CRM Workflow

Before we rush into the woods, it’s important to get the basics about CRM. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It's most often a piece of software running either on your local server, or on a cloud computing service. SaaS means Software as a Service, in other words you are not paying for the software code itself, but the right to use it. An even simpler interpretation is to compare SaaS to social networking sites. You have your account (and everyone else in the company who needs access to data), and navigate to a website logging in using that account. For a set price the CRM runs on a distant server, which means you don't have to pay for the hardware, and no upfront-cost licensing is more common than those where you need to pay a basic fee on top of the per-user license.

When everything is done properly, people who need to be in contact with inventory, customers, or data can access this information within seconds and deal with any inquiries within minutes. A good CRM workflow greatly streamlines the process of selling goods from the step of finding new customers to the after-sale life of the product. When more than just a handful of people are responsible for handling items or customer complaints, a simple database or Excel sheet won't do if you want to maintain customer data quality. A CRM system is everything that makes a company run better, and then some more.

A CRM solution is good when it doesn't cause much administration overhead on top of the normal flow of business. If you've ever had a position of responsibility in a company bigger than just a handful of employees, you'll know that there has to be a set of rules, a workflow that guides every step of the process. Unless there is some sort of an automated supervision or an actual person coordinating work, the whole process starts to fall apart.

Since most sources tend to beat around the bushes on the topic, let me bring an example of a CRM workflow as it hopefully puts it into a better light. Let's say you log on to Amazon.com and buy a book. From the first moment after you've clicked on the book on the search results page, you're in the workflow. The software running on this particular site is probably private and developed in-house, but the principle is easy to follow. You see the product, there is an indication of available inventory, and a way for you to provide shipping information (all are good CRM best practices).

As soon as you hit the Check Out button, your order is processed, with very little human interaction, the book is going through several steps. Inventory data is verified; the book is retrieved from a huge warehouse, and is handed over to a courier. Everything is tracked and put into the workflow so that it can be found if something goes wrong. The courier company delivers the book, you sign on a digital handset, which reports back to headquarters, setting the status of the book to delivered. The courier company then reports back to Amazon.com and you'll get the chance to review the product you've just received.

When you visit the shop next time, you'll be presented with relevant books, or items others have bought with the product you now own. This particular CRM workflow is highly automated, but in small businesses or on other fields the workflow isn’t necessarily automated. If your company is involved in providing services, you'll find that human interaction receives higher priority, but the principle is the same, the software takes care of most steps and governs the way in which information changes places. Without this it would be next to impossible to ensure the right customer experience, which is what managing your CRM process flow is all about.

The technical details are not as important as long as your CRM solution is chosen properly. Whether it is a web-based service or you have a recent copy of SAP with the appropriate servers up and running, you'll see that the point is the same. Create a workflow that takes care of orders and customers from step one to the point where they recommend you to their friends.

How does it help you make more money?

The CRM workflow is just one portion of an organization's strategies for customer retention. However, it is an important portion. If the workflow is working properly, then your organization's strategy is being executed better. Higher execution inevitably leads to more profit (as long as your strategy isn't horrible).

If your company is of the commercial nature, you need to make profit. To do that you need to get more money than you spend. There are two ways to this end; you either raise prices, or cut down on costs. Overhead in the process of handling goods or customers costs you money and time. With a well prepared CRM workflow, and the appropriate software backend you won't have to venture into the quagmire of high prices; it's always easier to retain customers when your prices are low. As long as the costs of running the CRM software are lower than what you can save on simpler workflows and less man-hours spent, you're going to make more money.

While this article is not meant to be comprehensive guide on Customer Relationship Management software and related topics, it might be enough to set you on your feet when you start conducting your own research comparing different products available on the market, all come with ups and downs, just make sure that you choose a system your people can and want to use.