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One of the toughest things for an entrepreneurial company to do is
transition from relying on the individual talents of the founders to being able
to institutionalize
successful techniques throughout a growing organization. Small business CRM applications
can help with this transition.
Indeed, with hosted solutions and continued advances in CRM
software, the
cost threshold for implementing a CRM program has never been lower. This makes
it wise to adopt CRM applications early in the company life cycle, when their
implementation will be least disruptive.
In return, entrepreneurs can use CRM
software to manage growing sales and
marketing teams to systematically repeat the successful approaches that were
instrumental to the firms initial success. In this way, an entrepreneur can
hand off marketing and sales functions with confidence, knowing that certain
essential disciplines are firmly in place.
Three Essential Marketing Disciplines
The following are some examples of marketing disciplines that CRM
software can help implement.
- Know the competition. Generalizations about the market will only get an
organization so far. Knowing specifically who has what pieces of business
will help a firm
identify emerging trends and target weaker competitors. Using CRM
applications to track this information will institutionalize the type of market knowledge
that entrepreneurs have built through first-hand experience.
- Target market
segments with specific messages. A one-size-fits all approach never quite
fits anybody in a segmented market. By coordinating marketing messages
with customer characteristics, an organization can seem more like the right
fit for different customers.
- Measure results. Trial and error is a necessary
component of marketing, but the trials can be shortened and errors minimized
if CRM
software is
used to
track how success rates correlate with different approaches. This can
help the firm get pricing, message, and delivery method right, while concentrating
resources on successful techniques.
Three Essential Sales Disciplines
Successful entrepreneurs are able to communicate their vision to others, and
have the drive to get this message across as often as possible. Having a sales
team perform this function can increase capacity, as long as certain sales
disciplines are implemented.
- Keep up the numbers. People outside of sales tend to equate sales success
with andquot;the gift of gabandquot; and other outgoing personality traits. Those
with successful sales management experience know that sales is much more
of a numbers game than that. CRM
applications can help set activity goals
and
track progress toward those goals, to make sure that the corporate message
is being spread with the same energy an entrepreneur would bring to the task.
- Know
customer decision cycles. Sales is often a matter of being at the right
place at the right time. Rather than chalking this up to luck, CRM
software can be used to track customer decision cycles so sales reps make more timely
contacts.
- Repeat successful techniques. From targeting techniques to sales
pitches, entrepreneurs know what works, and can use CRM
applications to
make sure
the same tactics
are followed by the sales team. As that team grows, the most successful
sales reps can be identified, and their approaches disseminated to the
rest of the
sales team.
By implementing key disciplines, the burden of growth transfers from the entrepreneurs
individual talents to the quality of the organization. This transition is an
essential ingredient for growth.
Sources
Call Center Magazine
Fortune
Yahoo Finance
