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CHAPTER 17 The customers
Ten steps to successful CRM
Technology is just one part of a successful CRM strategy. Up to 85 per cent of CRM systems fail to deliver the expected benefits and many organisations invest in CRM technology without a clear idea of what they expect it to achieve. Planning is essential: if you don't follow the golden rules, you could be wasting your money.
Put your people first
Any organisation that focuses on CRM technology without taking a good look at its people is doomed to failure. Customer Relationship Management strategies can only be as effective as the people that you have implementing them, and it takes more than a suite of software to make it work.
Experience shows that even with a great brand, good processes and thorough systems, businesses are likely to fail if the staff are not up to the job. The key driver for implementing CRM systems should be customer retention, which is achieved by providing good service.
It is vital to have the right staff. In the customer's eyes, the person they are dealing with is the company, so any lack of consistency, misunderstanding or rudeness from staff will destroy the relationship a company has built with its customers, which is why it is important to have good integration across all channels of customer contact.
Know your customers
An important part of CRM is identifying those customers who are most valuable to a business, allowing the focus to be better concentrated on those individuals, and indicating who you should invest more money in marketing your product or brand towards. It should also be used to control the appropriateness of customer interactions, alerting staff as to how customers prefer those interactions to take place. For example, customers who don't shop online shouldn't be contacted with offers linked to the Web site. When CRM data is not used properly, as is often the case with bulk mail and mass email, a negative opinion is formed by the customer, which devalues the relationship.
Know your market: CRM isn't appropriate for all businesses. If you have a handful of employees and a small customer base that orders a narrow selection of goods or services, a CRM system probably isn't for you.
Know your methods
Don't implement changes without examining existing procedures… if an SME is looking to develop its CRM strategy, they must have recognised that they are experiencing customer-related problems. But what is the cause of each problem? Has a customer enquiry not been passed to the right person, or not followed up? Even if it is being worked on, who is being made aware of this?
Simply
putting in a CRM system isn't enough. In fact the whole attitude of the organisation,
its processes and workflow needs to be aligned in order for a CRM project to be
successful.
Know your limits
If you try to do everything in one go; it will cost you a lot of money and time. The solution will not be delivered quickly and there will be little short-term return on a large investment. People react well to quick solutions. Address the initial problems, get quick wins, deliver a solution quickly, and win over team members. It may not be the ultimate system on day one but it will deliver results - and quickly.
User adoption - one of the biggest problems with CRM change - will reach critical mass quickly.
You should still choose your systems according to what you want to do in the future, not what you want to do in the short term. Choose a CRM system that has the flexibility to be developed with the benefit of usage. The phased 'keep it simple' approach keeps costs down and allows decisions on further spend to be taken with the benefit of experience.
Invest in training
Training is essential. But training should be addressed as a whole, not only on the software package but also on the procedures that are going to be changed. The whole reasoning behind the change needs to be discussed with the team and the benefits explained.
Technology has made a real difference in keeping staff informed about their customers. Sophisticated analytical tools can identify likes, dislikes and behaviours in order to identify what additional products and services could be offered. But unless the person using that technology is knowledgeable, as well as being well trained and motivated, the technology isn't going to be successful.
Keep communicating
The golden rules of CRM are the rules of business. Communicate openly, honestly and with integrity. Every business has three core components: people, process and product. Technology is a delivery mechanism - customers want relationships, not managing!
Be consistent
Most businesses are now 'multi-channel', whether Internet, telephone, fax or PDA, and so it is essential to CRM strategy that the customer be given a consistent experience, no matter which channel they visit. If, for example, you have a Web site as well as a physical store, and the customer can use a credit card on line, they will expect to be able to use the card in store as well… CRM, when used properly, allows customers access to the business across multiple channels. Messaging should be consistent across your channels, and each channel should be aware of the activities of the next.
Reliable
delivery
Make sure you use a reliable delivery company and deliver on time. This can ensure that you receive a high level of repeat business and recommendations. Send your customers a tracking number and a link to where they can track the order. This is another great way to boost customer confidence and retention.
How do you inspire trust in your online customers?
So how can online businesses increase trust in their customers, so that they use the internet to buy online as much as they would face-to-face on the high street, especially with the more intangible products and services such as advice or finance deals?
For an online retailer to inspire trust they must follow a few simple rules:
o
Have a reputable payment gateway
o Have the SLL certificate on your site,
people tend to get nervous about ordering online when the padlock does not appear
o Have a list of customer testimonials that can be accessed
o Live online
chat so others can talk about their experiences
o Free delivery
o Be profitable
- to allay customer fears that the company won't disappear and take their money
with it
o Monthly contracts - customers aren't tied down to long-term contracts
o Growing - revenues growing on a month-by-month basis to show you're stable
company to do business with
o Have no up-front charges and all bills should
be invoiced
o Make sure you're registered with the Data Protection Registrar
o
Post all prices, contracts and Service Level Agreements on the website to be transparent
about everything that you do.
Killer Point
Make it clear how long you have been around for and how many customers you serve - this lets potential customers know how much experience you have.
The role of all online traders is to educate customers that the internet can be a safe place to shop. Technologies such as encryption software and digital signatures create a safe online environment.
Customers will think nothing of handing over their credit cards to people in a shop or behind a desk who will process the transaction in much the same way as an online shopper.
As customers we bypass the fear factor of entering our credit card details through the 'magic' of the swipe card, in reality the underlying technologies are the same! Regardless of the entry method (swipe or type) the data still needs authorisation and that means data transfer.
In many
ways the internet removes the 'middle man' from the scenario and reputable firms
will provide a safe online shopping guarantee, it's probably worth remembering
computers do not create fraud, people do.
Killer Point
Computers do not create fraud, people do. Technologies such as encryption software and digital signatures create a safer online environment.
The key to making people more confident of transacting online is to make the online environment more 'human' - in every aspect. Realistic look, feel, movement and communication.
In the late 1990s, some more innovative customer service orientated firms implemented artificial agents... these are still slow to take off. This is largely due to significant initial investment and until recently, the market not being quite ready for what was on offer. The technology was there, but the users were just not ready for it.
Innovation in the interactive market is often found in the entertainment, youth and media sectors. Learning from these progressive areas can be applied to drier environments such as financial services.
Combining AI (artificial intelligence) technology and human-like environments will encourage people to complete more complicated transactions online. It will be the step between technology and the human.
Killer Point
Let users have what they need and want, instead of prescribing it for them. Provide the ability and encourage, but do not force.
The key point is that no-one can see, touch or read your body language in cyberspace. Most of the ways that we unconsciously use to establish trust are blocked off.
A smart, well-designed site is the first step to filling the gap, and emphasis on your real physical existence is the second.
So display a phone number prominently on every page of your site. As well as establishing trust, there's a great opportunity when prospects call. Make it easy to find your real address as well as an email address. A PO Box number won't do.
Photos of you or your team, plus maybe a picture of your premises can help. It may be that your folksy cottage is more of a turn-on to your particular customer group than prestigious offices in the City would ever be.
Finally, make use of every logo, endorsement or scheme available that is designed to establish credibility.
The true value of the internet as a retail channel will only be hammered home to consumers if companies make significant strides to communicate what they are doing to absolutely ensure not only security, but also best practice on their websites.
Schemes like the Interactive Media in Retail Group's Internet Shopping is Safe campaign are plugging the gap left by the Which? WebTrader scheme, and they are to be applauded, but companies need to make sustained commitments to communicating with customers about significant e-commerce issues in general. Also sites such as Shopsafe and Verisign offer schemes you can join which will allow you to display one of there certificates to inspire confidence and credibility to your website. You must pass checks to show your company operates with a secure website and also they will make sure that you comply with Data Protection and Distance Selling Regulations.
How many retailers have actually explained terms like 'strong authentication' and 'liability shift' to their customers? How many of them have advised customers to buy a shredder to avoid identity theft? A trusting shopper is an active shopper, but trust comes with an obligation to communicate and explain.
Killer Point
It stands to reason that until a merchant inspires the same level of trust amongst its online customers that it has perhaps worked for years to attain amongst its offline customers, online purchasing will always remain the 'poor cousin'.
When Customers Attack!
When people used to talk about e-business, the word 'revolution' would frequently crop up. The internet, I were told time and time again, could revolutionise almost every aspect of business. And, in most cases, this revolution was a happy one. Internet technology would help companies reach more customers, in less time, anywhere in the world.
What was often left out of the 'e-business revolution' message was the fact that it also changed the way customers could respond to companies. In the old days - that's the early nineties - customers had to make do. They chose a shop on the basis of where it was located, and they put up with whatever customer service was, or wasn't, displayed.
In severe cases, a customer could have complained to the manager, written a nasty letter to the company's head office or told their friends and family not to shop there. Other than that, they could only cross their fingers and hope their letter to Anne Robinson would get an airing on Watchdog.
Consumer
power
Now all
that has changed. Just ask Marie Griffiths. The 27 year old city recruitment manager
had a bad experience with electrical retailer Dixons. After spending months trying
to get them to repair her TV, she decided other people might like to know about
the service she had received.
So she did what any self-respecting twenty-first
century consumer is able to do. She catalogued her experience online, keeping
a daily dairy in the form of a blog (http://mastercare.blogspot.com). After only
a fortnight, Griffiths said she had received more than 500 emails from similarly
dissatisfied customers.
Of course, the bigger the company, the bigger the target. For instance, at the last count, there were 12 websites complaining about Microsoft's behaviour and its sales policies. In the UK alone, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Tesco, Orange and Vodafone have all been victims of internet campaigns.
However,
any company which has ever had a disgruntled customer or an envious competitor
is a potential target. Even if people don't want to go to the effort of dedicating
an entire website to you, they could contribute their opinion to one of the growing
number of consumer complaint sites.
One
of the newest UK complaint sites is Grumbletext, which went live in January. What
was needed was a punchy UK consumer complaints site which wasn't afraid to publish
what people wanted to say and where you could truly vent your spleen when companies
had let you down.
As well as email, frustrated customers can also get their
message across by sending a text message to the Grumbletext site (hence the name).
Mobile marketers should also beware.
Be nice
So
there's no escape. If you provide a bad service or even if you are perceived to
be offering bad service, negative opinions will start to emerge somewhere online
- opinions which can be seen by everyone with internet access. So what can you
do to prevent customers venting their rage online in the first place?
Well, the most obvious answer is to offer faultless customer service.
Preventative
measures
Small
proportion or not, negative publicity needs to be tackled. But how? Well, as prevention
is better than cure the best thing is to make sure it never happens in the first
place. But even those companies with impeccable customer service records are going
to end-up making someone angry, somewhere.
Companies
should constantly monitor the internet, checking for websites which are accessed
by domain names incorporating their company name or trade mark. Under English
law an aggrieved company has a number of options available to it against a third
party that has set up a 'sucks site' incorporating its trade marks, company name
or logo.
These options
include issuing legal proceedings or seeking an injunction for trade mark infringement,
passing off (where a third party misrepresents their services as being that of
your company) or copyright infringement (if, for instance, they use your logo).
There is also the
option of suing for trade libel, if there have been inaccurate comments made against
your company. However, even when there is a just case for legal proceedings you
may want to think carefully before pursuing such forms of action.
One
obvious deterrent is the cost. If the company goes for an injunction to try to
close the site immediately, this is a very expensive form of action. Also, if
the company loses any court proceedings, it could also end up footing the legal
bill of the perpetrator.
An
application for an interim junction seeking the closure of a sucks site could
cost between 25,000 and 50,000 pounds. While a full trial could escalate to 150,000
pounds. Ouch.
A cheaper option is to refer the matter for dispute resolution
by the relevant body responsible for the domain name. That's Nominet UK for '.co.uk'
domain names and ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) for
those with the '.com' suffix.
These
bodies both have the power to suspend, cancel or order the transfer of a domain
name. However, the applicant in question will have to prove that the domain name
registered by the party is an abusive registration that was registered in bad
faith, and that the registrant has no legitimate interest in using the domain
name in question.
The cost of these dispute resolution procedures is between 1,000 and 5,000 pounds. Even if you can afford the cost, and you know you are in the right, it may still not be wise to pursue legal action.
Consider
your options
My
one word of advice to any company facing an online threat right now is to keep
the response proportionate. By doing nothing, you demonstrate that you don't care.
Yet drawing attention to something that few people are likely to see can do even
more damage.
Responding
to criticism is important. Companies need to have their spokespeople trained in
responding to internet threats, and integrate them into their crisis plans. But
they also need to be much more careful how they respond, as the viral nature of
the internet means bad news gets around fast.
Free
speech
The problem
for companies is that consumers have a right to free speech and allowed to give
their opinions so, unless they are deliberately giving misinformation, a company's
options are limited. The internet offers consumers a new way to kick up a fuss.
In the past, you may have stood on a soapbox in the town square or written a letter
to a newspaper. Creating a web log is the twenty-first century equivalent.
The
consensus from both the PR and legal experts is that companies need to keep ahead
of online criticism. There are certain defensive measures that can be taken, such
as registering trade marks and any likely domain names which could be used for
sucks sites (such as 'yourcompanysucks.com'). Another way is to request ISPs to
pull any sucks site as soon as the company becomes aware of it.
While
they may reduce the risk, these defensive measures aren't foolproof. Where people
have a will to criticise your company online, they are usually able to find a
way. With the number of blog sites now online it's often a matter of just registering
and starting to type. To really halt the problem, you need to stem it at its source.
A company should try to ensure that it has very well-trained customer care staff
who are easily contactable to try to prevent the frustration of any disgruntled
customer boiling over.
If
boiling point has already been reached, and a blog or sucks site has been created
in an anti-tribute to your company, you can either choose to go for the legal
or the personal approach. Besides the proactive route of writing a legally-based
warning letter, there's the less confrontational approach of contacting the disgruntled
person and trying to resolve matters amicably.
So,
you don't have to get heavy to get it sorted. In fact, given the internet's viral
potential, getting heavy may be a bad idea. In the online age, you have to be
your customer's best buddy, even if they insist on hating your company's guts.
So be alert, be friendly and be responsive.