CRM integration is not trivial

We all know what it is like to be contacted by a company that believes it is customer-focused and integrated, but cannot seem to get the basics like your personal details right.

Expecting these issues to resolve themselves is no longer an option. Ignoring them will inevitably impact on the success of an organisation`s customer acquisition and retention efforts.

Just as important, government regulations and a narrowing window for non-compliance are also driving the already pressing need for integration.

No longer is CRM the poor cousin to ERP, nor is it a standalone product.

Jeremy Waterman, MD

The customer relationship management (CRM) landscape has changed significantly. No longer is CRM the poor cousin to enterprise resource planning (ERP), nor is it a standalone product. As a result of the increasing need for integration, the majority of the ERP vendors are claiming CRM as an add-on function, leaving few independent CRM vendors. This confirms that CRM will serve its purpose and be truly functional only when it is an extension of an ERP system.

Aside from the obvious brand power of ERP giants, another element driving ERP-integrated CRM is cost-effectiveness. It is simply just cheaper to plug in a CRM component within one brand family than trying to integrate an independent application. Out of the box integration also enables a customer to have easy access to other applications.

Although integration sounds logical and easy, many South African companies are yet to implement it correctly. The potential of a CRM application is mind-blowing, but this very fact is often threatening. For example, a good CRM application could track a sales person and provide a detailed snapshot of customer interaction, status, history and so on, but this is often seen as too invasive, ultimately impacting on the success of CRM.

The fear factor aside, the fact remains that CRM enables information flow that is vital to a business. Companies rely on accurate customer data to establish supplier networks, create better cross-business processes, enhance revenue through customer retention, and implement continuous improvement processes.

Although the result will be a single view of what a customer says, this is only important as an enabler because the true value of CRM is derived from utilising the data, not just storing it. The customer view must not only capture a customer`s habits and requirements, but must also help employees decide what to do next.

Trying to enhance customer relationships is nothing new. It`s the manner in which these relationships can be improved and managed that has radically changed. CRM has the potential to become the system from which 80% of employees conduct 80% of their work.

Organisations that utilise CRM effectively have an opportunity to differentiate themselves. CRM is evolving into a meaningful differentiator and is now one of the leading technologies.