To this day, however, statistics regarding conversion to sale motivators in direct mail are still hard to source, so CDMS decided to commission a survey to find out which factors made British consumers more likely to make a purchase as a result of direct mail. The findings are extremely clear: the ability to respond to the campaign online was rated the most important factor of all, making consumers 20% more likely than average to respond and purchase. Timing of the campaign to reach the recipient when in purchase consideration mode (17% more likely) came in second with personalisation of the campaign rated as 14% more likely than average.

UK consumers are clearly calling for the ability to respond online, indicating that the internet is becoming ever more strategically important to the direct marketing process. Savvy marketers are thus investigating various new techniques for tracking online response to direct marketing campaigns. One such tracking technique deserves a little more attention due to its popularity and promise of success: personalised URLs. This technology allows marketers to generate a unique and personalised landing page for every client in their marketing database. It typically takes the form of www.domainname.com/name. When the recipient receives a piece of direct mail with a personalised URL printed on it and type it into the web browser they are directed to their own dynamic microsite containing the mailings, offers, products, and/or services especially meant for them.

On these personalised micorsites the activity of respondents can be minutely tracked, providing an organisation with valuable information such as customer appreciation of content. With the learnings taken from customer behaviour on the site, it is easy to improve the accuracy of offers and select content more relevant to the customer for display. Online and offline data can also be connected by sending personalised URLs in the form of a link on customer e-mails or even by SMS.

Consumers rated appropriate timing as the second most effective at inspiring response and purchase, at 17% above average. By registering customer attitudes from all touchpoints, and not focusing only on one or two channels, businesses have access to fresh information with which to create time-sensitive, “event-triggered” messages sent to customers via immediate delivery channels such as online or SMS, but only when they behave in a particular way.

A business can set these event triggers for anything from a customer birthday to proving responsive to a particular kind of personalised URL (pURL) and not another, to their following of a specific series of image click-thoughs. Tracking which content drives the customer towards a purchase and which turns them away provides valuable long term insight into likes and dislikes but also highlights a previously unavailable time-frame in which to correct targeting by offering something more appealing. With all this cross-channel data available, marketers cannot afford to ignore the importance of using all available information on the individual to ensure better personalisation is provided as this is ranked at some 14% above average as a driver of response and purchase.

Consumers are clearly indicating that the option to respond online, appropriate timing and accurate personalisation are very important to them and are the most significant drivers of response and purchase to direct mail campaigns. The three factors are related and depend on each other, allowing marketers to use the most up-to-date online information on the consumer to be combined with rich offline datasets to create campaigns that make the right offer, to the right person, at the right time. These practices yield a treasure trove of data to constantly refine and improve the cross-channel direct marketing process.

Article written and contributed by Richard Higginbotham

With consumers tightening their purse strings and seeking cheaper alternatives, one of the best ways for marketers to spend their reduced budgets is on customer retention and development, i.e. focusing on the key customers – the 10% giving you 50% of your turnover.

The discount end of the high street is where this strategy will certainly pay off. With more and more people turning to value retailers, marketers will need to think about how they will encourage shoppers to stay with them when the economy is looking up. These new customers might very well return to their usual shops, so the key action for value retailers is to develop customer relationships in order to keep customers after the recession.

In order to do so, a mechanism needs to be put in place to help them understand who their new recruits are and encourage similar prospects to walk in the door. If there is a loyalty scheme in operation new customers should be incentivised to sign up with the aim of identifying new customer profiles. Once identified, they are available for immediate analysis with two areas key to successful customer development and retention:

1.    If some new customers are already walking in the door the retailer can look at who they are, what they are like and where they are from. This will allow them to select ‘lookalikes’ for prospect campaigns to encourage even more people to make the transition from premium retailer to value retailer.

2.    They can understand the new customer better in order to develop strategies for retention once the downturn is over. This might be as simple as adding new product lines to the offering or creating incentive barriers to keep them attracted to the retailer.

At the other end of the scale, premium retailers are suffering from customer defection and unless they fundamentally change their pricing structure customers will keep defecting. Evidence of this move try and prevent loyal customers seeking out cheaper alternatives has started to emerge. Last year Tesco introduced a range of discount brands aimed at discouraging shoppers from going to value alternatives such as Lidl and Aldi; in the run-up to Christmas M&S held two one-day sales slashing prices in store by 20%; and Waitrose has recently started a direct mail drive to promote its latest in-store promotions.

Further to this, premium retailers should also be looking to identify, through transactional analysis, whose spend is not dropping. This can be used to drive campaigns to recruit similar kinds of shoppers in a bid to replace lost custom.

Finally, stores should keep in touch with lapsed customers throughout this difficult period in a bid to draw them back again when consumer confidence returns. This is particularly importance since the value retailers will fight to keep them once the economy has recovered.

So, both ends of the retail spectrum have their work cut out for them over the ensuing months as value and premium retailers fight for customer share and aim to keep or win back customers when the recession is over. Most importantly, the customer should not be neglected during this period of financial instability and transactional analysis should be maximized.

Written by: Andy Wood from GI Insight

Software applications that can be accessed via the Internet are growing in popularity, and it’s not hard to see why. With the applications available on a pay-per-use basis or even free, businesses—especially small and medium businesses—can find a cost solution that fits.

Businesses can take advantage of the provider’s secure server and avoid buying software and installing it on company servers.

“Already, more tools and applications, such as office software, e-mail and customer relationship management are being served from such centres, and we can expect the range of applications and services available to grow,” says David Mitchell Smith, vice-president and fellow at Gartner Research.

The market may grow to nearly $19 billion globally in just three years, according to Gartner. The company estimates that 25 percent of all new software will be software-as-a-service, though some applications may stay in-house.

E-mail is one of the applications most likely to become hosted increasingly on a service provider’s server, driven by storage requirements as much as the boom in telecommuting.

Gartner predicts that by 2012, “at least a third” of business software will move toward software-as-a-service rather than in-house applications, and Oracle, SAP and Microsoft are positioning their businesses and products to cater to this shift.

Many providers already offer full-service online software applications, including Microsoft with its Office Live Workspace which offers a free, hosted, online file sharing service that allows users to store, access and share documents. Google Apps features Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sites. Google’s applications are available as a free, basic version or a fee-supported version with more features and functions.

LucidEra, NetSuite, Callidus Software, Ketera Technologies, RightNow, Salesforce.com and Coghead are just a few of the companies offering online solutions for analytics, sales, marketing, finance, ERP, CRM, e-commerce, sales performance management, electronic procurement and more.

These online offerings give smaller businesses the ability to “play with the big boys,” by having access to applications and functions that would be too costly to buy and run on in-house servers. Fees can range from $5 per month up to $200, depending on the complexity and features needed. These fees often include upgrades, maintenance and customer support, but users are advised to check for “hidden fees.” These charges most often relate to storage capacity or customer support.

]]> http://www.crm-guru.com/software-as-a-service-provides-affordable-solutions-for-small-business.php/feed 6 http://www.crm-guru.com/ensure-crm-success.php http://www.crm-guru.com/ensure-crm-success.php#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:42:53 +0000 ssikes http://www.crm-guru.com/ensure-crm-success.php By Sharla Sikes

It’s pretty tough to jump right into customer relationship management software and see immediate results, but there are things you can do to make sure you’re set up for the best possible results.

Merrell Ligons shares a few tips to get your system going in the right direction from the start.

Planning. Rather than trying to hit the ground running, take some time to meet with the whole team. When everyone knows what’s coming next and what their involvement may be, you’ll have a team that pulls together. Even if your plan isn’t spot-on, that can be fixed as problems arise; but knowing where you want to go, and having everyone you work with on the same page, gives you an edge.

Software. If you don’t have the advantage of a “large technical staff, extra servers, a robust network, and a lot of time to troubleshoot,” Ligons recommends avoiding any time of new hardware; software-as-a-service is much easier.

End users. Get your sales reps on board. Ligon says this is a stumbling block for many CRM projects; the system is designed and implemented from the top down, while those who will be using the software are left out of the loop.

Management. Most management staff already have a lot on their plate, but in implementing CRM you need their leadership. “If the front line reps know their manager doesn’t care about the system then the reps won’t use it,” Ligon says.

Coordination. Cross-departmental coordination sounds like a big headache, but since CRM software is a system that almost everyone will use, make sure the marketing, administration and accounting departments know how everything will work, too.

Data. Data integrity is the backbone of any CRM system. Appoint one person—Ligon uses the title “Data Czar”–to ensure the integrity of your data.

Discipline. Everyone must be on board with using the new software, despite those who may prefer the “old way.” Discipline and commitment will give you a head start on CRM success.

Sales. With CRM, you’ll have the opportunity to try new sales opportunities. Ask yourself, “How can my CRM system improve sales?” “The goal with CRM should be to touch every customer every month,” Ligon says. Increased customer contact will bring more sales.

Champion. If one person makes the CRM system their pet project, then you’ll have one person who cares enough to put in extra effort to make it succeed. The champion will work to get other team members on board and take care of all the little details. Finding a champion for your CRM project will go a long way toward ensuring its success.

Data, again. Data integrity is key. If the sales reps are not making sure the data they enter is clean, you’re going to have a big problem. Each contact should have all contact information, and it must be current and correct. Correcting incomplete or out of date information is “tedious, boring, costly, and could have been avoided in the first place,” Ligon says.

If you are a business owner or executive—regardless of the size of the company—customer relationship management systems are a good bet to help you maximize your sales.

CRM systems become even more valuable in today’s uncertain economy. Your customers are the reason your business exists, yet many companies forget to place the proper emphasis on building a relationship with their most valuable resource.

That’s where CRM software systems come in. Fostering a positive relationship with your customers is easier when businesses have a way to track communications, sales, promotions and other forms of contact with each client.

Knowing each customer’s purchase and payment history can be valuable. Use it to boost your company’s customer service level. Making customers feel like they matter—no matter how much they spend at your business—will keep them coming back, and it’s often said that keeping current customers returning is far more lucrative with fewer marketing dollars required than attracting new customers. The Pareto Principle, or 80-20 rules, says that 20 percent of your customers bring 80 percent of your revenue.

Yet providing above-average customer service will do both. No matter what industry you are in, word of mouth travels faster and farther than the best ad campaign. Your happy customers will refer their friends, family, neighbors, business associates, hairdresser, postman, dentist …

CRM systems allow you to provide this heightened customer service by having knowledge about your buyers near at hand and easily accessible for you to use to cater to their requirements and preferences. Throwing your best clients some extra-great deals is one way to keep them coming back, but remember how that will affect your bottom line in the long run.

However, there’s more to it than just having a CRM system in place. Learning to use it as effectively as possible is the other half of the equation. We’ll talk more about that later this week!

Anyhow, let’s get back on track here. I wanted to share a cool article for those who are doing general freelance work and looking for some cool online tools. It’s not necessarily for people in the CRM industry so if CRM isn’t your domain you can still benefit from this article.

CRM Excellence 2007 is the event of the year for the CRM industry. Featuring best practices, case studies and speaking sessions from the nation’s top practitioners, you will emerge from this event with applicable tools to take back to your organization and implement immediately. Specific session topics include developing CRM measures and metrics, aligning CRM initiatives to your strategic plan, effectively harnessing and managing customer information, a special CRM vendor round table discussion and so much more. For more information or to register please call Adrian Jankowski at 858-874-6876 or visit us online at www.ASMIweb.com.

CRMBlogger readers qualify for a special 20% off tuition discount if you’re interested in attending.

20% off tuition for any CRMBlogger.com members or contacts. Please mention code B204-CRMBlog when registering to receive the discount.

CRM Excellence website

Dates: July 9-10, 2007
Location: Arlington, VA

Sales / Event Registration Contact:
Adrian Jankowski
Jankowski@ManagementWeb.org
858-874-6876

Knowing that a never-ending contest of wills would be unproductive, I launched a CRM system salespeople chose to use because it focused on what they wanted: “Let me devote my time during business hours to sales calls and my time after business hours to my personal life.” Focusing on what my salespeople want may appear as if I am pandering to my sales force, but I am just being pragmatic. I know how salespeople behave when I try to bully them into CRM compliance, and that behavior is unacceptable. To eliminate the unacceptable behaviors, I removed the conditions that triggered those behaviors.

The Cohon System gives salespeople what they want because call reports, expense reports, and mileage logs don’t interrupt their sales calls or their personal lives. To see how it works, let’s follow one of my salespeople through a typical day.

• When Eric leaves home he pushes a speed dial button on his cell phone, connecting him to a voice mailbox dedicated to capturing his call report data. He reads the number from his car’s odometer into voicemail so we can calculate his mileage. The voice mailbox adds a time and date stamp automatically.

• Each time Eric arrives at a sales call, he uses that voice mailbox to record the name of the company he is visiting and his odometer reading. Again, the voice mailbox adds a time and date stamp.

• As Eric leaves each sales call, he uses the voice mailbox to record the details of that call: who he saw, the topics discussed, action items like sample or literature requests, and any expenses associated with that call. Eric hands off his receipts to our office staff the next time he is in our office.

• When Eric returns home he phones in his final odometer reading of the day.To transfer the data from voice mail to our CRM system, we start by transcribing those messages into a Word document. Then we fulfill any quote or literature requests Eric noted in his report and confirm the completion of each action item on Eric’s copy of this document. To complete the process we copy the text from the Word document and paste it into the record of the appropriate contact in our CRM software.

Of course, when we launched the Cohon System our salespeople resisted it, some because they feared I would use this data to punish them for minor transgressions or micromanage them, and others because it would reveal they had been coasting.Dealing with members of the first group required my promise that the data supplied never would be used as punishment. Even if the sales team initially were skeptical of that promise, as time proved their fears to be unfounded they embraced the system that eliminated clerical work that previously had intruded into their evenings and weekends. Dealing with members of the second group required that I either reinvigorate them or release them.

Since 2001 the Cohon System has proven itself by enabling us to capture rich sales call history that no battle-of-wills system ever could match. We have achieved 100 percent outside sales force CRM compliance and have begun to approach real-time CRM as we build the capability to go from sales call to richly detailed CRM entry in just a day.

The data you need to manage your sales force is there for the taking if you put systems in place to capture it while it is still fresh. You already have lost most of the data from last week, last month, and last year, but if you embrace this system the data from next week, next month, and next year still can be captured. The choice is yours: Be pragmatic and start capturing richly detailed data now, or keep fighting a battle of wills that lets another year of data fade away unremembered and unrecorded.

About the Author
Charles Cohon is president of Prime Devices Corporation.

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Ongoing Sales Issues

Why isn’t CRM helping reps mine more sales gold? Part of the explanation goes back 15 years to a statement Jessica Keyes made in Infotrends: “Technology does not beget a competitive advantage, any more than paint and canvas beget a Van Gogh.” We are seeing that premise play out in the CRM space today. When I look at CRM applications I see high-performance race cars, with all the horsepower necessary to tear down a track, if they have the right fuel in them. That is the problem: CRM often lacks the right fuel.

In the past couple of months I have been briefed by most of the major players in the CRM space, and I am impressed by the capabilities that new-generation systems have the potential to provide, compared with the apps available even a few years ago.

As part of our study we asked the participating firms to tell us what information their salespeople need to sell effectively, and then to assess how easy it was for them to access those sales knowledge elements. The chart below shows the same issues surfacing as in 2004 (when we last did this analysis). Technology investments aside, salespeople still cannot easily get access to the insights and knowledge they need to effectively compete today.

For technology to be truly useful to sales all of the above elements should be accessible to reps through their CRM system. The fact that they are not demonstrates we are giving salespeople great cars for the sales race, but not enough gas to get them around the track.

My recommendation to CRM project teams for 2007 is to spend more time and money on key data sources to populate the CRM applications they have installed. There is a wealth of sales knowledge available from external sources like OneSource, Factiva, Hoovers, TrueAdvantage, and Before the Call, as well as sales knowledge management tools to collect, synthesize, and share internal sales knowledge via systems like Pragmatech, Involve Technology, and Mobilepoint. All of these applications will integrate into the popular CRM platforms.

Fill your CRM tank with the fuel that reps are screaming for access to, and the value of your CRM investments will dramatically increase.

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