CRM - from theory to practice. Unified Client Base

What is CRM?

Perception of CRM as the next stage of evolution notebook goes into the past. In various industries, these well-known "letters" mean different things. But in all cases, CRM is a move forward towards a new work model, supported by a serious technological solution.
In Russia, there are more than 100 implementations of various CRM systems. At the same time, CRM can be called almost any system that automates the processes of interaction with customers and covers functions not covered in previously implemented systems, such as: ERM, ABS, etc. Thus, one implemented CRM system may be completely different from another. And this is natural, since it is designed to improve interaction with the customer, which is different in each specific company (and even more so in the industry).

The Oracle Siebel implementation practice at Jet Infosystems was established in 2006. The team consists of highly professional employees, the experience of leading specialists - more than 5 years of work on Oracle Siebel CRM implementation projects. This article will focus on the practice of implementing this particular system.

The largest and most interesting projects in Russia were implemented using the Oracle Siebel CRM system (until 2006 Siebel CRM), because this system is the market leader in CRM systems. This is confirmed by the opinion of experts and numerous studies and ratings (according to the independent CRM portal CRMONLINE.RU, which since 2006 has been ranking the most interesting projects and the best CRM systems, in 2007 in the nomination "Best CRM systems of the year: CRM for big business foreign development” won Oracle/Siebel CRM (Oracle). In 2006, Oracle/Siebel CRM was the leader in the "Best CRM Product of the Year" nomination1).

Combine implementation projects CRM general goals. As a rule, they come down to one or more of 5 points:

• increase sales;
• increase the level of satisfaction of existing customers;
• attract new customers;
• reduce operating costs and improve operational efficiency;
• optimize advertising and marketing costs.

How these goals can be achieved will be discussed in this article.

A few words from the history of CRM in Russia

The letters CRM appeared in Russia in the late 90s of the last century. It all started with local self-implementation or own developments. After 2000, ready-made CRM systems, such as Siebel, SalesLogix, Oracle, SAP, etc., began to spread.

Rice. 6. Sibel solution map

Of course, the first projects were carried out largely with violations of the implementation methodology. In an effort to do as quickly as possible for minimal money, not everyone thought about the operational cost of solutions. Many deployments ended after the configuration phase, and some didn't even get there. Over time, the size of CRM projects has become larger and in last years the largest of them can already compete in complexity and cost with accounting systems implementation projects such as ERP. It is on such large CRM projects that we will talk about the practice gained in this article.

What is happening now (or main problems)

As the projects were enlarged, more and more new problems and risks began to emerge. The external simplicity of the system hides a large number of integration processes, complex algorithms and the need for organizational changes in the company.
Thus, CRM is turning from a project to introduce a separate system into a project to modernize the technology of working with clients.

The question of how to modernize the technology of working with clients is answered by a CRM strategy prepared by company specialists or external consultants. After its development, the next question arises, how to implement this strategy? And it turns out that even from a technical point of view, the CRM system itself is just the tip of the iceberg, and therefore complex projects for the implementation of the CRM strategy appear on the market. Although they are still called projects for the implementation of CRM systems, they, in fact, include projects to modernize related areas. Related areas in this case are: integration projects, infrastructure projects, implementation of computing systems, implementation of contact centers, etc.

The understanding that a CRM system cannot live on its own came a long time ago, but there are still projects whose participants believe that they can solve all their problems only by purchasing and setting up a CRM system.

Another danger that awaits companies that have decided to implement CRM is the ill-conceived ways of its development. Many organizations focus on the implementation process, forgetting maintenance and further development systems. CRM affects the processes that change most frequently in a company. If you start a complex project, then it is very possible that by the time it is completed, the requirements for the system will already have changed. Even if the project is successfully completed, the system requires “permanent” modernization, because the company is developing, and the strategy of working with clients also does not stand still.

It follows that the CRM implementation project, firstly, must be ready for changes at almost any time, and, secondly, be ready to continue.
To date, the implementation of the system is characterized by the fact that, as a rule, the CRM project is often a complex project for the modernization of IS as a whole, and the fact that the maintenance and development of CRM is no less important than the initial implementation.
As for the experience of our company, thanks to the synergy of competencies and established business processes joint work of various departments, our company offers customers the implementation of complex projects for the implementation of CRM systems: from the design of a data center to the implementation and maintenance of business applications.

Main application areas of the system

In order to achieve the set goals, taking into account the known problems and risks, the CRM project must be clearly structured according to the functional areas of the implemented system. Each functional area has its own priority and its own development path. Let us briefly describe the main functional areas that can be selected as elements of the project structure.

Unified Client Base

A single database of clients, a client card or a client file is the basis of a CRM system. Each company, as it develops, realizes the need for centralized management of client information.
The most interesting situation is in companies where information systems have been used for a long time and were built according to the product principle. This situation is observed, in particular, in banks and telecommunications companies. In this case, the company after some time of its existence accumulates a large amount of disparate information on customers. Those. The data is there, but it is impossible to use it effectively. To solve this problem, a single customer base is being introduced.

Rice. 7. Unified customer base

In our opinion, the main goals of introducing a single database of clients can be: reducing the cost of working with clients by facilitating access to all sections of information on the client; as well as improving the quality and efficiency of work with the client due to the possibility of making prompt decisions based on complete information.

Sale and registration of services

In each specific industry and even a single company, the sales process is not the same. The traditional sales process implemented in most CRM systems can be successfully applied to companies selling these systems, but may not be suitable for many other industries. In Oracle Siebel CRM, in addition to the standard, industry-specific solutions for the sale and registration of services are supported.

From the point of view of the CRM system, it is also worth separating the functionality of corporate sales from retail ones. In the retail sector, first of all, it is worth paying attention to an industry-specific solution. An example is the process of registration of services
in a retail bank. Services include all bank products purchased by the client (loans, deposits, plastic cards, etc.).

One of the implementations of the Siebel CRM system by Jet Infosystems is a project in a bank, which was originally conceived as building a unified front-office system for a financial institution, covering all branches and service geography. As a result, based on the experience of our specialists, in terms of functionality, we got one of the most major projects implementation of Siebel CRM.

In the course of the work, the sales and service process for all product lines of the bank was automated. This system It is used both for servicing in bank branches and in the contact center. Siebel CRM is fully integrated with all back office systems of the bank.

In this case, the CRM system plays the role of a front office system (for example, a credit front office). The functionality is based on the system for processing customer requests. In the CRM-system, the input of primary information on the client, the choice of service parameters, the processing of the application, and the printing of the necessary documents are carried out.

The application processing process consists of a number of steps and may vary depending on the parameters of the selected service. During processing, the CRM system either requests certain user actions or communicates with other systems to obtain the necessary information (for example, a scoring system). The use of such a tool allows you to automate the clearance processes, minimizing user errors and increasing the speed of work due to the routing of applications and integration built into the process.
To process applications for services in a retail bank, a CRM system can be implemented if: it is necessary to increase the efficiency of the registration process by automating the processing of an application; or ensure the rapid deployment of new processes (new services), through the use of unified system design automation.

Practical experience of implementing a CRM system in a bank

The standard functionality of sales management is designed for the so-called "long" sales (sales with a cycle of several weeks or months) and is used in corporate sales. The functionality is based on the process of conducting a potential transaction with a client and the ability to periodically generate sales forecasts for management. Using this functionality allows you to increase management control over the activities of sellers and increase the predictability of sales volumes. In addition to the manual, the system also makes life easier for simple sales managers, allowing you to use the methodology that is customizable in the system.

Rice. 8. Cross-selling

Thus, the main goals of CRM when implemented in corporate sales are: increasing control and predictability of the sales process, as well as standardizing and improving the quality of salespeople
through the use of a unified methodology.

Promotion and cross-selling of services

The task of automating the process of promoting services and products arises in two cases. First, when there is a need to promote a new product on new market. And secondly, when it is necessary to promote a product (new or not) to existing customers - the so-called cross-sales. The Oracle Siebel CRM system can be applied both in the first and in the second case. But the system gives the greatest benefits when working with existing customers.

When automating the target marketing activities With the help of a CRM system, two main tasks are solved: determining the target group of customers; planning and implementation of activities.
The target group is determined by segmenting the client base. The system in this case offers an effective tool for building dynamic segments according to any available criteria. The advantage of the Oracle Siebel CRM system is that it allows you to create segments at the level of terms available to business users. And modification of the created segments does not require the intervention of IT departments.

Rice. 9. Analytics

Once a target group has been identified, activities are planned to work with it. For this, the built-in graphical scheduling and automatic start tools can be used.
Thus, two main goals of automating this area can be distinguished: segmentation of the client base based on all available criteria, through the use of a single analytical tool; as well as targeted promotion of services using an automated tool.

Contact center

Contact center automation is becoming more and more relevant every year. Despite the fact that this topic has been around for a long time, more and more new functions are assigned to contact centers that require additional automation.
Typically, automation begins with the implementation of a call control system. Nowadays, these systems can not only route calls, but also provide jobs for operators, a set of software tools for working with contacts and calling companies. Those. these systems can cover a significant part of the functions of operators. A logical question arises: why in the CRM contact center, if workplace operator can be implemented by other programs?

The practice of building a contact center (CC) at OAO Mosenergosbyt

CC is a single point of service for about 6 million individual clients and about 200 thousand legal clients. More than 2,000 subscribers contact the contact center every day, so it is especially important to ensure the stability of the services provided. Now the processing of requests in the CC is carried out on 120 incoming lines. On weekdays, the center's operators are ready to answer any questions regarding energy supply. The average time of serviced calls per month is more than 1500 hours.

By calling a multi-channel free phone, the client enters the menu of the interactive answering machine (IVR-system), where he can select and listen to the information he is interested in or connect with the contact center operator.

CC provides classification and routing of client requests. Subscribers can apply for service using, in accordance with their preferences, telephone connection, website or e-mail.
Prior to the introduction of the CRM system, the complexity of dealing with incoming questions from subscribers was that the requested information related to various areas of the company's activities. And in order to provide the information of interest to the subscriber, it was necessary to fill in a large number of various forms and documents. This significantly increased the processing time of the request. To optimize the work of the CC, our company has created a single workplace of the operator, the functionality of which includes all the necessary information to answer questions, including processing applications from customers.

Information in this case includes both a general reference and the entire history of relationships with the client (meter readings, last payments, as well as corrective accounts, etc.).
The interface of the operator's workplace is designed so that the CC employee does not waste time switching between different windows in the process of processing a request. When entering data, the system independently redirects the contact center operator to the desired screen, where all the necessary information is collected.

We have also automated the process of working with separate view applications that are processed directly in the contact center. Prior to the introduction of the system, they were recorded on paper, stacked and moved to a special room, where they were stored further, waiting for their turn. CRM allows you to create an application in in electronic format and send it for processing, which significantly improves performance and reduces the number of possible errors when working with a request.

The workplace is a single operating environment for all users of the system, has a single graphical user interface and database.

It is also worth noting that Oracle Siebel CRM Energy is integrated with the system of outgoing calls to debtors, which allows you to control the process of dialing (to track how it is performed, whether all CC operators have reached everyone).

The answer is simple enough. The main drawback of the call management system and related programs is that they are used only within the contact center. Interaction with the client, carried out through other channels, is carried out using other systems. It turns out that for full-fledged work with a client without use of CRM, the operator needs to work in several systems at the same time. In addition to the fact that the operator spends time switching between windows and re-search for a client in various systems, he may not have a complete picture of the client for the entire time of the conversation.
When building a contact center, the implementation of a CRM system is mainly aimed, first of all, at improving the efficiency of operators through the use of a more convenient and simple workplace for operators. The goal may also be to improve the quality of customer service by providing the operator with all necessary tools in one application. And, of course, one cannot ignore the desire for targeted promotion of the company's products and services in the process of an incoming call from a client through the full use of the marketing functionality at the operator's workplace.

Of course, we have not listed all the areas of application of the CRM system. In addition, Oracle Siebel CRM is also successfully used in:

• field customer service;
• loyalty programs;
• relationships with partners;
• customer self-service through the Internet and online store.

Apart from common areas applications for each specific industry, there are specific areas of CRM, for example: debt collection for banks, loss adjustment for insurance companies, complex services management for telecommunications companies and many others.

Based on the foregoing, the goals of implementing a CRM system can be divided into two main groups:

• cost reduction due to automation of standard operations;
• improving the quality of service by providing users with new work tools.

The first goal probably unites all information systems. But the second one is typical for CRM. The fact is that CRM often automates processes that were previously entirely at the mercy of company employees. Prior to the advent of the system, the quality of customer service was regulated solely by company regulations and other regulations. regulations. CRM allows you to dynamically adjust service processes, i.e. promptly improve service depending on the situation and the specific client.

Of course, the key role in communicating with the client still remains with the employee (user). However, the system will be able to help him in this and control the correctness of the tasks.

Starting a conversation with methods for achieving your goals, in conclusion, I note that CRM strategies for each company may be different. And the task of the CRM system is to provide as much as possible ready-made solutions be able to adapt to the specific requirements of the company. And the task of the implementation team is not only to satisfy all customer requests, but also to apply the accumulated experience to optimize the solution being created.

It's hard to imagine today commercial organization without CRM systems. The amount of information about clients and the speed of its updating are growing so rapidly that without high-quality automation it is impossible to talk about the productivity of both individual managers and entire departments.

At the same time, only 5-10% of CRM systems are successfully implemented in Russia!
Why? And how to get into the "good" statistics?

The answer is simple. It is necessary to use the world's best practices for implementing CRM systems and forget about the "intuitive approach". That is what the seminar is about.
The practical knowledge gained will allow you to implement a CRM system without involving expensive consultants so that it pays off in the shortest possible time.

During the training, the expert will talk about the basic concepts of project management. At the seminar on the implementation of CRM-systems, you will also learn by what criteria it is necessary to choose CRM and related technical support.

The purpose of the workshop

Practical benefits of the seminar:

• Get acquainted with modern methods of management and implementation of customer relationship systems;
• Learn in practice effective tools for the preparation, planning and implementation of CRM;
• Get templates project documentation necessary for the effective implementation of CRM on their own.

The target audience:

• Organization size
  • Sales department - up to 30 people.
  • The total number of office staff is up to 300 people.
• Position in the organization
  • Senior and middle managers responsible for marketing, sales and service maintenance clients.
  • Sales and Marketing Managers.
  • Business Owners
  • Project managers.

Seminar program

1. Introduction
   • The concept and types of CRM systems (hereinafter referred to as CRM). Dispelling major misconceptions;
   • What are the most important CRM trends every manager should be aware of?
   • What key tasks are solved today with the help of CRM?
   • We analyze the concepts of CRM-strategy and CRM;
   • Why CRM + CRM strategy together, but not separately?
   • Why are only 5-10% of CRM implementations successful?


2. CRM Implementation Basics
   • Basic concepts of project management;
   • How is a CRM implementation project different from other projects?
   • Analysis of Anticase and the main mistakes in the implementation of CRM.


3. Choosing a CRM
   • What criteria should be used to choose CRM and related tech. security?
   • How to calculate the effectiveness of CRM implementation? An example of calculating ROI and TCO.
     Practice: functional approach to choice of CRM for current tasks.


4. CRM Implementation Life Cycle
   • How to plan a CRM implementation project based on the type of project, complexity, organizational readiness and other parameters?
   • Common CRM implementation scenarios or how to choose the most appropriate implementation template?
     Practice: application of a methodology for selecting an appropriate model and implementation sequence.


5. Business infrastructure analysis and requirements development
   Practice: application of a methodology for determining the list of requirements for CRM.


6. Key features of each implementation stage: analysis, project design, implementation, implementation and post-project support
   • Practice:
   analysis of successful cases.


7. CRM Implementation Project Management Tools
   • What documents should be used during the implementation of CRM?
   • What organizational changes are expected during and after the implementation of CRM?
   • Key features of managing a CRM implementation team. How to motivate project participants?
   • What are the most common conflicts in CRM implementation?
   • How to provide high-quality information support during the implementation of CRM?
   • How to control the quality of CRM implementation?
   • What risks should be paid attention to and how to deal with them?
   • How to effectively train staff and quickly put the system into operation?
   • Analysis of the pros and cons in various approaches to the implementation of CRM.
     Practice:
     • Development of a project plan for the implementation of CRM in your own company;
     • Package preparation information support project: documentation, regulations, instructions, training materials.

On the benefits of using and overcoming the difficulties of implementing a CRM system. What's left out of vendor marketing materials software.

Positioning of CRM class systems

In order for the context of what has been said to be clearly defined, before we talk directly about the system, it is worth formulating the essence of CRM. What is hidden behind the abbreviation of the name of the whole class information systems - Customer Relationship Management? Let's answer this question by analogy, considering the purpose of other platforms.

We restrict our consideration to three classes of systems from those where the primary data input is carried out directly by the user: ERP , DocFlow and CRM . The modern software products presented in these classes largely overlap in functionality and it can be difficult for an unimmersed layman to understand the details of the differences between them. Software vendors, usually vendor-specific platforms, enthusiastically show in demos, "And we have that feature!" Let's outline the boundaries between classes.

class systems ERP make it possible to automate the cross-functional process of purchase, sale, production, delivery and close them at the exit to the financial circuit. Automation ensures the timely receipt of primary information in accounting. Generally ERP makes it possible to significantly save time in the company on the transfer of information about current operations from one function to another. The output from such a system is the formation of summary figures used both for the submission of financial statements and for the construction of analytical systems of the head.

Purpose of systems DocFlow in its pure form, we will consider the automation of a multi-stage development and approval process documents. The document can be both commonly understood treaty or an invoice for payment, as well as more exotic interpretations of a document like "project", "working on a task" and so on, depending on the specifics and needs of a particular business. Based on functionality DocFlow in principle, any organizational process in a company can be successfully automated. One way or another, the output from this system is high-quality (that is, developed in the interests and according to the standards of the company) and timely (due to automation of the work schedule) document.

Finally, class systems CRM have the main purpose "Customer Relationship Management". Accordingly, their output, as conceived by the ideologues, should be, apparently, “ good relationship with clients". Let's try to figure out why.

Daily use practice

The main entities of the system CRM are Contact and Interactions with him. Contact information grows from a simple name and phone number (or email address) to a detailed professional profile of a person, down to a photo and date of birth. Contacts are grouped under Accounts. The Contact is “overgrown” with information not by itself, but as more and more new facts are entered into the system, revealed in the process of interaction with the company's employees. The same thing happens with Counterparties.

Static information about the Contact and the Counterparty, being the connecting base of the system, however, is not its main value. Interaction is an element that gives dynamics to the information that is brought into CRM, and which is the meaning of using the system. It is the information about the interaction, accumulated under contacts and counterparties, that is the main value. Interaction - the essence of the fact, reflecting a brief summary of a telephone conversation, meeting or correspondence e-mail. Consolidated and visually presented information about interactions with a contact, entered by different managers in different time gives the system user CRM a complete view of the current status and history of relationships with a contact. What is the value and where is it relationship management?

1. Possession of information about the market

In the morning, on your way to work, thinking about your new project, you remember that a month ago you were approached by an architect who casually mentioned an interest in your now conceived new product. Walking through the office, you asked your assistant if she remembers his phone number? She rummaged through some records and brought you a note with the name Vsevolod Granin and telephone. Are we calling Vsevolod? ... And what to ask, how to start a conversation? Let's first take a look at CRM.

Opening the Granin Contact card, you will see that his name is Vsevolod Birisovich, he is 48 years old. A year ago, he ordered materials from you, but the deal fell through because of the price. It was then led by the sales manager Petr Kuzmin from a remote division in Tula, who left two months ago and moved to competitors. Now he calls Vsevolod Borisovich once every two weeks Natasha Sazonova(by the way, from the next office with yours). But Natasha's relationship with Vsevolod Borisovich does not work out in any way, either he is "away", or "busy". What is the reason - it is not clear, perhaps in Natasha herself. The last sale to Vsevolod Borisovich took place from a completely different direction of the company's work and was then made by Alexander. Coincidentally, the deal was signed three years ago just on his birthday, when Vsevolod Borisovich was still working in a large design bureau "ERA" before opening his own studio Granin & Co.. And that design bureau is now in charge, it turns out, your friend, Pavel Portnoy. It is noteworthy that the last entry in Vsevolod Borisovich's card looks something like this: “I called the general phone, introduced myself, wanted to talk to the director, but he was not there. Left my new phone. And your assistant created this last entry.

Such possession of a picture of relations with potential customer will greatly simplify the life of both you and your subordinate employee, especially a newly hired or transferred from another direction. Now try to imagine that this kind of Interaction information has been accumulated over the last five years of over 5,000 contacts and 700 companies. Even with an error in the imperfect quality of these data, such a state claims to be called possession of information about the market in which you operate.

2. Monitoring the work of subordinates

Interaction with customers is a process that is continuous in time. Even when there is no direct contact, both sides of communication analyze the results of recent communications, adjust their current attitude and planned steps on them. By managing this process with CRM, during the day on your smartphone you can receive from the system brief summaries of five telephone conversations between Natasha Sazonova and her counterparties, the result of Vlad Ivanov's meeting at the customer's office. You may notice that there are no messages from Polina today, ask if Polina is sick. Note that the essence of Mikhail's messages to clients about the new project does not suit you, it should be corrected and urgently. Tomorrow morning it is necessary to convene a meeting on this matter, otherwise the misconception of managers about your initiative will lead you in the wrong direction.

You can pay attention to such incoming information or skip it and forget it, being preoccupied with other things and being satisfied only with the fact that “people are working” and something creative is happening in your company every minute. But then returning after a couple of years with a new, yet unknown interest in relations with a certain company "PARABOLA" by looking into CRM, You will certainly remember today and that Vlad Ivanov went to them today.

This day, in the absence of a system, could have passed in a different way, in the employment of everyone with something and waiting for you to meet commercial department in a couple of days, at which someone should compose and present the next report with the results of the work for the week. What is in this report and how deep will it be?

It should be noted that in addition to monitoring the current work of specialists, you also get the opportunity for objective promotion and attention to employees who are two or three levels lower in the structure. CRM acts as a catalyst for your attention to a particular specialist, regardless of the potential subjectivity of his direct supervisors. On the whole, this makes the company healthier, allows you to more transparently translate down your assessment criteria, and makes it possible for the timely growth of employees within and for your business.

3. Coherence in ongoing transactions

Operational tracking of interactions is also useful for monitoring the status of closing current deals, where the flow of information and coordination of actions of your employees is important every day. From a large flow of communications, both you and your subordinates can quickly select messages relating to a specific Counterparty and the fulfillment of specific work obligations to its employees. Coordination in team work will improve significantly.

4. Analysis of the ability to sell

After analyzing the motility of the functioning of the system, its benefits for the analytical component become clear. The system will allow you to evaluate the conversion of sales: how many potential opportunities appear per hundred cold contacts and calls, how many sales occur per hundred potential opportunities, and so on. You will get the opportunity to build and analyze the marketing funnel of your business, in its unique conditions, with specific people; you can evaluate this information in dynamics.

When an exhaustive and regular entry of primary information is organized, consolidated analytical figures are much more credible. You are guided not by opinions and not by analysis from third-party sources, but by a full-fledged own statistical picture.

Overcoming Implementation Difficulties

implementations CRM less successful than ERP and DocFlow, if we talk about real implementations that took place for the company, where, unlike a simple installation of a software product on a server, the system really begins to justify its purpose. Let's see why.

Of the classes of systems we have touched upon: ERP- has no chance of failure. With all the costs, mistakes and potential organizational difficulties, it should ultimately provide financial data vital for the company, the formation of which does not depend on the will of a particular leader and does not tolerate a temporary delay. Data should be everything. The failure may lie in the cost and time of implementation, but not in the result. The same thing happens with systems. DocFlow: a contract agreed upon by all must appear, otherwise there will be no purchase or sale. The person on whom the process stops will eventually be “found”, forced to check the document and take responsibility (by their actions in the system) regardless of their will. But here CRM- another thing. Indeed, from the examples described above, it can be seen that the fact that an employee enters information into the system is not predetermined. The very initiation of entering information into the system is not predetermined, unlike the other two classes, and therefore cannot be unambiguously controlled. And no one could potentially know Vsevolod Borisovich and not work with him before, or know, but contribute information. And Natasha Sazonova could not make five calls, but only three. Or, make five, but enter information only about three. How to be?

The key to success in the implementation of such a system as CRM are the following factors:

1. Administrative will of the head. This is not about a strict sanction requirement from employees (more precisely, not only about him), but about systematic and consistent communication towards the subordinates. Employees by virtue of subordination will not be able to refuse you pleasant trifles. Passing by Natalia ask: - “How are things with “ERA”?”; - “Normal, yesterday, by the way, I talked with them, we agreed to meet next week”; - “Did you add it to CRM?”; - "No, nothing significant"; - "Make sure, I'll look today." So, patiently day by day. It is necessary to allocate time for this consistency and consistency, remember about it in daily communication.

2. Become an active member and user CRM himself. Bring in contact information and news about counterparties as well as any other manager. Differentiation of access rights to data and services of automatic information is a simple task for a creative specialist in information technology. And you will achieve the confidentiality of that part of the data that cannot be disclosed, you don’t have to worry about this at the current level of software development.

3. Translate the language of meetings, reports and even motivation into terms CRM. - “How many active customers do you have, Vladislav?”; - "Five"; - "Yes? And judging by the data from the system, only three ... Who are the other two? It doesn’t go to your “offset”, if you make it, we will consider it next month. Do not be offended if one of the colleagues comes with them to me tomorrow, I will “credit” him.

4. Do not overload the system CRM functions that are redundant. Excessive creativity of information technology specialists and consultants often talks about integration with project management systems, synchronization of directories with ERP and so on, complicates the regulation. Don't do it, at least don't try until CRM only with the functionality as it is described above, will not be introduced into the DNA of the front office divisions of the company and yourself. Do not complicate its administration and user input.

If you are not internally consciously ready for this, then it is hardly worth spending the company's funds and the time of employees trying to implement it. There is a big risk that you will do worse, not better, giving a reason to talk on the sidelines about “your ridiculous ideas” or “failures” later.

If the employee is usually "experienced salesperson" rejects this, or, which is the same, agreeing to quietly sabotage, then the problem is probably not in the system, but in general in relation to the employee and the company. The argument "Not enough time for data entry" as an objection is weak. According to our practice, competent processing of one Interaction takes up to a minute with a properly configured software product. In general, an employee should spend an average of 10-15 minutes per working day on entering data into the system.

Due to the new rules of ownership and handling of information established in the company, the system should become consciously useful for the employee himself. To the working tool CRM the specialist must get used to it as if it were his own. Therefore, make sure that the technical component of the software product and the interface is competitive with the applications familiar to the employee for individual use.

As a conclusion

Like all processes in a company, the effectiveness of the application CRM for real relationship management depends on the manager. In modern commercial reality, in a market environment saturated with supply, a decrease in the corruption component in transactions, the speed, transparency and quality of communications are becoming more and more determining the success of sales. It becomes risky and short-sighted to administer such a not quite formalizable entity as “relationships” at the level of personal qualities and memory, if we are talking about the systematic and long-term development of the brand.

It is very important that data import is fast, simple and transparent. Without the convenient automatic transfer of all contacts and other important information for the work, the launch of the system is likely to fail. Of course, you can enter all the data manually, but it is very long and inconvenient. And if you enter this data in parts, then the risk of duplication of customer cards increases, as a result, confusion and overlays await you.

Personally, I really like the option of transferring data from an Excel spreadsheet, this option is universal, quite visual and convenient. In Excel, it is possible to unload from almost any system, including 1C. And uploading data in this format to the system is also quite fast and convenient.

Availability of localization

This parameter is not the most relevant today, since most of the powerful well-known CRM systems have long had Russian localizations. But, nevertheless, when choosing software, you should always pay special attention to this parameter, since without Russian localization, you and your employees may experience difficulties in working. In addition, I believe that it makes no sense to deprive yourself of the comfort of work, if you can avoid it.

Licensing: Open Source or proprietary architecture?

The difference between Open Source and proprietary architecture is that in the first case you get an open source system, and in the second you get a closed source system. It is clear that here we are talking about licensing options for Stand-Alone software products, since any Saas system has a closed code by default.

Proprietary (closed) architecture is sold mainly by large developers. In this case, you get a powerful system in which you can make changes within the limits indicated by the developer. I personally do not see anything wrong here, because, as I wrote above, medium and small businesses rarely require any non-standard solutions at all.

The Open Source license (open source) distinguishes developments created mainly on the basis of some kind of CMS. In this case, you get extremely wide opportunities for integrating and working with a website or other system. On the other hand, such CRM modules lose out in many respects to large CRM systems specifically designed for customer relationship management.

Contacts and counterparties

When choosing a CRM system, pay special attention to how directories are implemented, what is their structure. So if you are only working with individuals, then one level will be enough for you - this is a contact (client). In this case, in principle, any variant of the contact directory structure will suit you.

It's different if you're working with legal entities. In this case, your contact is an organization. But different people can call on behalf of this contact, for example, an accountant, a supplier, a storekeeper, a manager, etc. It is very important that the CRM system provides for the ability to create a card for each contact person (contractor) separately, as well as combine them into one common contact, organization. This is very important, since otherwise it will not be possible to organize a sufficient level of automation for monitoring work with clients.

System cost

Any businessman, before implementing this or that software solution, asks himself, how much will it cost? When determining the price of CRM, you need to understand that the numbers that you see on the sites in the "product cost" or "license cost" section are only part of the total costs. Therefore, it is worth figuring out what makes up the total cost of implementing a CRM system.

The total cost of the product consists of several parts:

1. The cost of a license (acquisition). This may be access payment for "cloud solutions" or the cost of 1 copy.
2. Transferring data to the system. You will definitely need to somehow transfer contacts and other data. Therefore, the presence or absence of a ready-made module, as well as the complexity of preparing data for import, will also affect the final cost.
3. Improvement cost. Even if you bought a “box solution” or access to the saas version, some improvements will still be required. You will need to configure access rights, reports, tasks, etc.
4. Escort cost.

In addition, many people miss another important, but not so obvious point. These are financial losses during the transition period. You need to understand in advance that during the transition to a CRM system, some problems may occur, due to which you may lose some leads, work them out of time, etc.

When implementing any software, there are some difficulties. Even if the seller of the software product tells you that it is enough to make a payment and you can immediately start working, still in practice there are problems, malfunctions, overlays due to the human factor (employees still do not know how to use new system or they are not good enough, etc.).

You will also face indirect costs during implementation. So, your employees, instead of performing direct duties, will devote part of their time to training and testing the system. Also, the manager will be forced to devote part of his working time to solving issues related to the implementation of CRM, as well as to monitoring work to solve this problem.

If you understand in advance that there will definitely be costs at the implementation stage, if you are ready for the need to allocate time and effort to implement a CRM system, if you prepare for possible overlays, then all these costs can be minimized, and the process itself made as simple as possible and painless.

License cost

Depending on the type of CRM system you choose, there are various options for purchasing a license. You can:

1. Buy a perpetual license.
2. Buy a license (subscription) for certain period(month, year, etc.)
3. Buy a copy of the program to install on your own server.
4. A perpetual license is purchased once and is valid on an ongoing basis. This is convenient, but the amount that needs to be paid immediately is usually quite significant.

Subscription implies the purchase of access to the system for a certain period. The subscription cost is usually low, but you will have to make regular payments to continue access to the CRM system.

When comparing the cost of licenses, one must also take into account marketing moves often used by sellers. So, very often sellers of CRM-systems on the site advertise minimum price package of services, which will be valid only under certain conditions. But in reality, you will have to pay more for this system.

For example: on the page with the description of the service package, the price is $40 per 1 user per month. But if you carefully read the entire text, including the callouts and notes, it turns out that this price is valid only if you purchase at least 10 licenses at the same time for a period of 1 year. And if you only need 9 licenses, the price will be different.

Such marketing tricks are very typical for the IT market. But I plan to talk in detail about the tricks of licensing in a separate article. And now it’s enough just to remember that you need to be attentive to the conditions of price formation so as not to be deceived in your calculations.

In the case of purchasing the program, you pay once for an unlimited number of licenses. You will not need to pay for access to the program either periodically or in the event of an increase in staff. But any updates for your program will be paid.

Improvements and launch of the system as part of its cost

Work on setting up, finalizing and launching the software should also be taken into account when calculating the total cost of the CRM system.

You will need:

1. Install the software (when purchasing the program, you will need a lot of work, setting up the server and much more; in the case of Saas solutions, you may need to install client programs on computers, tablets, mobile phones)
2. Set up user groups, set access rights for all groups of employees who will work with the CRM system.
3. Integrate the CRM system with other services and programs (set up information exchange with the website, 1C databases, telephony, etc.)
4. Transfer data from other systems and programs.

It is very common for users to forget to factor in data migration when calculating costs, which is a serious mistake. Data migration is one of the biggest costs when starting a system. The data must be extracted from existing system, process, standardize, correct errors in them, and only then this data can be uploaded to the CRM system.

For example, I usually offer my clients a service such as phone fixing. This is a very common problem: in 1C counterparty cards, in Excel spreadsheets, and in many other programs, customer phones can be recorded arbitrarily. As a result, some of the records end up in the “+7….” format, some start with an eight, some are landline numbers without any area code, etc. In order for these phones to be correctly entered into the CRM system, they must be standardized, given in a certain form (most often in an international format).

It is also important to understand that you will need improvements in any case. Even if you get a completely ready-made boxed solution, you still most likely need to modify something. It is better to focus in advance on what you will need to pay for the services of a specialist in this matter as well.

What to refine if a Saas solution is chosen?

On the one hand, when using a Saas solution, you do not have access to the code, and therefore there is nothing to modify by the programmer. On the other hand, Saas-platforms provide ample opportunities for customizing various forms and reports, business processes, user rights, appearance your working system etc. This work should also be entrusted to a specialist.

In addition, you will need to integrate your CRM system with the website, 1C programs, telephony, etc. This work is also performed by a specialist, and therefore its cost must be taken into account.

Standalone solutions require additional investments: buying or renting a server, setting it up, buying additional software, etc. It is important to understand that when you buy a Standalone solution, you are buying just a copy of the program. And all further costs associated with its installation, configuration, its use, you incur.

Escort

You need to understand that failures occur in any system, and this primarily concerns Standalone solutions. And support is the work of a specialist, and it should also be paid.

When choosing Saas solutions, you may not need maintenance or it will cost a minimum amount. Most often, a once-tuned solution works fine, unless, of course, you try to experiment with the settings yourself.

Why Saas systems do not require ongoing support:

1. Such systems are usually very well debugged, and specialists constantly monitor the performance of the software.
2. The functionality of such systems is quite limited, since it is designed to solve a certain range of tasks and nothing more.
3. The interface is usually intuitive, and most of the actions do not require the help of a specialist.

Let me remind you that for small and medium businesses, I usually recommend Saas solutions for implementing CRM systems. And savings on implementation and maintenance is far from the last factor.

Epilogue

In this article, I did not set myself the task of fully and in detail describing CRM systems. I wanted to clarify the following questions: what is it, who needs them and why, and on the basis of what parameters is it best to choose a CRM system for small and medium-sized businesses. I hope that I was able to help you understand these issues. A lot has already been written about the diversity and features of various CRM systems, perhaps I will also return to this issue more than once. And here and now I tried to explain the basic things with which acquaintance with any CRM system begins.

At the same time, the process of implementing a CRM system is practically no different from implementing software. I wrote in detail about how this happens in the article.

Tags:

• choice of CRM system
• CRM
• CRM overview

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