I have talked to several companies that had invested in CRM but had not achieved the expected return. This investment caused great expectations within the company and, in the end, the result was great frustration. After all, what happens in these projects? Discussing a little bit further, we noticed that imperfections had occurred at the conception of the project, which had not been adjusted during the implementation period.
When solutions are acquired without defining processes, we can have a large data repository, but without actions. The most typical case is CRM solutions for the Sales team, where the solution is underused, with only the management (or registration) of opportunities, some workflows, and forecasts, but without really understanding the customer.
However, how to understand the customer? What needs to be implemented? How to measure results?
This takes me to the start of my projects of CRM at the end of the 90s. A large car dealership network acquired the CRM solution, which was a great novelty at the time. The initial focus was to create campaigns, through email, telemarketing, and mailing. The names of the possible customers would be taken from purchased lists and through the registries when visiting the units.
During the deployment phase, talking with the main unit salespersons, we noticed that they looked for answers to many doubts, which were not the focus of the contract. For example, what is the reason for many phone calls and few sales?
After talking with the company board, we decide to make a Concept Test with the salespersons, they could question the customers and we would use the records for analysis. The result was surprising and rich in information, so we had to create a structure for recording and understanding information. We studied the “sales flow process” and put in the CRM, which could be filled by the salespersons or through scripts (with the aid of telemarketing).
Some results:
- Most of the sales were made for those who lived or worked close to the units;
- There was no brand loyalty, but those who had some unexpected problems with the vehicle and were well served by the unit, felt confident in buying new vehicles in the same place;
- Clients did not visit the agencies only because of advertisements on TV and in newspapers;
- The customer, who actually bought the product, had little to do with newspaper and television campaigns.
Nevertheless, almost 100 % of the marketing was directed at television and newspaper campaigns, and sales conversions were small.
At this moment, the company decided to analyze the data of the CRM and the “Sales process flow”. This understanding was basic for a new period when they started to invest less in conventional advertising, directing resources for events for the customers who lived or worked in the region, or for special clients. They achieved financial feedback very quickly. However, we did not stop there.
The workshops were idle, and by interviewing the customers, we realized that they were afraid of the maintenance costs. Idleness led to high costs, so we decided to reduce the costs to see if idleness would be reduced. Marketing was concerned with focusing on publicity campaigns and service events and in a few months, the workshops started to give much higher profits, both for preventive and corrective maintenance.
The company liked “the sales flow process”, so we created variations such as Maintenance flow, Insurance flow, Trust flow, financial flow, and so on. After some time, the CRM companies started calling these processes Business Flows, and, later on, they called them Customer Journey.
The customer journey is the story that the client has with the company; this is where the value of this client is for the institution.
The experience I had in dozens of CRM projects proves that the return on investment for the Customer Journey is very fast, a few months after implementation, as it reduces costs, creates loyalty, and improves the company's image in the market
However, even large companies continue to purchase CRM for sales (without marketing and services) just to record opportunities and forecast, without implementation methodologies, not worrying about analyzing customer satisfaction, business cycle and customers life cycle, risks and threats, and end up losing their customers or reducing their margins.
Fortunately, we realize that some companies have invested in consulting and not just in technology; they have trained professionals in the culture of understanding the client.
Understanding the journey is only one part of the Digital Customer Experience (DCX) process, where one can take new paths to serve the customer in the various service channels.
Antonio Guido +55-11-99641-5025
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