Five stages of CRM user evolution

The following is a hypothetical evolution of the owner of a business idea from a startup to an automated company. What is called in full: from creation to large-scale turns. Of course, not all companies go the full evolutionary path; it is also clear that you can “skip” through the steps described.

Stage 1: Haphazard storage of information


As such, the CRM evolutionary stage makes sense to start with a conditional beginning: “notebook”, notebook, notepad, or something like that, in paper form. As a variant of modern interpretation - a smartphone. This is the level of unsystematic storage of customer information. Up to this level, there can only be keeping customers in the head, followed by everything else. The disadvantages of this level of meaning are not exaggerated:

  1. Low analyticity.
  2. There is no way to objectively evaluate the results of analysis, etc.
  3. Losses.

Actually, the lack of the first stage will haunt evolutionary CRM users for a very long time. In the future, development is based on work to reduce losses.

Stage 2: Shared Files


What follows after paper? Usually, this is Access, Excel. More often than Excel. Own developments are difficult to consider at this stage, rather they are not here, but deep further and closer to the platforms.

Excel and everything that is not network / group, in one expression, is an entire separate space, it makes no sense to consider it as a means of automating groups. Yes, there may be “shared” Excel tables, but this is not automation. This is a certain beginning of the path to integrated work with clients. On the other hand, understanding the conditional customer of the CRM project that it is necessary to leave from paper carriers is already a good step.

Stage 3: Boxed CRM


Therefore, at the conditional, third level, after the head / notebook / phone / excel, the level of boxed CRM appears ... Excel is already small, but there is no understanding of our own needs yet, but we need to streamline the work of several people. Boxed CRMs provide a certain general “memory” distributed in the network about basic knowledge about customers: telephones, names, contact persons, etc. There is no analysis at all on this substage, there is no telephony where the caller’s number is determined by the call and the card is displayed. There is simply storage of contact information. This is already a lot for those who have not previously been automated at all, as it allows you to avoid questions: "Who is this?" or "And whose is this?"

Inside boxed CRM systems, evolution should be divided into the following areas:

Operational and analytical CRM:

For example, if in the boxed CRM there is at least some, albeit a minimal analysis unit, it is already possible to analyze the information and omit the struggle with the staff to make operational data.

There is a whole class of so-called analytical CRMs, although this classification element was created, in my opinion, artificially: analytical CRMs are designed and positioned mainly for analyzing information, for example, from accounting systems, from various Yandex.Analytics, etc. It is not necessary to enter data, and the soil for analysis is wide. And this is already becoming a working tool.

Entering and importing information in CRM:

After introducing the ability to control the input and import of information into CRM, the difference is enormous! This is due to the fact that it is the culture of maintaining (entering) data in the CRM system that largely determines the depth of use of CRM. In other words, the level of familiarity / commitment of the staff to fix everything in the system determines whether the CRM system is a brake on the business? Does the company “lose” human hours, or vice versa, leads to an increase in labor efficiency in general?

Though such a question: "How to make a CRM-system a real helper?" - this is a separate topic, it should be noted here that without the habit and ease of maintaining non-accounting data in CRM systems, there will be no evolution.

If the staff is not ready to enter data, for example, considering it their property (and not the company), if there is no will of the company management to reverse this problem, it may be possible to analyze the information in the CRM system imported into it from external sources / repositories data.

I want to express my opinion at this point - with regards to boxed CRM. Far and far from all need platforms, many have boxed CRM solutions. Therefore, I do not share with many vendors the imposed opinion that the CRM box is bad, small, wretched. If this is enough for the client / project and the owner considers the investment in such automation profitable for him, as they say: Wellcome!

We move on and we come to the fact that the format, scale, size of the CRM system may not be enough.

Stage 4: chaotic control system


How does this happen? This is a very complex topic that needs to be described in a separate article. To a large extent, understanding the scope of a CRM project is related to the company's willingness to automate. Such readiness is a very complex concept. These include:

  1. Staff skills.
  2. Internal organization.
  3. Regulation.
  4. Formality.
  5. The will / authority and strength of leadership.
  6. Understanding the processes in the company.

When acquiring a CRM system, it is far from always that customers can clearly and clearly express their desires, and even worse, they do not always understand them. This leads to the fact that an experienced seller of boxed CRM solutions can convince the customer that everything will work out, moreover, many vendors began to call their systems “scalable platforms” under current trends, although they are not.

A delicate situation arises - either the customer, through careful analysis and samples, independently understood that there is not enough boxed CRM solution. And what's worse, the system has already been acquired, the implementation is in full swing and the “discoveries” begin, and here, as in the joke, there are two ways:

  1. Improvements. Moreover, improvements in boxed solutions are more expensive than on platforms.
  2. Glass ceiling is when the system is not developed. Such an outcome puts an end to investments and their payback, return and long-term ...

A CRM project must be created organic and unique: such as is necessary for a specific user so that he can fulfill his tasks as quickly and accurately as possible. Everything is stricter in the accounting system: accounting does not change. It is standardized by company accounting policies.

Relations with customers (and the customers themselves), marketing campaigns, sales rules and loyalty programs are changing, and with them the interface, business logic and CRM system processors must be flexibly configured.

Stage 5: CRM platform


I’ll try to criticize the readers to give my vision of what the “Platform” is - it is a system open for changes, it has a minimum of limitations in the equality of data. The platform undergoes changes independent of the developer of almost everything that may be required in the project: interfaces, mathematics, business logic, analyticity, access restrictions, job fillings.

Separately, I note that the platform is a system that can be developed by expanding its data, its modules, its processes, and all this, I repeat, should ultimately be equal on the system.

Why all the expansion options in the platform? In order for the customer to receive, as a result of the implementation of the CRM project, an automation tool for the following characteristics:

  • Maximum adaptation to the needs of the company.
  • Maximum integration of processes into your business.
  • Quick adjustment for changes and business growth.
  • Prompt response to user requests regarding inconvenience, lack of functionality, etc.

In fact, we can state that the platform is needed in order to always have a quick, adequate and satisfying answer to any criticism and any criticism of the CRM implementation project.

Total:


Nevertheless, an attempt to create an industrial-level solution for yourself by a non-industrial approach (freelancers) is a good sign that the company has evolved and it needs to get what it needs. This is expensive because it speaks of high-level company management technology. The more the CRM system meets the company's objectives, the higher the chances are not only for the success of the CRM project, but also for a positive ROI - return on investment in CRM automation, which is extremely difficult to calculate, but it can be.

Data storage is conditional, "half the battle." For the normal functioning of the modern CRM complex, many customizable / programmable functions are required. It is important to repeat - mutable! The first of these is the interface. He in the platform CRM solution should change as he pleases. This is very important, as I repeat: many have learned to add plugins, attributes.

Thus, as a conclusion, what is already discussed above. The pinnacle of CRM project evolution is a platform solution that covers the project: data, interfaces,

arbitrary analytics, processes, event and timer handlers. Having the ability to quickly change to new challenges, changes and business growth ...

PS Be careful!


Additionally, I want to pay attention: “Caution! Experienced in business. ” This is a situation where a person previously worked in CRM and, coming to another company, begins to paint the prospects of “paradise life”, but his experience may not lie on the current features of the company, and the efforts to implement nothing but fatigue will cause. Experience in other businesses is good, but platform adaptability is important because evolution in the head of the customer is a permanent process for a living business.

The current development of the CRM systems market, competition, and the state of the economy have led to the fact that the vast majority of suppliers promise their customers anything and everything and call themselves platforms.

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