Data Consultancy Blogs

Why CRM is not Delivering for SME’s

The demand for CRM solutions in the SME market is very buoyant in the current market and there is no sign of slowing down. Whilst many businesses have some sort of CRM, many of them are unhappy with the performance and acceptance of the CRM in the business. Many a time I have heard business owners say that they have bought a package but it is not being used in which case it is all but useless as the data is not complete.

When choosing a CRM solution it is vital to get the input from all those who are going to use it especially the sales force. It is always a question of “What in it for me?” to get people to use a CRM which is why you need to have each and everyone’s feedback on how the CRM will support the business process that they are used to.

Also the customer data itself is often out of date and duplicated so time is wasted in contacting individuals who have left the businesses. With data compliance being tightened under GDPR, it is vital that regular contact is made with your customers – at least every 6 months – to make sure that the information is correct.

Once the data is cleansed, enhanced and updated, coupled with the CRM being regularly used by the teams, the Management can see how the business is really performing.

Buy online or build to order?

With the vast choice of CRM solutions that you can buy online including Hubspot, Zoho, SugarCRM to name but a few, it is often confusing as to understanding what you are actually going to get. Of course they have all the right modules and applications BUT will they work to follow the sales and business processes of your business.

Many businesses with 2 or more employees go for a free option which is fine but must be treated as more a trial rather than a workable implementation. The reason for this is that a free version is limited in its choice of applications and as you grow you will probably need to add other applications which may well be only available if you upgrade. Also buying a branded package means that your business will have to adapt to follow the processes available – it also means that the CRM is never going to be owned by the business and your customer database is your greatest business asset.

Building your own bespoke CRM from scratch means that you get exactly what your business needs, with everyone having a say of what they want in the system. Always start small with the basic modules of Company, Contact, Tasks and Leads and build from there. Once everyone can see that the CRM is working to deliver what they have asked for, the greater the chance that will be used and more importantly, be seen as a tool to make their role more successful and productive.

Contrary to popular belief it does not need to be expensive to build your own CRM. A small business can get one built for around £500 with monthly payments from £47 for unlimited users (See https://www.businessequip.co.uk/crm-engine/) and the CRM will be owned by your business.

Your CRM call to action

Many businesses still have their customer files on a spreadsheet or worse still in paper files. I would encourage those that have, to get ALL your customer data into an electronic format which can then be imported into a centralised CRM system.

So make sure that whatever CRM solution you choose, that it delivers to the needs of your business. If you want some help and guidance on this, contact Jamie here.

Data Diagnostics

Cleanse Your Data to Maximise Your Sales

As your business has grown, you have accumulated multitudinous amounts of Customer data which lies within your IT infrastructure across your company’s departments – database Cleansing, Validation and Enhancement is the vital next stage.

Once you have your Customer data in one place, it’s time to Cleanse, Validate and Enhance it and update your Customer data records to make sure that you are talking to those Customers who are most likely to want to do business with you.

Once Cleansed, including full GDPR compliancy, you can use this Customer data to generate regular communications via your CRM system.

Here are 2 guides to get you started:

1. 5 steps to get Customer Data Ready
2. Download this Infographic for Data Management which will guide you through the process of getting your Data fit for purpose.

Data Cleansing and Categorisation

With a quick data cleanse you can add value to your current database making sure that it has been checked for duplications, field alignment, errors removed, formatting, etc. so you can be confident of having quality data to target your Customers and Prospects.

Click Here for a list of Data Diagnostic services to help get your data Validated and Enhanced. No matter what the size of your database, get in touch here and you could have your data cleansed and ready for action within the next few days.

Free Audit

Provide 100 lines of your data as a CSV file and I will produce an overview of what your data “looks like”.

Data Analysis

The Importance of a Well Designed CRM in Your Business

No matter what size your business is, the importance of a well designed Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system should not be underestimated. Over time it will become your greatest asset for delivering more sales.

When you decide to start a business I would like to think that you are doing it because, not only are you passionate about it, but that you have done your homework and found a niche in the market where customers will come and buy your products or services.

So surely the first thing you do is start to plan a sales and marketing campaign and target your likely customers and build a customer database. Whilst a spreadsheet may be effective just to get you going, depending upon what you are selling, this can very quickly turn from 30 or 40 customers to 100’s in a very short period of time.

So you suddenly go from knowing who your customers are to just a list of contacts who do business with you through the year.

This is where CRM is most valuable to growing businesses because it gives you back the control and knowledge of your customers, no matter how many customers your have, so you can continue to treat them as personally as when you did that first deal. This is where there are some big benefits associated with a well-designed CRM.

Research indicates that CRM systems play a huge role in boosting sales performance across the board. For example, consider this statistic: 79% of MQLs (marketing qualified leads) are never converted to sales if a CRM system is NOT in place. That’s huge!

An effective CRM system means you capture the details of each customer from their personal details (with full GDPR compliancy) to how they found you, what they bought, the value, when they bought, how they use your product/service and so on. This also gives your customer the feeling that you understand their needs and show a degree of care which in turn delivers a great customer experience. This customer experience will hopefully develop into customer loyalty which will help to generate referrals for your business.

But CRM is valuable across your departments. It should not just be siloed in sales and marketing but be accessible across the business e.g Customer Support teams can effectively manage after sales issues. Operations can track supply chain and Finance teams can view sales forecasts and values.

When a customer contacts your business, generally because there is a problem, no matter who picks up the call, a quick look at the CRM will identify the full history of that customer so any issue can be dealt with efficiently hopefully leaving the customer happy with the outcome. An unhappy customer wants to have a quick resolution to their problem, no automated “press 1 for…2 for…Sorry but…etc.”, just someone to talk to.

Your CRM database is the backbone of your business and is a valuable asset in its own right. It should follow the workflow of how your company does business e.g. is it all managed internally or is there external access required from a field sales force.

If you are currently working from a spreadsheet, consider looking at a CRM solution that meets the requirements of your business workflow (see Customised or Online CRM blog) . You can look online but they are designed to be all things to all businesses so you will find yourself working around the functions that they offer.

The choice of CRM really depends upon how your business workflow operates so if you you don’t want to be beholden to the online offerings it may be better to have your own, customised/bespoke database so you get exactly what your business needs when it needs it. Another difference is that you own the database so is a better investment in the long term.

If you want some help with setting up your CRM or you want to get your team to use your existing CRM more efficiently, contact Jamie here.

80/20 Rule. Get More from your Existing customers

Step 1 – Profile Your Database

The 80/20 Rule. 80% of your revenue is generated by 20% of your customers so you need to know which ones represent your 20%. Concentrating on your top 20% will generate your typical customer profile which you can use to get more business from existing customers as well as using it as a brief to target new customers. The rest of the database, the 80%, can also be profiled with a view of getting them up the value chain.

Step 2 – Lets Survey Your Chosen Customers 1 to 1

Through surveys, telephone and online interviews we can find out exactly how your customers experience doing business with your company and understand the customer journey across all touch-points.

Step 3 – Report, Analyse and Discuss

Once we have received the data we will then discuss the findings in a workshop to show what your typical customer profile might look like and what your top customers NEED from you. As a result, your business will become more customer-centric i.e you will be putting the customer’s needs at the heart of your business.

contact me : Call 07786 228553 or Email: ja@jamie-allan.com

Is Your Business GDPR compliant?

Whatever business you are in, especially B2C, if you have a database that you are actively using for marketing purposes, you now need to be GDPR compliant. For B2B companies there are still discussions going on and the current ICO situation is as follows:

“It is reasonable to allow the use of e-mail contact details within the context of an existing customer relationship for the offering of similar products or services” (Section 33)

Furthermore, if you have received or bought a marketing database from a 3rd party GDPR compliant source, this is not enough to satisfy current and future legislation if your business is not itself GDPR compliant.

Your Privacy Policy needs to be written so your customers can understand it and that it complies with GDPR requirements. Having a well-written policy demonstrates that your business is serious about protecting privacy and customer data. You also need to review your Data Protection Policy to cover areas such as:

• The personal information you ask customers for and where (i.e. what data you collect when an order is placed, or when a service is provided)
• The reason for capturing that information and what you’ll use it for
• Where and how you store that data – needs to be located in the EU
• Whether it will be transferred and of so, how?
• Will it be disclosed to a third party?
• What your process is to delete it.

You’ll also need to review your current IT security policy and how you collect, use and store any customer data. GDPR means that your customers have the right to ask you to share and/or erase their personal data. You will need to look at your current systems and gather information to demonstrate that you are able to track, disclose and delete data easily if you’re asked to. Here is a list of the key areas:

• What personal data do you collect?
• Can you track and erase personal data? You will be expected to do this within 72 hours if requested by a customer.
• Do you store any personal data?
• Where is personal data stored (on computers, servers, in the cloud)?
• How is personal data used?
• Is data disclosed to anyone else, or shared/transferred?
• How and where do you backup data?
• Do you have a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan?

Failure to comply by the due date will mean you are at risk which may result in a significant fine.

Having said that, if you are a small business and you can demonstrate that you’ve done your best to comply to meet the requirements of GDPR, regulators will work with you on any problems that might arise.

However, preparation is the key so if you’ve not yet started to prepare for GDPR, all is not lost. You need to start planning now to ensure you’re ready for next May and there are useful links below.

For help in getting your database compliant contact me here.