Are Soviet-Era CRM Applications Holding Your Company Back?

I thought I was being clever when I described a major retailer's point-of-sale and CRM system as being "Soviet-era" on my personal blog. It sounds like the term is creeping up on the collective subconscious, since Phil Wainewright just used it as the headline for his interview with Bob Warfield from HelpStream, a vendor of CRM applications.

Warfield responds to Wainewright's use of the phrase by suggesting older CRM software forces a "central planning" philosophy on both customers and agents. In larger institutions, once considered early adopters by investing in this kind of technology, the system starts to wield control over both processes and people. It's an apt term to playfully describe what can happen when companies let their CRM systems dictate interactions instead of allowing customers and team members to engage in real problem-solving.

The growth of the Internet in the past decade has fueled the need for CRM systems that respond to customer needs, rather than attempt to force those needs into silos. Some examples of CRM applications that break the "Soviet" mold include:

• Health club CRM applications that allow trainers and membership coordinators to understand the specific needs and preferences of their members.
• Grocery store CRM applications that customize coupon and special offer delivery based on a customer's entire purchase history, not just the order on the conveyor belt.
• Unified CRM applications that allow agents to pick up conversations and interactions with customers, eliminating the need to restart relationships with each contact.

"The CRM software doesn't let me do it" is no longer a good enough answer for customer service professionals in a marketplace connected by Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. IT directors willing to embark on their own version of Glasnost can prepare their companies for a new kind of customer relationship.

Using CRM Software to Put Customers at the Center of Business

My recent post about making customers the "fourth pillar" of CRM systems generated some interesting mail in my inbox. A commenter voiced their opinion that effective CRM systems put the customer at the center of a hub. Does viewing the customer as a spoke in the wheel of a process that is already supposed to revolve around them make the customer redundant?

Graham Hill explores that idea this week in an essay for CustomerThink. Hill asserts that too much focus on meeting a customer's needs can distract from an organization's true mission: to assist customers in reaching their intended outcomes. Instead of using CRM systems to track customer requests and company responses, Hill challenges business leaders to organize efforts around the net result.

Customers hire products to help them get jobs done more effectively. Think of Ted Levitt’s famous example of the job of drilling a hole in a wall. As Clayton Christensen writes, the customer doesn’t actually want a drill at all, he wants a hole in a wall.

Using Hill's methodology, and combining it with insight from the Lance Bettencourt article he references, prospective CRM software buyers can get a better sense of their own desired outcome. When selecting CRM systems, marketers often ask themselves one of three questions:

• How will this CRM software improve my company's ability to reach its own strategic outcomes?
• How will this CRM software allow us to meet our customers' needs more effectively, and more often?
• How will this CRM software help us become a customer's primary resource to reach their intended outcomes?

It's no surprise, then, that companies asking themselves the third question enjoy the biggest successes when rolling out new CRM systems.

Making Customers the "Fourth Pillar" of CRM Systems

CRM software insiders have been buzzing for a few days about a recent blog post by Bob Warfield from SmoothSpan. Warfield summzrizes some conversations he's had with leaders in the CRM software field about the role that social media can play in the development of new applications and of entirely new ways to approach customer relationship management in the first place.

In some circles, CRM software experts like to talk about the "Three Pillars of CRM," specifically:

• Marketing
• Sales
• Customer Service

Warfield cites a recent post by Esteban Kolsky, in which he posits that "feedback" should become recognized as the "fourth pillar" of customer relationship management. Warfield challenges CRM software experts to go even further, by viewing customers themselves as that fourth pillar. Using that strategy puts customers on the same level as other stakeholders in the enterprise, and it doesn't divorce the customers themselves from their comments.

It's important to ensure that we see customers as human beings, Warfield suggests, because we would otherwise run the risk of settling for crisis management outcomes to "social media emergencies" instead of using CRM systems as sources of accountability. For instance:

• Warfield cites a case in which social CRM software picked up a complaint on Twitter about VistaPrint. A customer's lost order was comped by a helpful representative after a blogger tweeted her frustration.
• Heather Armstrong took Maytag representatives to task on Twitter about a washing machine that failed about a week after delivery. After exhausting normal customer service avenues, she posted notes on Twitter. Not only did Maytag provide a replacement unit, other manufacturers provided the influential blogger with equipment to donate to local shelters.
• I had my own frustrating experience with Sears recently. Problems with the company's CRM software prevented me from getting prompt service or attention with a faulty dishwasher. Once I Tweeted and blogged about my problems, Sears representatives rushed to the rescue.

Warfield's position is that solid CRM systems would prevent these kinds of episodes from happening by measuring negative customer feedback before it goes public. Marketing proponents might note that all three stories involve companies that make things good at the end, but Warfield notes that these are still "bad stories." As social CRM systems evolve, look for opportunities to engage customers in follow-up conversations more closely, rather than waiting for negative tweets and blog posts to hit the web.

CRM Systems Thrive with Five Kinds of Data

First-time buyers of CRM systems often wonder what makes customer relationship management software tick. Effective CRM tools go beyond lists of names and addresses. They collect and help teams interpret five critical types of data:

Transactional DataThe most common kind of data found in CRM systems, transactional data includes information about completed sales or service requests. Customers provide personal information willingly during the ordering and shipping process, offering the purest data stream possible. However, this data stream can only be initiated or maintained when customers make regular interactions with customer service teams.

Prospect Data“Warm leads” refers to prospective customers who have specifically requested to learn more about a company’s offerings. These days, most warm leads get into CRM systems from websites, often in exchange for access to special deals or targeted information. Warm leads can also include existing customers who want to make additional purchases or reactive inactive accounts. “Cold leads” refers to prospects whose information has been borrowed, bartered, or bought for import into a CRM system.

Supply Chain DataInformation from warehouses, shippers, and suppliers enters CRM systems more often than ever. Direct fulfillment data matched up to customer orders assures buyers of consistent delivery. Third party service professionals add their own appointment confirmations and discovery details to catalog the results of maintenance or support sessions. CRM software data feeds back into the supply chain, dictating vendor orders and triggering inventory movements at warehouses.

Analytical DataThe most robust CRM software on the market can combine information about customers, prospects, and supply chains to build predictive analysis. For instance, retailers can discover hot neighborhoods for future store locations. Fulfillment managers can learn the most strategic locations for warehouses. Using data from CRM systems, analytical modules can build strong guesses about the success or failure of project proposals.

Social DataIncreasingly, CRM software informs executive decision-making by merging publicly available information with proprietary data. For instance, a marketer can use social data to determine which of its existing customers carries the heaviest online influence. CRM systems that analyze blog posts and social media updates can help companies save money on crisis management by identifying online trends that haven’t yet been tracked by formal call centers.

Of course, gathering and maintaining this data does no business any good without the ability to leverage customer relationships. Strong CRM systems put information into the right context for decision makers and strategy experts.

What Happens When Your CRM Software Crashes?

If your business depends on Twitter for any part of its customer relationship management strategy, this morning probably felt a little quiet. The popular social networking platform experienced a brief outage today, apparently due to a denial of service attack powered by an army of compromised PCs.

Of course, the same thing can happen to just about any part of your customer communication platform:

• Your e-mail server can crash, backing up incoming and outgoing messages into a queue.
• The trunk line to your call center can get severed, leaving call center agents unable to receive phone calls or connect to networked CRM systems.
• A denial of service attack, like the one targeting Twitter, can hit the servers that host your own CRM applications.

As a customer service professional, I've experienced combinations of all three. (Imagine the horror of a client discovering that a gas company crew has run a backhoe through a phone company data cable on the morning of a huge product launch. I lived that!) That's why your CRM software strategy should include some fallback plans, anticipating some typical worst case scenarios.

• Have "downtime forms" pre-printed on paper that allow customer service agents to collect key information that can be scanned or manually entered into CRM systems once normal service has been restored.
• Maintain a clear communication strategy for emergencies or service outages. Many companies use Twitter to alert customers when phone or website service becomes sluggish or unavailable. If your company relies heavily on e-mail, Twitter, or web forms, have a plan in place to deploy an overflow call center to handle heightened call volume during on Internet interruption.
• If your CRM software integrates with multiple messaging sources, consider automating some common requests using web forms or e-mail. On a normal day, this can help your team serve customers more efficiently. When dealing with a crisis or a partial outage, promoting automated tools can help customers choose the most efficient way to get their needs met.

As Seth Godin recently wrote, there's really no such thing as a "perfect storm" that can excuse a failure to provide customer service. Training your team to manage CRM systems through extraordinary events can communicate to customers that you're there for them when the chips are down.

How CRM Software Can Adapt to a 140-Character World

Rick Cook from Inside CRM posted a primer for "Tweeting with Customers," in which he analyzes the ways that corporate customer service agents will have to adapt their communication to become more direct and relevant for social networking users. For example, Twitter limits communications to 140 characters each. Longer messages require URL shortening services, which can add a layer of complexity for users. Alternately, users can string longer messages across a series of tweets, risking a loss of context for users. With many CRM applications including support for Twitter and Facebook messaging, agents may require a crash course in succinct communication.

CRM software developers have already started to develop solutions that allow customer service teams to respond through a single Twitter account or through a series of individual agent accounts. Company leaders will soon find themselves answering questions about social networking usage, such as:

• When is it appropriate to push service alerts via CRM software through Twitter or Facebook?
• Should CRM software communicate exclusively via social networking tools, or should it alert customers to messages pending on a company's own internal system?
• What risks might connections between CRM software and social networks pose to customer privacy?

CRM systems in most organizations already coordinate communications where an e-mail is typically answered with an e-mail, and a phone call is typically answered with a phone call. Early corporate adopters of social media-enabled CRM systems have enjoyed success by proactively hunting for customers who use Twitter and Facebook to complain about products and services. Now, the challenge will be to determine how to serve customers who expect rapid communication on their preferred platforms.

CRM Software Identifies Which Customers to Lay Off

Despite recent recovery in the global stock markets, many company leaders still worry that they may have to cut expenses and overhead to stay ahead of earnings expectations. Call centers and customer service operations often seem like low hanging fruit for budget-minded managers eager to automate the customer experience and eliminate extra headcount. Fortunately, many savvy companies have turned their call centers and sales operations into sacred cows, especially when CRM software can help streamline operations and steer more revenue into an organization.

Laying off employees may not be the answer, but there are other people that might find themselves getting the ax this year -- customers. Instead of recommending staff reductions, some customer relationship management experts urge company leaders to consider using CRM software to discover which clients they should fire. CRM systems can analyze whether certain clients demand more than their fair share of company resources. For instance, one customer might demand sever discounts on goods or services while spending a significant amount of time with sales or support teams. Consultant Fred Wiersema recommends using CRM systems to the distinction between "stretch customers" and "lagging customers":

• "Stretch customers" challenge teams to identify and serve upcoming markets. They represent the leading edge of a trend and offer opportunities to test new techniques. By definition, they require more time to cultivate, but pay off in the long run.
• "Lagging customers" take up staff time but provide little meaningful revenue and no strategic advantage. Using CRM systems to separate lagging customers from stretch customers can save companies a significant portion of their marketing and support budgets each year.

While company leaders at Best Buy aggravated consumers by attempting a similar strategy at retail, inside sales professionals can use more subtle tactics to gather the data necessary to determine whether a client's worth keeping. CRM software that can assess a customer's strategic value can pay for itself this way, usually within a few sales cycles.

What happens when CRM software hits every mobile device in the world?

That's the question CRM software vendors and buyers are asking after SAP's announcement of a major partnership with Sybase. By teaming up, SAP hopes that it can use Sybase's platform tools to make its CRM systems accessible from any kind of mobile device, from wireless smartphones to dedicated hardware tools.

Building CRM software that works on multiple platforms addresses many of the CIO community's biggest concerns about lock-in. With "consumerization" of hardware choices driving a mix of products in the workplace, partnerships like SAP-Sybase can result in CRM systems ready for universal adoption within client companies. Instead of arguing about how to deploy CRM systems on multiple hardware and software platforms, team leaders can collaborate on developing the kind of training culture required to make CRM implementation a real success.

As more vendors ship CRM systems with multiple interface options, client companies have already homed in on specific tools that let them serve customers more effectively. Many customers already clamor for mobile applications that tie directly into companies' CRM databases, such as trip planners, alert notifications, and mobile banking tools. Enabling customer service professionals to use mobile CRM tools will up the ante for companies who have not yet fully discovered how to leverage CRM into long term profits.

Get CIM for Your CRM Software ASAP, or Your ROI May Be DOA

Let's say your company has invested millions of dollars on CRM software, and that you're even start seeing a return on your investment. Outbound contacts to existing customers seem to go swimmingly well. Yet, when you look at retention and reordering rates, something seems odd. Numbers should be a little bit higher, shouldn't they?

The answer to this dilemma is surprisingly more common than you'd think. According to Brendan Read at TMCNet, many enterprise companies still have not invested the necessary time or resources in bridging the gaps between front line call centers and sophisticated CRM solutions.

Customer Interaction Management (CIM) and Computer-Telephone Integration (CTI) are two of the latest acronyms to cause your CIO to seek an MRI. Read interviewed Chris Mills from CIM company Servion, who notes that many companies still haven't fully embraced technology's ability to help provide stellar customer service. Leaving these two tools out of a CRM software implementation is akin to leaving money on the table.

For example, if a call center's inbound CIM system doesn't automatically recognize a caller ID, customers may need to punch in account numbers or other identifying codes into their phones. While it simplifies the account lookup process for CRM software, this task often frustrates and confuses callers.

Even worse, without the right CTI tools, a live agent may require customers to identify themselves again. Either of these experiences can cause a customer to feel less valued, possibly encouraging them to take their business elsewhere.

Companies that recognize their best customers and differentiate them from first-time buyers can win repeat business by providing service that replicates the personal attention once reserved for small, mom-and-pop retail shops. Even a well-programmed IVR can provide this kind of service, provided it has the right CRM system on the backend to make the experience feel part of a broader relationship.

How Will Platform Plays Affect Your Choice of CRM Software?

You probably have already heard a few of this decade's business buzzwords involving customer relationship management. "Cloud computing" is just one phrase that keeps analysts abuzz. "Software as a service" is another phrase that sends shivers up the spines of most venture capitalists.

"Platform play" is the latest phrase to hit the field notes of CRM software purchasers, and it can impact the decision over which CRM software vendors win lucrative contracts. With so many software developers staging data at remote server locations, it's easier than ever to build a platform around access to that data. The magic happens when multiple software tools gain access to core sets of data. For example, when a CRM software application and an order fulfillment system share the same platform, customer orders can be tracked, confirmed, paid, and shipped more efficiently.

Right now, experts suggest that we are witnessing a platform shakeout. As major players like Salesforce.com capture the attention of enterprise IT buyers, small startups hope that innovation in the platform space can buy them a seat at the table. According to many experts, the principle of first mover advantage helps out Salesforce, Facebook, and even MySpace. Web services with strong APIs and large user bases enjoy tremendous advantages over their competitors. After all, it's easier to build tools that extend a service that your customers already use than it is to replcate those tools in a vacuum.

For builders of CRM systems, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks hold the key to successful platform plays. Force.com, the platform for Salesforce.com developers, holds promise for customers already committed to that platform. Empowering your CRM system to share data with popular networks and data streams helps you build stronger customer relationships faster.

Making Relationships the Focus of CRM Systems

Until recently, most CRM systems revolved around transactions. Pipelines lead to sales, sales lead to follow-up calls, and calls lead to more pipeline quotes. Under normal operating conditions, this cycle continues while it grows to accommodate even more new customers.

This works well for products and services with regular re-order cycles involving raving fans. However, for sales professionals who market to irregular purchasers on unusual timelines, CRM systems provide an essential boost by helping to cultivate new business.

Expert sales professionals carry intimate knowledge about their best customers in their heads. Interview some of the best salespeople in the world, and they can often rattle of personal details of their top ten accounts. Anniversaries, birthdays, favorite restaurants -- knowing tiny details about your customers' lives helps build rapport that can convert into sales.

In today's distributed society, CRM systems act as a collective brain for sales teams or for solo professionals with hundreds of clients. Instead of simply logging the events that lead to a sale, innovative new CRM systems actually recommend actions that can jump start business. For example, a CRM system can remind you to call a client for follow-up on a recent proposal. Even better, CRM systems can remind you about crucial dates in your prospects' lives, so you can send cards or other well wishes.

As more of us place personal information about ourselves online, CRM systems can become even more valuable. "Social" CRM systems scour public web pages, including some Facebook and MySpace profiles, for accessible information about your prospects. Understanding that your prospect is a Red Sox fan can help you decide how to dole out box seats and other corporate perks. Smart CRM systems can even use this information to predict the likelihood of a client completing a sale.

While customers can still see right through you if you're only pretending to care about their interests, social CRM systems can highlight prospects with whom you have the highest rapport. In a team setting CRM systems can match all of your customers with the best sales professionals to handle their accounts. While that might put an interesting spin on your compensation structure, it can also boost overall revenues.

Does Your CRM System Put Customers First? (Part I)

I recently purchased a large appliance from a reputable, national retailer. Little did I know that I would become a first-hand case study for what happens when CRM systems rule the customer experience, and not the other way around.

In fairness, the overall experience I had was quite good. I shopped at two locations, neither of which were very busy. The first location featured an old-school salesman who I felt was trying way too hard to upsell me. It seemed like he cared about his commission way more than getting me the right device for my kitchen. When I told him that I needed to call my wife to confirm my choice of features, he urged me to call her right away, while he stood within earshot.

I checked out a second location, where the staff were a little more low-key, and they were more focused on clearing out some floor samples. I felt comfortable doing business with these folks, and preferred to order from them than from their online store. Unable to resist a real bargain, I picked out the perfect model right on the sales floor. And that's when the CRM mayhem began.

Actually selling me the fridge required entering my data into a monochrome CRM system that looked like it escaped the Eastern Bloc before the Wall fell. Because I had shopped with this chain before, they had a previous address for me on file. I have since moved, but the clerk had to force an error to create a new customer record for me. Not only does this seem a little inconvenient, it actually made me realize that there's no way for them to understand or leverage my long term relationship with their company. But it gets better, and I will tell you more about my experience tomorrow.

Can CRM Software Uncover Your Ideal Customer?

In Andrew Boyd's year-end recap for CRM Buyer, one of his top three tips for 2009 is to "profile both successes and failures." Digging a little deeper, he's really writing about understanding how to better identify the right customers for your team to be working with. And, by extension, he's challenging readers to think about their worst customers ever.

If you know what a bad customer looks like, you're more likely to avoid them the next time you see one. It can be tempting to use CRM software to start a customer profiling system that automatically alerts your sales team to cease working with potentially unprofitable prospects. Best Buy discovered this the hard way in early 2004 when it started labeling customers as "angels" and "demons" in an effort to weed out bargain hunters and return-prone shoppers. In 2008, leaked documents revealed a softer strategy that still used personas to identify good and bad customers.

Filtering customers after they're already customers often leads to challenging situations. Leaders at Best Buy found themselves explaining to both customers and the press a set of personas that some customers found condescending or oversimplified. For service providers, this process often means "firing a client," causing stress for team members and potentially damaging a company's reputation.

Instead, experts recommend using CRM systems to filter prospects before they can become customers. Web-based signup forms act as a filter to discourage "tire kickers" who may not want to be called upon by sales professionals. CRM software can interface with credit reports, partner profiles, or other databases to qualify prospects.

This strategy inherently works better for businesses that rely on agent-customer relationships, such as banks, mortgage companies, or service providers. In retail environments CRM systems are often more effective at inviting the best customers back, rather than trying to weed customers out.

Quick CRM Software Case Studies

If you're mapping out your marketing and IT budgets for next year, here are two quick CRM software case studies to show you how some large companies are making CRM software work for them...

Kimberly-Clark, the folks behind the popular Kleenex brand, want to grow their presence in Asia. According to a recent press release, they expect to expand rapidly by mobilizing a large field operation. And, like any growing company, they want the flexibility to work from the road and from the office, even if the office location moves from time to time. A hosted CRM application from Microsoft is at the heart of their strategy, allowing the company to view customer orders and fulfillment processes in real time. Dashboard tools will allow local sales managers to change strategies quickly, while brand managers chart overall progress.

Meanwhile, in the UK, one vacation company hopes CRM software can help them keep holiday makers booking trips despite a global recession. Sales managers at Thomson have gathered crucial data about vacationers into their CRM applications, in order to generate highly personalized, stylized brochures and marketing collateral. By using their tools to make the right recommendations to customers who are most likely to book trips next year, managers hope to avoid deep discounting while improving customer service.

As Entellium Leaders Take Plea Deals, Can CRM Software Vendors Make It Through 2009?

Last month, I offered some tips to determine whether your CRM software vendor deserves your business. This month, the Seattle technology community is buzzing with news about the plea deals and imminent sentencing for Entellium's former CEO and CFO.

* Paul Johnston, the former Chief Executive, has plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud. Attorneys estimate that he pocketed $1.4 million from customers and investors while inflating the company's profit statements.
* Parrish Jones, the company's former CFO, deposited about $865,000 of Entellium funds into his own account over his four years there. By managing a second set of books, Jones helped lure high profile investors and clients.

And the bad news doesn't end there. A hosted CRM provider that offered credit card transaction processing for youth sports teams and other not-for-profit organizations appears to have misplaced about a million dollars' of its customers' money. Coaches and development directors from around the country hope to recoup donations while executives at Count Me In claim to be restructuring their organization.

Fortunately, these cases offer examples of the extreme exceptions in the hosted CRM industry. Most CRM software vendors are doing well, even if they aren't all generating Google-style profits. Yet, these stories may scare off prospective hosted CRM customers. Therefore, I'll add another question to my previous list.

* Are they processing funds on your behalf? Many hosted CRM providers for small businesses and for charity groups also offer credit card processing services. Because merchant accounts can be especially hard to set up for non-profits, services like Count Me In attracted customers by promising quick setup and seamless payments in exchange for service fees. Experts recommend using an independent merchant account to prevent vendors from spending your funds during a "float" period. Failing that, vendors with shorter float periods pose less risk than vendors that sit on income for more than 30 days.

CRM Systems Target SMS Users

Remember the last time you had cable or phone installed at your home or office? Or the last time you had to wait for a furniture delivery, or carpet installers? You probably heard the infamous phrase, "we can slot you in for a window of arrival between 10 and 2..."

What if your service company used the power of SMS to narrow down that window for customers and give them precise details?

"Leaving last job now. B at ur office in 20 min."

SMS is already the dominant mode of communications for under-21s in America. Some of their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are on board, but the real wave of expectation for SMS is probably going to hit American companies in a major wave over the next decade.

Business owners that invest in the latest CRM systems can harness the power of SMS. While no user wants to be bombarded with unexpected marketing messages -- those are received with as much glee as an inbox full of spam -- companies can redefine the customer service experience for deliveries and live appointments by engaging in live, interactive text messaging.

Fortunately, many CRM software vendors now offer modules that can both track and send SMS. For a text messaging platform to be truly effective, companies should be prepared to interact in real time with customers. The asynchronous nature of text messaging mirrors chat or e-mail, allowing clever service agents to potentially handle multiple conversations at once. As purchasing power shifts from aging baby boomers to Millenials and their offspring, expect successful companies to leverage CRM software to manage text messaging as another high profile point of contact.

Customer-Facing CRM Systems Could Change Retail Experiences

The idea of customer-facing CRM systems isn't new. Anyone who has booked a ticket on an airline's website or set preferences for their online banking has experienced at least a basic CRM application. And, for the past few years, many companies have wrestled with translating the copious amounts of data they have collected on customers into the kind of accessible system that makes shoppers feel welcome. After all, nobody likes that "Big Brother" feeling that a company is watching your every move.

So, it's with great trepidation that some retailers are moving into the realm of in-person, customer-facing CRM applications. For many companies, this kind of system might automate or enhance the role of a receptionist or a concierge.

For instance, when I got my most recent flu shot, I dropped in on one of Caremark's Minute Clinic locations. These low-cost, high volume health care facilities are located inside CVS pharmacy locations, Target stores, and other familiar retailers. Staffed by a single nurse practitioner, Minute Clinic automates the registration process for their no-appointment service by using a customer-facing CRM application hosted on a low kiosk. In about a minute, I entered my personal details and connected my health records to their national database. A few minutes later, I was on my way, and my insurance company had already settled the bill. A similar trip to the doctor's office might have resulted in an hour of forms and waiting, but the simple CRM system actually shared more information with me than I would have asked in less time than it would have taken in a traditional setting.

Customer-facing CRM systems can go deeper than appointment-based services, however. For instance, Nike extended the reach of their online customization service to many of their Niketown retail stores using a revamped version of their existing CRM application. Customers can experience an array of materials and colors, then select the elements of their personalized footwear using a special kiosk and the aid of a Nike staff member. It's an enhanced version of the online CRM system, but with the added benefit of real-time feedback and the ability to change personal information.

Now that many customers carry their own smartphones, CRM systems eliminate the need for expensive kiosks that remove customers from the flow of a store. The Body Shop recently demoed the first iteration of its own customer-facing CRM software. By connecting to customers' phones, Body Shop servers can feed product reviews, make recommendations, and even use customer purchasing records to push customized promotions that can generate impulse purchases. As retailers use customer-facing CRM systems to streamline common interactions, they can create strong word of mouth from repeat shoppers.

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Customers are the most important element of your business; without them, you have no business at all. CRM software gives you the insight to create lasting customers. How does CRM software achieve this?

It creates an impact in four major areas of your business:

Customer service - Representatives will know more personal information about individual customers to create a 'personalized' rapport.

Sales - Your sales department will have more information to draw from when speaking with potential and existing customers.

Marketing - The department will understand how to develop current and future campaigns based on data elicited.

Management - Executives will receive a steady stream of information in order to make better decisions and allocate immediate resources.

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