Foundations

Walk before you run. Think big but start small. These are the cornerstones of the CRM foundations.

Of course you need to have the foundations setup right. By foundations we mean the basic information and the basic processes that a company should have in order to follow his customers.

De essence of a CRM system is to provide a better view on the market in order to allow you to take decisions and actions which are in line with the strategy of the company. To be able to take those decisions there are several questions which need to be addressed.  These questions are:

• Who are my clients today?  Who should be my clients tomorrow?
• What is the added value that I provide to my customer?  How do I differentiate from competition?
• How can I deliver additional value to my customers?
• What is the value of a customer for me?
• How can I improve profit at a customer on the long run?
• Which customers are most important to me?  Who is less important?
• What is the right marketing approach?
• How do I achieve the most effective sales?
• What are the products that I want to be pushed?  What products should I not push (anymore)
• How should my products be priced?

Those questions remain often without answers. This is due to the fact that this information is not always available or difficult to collect. Therefore, when doing CRM project, integration with other systems is a key consideration. 

In a CRM project it is not only the sales and marketing department that have to be included but logistics and finance have also a role to play.  Too often people jump on the functionalities of the system instead of thinking on how to get the most added values from the implementation. The management is of course the cornerstone to define the strategy of the CRM approach of the company.

With SAP CRM we have the tools to help you collect this valuable information and to act accordingly in function of your defined strategies. The solution allows you to have a global view on your customer with CRM information and back-office information. Marketing and sales can then work hand in hand in order to improve the added value for you and your customer.

Usability is a key element in the IT solutions. This statement is even more important when we speak about CRM users. CRM users are not IT savvy, and too often, they look for excuses not to enter the data in the system.  Luckily, most CRM suites today have made substantial improvements in ergonomics in order to enable the solution to be tailored for each user group in the company. Using an easy to adapt web interface, one can setup applications that are easy to learn and use, so they are almost instantly accepted by end users (What you see is what you get).   Reporting functionalities are also included in order to be able to analyze and define what the next actions will be.

Contact us to know more or go to our demo session for a preview.