CRM means different things to different people. Since it first burst on the scene in 1997, burning with the heat of a thousand suns, it has changed quite a bit. Call center practitioners have gotten used to managing the complex deployments, the changing data sets and the new rules for call flow that CRM brings.
At heart, CRM tries to do one thing: bring accurate and relevant information about customers to the agent's desktop. There's no question that ten years into its development as software, it can accomplish this task with gusto. It's part of the need-to-have equipment in a modern call center.
After several years of retrenchment among CRM vendors, the tools on the market today are a far cry from those brave attempts ten years ago to amalgamate customer data. As often as not, you can get a CRM system that's hosted, or on-demand. Just as important, CRM is a dynamic part of managing the customer experience -- hooked into other tools for assessing quality, measuring satisfaction, training reps and more.
Given all the changes, we went in search of insight into what CRM means today. We asked many of the experts at companies that make CRM software where they think this complex toolset is headed, and what it means for today's call centers.
Call Center Magazine: "Customer Relationship Management" is a vague term. How do you define it relative to your product?
Greg Anderson, FrontRange: The term is vague because it means something different to each vertical market and typically to each business within that vertical. Because of such we are focused on providing tools that can help firms solve their business issues by having solutions that can be configured to work the way you want to work. In other words, our product adapts to a company's workflow and allows automation of many CRM processes. By doing such, you reduce your training costs and increase user adoption of the CRM system, which enables you to achieve a return on your investment. The bottom line is that CRM helps you develop a "corporate memory" about all your customers, so that you can serve them consistently and remember the issues that are important to each customer. Ideally, everyone in a company references a CRM system so they are on the same page and work as a stronger team to serve the customer. In turn, customers see this professionalism and stick with companies that treat them this way.
Maria Miller, TechExcel: To us, CRM is the complete lifecycle of a customer -- from the initial investigations to the needs assessment -- to service and beyond. Everything that occurs throughout that relationship must be based on knowledge; whether it's inferred or gained -- and fed back into the enterprise. Only by having a CRM system that is knowledge-centric will an enterprise have complete visibility and be able to act appropriately on that information. That's why we've developed TechExcel Service Suite to be a complete CRM system that includes initial customer acquisition in MarketingWise, through account management in SalesWise, through internal and external support in ServiceWise (the old HelpDesk) and AssetTrack.
Marchai Bruchey, Kana: The first Customer Relationship Management systems focused on the business -- helping organizations better manage their customer data. However, as the times changed, so too did the purpose and definition of CRM. Today the focus is on the customer -- improving the customer experience in order to cultivate long-term customer relationships and loyalty. CRM and customer service software improves the customer experience by optimizing their interactions across multiple channels -- phone, e-mail, chat, and the Web. Moreover, the goal of CRM has evolved along with the technology, going from assisted service to self-service and now we're in the midst of a shift to proactive service. It's no longer enough to simply respond to customers' needs; businesses today are leveraging technology like KANA's to anticipate those needs before the customer even asks, resulting in happier and more loyal customers.
Kris Brannock, Vertical Solutions, Inc. (VSI): To VSI, Customer Relationship Management, is not technology, and it's not processes. CRM means that we assist our customers in creating and maintaining a positive experience for each of their clients. We offer technology to help enhance that experience by putting the right data in front of the right person at the right time. We offer an application portal view that enables each agent, rep, manager and executive, a view of the data that is most important to them with current requests, historical requests and statistics, that can be expanded or collapsed depending on which data is necessary and pertinent to that particular individual. The majority of the data comes from our PowerHelp CRM application, but often times, our customers also integrate information such as order entry data, inventory status, etc. so that they have a centralized view of every customer touch point.
Call Center: A cranky industry pundit once said that "if your idea of CRM consists of putting customer data on an agent's desktop -- and doesn't go any farther -- then you are mismanaging that relationship." What do you think of that?
Mark Woollen, Oracle: I think that's a very provocative -- but also a very timely -- statement to be making. What I think is interesting about his observation and his statement, is it somewhat reflects where a lot of companies have found themselves anywhere in the last 24 months. There were a number of companies that invested in CRM, I would say just in the mid to late '90s, with a very focused, deliberate outlook about what they wanted to accomplish. You started to see companies realize that 'there's something here that I'm not doing -- I need to do this to be competitive with my peer group and my industry.' It's like a land-rush all of sudden -- I can't not invest in this. But they invested, to a certain extent, without a lot of forethought and planning and, I would also suggest, executive ownership and buy-in that's a critical part of making these initiatives successful. And in about 2004, you found these companies finally realizing: 'I bought this software; wow! That's what it takes to get it to work. I've got it to work now.' And they have it working in much the sense that [the pundit] referenced. It now works, I can take calls about customers, I can enter data into this wonderful data model that sits on top of this database that characterizes my customer interactions -- that's wonderful. However, now that these companies have figured that out, that they've digested these investments, and have actually implemented these first generation CRM business processes in their enterprise -- now is when you can really start to get more value out of that basic investment. That's when you can basically start to go ahead and, number one, take your CRM investment and actually extend it beyond the firewall.
Don't be afraid to think about re-using business processes that you've invested in, say, your field salesforce, or your customer service organization that sits in a call center, look at which one of those you can intelligently leverage out on the website for your customers, for your partners. So you can interact with them more efficiently and in a more intimate manner and a more focused manner, directly. It's all well and good to operationalize CRM. Get it out there, start using it, incorporate it into your DNA, understand your customer interactions. But if all you do is have forms on a database, and enter in customer data, and call it a day, you're missing a huge opportunity in terms of what you can leverage from that customer data, the intelligence represented in that data, and, number one, if you just think of intelligence as something you slice and dice, and you use it to develop more intelligent marketing offers, that's good, that's a great first step in terms of leveraging that customer data. But if you can then go ahead and leverage these real-time decisions and actually operationalize that in real time, that's even better. So this is all about making these CRM systems more than just operational. It's about making them what I would call real-time systems. Intelligent systems that actually go ahead and deliver additional value above and beyond simply being data entry repositories.
Greg Anderson, FrontRange: I would agree [with the pundit's assessment]. People have gotten confused about what CRM means. Many people think of it as the technology that they buy. Technology like GoldMine is only an enabler. A firm must spend the time to understand their customers and their wants and needs as part of developing a strategy to acquire and retain customers. However, we do believe that CRM is a process. Focus on your biggest pain points, develop your strategy and implement it with the proper tools. A key part of your success depends on knowing beforehand how you measure success. Once you have achieved that success move on to the next step.
Marchai Bruchey, Kana: Having customer data readily available on an agent's desktop is an important part of effectively managing the customer relationship, but CRM must go a step further to ensure that companies are providing a consistent customer experience across all channels so that customers have complete assurance that they'll receive the same level of service regardless of how they choose to communicate. Having the information on hand isn't enough. It is how that information is applied and utilized across these various interaction points that is key in CRM. Going beyond applying information to solve customer problems, but rather proactively anticipating the customer's needs ensures an optimal level of customer service. Being able to provide an answer before the customer even asks a question is what will distinguish a CRM program and build a strong sense of loyalty between the customer and company. It is this focus on the customers' customer that has enabled KANA to be so successful over the years.
Kris Brannock, VSI: We agree 100 percent. Data is useless unless it's funneled, segmented and viewed in the right way, at the right time, and to the right people. In other words, support agents and sales reps need to have the appropriate data about the customer in front of them so they can follow their process but also make split-second decisions on how to assist the client. Goals regarding customer satisfaction and processes to meet these satisfaction goals need to be in place to maintain a cohesive message to enhance the customer experience.
Call Center: This technology and methodology hasn't been around forever -- what did we do before CRM?
Greg Anderson, FrontRange: CRM came about because people identified a gap. Thinking back, if you are old enough, people kept track of customer information in file folders. If you got a call from that customer you would put them on hold and go to the file folder. If it wasn't in the filing cabinet you had to tell them you would get back to them and then search desk by desk. Not very good customer service. Then slowly, contact management software became available, and over time the features of these programs improved to help manage many other aspects of the relationship.
Marchai Bruchey, Kana: Customers today demand a level of personal attention that requires a sophisticated level of capabilities that didn't exist prior to CRM. These capabilities are closely connected with the evolution of technology and the public's reliance on certain mediums of information gathering and communication. Previously, many call center agents relied on a combination of spiral-bound notebooks, post-it notes and Word documents for ready information needed to resolve customer inquiries. Now, knowledge management software, like KANA IQ, provides a central repository for that critical information. And unlike pure search tools that access too many results and are only helpful for users who know what they're searching for, KM software asks clarifying questions and offers guidance and multiple search and retrieval techniques to bring users to the most targeted relevant information -- whether they know what it is or not. Another example can be found in e-mail response management. As the Web began to take off about 10 years ago, agents had to manually respond to and manage inbound customer e-mails using Microsoft Outlook or other e-mail clients, but these tools couldn't scale to manage high volumes of requests in a cost effective manner, so response times and service levels declined. But today there is highly sophisticated e-mail response management technology like KANA Response that intelligently routes inquiries to the mostskilled agents while automatically recommending answers -- ensuring that hundreds of thousands of e-mails each day are answered in a consistent and timely manner. Before the multiple channels of customer service, the demands on customer service were narrower, and organizations could focus their resources on optimizing the phone channel. As the customer volume and the instantaneous nature of the internet came into the picture, CRM developed into the significant, multi-faceted customer interaction methodology it is today.
Maria Miller, TechExcel: I think that the methodology has been around for longer than one may think -- but it was called something different: old-fashioned and common sense customer service. Think about some of the most tried and true companies throughout the world. Most have been around for at least 100 years and all have strong loyalties because they have always followed the mantra "do right by your customers and they will do right by you." Nordstrom, Proctor and Gamble, IBM, Michelin, MetLife -- the list goes on. The entire enterprise worked together to provide an excellent experience from the marketer that is growing the interest, to the salesperson closing the sale, to the customer service representative assisting with questions and following through on potential upselling opportunities, receptionist answering the office phone. Technology has just realized that mentality into the digital age, except that in the past, software applications were developed by siloed teams that had no real insight into the business process or how a customer should be served. Developing software applications in a vacuum without regard to HOW the customer relationship evolves is where traditional CRM implementations have been weak, historically. When one factors in both the business and the technology CRM blossoms to its full potential.
Kris Brannock, VSI: It was there -- it just wasn't named yet. Everyone called it something different which is probably why the term is so vague today. It means something different to each organization and vendor.
In general, we had processes; we had meetings; we talked over cubes; we looked at the tangible data such as how many orders were being processed, and how well the business was doing, and then analyzed the situation from the results. The process was looking more at historical data vs. live data. Today, you see organizations looking at real-time data -- you see snapshots of what's going on that minute (look at all of the web analytics), so that an organization can maintain its nimbleness and react accordingly.
Call Center: How can I demonstrate -- or even know -- if it's working? What measure/metrics will demonstrate success?
Maria Miller, TechExcel: If your relationships with your customers are unhealthy before you implement technology, do not expect technology to magically rectify the issue. CRM is not a piece of software that will solve existing challenges, it is a business process, and how you manage that business process will spell success or failure. It will, however, enable you to better understand the interrelationships between your enterprise (marketing, sales, service/support, finance and operations). The bottom line is to remember that technology should fit the business process -- and not the other way around. Demonstrating success will depend on business goals. For example, marketing to the most profitable customers or most profitable industry becomes a much easier task because companies now have visibility into all areas of the enterprise. The ability to change plans quickly is less complicated because enterprises are connected; follow-up events and workflow can be fine-tuned to fit the dynamic nature of the market and the relationships created with customers.
Greg Anderson, FrontRange: Metrics will be different for each organization and what they are trying to achieve. We recommend, as part of defining your CRM strategy, that you have to determine how you will measure that success. Once you have defined that, you need to make sure that your solution captures the information that will allow you to report on the success of your effort. A big part of success (and demonstrating that it's working) is linking marketing and sales together so that leads can be followed through the system. Did a marketing program work and was it a good investment? Many marketers can't tell you the answer because the leads were "thrown over the wall" into the sales department. But a system like GoldMine allows you to track leads from the sales process to conversion, and you have the ability to see what's working and what's not.
Marchai Bruchey, Kana: Measuring CRM success should be based on a comparison of metrics that are set in place before the CRM solution is put in place. Metrics depend on the specific situation and channel and should directly relate to the overall goals of the program. Though the customer's satisfaction is always key, each channel will have a different set of metrics. Web self-service, for instance, is built around the idea of instantaneous answers and customers being able to help themselves 24/7. Therefore, appropriate measures of success would be call deflection or a reduction in escalation to other agent-assisted channels, such as e-mail or chat. Meanwhile, online chat would use conversion or close rates of online transactions to prove that providing real-time assistance via chat is helping to improve sales. For phone customer service, a set of metrics would be set around the goal of first-call resolution. Metrics to compare the number of times a customer had to call and the length of time it took to secure a solution to the problem would be a good measurement of the call center's success.
RightNow Technologies' Two-Sided Approach to CRM
RightNow 8 is the latest version of RightNow Technologies' (Bozeman, MT) customer relationship management (CRM) suite.
One of the most noteworthy characteristics of RightNow 8 is that it allows you to establish complementary processes for developing workflows for how your company communicates with customers, and for configuring information that agents see on their computer screens as they assist customers. RightNow 8 is conservative with its use of bandwidth; the only data it sends over the network is the data you or agents are viewing.
The suite's Workspace Designer module enables you to determine how you display information, such as customers' records or agents' to-do lists, on agents' screens. The Customer Experience Designer module lets you create graphical workflows. The workflows can refer to automated processes, like on-line product registrations, on-line surveys and promotional e-mail campaigns to which customers subscribe. You can also use this module to schedule tasks that agents perform, such as calling prospective customers.
RightNow currently offers variants of RightNow 8 for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and public sector organizations. The company plans to introduce additional variants for specific vertical industries in the near future.
Overall, RightNow 8 is one of the most intriguing new CRM tools we've seen this year, given the ease with which it lets you evaluate your efforts to fulfill customers' expectations.
CRM and the Customer Experience
Does CRM have a measurable and beneficial effect on the customer experience? And does that effect translate into longer-tenured customers and more sales?
Evidence that it does is beginning to surface in some of the deployment stories we're hearing about from CRM vendors. For example, at Labatt, a well-known Canadian beverage company, Genticity (Charlottetown, PEI, 905-510-3627) was able to successfully install their Customer1 software in an environment that featured existing SAP and Oracle tools.
Labatt faced the questions a) of whether they should build or buy, and b) whether they could improve the customer experience over the kind of deployment times that large scale SAP-style installs often create. Could they manage their brands and customer expectations over a 12 or 18 month install?
In the end, Genticity was able to deploy quickly enough and inexpensively enough to let Labatt improve their experience.
What makes this sort of thing work? Says Dan Derin, Genticity's President of U.S. Operations: "Typically what we see with our customers is that it's not going to be successful unless we see process people involved in tandem with the technology people. We teach them how to measure success going forward, and we give them the tools to provide real feedback to make for a continuous improvement cycle." He also cites the need for top-down buy-in from the executive level in order for a company to translate technology and process improvements into real, on-the-ground improvements in the customer experience.
Who to Call For a CRM Evaluation
Amdocs
617-526-1227
www.amdocs.com
Avaya
866-GO-AVAYA
www.avaya.com
Epicor
949-585-4000
www.epicor.com
E.piphany
650-578-7200
www.epiphany.com
FrontRange
800-776-7889/925-750-1200
www.frontrange.com
Genticity
866-552-8781
www.genticity.com
Kana
800-737-8738
www.kana.com
Microsoft
425-882-8080
www.microsoft.com
Onyx
888-ASK-ONYX/425-451-8060
www.onyx.com
Oracle
800-833-3536
www.oracle.com
Peoplesoft
800-380-SOFT/925-225-3000
www.peoplesoft.com
Pivotal
877-PIVOTAL/604-699-8000
www.pivotal.com
RightNow Technologies
406-522-4200
www.rightnow.com
Salesforce.com
415-901-7000
www.salesforce.com
SAP
888-727-1993
www.sap.com
TechExcel
800-439-7782
www.techexcel.com
Vertical Solutions Inc.
www.vertsol.com
513-891-7997
http://www.callcentermagazine.com
Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights reserved.
12/1/06, Issue # 1912, page 24.
