get the most out of customer centricity?

Responding to these questions will give you the basic road map upon which to chart your marketing decisions. For example, you will get a clear vision of when to practically pursue customer loyalty and when not to. They also lead the way for customer identification and prioritization.

The Satisfaction-Profit Chain

Customer loyalty is one of the basic elements of a company’s profitability and growth. However, loyalty pivots heavily on customer satisfaction, which is in turn influenced by the value of services provided. But, how do you put a figure on customer loyalty? Well planned surveys may be the most reliable means to measure loyalty.

Customers can either be terrorists or apostles. It was Scott D. Cook, CEO of Intuit Inc., who first coined these terms in relation to customer relationships. While apostles joyfully take along in new customers without any energy on your part, terrorists are unhappy customers with the influence to interrupt your efforts to acquire new customers.

Benefit of Customer Identification and Prioritization

Identification and prioritization is simply code speak for locating and luring customers that will progress your business’ financial well-being. It also means locating unreasonable and problematic customers and letting them go. CRM allows you to identify customers that provide the most value. Since these customers are apostles already, you won’t have to expand your budget on lucrative loyalty programs to retain them. They are mostly happy with occasional prioritization for special treatment.

Customer Retention versus Customer Acquisition

While it’s a commonly held belief that customer retention is more inexpensive than customer acquisition, it’s not always true. For example, it would not pay to hold on to terrorists. Because it is anticipated that existing customers are easier to satisfy and are more forgiving of lapses, the common trend is to allot more funds towards customer retention. However, in order to optimize the value of your customer base, strategies for customer acquisition and retention should be given equal importance.

In conclusion, CRM is not specific to any certain department within an enterprise. As people are the heart of any business, CRM in general and customer centricity, in particular, are the weft and the warp holding together the condition of your company.

Source: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-and-the-concept-of-customer-centricity-71614

Establishing customer service guidelines is nice, but you need to put those principles into action with everything you do and say. There are certain “magic words” that customers want to hear from you and your staff. Make sure all your employees understand the importance of these key words:

“How can I help?” Customers want the opportunity to explain in detail what they want and need. Too often, business owners feel the desire or the obligation to guess what customers need rather than carefully listening first. By asking how you can help, you begin the dialogue on a positive note. And by using an open-ended question, you invite discussion.

“I can solve that problem.” Most customers, especially B2B customers, are looking to buy solutions. They appreciate direct answers in a language they can understand.