Customer relationship management (CRM) involves the implementation of a single integrated system, which allows an organisation to manage prospects and customers effectively and consistently, regardless of where the interaction takes place. This spans outside sales, call centres, telemarketing operations, direct marketing operations and Internet applications.
The latest IDC report on CRM (Cashing in on CRM) issued in May 2000 predicts that organisations globally will invest $8.7 billion in CRM solutions by 2003.
The demonstrable benefits of CRM systems include a reduction in the cost of sales due to improvements in the level of retained customers, better use of sales and marketing funds through improved targeting and improved productivity across an enterprise. Many other industry-specific benefits are also realisable, for example the better management of promotions in the fast moving consumer goods industry may result in a reduction in days outstanding for accounts receivable.
"Any successful CRM system needs to ensure that all points of contact with the customer are handled with consistent quality," says Mark Ehmke, MD of Staffware in South Africa. "This means that a company`s call centre or Web portal needs to be supported by, and connected to, all areas of the organisational infrastructure as well as new and legacy external delivery channels.
"To attain this level of connectivity and communication, customer-facing technology must be combined with other back office processes and existing applications, so that appropriate information can be retrieved and updated."
Staffware eCRM is a solution that improves the management of customer relationships by automating the business processes across the enterprise and integrating both front and back office applications.
The powerful combination of enterprise technologies and Staffware eCRM optimises the benefits of companies` resources in the call centre, branch office and field operations by providing an interface with the entire organisation. Staffware can, at key milestones within the customer-centric process, provide automatic status from audit information for each transaction and real-time control of the business process to the customer, turning lead time into real-time.
This strategy in turn builds a lifetime of value and customer retention.
Staffware eCRM is a fully featured, scalable customer relationship management solution, supporting front office applications in both large and mid-sized companies. Applications include:
Account management
Sales cycle activity planning
Customer service
Field sales
Sales management
Event management/analysis
Telemarketing
Workgroup activity monitoring
Management reporting
Criteria based targeting
Time management
Direct marketing/list management
"By increasing the efficiency of repetitive business processes, and utilising Staffware`s eProcess technology for automating the flow of information, eCRM gives companies the powerful tools they need to boost overall marketing performance," Ehmke says.
To secure such high levels of connectivity and communication, customer facing technology must be combined with back office processes and existing applications, so that appropriate information can be retrieved and updated.
"Staffware provides this seamless interface between all areas of the system architecture. By providing an integrated development environment that encompasses the mapping and implementation of business processes, with the ability to quickly integrate line of business and custom applications, Staffware eCRM enables organisations to deploy inter-application process automation solutions at minimal cost and effort."
An indication of the success of this product is a notable new contract that Staffware signed recently with Capella University in the US. This follows on from Staffware eCRM winning a `TOP 15` award at a CRM trade Show in Chicago in February.
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