There
is a lot of talk about “big data” for a reason: it leads to profits. The
relationship between customer relationship management (CRM) solutions and big
data is growing stronger as companies realize the power of big data.
A CRM solution has traditionally been used to manage your company’s relationship with your current customers and improve the relationship with prospective customers. Synchronizing sales, marketing, and customer service, the CRM solution has automated features that make doing business easier. Unfortunately, companies, including some of the largest in the world, are failing to utilize their CRM to get the most out of big data. In fact, Gartner has predicted that through 2015, up to 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies won’t use big data to improve their standing. Executives say the failure is due to sheer size and variety of the accumulated data.
In some cases, the problem is incorrect, duplicated or dark data. It is simply too difficult to wade through all of it and effectively organize it. This has an obvious effect on how a company does business, but it has a greater impact on how the customer is served.
Companies that get it right are using their CRM as a repository for storing records in a way that makes sense, which means it can be queried later and used to make fact-based decisions. A CRM solution can also be used to help track orders and schedule follow-ups. This leads to better customer service, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Apparently, there are more companies getting it wrong than getting it right.
According to a survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, satisfaction levels across all major industries has fallen in the third quarter of this year by more than any time in the two decades the index has been around. This is not due to CRM failing users; it’s more about companies not utilizing their CRM for anything more than a digital rolodex.
Other companies are failing because they aren’t gathering data from the right people. For instance, sales reps interact with customers on a daily basis. But we know from experience that sales reps are among the worst at filing reports. All the information they have on their clients is kept between the two of them instead of coming into the CRM system where everyone in the company can see it.
One way to get your sales reps sending you sales reports is to equip them with a mobile app that makes the reporting process quick and easy. That’s the only real hurdle – time and effort. Most CRM solutions aren’t sales-friendly because the reporting tools are too complex. When the sales reps report their interactions, sales managers will have insight into how they work, what they do right and what they could use some improvement on.
Front Row Solutions has created an app that gets sales reps in the reporting game. When a report only takes a minute to send, all of your reps will start a regular reporting cycle that will make your big data mining a success story. Contact us today for more information.
A CRM solution has traditionally been used to manage your company’s relationship with your current customers and improve the relationship with prospective customers. Synchronizing sales, marketing, and customer service, the CRM solution has automated features that make doing business easier. Unfortunately, companies, including some of the largest in the world, are failing to utilize their CRM to get the most out of big data. In fact, Gartner has predicted that through 2015, up to 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies won’t use big data to improve their standing. Executives say the failure is due to sheer size and variety of the accumulated data.
In some cases, the problem is incorrect, duplicated or dark data. It is simply too difficult to wade through all of it and effectively organize it. This has an obvious effect on how a company does business, but it has a greater impact on how the customer is served.
Companies that get it right are using their CRM as a repository for storing records in a way that makes sense, which means it can be queried later and used to make fact-based decisions. A CRM solution can also be used to help track orders and schedule follow-ups. This leads to better customer service, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Apparently, there are more companies getting it wrong than getting it right.
According to a survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, satisfaction levels across all major industries has fallen in the third quarter of this year by more than any time in the two decades the index has been around. This is not due to CRM failing users; it’s more about companies not utilizing their CRM for anything more than a digital rolodex.
Other companies are failing because they aren’t gathering data from the right people. For instance, sales reps interact with customers on a daily basis. But we know from experience that sales reps are among the worst at filing reports. All the information they have on their clients is kept between the two of them instead of coming into the CRM system where everyone in the company can see it.
One way to get your sales reps sending you sales reports is to equip them with a mobile app that makes the reporting process quick and easy. That’s the only real hurdle – time and effort. Most CRM solutions aren’t sales-friendly because the reporting tools are too complex. When the sales reps report their interactions, sales managers will have insight into how they work, what they do right and what they could use some improvement on.
Front Row Solutions has created an app that gets sales reps in the reporting game. When a report only takes a minute to send, all of your reps will start a regular reporting cycle that will make your big data mining a success story. Contact us today for more information.
