Johannesburg, 26 Jul 2007
Last year, Sage, parent company to Softline, carried out a survey of its CRM customers in Ireland, the home of Sage CRM research & development.
The survey was unique in that it was the first to determine the difference that using a CRM system made to the respondents' business effectiveness, credibility and profitability.
To date, previous surveys had concentrated on levels of awareness and interest in CRM penetration rates, and the benefits that companies hoped to enjoy as a result. But this was the first to talk to people who had already taken the step to CRM, and experienced for themselves the measurable business performance advantages it promises to deliver.
Ashley Ellington, managing director of Softline Enterprise, said the results demonstrated an unprecedented enthusiasm for, and appreciation of, the applications and benefits of CRM.
In fact, he says, to many respondents CRM wasn't just an important part of their business; it was so fundamental to their survival and success that taking it away would create chaos, panic and disorder.
"What was evident is that most dynamic and visionary companies put CRM at the heart of their sales, marketing and customer service." Ellington said to remove CRM from these businesses now can only be viewed as a giant leap backwards.
He says the survey further revealed that the companies who enjoy the biggest benefits from CRM are those who don't make it an add-on activity or technology implemented and managed by default, but a central part of their attitude, vision, culture, processes and practices.
"To those companies, CRM is not so much a technology as a methodology for good business, and implementing CRM software is simply a matter of putting a technological framework around a sales, customer and service-focused approach to doing business," comments Ellington.
CRM, defined as 'getting new customers and keeping the ones you have' according to its advocates, present a wealth of benefits:
* Lower operational costs and greater efficiencies
* Longer, more profitable customer relationships
* More effective marketing campaigns because the customer information is accurate
* Better executive decision-making as a result of intelligent information
* A sharper competitive edge thanks to the holistic view of the customer
Ellington says these are fine promises for any CRM company to make and a testament to the passion that CRM inspires, however, with the Sage survey these benefits have been quantified for the first time. The result was that a quarter of the respondents reported they were 100% more effective as a result of their CRM system, and 44% agreed they were more than 50% effective overall.
"In practice, this effectiveness manifests itself as a smarter, more efficient company, one in which production, logistics, sales, marketing and service teams operate as a cohesive and streamlined unit. While customers enjoy an attentive and knowledgeable service, prospects are targeted with relevant offers and all sales opportunities are followed up," explains Ellington. "Everybody is fully productive, nothing is missed, no efforts or resources are wasted and decisions are made with the benefit of intelligence, not guesswork."
Ultimately, he says employees are respected, customers are appreciated and the company and its suppliers are profitable, stable, successful and secure. Not bad for a technology that was not taken seriously a decade ago.
Share