Adventures in Business and CRM

Happy New Year! As you can tell, 2009 has been an extremely busy year for me. While most consultants keep their blogs rather current, mine has gone on being neglected due to having a jam-packed schedule. (Which I am always very grateful for).  As in my last post, I am very excited about the coming year and the shifts that I’ve seen in Internet Marketing and customer retention. Companies are really starting to be more resourceful, and they are definitely opening up to more things that they once considered “risky” or too time consuming. I see this as a huge step in achieving success in these trying times, especially since companies are starting to implement  social media and programs like Salesforce.com, which give you an endless amount of insight into how your business is performing and so many different levels.

I am currently in the process of getting my main website in order, which I’ve been meaning to do forever now. I’ve been lucky enough that the bulk of my clientele comes from referrals, repeat clients, or serial entrepreneurs who fancy perpetually picking my brain.

The Shape of Business to Come

So what have I seen in the business landscape over the past year? I’ve seen companies buckle down and focus on what’s really important. Old processes and policies are flying out like crazy…because they’re no longer working in this climate. A few aspects that all channel into Customer Relationship Management that I’ve been focusing on with my clients are:

• Where the Business is Coming From-  No longer can businesses be lacking in their tracking strategies. Every dollar counts now more than it ever did, and this is where it’s at. No where your business comes from. This is priceless information.
• How do I Make the Process EXCEPTIONAL? – Creating an extremely unique and awesome customer experience doesn’t require vast amounts of money, just a bit of creativity and know-how. This, along with stellar customer service creates a genuine loyalty around a brand and it’s product or service. Make it memorable and elicit conversation. It’s the cheapest and most effective marketing method around (still).
• Know it All – Make it someone’s job to know EVERYTHING about your customer. Their clicking habits, the A/B test page results, what makes them tick, what sites they frequent, where their money is being spent, what email campaign traits get the best responses, and so on. Organize this all into one central location and make a meeting out of it at least every quarter. You’d be surprised at how this type of information spawns innovation in your business. Don’t be afraid to tweak processes, ads, and marketing based on the information you find. This information is useless unless you act upon it quickly.
• Service though Social Media: If your customer is talking about you, that’s great. If they’re expressing dismay with you, social media is your opportunity to make it right, while showing the rest of the world that you CAN and are WILLING to make it right. Social media is an exceptional customer service tool, because it provides past records of challenges, errors, mistakes, and fixes that are priceless to your business. Be sure to log your customer service conquests online, with basic information on the customer, what their issue was, how long it took to solve the issue, what you did to solve the issue, how much it cost you, and so on.  If you have Salesforce, or some other CRM tool, be sure to log this information thoroughly. You’ll be so glad you did!

These are just a few things I am seeing for 2010.There is a lot more I’d like to write, but I’ll save that for another post. I wish you all a prosperous and safe 2010!

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