Ironically, Customer Relationship Management principles evolved from larger, product-focussed corporations trying to emulate the personal relationships small business owners had with their customers. The larger organisations honed these customer-centric principles and management practices to a fine art, using them to fuel rapid growth and increased profits. It is now time to bring these CRM principles full circle, so your small business can benefit.
After working for many years in the Australian Financial Services Sector, developing and implementing CRM, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence systems, I have come to learn just how effective they can be in transforming a business in terms of increased sales, increased profits and more loyal customers. Not to mention the associated cost savings to the marketing budget. It all adds up to a positive and significant difference on the business's bottom-line.
And while the actual high-end systems these large corporations implement may be a tad outside the budget reach of many small businesses, it is important to remember that it is the principles and practices that make CRM what it is and these are readily accessible by small businesses everywhere. There are four key steps any small business can apply to create deep mycircle app can help and meaningful relationships with their customers.
1. Identify
It is extremely difficult to maintain a relationship with someone you can't identify. You need to be able to 'know' each of your customers across all of your contact points. You need to collate each of your clients details (as much as is legally allowed) and as many of their contact details as possible - including their preferred method of contact. If yours is a business-to-business entity you need to be identifying both the business details, the executive details as well as your main contact details. Collating this information, allows two important things to happen.
The first is it provides the ability to communicate with your clients, which is the power behind successful CRM. Using communication as a means to first add value to your clients' busy lives and then to build trust. Finally it is used to generate customer loyalty - possibly even to create Advocates, who will tell their family and friends about your business, your products and their positive experiences.
It is also important to remember that communication is a two-way street. It provides a means of capturing your 'customers voice' so that you can obtain actionable insights to develop innovative, market leading value propositions for your business and its products.
It also provides the foundation for the next steps.
2. Differentiate
Customers can be differentiated in two different ways.
1.They have different value to you
2.They have different needs and behaviours
Why the need for differentiation? Well, unless you have a bottomless well of cash and resources, you need to prioritise where you concentrate your limited resources to gain the most bang from your very limited bucks.
It also allows you to tailor your marketing efforts based on that customer's particular needs, wants, characteristics, buying behaviours and aspirations. The output from this process is the identification of various customer segments that provides the basis for treating different segments according to the distinctive behaviours and needs of that particular group.
3. Interact
There are two key goals to CRM.
1. Increase the cost efficiency of interactions with your customers
2. Increase the effectiveness of your interactions with your customers
This means you are aiming for interactions that are less expensive. In today's technology-enabled world this is likely to translate to scheduled and triggered automated communications delivered by email, but for your particular business it could be something else.
The communications should be tailored to meet the distinctive characteristics of the customer segment. This has the effect of appealing to them in a more direct and more meaningful way, and has the effect of strengthening customer relationships. But more significantly, your response and conversion rates are likely to be much higher than the standard 0 - 4 percent response rates typical of most mass marketing campaigns.
CRM is all about getting to know the customer and treating them like you really do know them. In your new customer-centric focus, this means treating them in the context of all of the previous interactions you had with them.
For example, if you are a hotel operator and Mr. J asked you to provide an extra pillow, every other hotel in the same chain would know to provide an extra pillow without being asked. For small business, it could translate into knowing Mrs. M likes to cook lamb roast every Friday night for her family of five - and preparing and setting aside the best possible roast for her every Friday so that it is ready for her when she comes in.
These things are meaningful to the client and will help to build the relationship and the level of loyalty, however, it implies that you have a method and a mechanism to capture and deliver this information at the required time. Now this doesn't mean small businesses have to run out and spend millions of dollars on a complicated, high-tech CRM system. There are many easy-to-use software applications which can be purchased off-the-shelf for under a couple of hundred dollars, enabling you to readily implement core CRM practices. Or, if the budget is tight, you can simply use Business Contact Manager in Outlook.
4. Customise
Once you have identified, differentiated and interacted with your customer it is time to customise your service to your customer. The first step all small businesses can implement, is to personalise all interactions. Using a customers name (correctly) can be very effective in improving sales conversion rates.
The second step is to use their preferred method of communication. I know when I receive text messages on my mobile phone and they are addressed to " Valued Client", I get pretty annoyed. Personally, my preferred method of contact is always via email and, if I am so valued, why is it you do not know my name? My other pet peeve is when a business sends you marketing information encouraging you take up a product you already have with them - definitely not efficient.
The customised approach is perfectly illustrated when Mr. J continues to receive his extra pillow and Mrs. M knows that she will always get the perfect size and best quality lamb roast for her particular family each and every Friday.
I am sure you will agree, that in the end, the CRM four-step process seems to have delivered such small things to each client. In response to that I will ask you some key questions. Do you think either customer is likely to be in a hurry to go and visit a competitor? How likely do you think it will be that they communicate their positive experiences to anyone who will listen?
Creating a caregiver binder is essential for a lot of reasons. The number one reason is for peace of mind for the caregiver and the care recipient. This binder is a portable compilation of resources to have at your fingertips to assist in your role as caregiver.
A caregiver binder should include as much information as required for the care recipient's needs. It should be portable to accompany the caregiver and care recipient when they visit healthcare providers. Most doctors will ask about medications you're taking to ensure they have the most up-to-date list. If they make changes, you can update the list at that time.
Create at least two copies of the caregiver binder. Keep one copy at the home of the care recipient and one copy with the caregiver. Update all copies as things change, and put the date of the change beside each entry. Entry dates ensure you have the most current information.
There are a couple of options to create a caregiver binder and copies. A physical copy makes the most sense for the main copy to reside with the care recipient. That way all the care providers that come into the care recipients home have access to their information.
Another option, possibly for a copy, is in digital format. Digital format options include - apps on a smart phone or file sharing in the cloud, or internet. This format can be helpful in terms of not having to keep a binder with you, yet portable and easy access to the care recipient's information. I recommend creating the physical binder first, then determine what option to choose for the copy.
Choose a three-ring binder with a pocket on the inside of the front and back covers for the physical copy. Some binders have a zippered version that will keep things from falling out, and some have pockets on the inside. Sheet protectors and tab dividers help to organize the categories for quick and easy access.
As mentioned above, each binder should have as much information as required, and will also be specific to the care recipients needs. Below is a list of items that are typically included in a caregiver binder. Pick the items you deem necessary to create your binder and gather, or create these documents. Add other required documents that may not be listed here.
As mentioned above, there are a couple of options to create a digital caregiver binder; apps on a smart phone or file sharing in the cloud, or internet. There are many organizer smartphone apps and you should do some research to find the one that works for you. My preference for organizer apps and the one that I use is Evernote. It has many features for organizing documents that includes file sharing. Other file sharing options include Dropbox & Google docs.
When you determine the digital option you will use, scan, or take