|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?
CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you answer this question about your company's CRM initiative? It depends on how honest you are in answering some other questions, including:
Do your people have real decision-making power to provide great customer service?
Do you have the right people with the right knowledge and skills?
Are you including people across the board, not just in your customer service and call centers?
The bottom line is that people skill sets need to be similar to the technology they are using -- information sharing needs to be fast, focused, integrated.
Let's Start With the Leaders
For CRM to become the strategic engine, not just a tool that people opt to use when they choose, managers and leaders need to demonstrate the new vision through their day-to-day actions. Leadership is about making a vision happen. If you want your CRM strategy to be the engine that drives growth and profitability, take a look at what your leaders are doing and how they are behaving.
The heart of strategic change is when the leadership makes the conscious choice to focus on actions that matter. When an organization undergoes significant and fundamental transition, leaders must be teachers and role models of the new actions and behaviors. Leaders who successfully transition to new operating values and practices are those who recognize they are on a steep learning curve and adopt a personal learning ethic that others can model.
What About Everyone Else?
Just as any change needs good leaders, making CRM the strategic engine requires good followers. People need to have the knowledge and skill sets that will translate the vision to a seamless customer experience. Having the skill to build personal and professional networks of information and knowledge will allow managers and employees to think and act in less linear ways. There is a need to learn to behave as integrated teams, not individual contributors or functions.
Teaming, problem-solving behaviors across job boundaries, knowledge-discovery skills, personal networking outside the department, and building relationships to share knowledge and information are rarely seen metrics on employee performance evaluation forms. Yet these are the skills required to drive the CRM strategic engine. Those skills need to be valued, encouraged, and rewarded by the organization.
Don't Take New Roles For Granted
To move CRM deeper into the ethos of the company culture, clear and unambiguous roles for leaders and employees need to be communicated. When people have a role beyond that of being an individual contributor, accountability, involvement, and interest in making CRM the strategic engine all increase.
The key is communicating what new roles leaders and employees are expected to fill. As social scientists and consultants, it has been our experience that there is always a portion of leaders and employees who can't or won't adopt the new vision. This is why there are always tough people decisions involved in a large system change initiative.
Copyright 2002 Dailey & O'Brien, Inc.
(c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
Marketing educator, Kelly O'Brien, is creator of the "Create a
TurningPointe!" Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step
program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing
guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com
Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!
Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!
Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!
Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!
Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 2 hours ago
AP LOS ANGELES—The city on Friday unveiled a new marketing campaign built around the slogan "That's So LA" to keep tourists coming despite the nation's ...
New campaign to boost LA tourism abc7.com
all 23 news articles
Reuters
Chicago Tribune, United States - 4 hours ago
Those marketing dollars have an aim to push Audi US sales to 200000 vehicles by 2018. Schwarzenbauer said the company has a goal to sell 1.5 million Audis ...
Audi plans record US marketing spending Reuters
Audi plans to boost US marketing budget Automotive News
Audi says it will increase US marketing efforts Fox 28
DetNews.comall 16 news articles
Bizjournals.com, NC - 7 hours ago
Implications International, which specializes in interactive marketing, brand design, and Web development, has offices in Peoria, Ill., Mumbai, India, ...
MSNBC - 2 hours ago
TMI's marketing plan includes a program where LTC facilities can lease the equipment necessary to perform skin assessments and store the necessary data ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - 6 hours ago
Effective April 1, Imperial Hotel will start reservations service, sales, marketing and public relations activities within Japan for Halekulani and Waikiki ...
MSNBC - 19 hours ago
Proton will start by marketing a variety of enhanced water products that provide health benefits for people and the planet as well as the commercial product ...
Proton Laboratories opens Southern California office Bizjournals.com
all 9 news articles
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - 4 hours ago
... different companies around the US The Utah Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services recognizes excellence in marketing communications ...
Boston Globe
Bizjournals.com, NC - Jan 8, 2009
United Parcel Service Inc. rival FedEx Corp. will cut its marketing budget by more than 25 percent for 2009, the company recently disclosed on its blog. ...
FedEx cuts marketing spend by more than 25 percent Reuters
FedEx cuts marketing budget DM News
FedEx to reduce marketing budgets by 25% Brand Republic
all 45 news articles
FMQB, NJ - 10 hours ago
Katz Media Group has launched a new, national marketing unit that will create custom solutions for advertisers and their agencies with the goal of ...
Katz Launches National Marketing Unit, Trims Staff Media Buyer Planner
Katz Media Group forms marketing unit BtoB Magazine
Katz creates unit to handle ads for new radio platforms SmartBrief
all 6 news articles
Examiner.com
Examiner.com - 14 hours ago
by William Sokolic, Jersey Shore Examiner The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International will recognize the Cape May County Department of ...
More Scams! Do you Really Believe It?
Quit spreading those chain letters, nothing is going to happen to you if you don't mail it to the next person. However, there is a better chance... Read More
The Advantage and Consequences of New Economy Marketing
Some of the research that has been done today gives us a lot of information on the values of today's society. What I'm referring to is a... Read More
A Business In One Sentence
Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank method for creating a theme and positioning statement for your business. I prefer to use his same... Read More
Mission Statement Impossible
Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. (That's the theme from "Mission Impossible"...)FADE IN.Your mission, should you chose... Read More
Words that Sell
We all know the English language contains hundreds of thousands of words. But did you know that only 21 of them can easily sell your clients? Yes!... Read More
The Silver Bullet For Success: Revealed
Looking for the magic formula or the whiz-bang approach that will unlock your business success? Are you willing to pay hundreds for it? How about thousands? Guess... Read More
How Gratitude Works
Want to know what the highest-impact, lowest-cost tool is in your marketing toolkit? First, here are ten reasons to start using this tool right away:1. It won't... Read More
Free Marketing Tips
Dumb Excuse #1"I'm not sure I want to invest any money in my internet business right now."Yes, it's sad to say but I hear this one from... Read More
Six Essential Principles for Marketing to Women Business Owners
Marketing to women entrepreneurs is not difficult. You just have to follow six easy, but essential, principles.As of 2004, there are an estimated 10.6 million privately-held firms... Read More
Produce More Sales from your Email Promotions Five Ways - Part 1
Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written articles do you submit per week to opt-in online ezines? How often do you send thank you's... Read More
Does Your Marketing Plan Need Changing?
Change is good, right? Not always. But when is it bad? Is it a question of good or bad? Sounds philosophical. Maybe it is.Philosophize on this?why would... Read More
Incentives For Customers? Whats New?
Lost & Found for the 21st CenturyHere in the 21st century our lives have become more and more reliant on mobile items. As we go through our... Read More
Principles of Marketing 101
Marketing results should be measured in only one way ? increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing... Read More
Online Communities - A Marketers Wildest Dream and Worst Nightmare!
Online Communities are all over the Internet and attract lots of visitors which make them ideal for marketing. People participating in these communities share information about whatever... Read More
Will Googles Gmail spell trouble for Email Marketing.
We wait with baited breath for the anticipated launch of Google's Gmail - a fre*e email account, capable of storing50,000 short, text only messages. That was not... Read More
Promotional Freebies
What's a promotional freebie? A promotional freebie is something you can give to your customers, visitors or subscribers. Giving away "freebies" is an excellent marketing tool. Who... Read More
Understanding Survey Software Features
If you take a look at the features that different survey softwares offer, you will quickly realize that understanding all of them is no mean task. But... Read More
Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-Whats Beneath The Surface?
When you take a piece of gold to a pawn shop sometimes they will take a small saw-like tool to scrape the jewelry to find out for... Read More
Independent Professionals: What Stands Between You and Your Artist Statement?
What Stands Between You and Writing an Artist Statement or Professional Statement?Is it a dry creek bed, or the Grand Canyon? A closed door, or the Chase... Read More
Value Proposition is the Key to Success
Value proposition is treated as the standards or service that the organization is planning to offer or deliver to targeted group of customers with the help of... Read More
Customers Are Like Vampires
No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and they don't come out only at night. According to legend, vampires don't come in until they are... Read More
Communicating Our Attitude
The goal of successful marketing is to create long lasting relationships with your prospects by marketing your business with passion. When you're not excited about what you're... Read More
21 Must-Have Web Site Elements
Your Web site should be the cornerstone of your client seduction efforts. The site is your silent salesperson -- the one with whom prospective clients visit before... Read More
How to Convey Trustworthiness in Direct Mail Marketing Sales Letter
A person or business that might buy from you is called a prospect. But they might just as accurately be called a skeptic. We live in the... Read More
PowerPositioning: WillYouAcceptThisRose.com
Positioning is a powerful concept in marketing. To illustrate, have you ever visited a fast food restaurant, and, in a rush to complete your order asked for... Read More
URL Everywhere? Offline Marketing For Online Success
Your URL (www) should be everywhere and more.I know many of you are going to think this is common sense, but how many of these are you... Read More
Marketing: Are You Focused?
In early 1992, President George H.W. Bush was riding high. He was sitting on an almost unprecedented 80% approval rating following the first Gulf War. Conventional wisdom... Read More
Growing Your Brand Assets
Okay. Raise your hand if you think brand management is just for BIG companies (like Target, McDonalds or Ford.) Wow! That's a lot of hands! Well, guess... Read More
Developing a Contact List- Part Two
In a previous installment, we spoke about how to come up with a list of persons you currently know. Although everyone on that list will not necessarily... Read More
Notable News - Its Not About You!
You enjoy what you do. In fact, you love your product and want to tell everyone about it. Well, I hate to tell you this, but no... Read More
Down To The Wire
When you want to win and woo new clients with national publicity -- and don't have an enormous budget to distribute your message -- turn to the... Read More
4 Steps to Successful Offline Event Booths
A great way to gain more local sales is to rent a booth at a fair or bizaar. These can be a fun way to spend the... Read More
What Does Marketing Mean?
You can have the best little business ever with wonderful potential, but if you can't market it, you don't have a business at all.Learn how to market... Read More
The Illusion of Print Mail Services
If ever there was a lazy way to easy profits in mail order it hasto be the concept of letting someone else do all the work foryou.... Read More
Six Essential Principles for Marketing to Women Business Owners
Marketing to women entrepreneurs is not difficult. You just have to follow six easy, but essential, principles.As of 2004, there are an estimated 10.6 million privately-held firms... Read More
Devious and Deceptive Packaging
Have you read anything in the news lately about childhood obesity, Jose Canseco and steroids, or fat free foods? Where is the truth in any of that?If... Read More
Marketing On The Cheap: Speak Out!
No matter what business you are in, you probably have something to sell. Furthermore, if you have something to sell, you have something to say. So say... Read More
Marketing Planning Made Simple - Another Small Business Power Tool
Marketing planning must be really difficult and complex, otherwise why would there be so many books written on the subject ? right?Well, I'm just enough of a... Read More
What Does It REALLY Take to Be Making 6-Figures as a Service Professional?
Over the past 30 years, I've read so much on how to makemoney that I know I can write a series of books on thetopic, books that... Read More
After Your Postcard Mailing: Follow Up with Finesse
I've heard a lot of people lament the fact that they just sent out a big postcard mailing, and, alas, no one called. Hey, it's happened... Read More
Promotions for Mobile Detailers
Mobile businesses are quite unique in the way they must promote to stay in the customers mind; it takes creativity, savvy planning and a lot of listening... Read More
The M-Word
It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people have about what it means to market professional services, as well as the anxiety the "m-word" (marketing)... Read More
The Magic of Using Booklets for Tradeshow Giveaways
Candy, squeeze balls, pens, and key chains -- these provide questionable value to anyone visiting or staffing a tradeshow booth. More and more meeting and marketing professionals... Read More
Business to Business Direct Mail Offers that Say Free
In direct mail, the offer is the incentive or reward that you dangle in front of your prospects to motivate them to respond to your mailing, either... Read More
Why Cutting Prices Is Like Cutting Your Own Throat
Why cutting your prices is like cutting your own throat. It's the oldest sales tactic in the world? ... Read More
Always On Stage - 3 Quick Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors
Do you feel uncomfortable when you're in the trade show booth? Like folks are looking at you? Like you're on stage? Got as little stage fright?Well, folks... Read More
11 Ways to Turnaround a Cash-Strapped Business or Practice
This past weekend I received a disturbing message from a dear friend. His business wasn't generating all the income he needed. He's exhausted all savings, started depleting... Read More
Direct Mail Response Rates Soar With Dimensional Mailers in Business-to-Business Lead Generation
The toughest job you face as a B2B direct marketer is reaching your prospect with your message. Reaching C-level executives is particularly difficult because they employ mailroom... Read More
Writing A Marketing Strategy
It is my belief that if anyone is to suceed in any type of business then the business needs to be marketed to it's target consumers in... Read More
Trade Show Events ? Do?s and Don?ts
You can love it or you can hate it but there is no escaping trade shows in a business environment. If you happen to be in the... Read More
How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Examples of solid Marketing
As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many decades ago, there are scientific ways of tracking your Marketing and Advertising and determining clearly and unequivocally what... Read More
Ten Amazing Ways To Increase Attraction at a Trade Show
These ideas are for anyone that has a small budget to work with or is just starting to expand into exhibiting at trade shows. You can... Read More