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In an environment where personal relationships play a major role in acquiring new customers, it’s surprising that customer relations software isn’t more widely adopted. Although they are still not widely used, these tools have enormous potential.
It’s happened to all of us: the business card we received at an event is mechanically slipped into a pocket or bag, and ends up at the bottom of a desk drawer, forgotten for months. Yet this card undoubtedly contained up-to-date information on a potential customer.
No doubt you’ve also had an appointment with a customer who tells you they’ve been contacted by one of your colleagues without your knowledge. While these oversights and miscommunications may seem insignificant, they add up to a set of missed opportunities that can cost you dearly.
That’s where CRM (Customer Relationship Management) comes in. It’s a software program that centralizes all data relating to your customers and prospects (name, company, business sector, e-mails and telephones, appointments, promotions, hobbies, etc.) and to the history of your relations (making contact, sending newsletters, reminders, etc.).
Why have a CRM ?
– It allows you to centralize in a single location data that was previously scattered across the inboxes of all your associates and collaborators.
– It allows you to nurture and personalize the relationship : congratulatory emails on anniversaries or appointments are touches that help you stand out from the crowd.
– Improve the effectiveness of your marketing actions : when you know that a customer is only interested in the employment law aspect, it’s much more relevant to send him the newsletter dedicated to this subject than a newsletter on public law which will end up directly in the garbage can. If the CRM indicates that a prospect will soon be raising funds, we can send him an invitation to a dedicated event : « You have to be able to send the right message, to the right person, at the right time » (Nomination).
« To make an analogy: Nomination is both a car with all the options, which guides the sales rep in his prospecting, in his contacts to enable him to reach the right people at the right time (car and GPS aspect). And it’s also premium fuel, with 60 employees dedicated to the daily qualification of 250,000 decision-maker profiles in major accounts, ETIs, SMEs and start-ups » – Serge Papo, Chairman of Nomination.
– Boost your business development
According to the white paper published by Nomination in 2017, « if associates have quality internal and external data, their business development actions can increase by 8% on average! By prioritizing the efforts of associates in charge of development on the most promising profiles, structures can generate up to 24% additional revenue ! »
A high-quality CRM enables us to identify the most appropriate times to contact a customer, optimize knowledge sharing and thus cross-selling, anticipate potential customer losses and generate business opportunities by making the best use of prospects’ news.
Preconceived ideas about CRM
It’s a tool for producing quotations and invoices
No, that’s what other software is for!
It’s an expensive tool with low returns
There’s a whole range of CRMs available, each with more or less options to suit your needs. But it’s an essential investment, just like computers: you could do your job as a lawyer by hand, but it would take you 20 times longer than with a computer. CRM software makes data accessible to everyone, all the time, and creates business opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to exploit.
Too complicated to use
Once again, it all depends on the CRM you choose. As with any new tool, training is necessary to learn how to use it and optimize its operation.
Why do some CRM projects fail ?
According to a 2015 study by Garner, more than 60% of CRM projects fail to meet their ROI targets.
According to a 2017 survey by Nomination, there are several reasons why CRM users are dissatisfied:
– Teams don’t know how to use it (74%)
– Too much time is spent entering data (69%)
– Data is not up to date (62%)
– CRM did not lead to a deal (56%)
We can also note difficulties linked to the user experience, particularly on the move, a lack of internal incentive to use the tool, a generic CRM purchased without taking initial needs into account, and a reluctance on the part of associates to share information on their customers.
However, when well thought out and used, a CRM tool can deliver excellent results.
“CRM software is your ally, and it can help you in more ways than you think! You’ll be faced with many challenges when installing it, but meeting challenges is what allows you to excel.” – Guillaume Lemaire Van Kann, Strategy and Development Director Eliott & Markus
How can I ensure the success of my CRM tool ?
If you decide to adopt a CRM, change or improve your existing one, there are several things you need to know. For those who already have a CRM and wish to change, the first step is to set up a steering committee made up of partners, associates and assistants – in other words, all the people who contribute to the CRM. This project needs to be supported and understood by everyone, and not just something imposed from above.
The committee’s first action should be to identify what’s not working, and draw up a list of priorities for a CRM : emailing, personalization, centralization, business development…
The next step is to carry out an audit of the current source of data (internal, external), as well as the role of each stakeholder in updating this data. The data will then be updated and enriched thanks to everyone’s collaboration. According to Nomination, the obsolescence rate of a database is around 30% per year.
A running-in phase will be carried out with a few users (who will have been given user manuals) to check that the tool meets their needs, and to make any necessary adjustments during bug review meetings.
The launch of the tool will be carefully prepared with concrete training sessions, as well as raising awareness of the impact of CRM on business development and how it can make working life easier. Demonstrating the tool’s usefulness in concrete terms is the key to getting users on board. We can also imagine an incentive program to encourage people to update their contacts and enrich the database.
The work doesn’t stop once the tool has been chosen and/or improved. It’s essential to regularly evaluate the tool’s effectiveness in acquiring prospects and retaining customers, using indicators or satisfaction surveys, so that the tool always remains as close as possible to the customer’s needs. We can identify what’s not working, but also what actions taken using CRM have triggered the customer’s signature.
