'Know your customer’ is business maxim No. 1. If you don’t take the time to get to know your clients, someone else will.
It sounds obvious, but ask yourself this: what was the exact date you landed your largest client? Who spoke to them first? Who spoke to them last? To the penny, how much have they spent this quarter? They’ll expect you to know instantly – and they’re right to. Even if you do know, or someone in your company knows, it’s a fair bet you can’t all access the information. But that’s not all you should know. Being on top of sales is one thing, but how well are you monitoring – even predicting, that client’s buying patterns? And is your marketing and strategy led by those decisions? If you’re serious about getting big, your decisions need to be informed and connected – effective CRM is the only way to achieve that.
It’s really not easy, though. Choosing a CRM package can be an onerous, confusing and expensive process – and it’s one lots of companies get badly wrong. As with most software purchases, the choice is initially daunting and with CRM it really is a case that there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. Enter into it blindly and you’ll get something that at best will clumsily link together departments and offer little synergy without anywhere near a return on investment, and at worst you’ll lose a stack of cash and customer data while confusing the hell out of your sales staff. Get it right and you’ll open up endless possibilities for growth from sales to strategy.
The only place to start is in front of the mirror – what do you want that you haven’t got? What customer information do you struggle with as a company and from department to department? Speak to managers and find out their requirements. Look at how you make marketing and strategy decisions and think how they could be better informed with accurate customer analysis, sales reporting and forecasting tools. CRM technology is now so developed it’s likely anything you’ll come up with will be possible, with any combination of requirements.
GET INDEPENDENT ADVICE
Even once you’ve gathered your wish list, you’ll be no closer to choosing a product – if you approach a supplier they’ll tell you ‘we can do that’, so how do you decide which one really can? Assuming you’re not a CRM buying expert, you can’t. And there are several other buying considerations, too. The safest way to narrow down the products that suit your needs is to contact an independent CRM adviser.
Richard Boardman is the MD of such a service called Mareeba. He says: “Software is only a small percentage of effective CRM. There’s a tendency to see it as a silver bullet solution to your woes without the need to first understand those woes and that just isn’t the case. I’ve seen a £100 copy of ACT! work just as effectively as an ill-chosen solution costing £10,000. Planning and clarity of your objectives is key.”
An independent adviser will help you examine where the biggest payback will be in your particular business model and see where there is the most likely return on investment – and how to harness it. “Only when you’ve established that can you make a business case for which products fit best,” says Boardman. “Most systems offer the same tools – or claim to – so it’s a case of finding which will benefit you.”
Your adviser will recommend certain packages and arrange meetings with resellers or providers. They will help you budget your requirements and highlight areas you need to focus on.
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER:
INTEGRATION
It’s important your CRM package works seamlessly with your additional back office products, such as your accountancy software. Most will tell you it’s not a problem, but in reality this isn’t always the case. Ask to see demonstrations of how systems will bolt together and find out how easy and expensive this is to set up or if you upgrade at either end. Find out how packages such as Microsoft Outlook are seen, as there are differences in the level of integration and this can be crucial.
CUSTOMISATION
You almost certainly won’t want fields for databases or other tools set as standard: it’s essential the system works to your business processes. This is less of a problem than it used to be as most modern packages can be fully-customised but check how easy this is, how deep you can do it and how much it will cost in the set-up. Be extra careful with US-based products.
COMPLEXITY
Like most business purchases, you get what you pay for. But that doesn’t mean you should go and buy the most expensive package – you might not need it. In the mid-range, some packages offer far more complexity in certain areas than others, for instance, some are sales-led, others marketing or reporting and analysis focused. Don’t lose sight of your objectives and make sure your spend is where you’ll feel it.
FUNCTIONALITY
Complexity shouldn’t mean a product is difficult to use. Check interfaces are easy to navigate and the most common tasks aren’t laborious. It should make you and your staff’s life easier, not more stressful.
SERVER-BASED OR HOSTED?
The emergence of hosted online solutions has particularly advantaged smaller companies who don’t have the finances to splash out on software up front or the IT skills to manage it themselves. Paying monthly is increasingly popular, but server alternatives do tend to be more cost-effective over time and often offer greater customisation. It’s almost always worth considering a hosted application but, unless finances dictate, it shouldn’t be a sole buying factor.
SET-UP AND TRAINING
Systems take anything from 30 minutes to 30 days to set up and generally you pay for time on a daily rate and it’s rarely cheap. It often depends on the level of complexity and customisation you require, but the most important thing should be getting the system right as that’s where you’ll save and hopefully make money in the long term. Training follows the same logic. Both need controlling though, and should be agreed in advance.
RESELLER NETWORKS
Packages are largely available through reseller networks – an important aspect of buying CRM. They’ll install the system and be your point of contact for maintenance and upgrades so it’s essential to find one you can work with. As a result, the larger providers with established networks provide greater choice.
ADDED COSTS
In addition to your one-off licence fee (likely to be per user) or monthly access payment (again, per user), you can expect to pay installation fees per technician per day and an upgrade and maintenance charge, typically around 15% to 20% of licence costs.
THE PRODUCTS
Here is an outline of the main CRM packages on the market for businesses like yours:
SAGE ACT!
The world’s best selling contact manager system is a simple to use, cost-effective tool for tracking and managing customer contacts and will help organise your sales staff enabling them to link Outlook with sales records – but it’s not full CRM. It isn’t suitable for cross-departmental use, detailed analysis or high numbers of clients or users. ACT! is also client-focused so can cause confusion when storing multiple clients within one company as each contact would need its own file. Pricing is £765 for five users, £1,399 for 10 users.
SAGE MME (MID-MARKET ED)
Sage’s main CRM offering to mid-market companies like yours provides a comprehensive and complex solution, which enables cross-departmental usage. Formerly ACCPAC and acquired by Sage in 2003 it is a server-based product which offers high-level data manipulation. MME tracks the sales cycle from first contact to final sale. It will drill down to specific activities, opportunities, responses, budgets and lists of prospects. You can access customer data including purchases, call and escalation histories, emails and documents sent and received. Sales forecasts and reports are detailed, while MME is easily configured and highly scaleable, handling from 10 to 7,000 users. Prices start at £2,750 for five users.
SAGE SALESLOGIX
SalesLogix offers all the functions of MME but has a greater capability to be configured by companies that don’t conform to standard business models. Therefore, it’s often used by larger companies or by organisations in the public sector. Offers deep data manipulation and customisation and the bonus of off-line Windows usage for access out of the office. Prices start at £2,600. www.sage.co.uk
SAGECRM.COM
This is the hosted (although slightly less customisable) version of MME, effectively offering a ‘pay-as-you-go’ package priced from £50 per user per month. A 30-day free trial is available from the website. www.sagecrm.com
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 3.0
Microsoft’s just-released third generation CRM package has received far better reviews after disappointing earlier versions. With functionality glitches ironed out and greater complexity, Dynamics now provides a highly user-friendly mid-market product available in on-premises or hosted (through a Microsoft partner) format. The latest version fills the ‘fits most small businesses’, fairly-priced CRM gap Microsoft were expected to fill and is a safe bet for future-proofing. The latest version also offers a new marketing module for greater campaign management. Pricing starts at £255 per user or £15 per user per month. www.microsoft.com/crm
NETSUITE CRM/CRM+
Hosted US-offering that has emerged as a key player in the UK market in the past 18 months. It offers a hosted complete CRM solution within a full front and back office suite – a unique and attractive proposition if you’re looking to get up and running quickly. Netsuite is a very detailed offering, however. CRM and CRM+ claim to be customer and not sales-led, focusing on the overall customer process with detailed marketing, productivity and customer support tools. CRM+ is suitable for more than 50 users and offers sophisticated market analysis and upsell facilities. Netsuite has also just added an email marketing module to further swell its offering. Both products are highly customisable and need to be as a US-centric product. Pricing is £50 per user per month, rising to £75 per user per month for CRM+. www.netsuite.co.uk
SALESFORCE.COM
The first web-hosted on-demand solution to challenge the CRM market, Salesforce.com has been a phenomenal success. Initially rubbished as a mere sales solution by competitors, Salesforce.com now offers a detailedand user-friendly full CRM package. Integrating well with other systems, its offering encompasses impressively-detailed analytics, marketing automation and customer support on a par with many traditional providers, in addition to its much-heralded sales force automation platform. It boasts strong support packages and offers a high level of complexity and ease of configuration. Prices start at £45 per user per month. www.salesforce.com
GOLDMINE ENTERPRISE
Very horizontal and scaleable, established provider used by 76% of the FTSE 100, but also suitable for smaller growing companies. It’s likely you’ll want Goldmine Enterprise, which is aimed at up to 100 users and offers high feature functionality. Is known for strong pipeline management, credit-checking facility and award-winning service package HEAT. With 15 years of experience, Goldmine has a large partner network and strong customer loyalty. It is viewable in a web browser but has no full hosted version. Costs £1,650 per user, with a 20% maintenance fee. Available through partner networks. www.frontrange.com
MAXIMIZER 9
Has built on its initial platform as a sale force automation tool to become a recognised full CRM solution. It has improved integration, customisation and offers much-improved usability. Maximiser 9 offers advanced marketing options in addition to the sales-orientated client management and forecasting it has always specialised in. A scaleable and affordable CRM option without breaking any new ground. Strong reseller market. Prices start at £300 per user. www.max.co.uk
GOLDVISION
A recent challenger based on Microsoft Exchange, Goldvision has focused on producing an easy-touse system of medium complexity with a simple pricing structure. It’s one of very few products to fully integrate Outlook without displaying it in a system window and offers excellent navigation. Customisation is simple but limited, as is depth of reporting and analysis. However, if you’re looking for a basic cross-departmental CRM solution, Goldvision could prove an affordable option. Prices start at £350 per user. www.gold-vision.com
SIEBEL ONDEMAND
The ‘founders of CRM’ have become increasingly challenged and are now the subject of an acquisition by Oracle. While focussed on global businesses, Siebel does have products among its 20 versions aimed at small to mid markets. The two key offerings are Siebel OnDemand and Siebel Professional, with the former being a hosted version of the latter. These products are aimed at companies with up to 100 users and are unsurprisingly simpler than senior versions. Unlike SAP, Siebel no longer offers back office solutions so both versions are compatible with standard packages, such as Outlook. While less complicated than senior versions, OnDemand and Professional do offer complex solutions with strong marketing and analytical, as well as sales, tools that you’d expect from such an established brand – regardless of its future. However, it’s worth considering, as with SAP, that you won’t be buying from a small business specialist. OnDemand costs £50 per user per month, while Professional sells at around £1,000 per user. www.siebel.com/uk
SAP BUSINESS ONE
At the high end of the market SAP has eaten into Siebel’s dominance with great success by offering a full back office suite solution with a detailed and powerful CRM capability. It’s keen to do the same in the mid market with Business One, which it claims offers 80% of the full version facilities. The CRM module is certainly highly faceted and powerful. Worth considering if you have high growth potential and want a fully integrated system. Typical price is £20,000 for software, £20,000 implementation and 17% per annum maintenance and upgrade. Can be bought through partners or direct. www.sap.com
