The nice young man across the table was trying to help my wife and I renew our mortgage. He had access to all of the transactions we had done at the bank, whether online, through the call center or through the branch. It was clear that he was using a well designed Customer Relationship Management (CRM) package. He had everything at his fingertips. The problem is that CRM is no substitute for an actual relationship.
CRM started life as a Rolodex, a listing of the names and addresses of a salesperson's contacts. Good salespeople knew they needed more than "tombstone" information about their customers, so they started taking notes on their customers. When computers systems to replace Rolodex cards were created, they were called Contact Management systems. Later on, it became clear that the sales team could benefit from knowing all of the ways customers interact with the company and Contact Management software morphed into CRM. The problem is, CRM was built to support existing relationships, not replace them.
The nice young man we were talking about our mortgage a few years ago to was not actually a banker. He was actually a high school teacher by day, working at the bank in the evenings. His advice to us was to lock in the mortgage because, after all, how could rates go any lower? (If you're smiling right now, you know where I'm headed.) Well, rates did go lower.
Now, as my wife and I are planning our financial future, one source of information we will no longer use is our bank. I have no relationship with anyone at the bank that I can trust. I have nobody that I can go to who knows me well enough to advise me. Each bank looks pretty much the same to me right now. I feel no loyalty to the one I'm using. This means it would be pretty easy for another bank to take my business by offering me a better rate.
But hey, my bank still has a good CRM system.
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So True!
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for joining in the conversation. I have to agree that when used properly, CRM is a masterful aid. Particularly where there have been some bumps in a client relationship, CRM can help the person on the front line prepare for the meeting. If they know in advance that the meeting could get hostile, then they have a chance to prepare. On a more positive note, if they know in advance that the client has a particular issue, then they can be preapred for that.
I think your specific comments about CRM and CPA firms is right on the money!
Bill
Interesting on several counts
Banks. Poor banks. I love banks. But their people are so transient it is very hard to have the type of relationship you desire from a bank. Accounting doesn't have that same kind of transience.
CRMs are especially helpful in two kinds of organizations: the ones that have an employee revolving door, and the ones where people don't talk to each other very much. Yep, CPA and law firms fall into the latter category. That moonlighting teacher most certainly made an entry that said he advised you and Mrs. Kennedy yada yada. (Wonder if he quoted his assertion to you about interest rates...somehow I doubt it). Guess that's what you meant by being "managed"! You two are now a note in his system. Lovely!
I'm a huge fan of CRM when it is used effectively. Reminders, research tool to know who knows whom, quick check between team members to see if a team-member touched base with the client or prospect, etc. But the quality of information within is going to vary. And the quality in how (if) the information is used will also vary. Training and a committed team are so important.
And the tool most certainly doesn't replace people skills or professional knowledge. But it does help capture and some very important information, especially for most firms who don't find it feasible to regularly hold pow-wows about sales or client service efforts.
Very thought provoking, Bill. Thanks for sharing
You said a mouthful!
Right on! Thanks for stopping by.
Bill
Technology is no Substitute
Yes, one thing that many organizations get wrong is thinking that the technology they employ will act as a magic bullet that can be a substitute for experience, knowledge or interpersonal skills.. CRM software (and accounting software for that matter )will only act to amplify the users own skill or lack thereof. It is no replacement for personal relationships or intuition.