Communication in CRM.

Quality, Frequency and Style

 CRM focuses on the
relationship

Successful organizations use three steps to build customer

relationships:

• determine mutually satisfying goals between organization

and customers .
• establish and maintain customer rapport .
• produce positive feelings in the organization and the
customers towards one another.
 CRM conditions

The organization and the customers both have sets of conditions to consider when
building the relationship, such as wants and needs of both parties;

• organizations need to make a profit to survive and grow

• customers want good service, a quality product and an acceptable price

Good CRM can influence both sets of conditions.

 Characteristics of an
effective and good crm
• The following characteristics are associated with delivery of excellent
CRM:
• reliability
• responsiveness
• accessibility
• safety
• courtesy
• consideration
• communication
• recognizing the customer
• competence
 How crm communication
impacts organizations
CRM Communication can have a major impact on an
organization through:

• shifting the focus from product to customer .

• streamlining the offer to what the customer requires,
not what the organization can make .
• highlighting competencies required for an effective
CRM process
 CRM communications is
…
• .…focused on perfect management of information and relationship
handling.

CRM Communication tries to

…….Escalate the credibility of the organization in the buyers’
minds.
 Communication in crm
Communication is central to any successful relationship.
In terms of Customer Relationship Management, communication
needs to be consistent and high quality; as determined by:

• on time .
• focused .
• relevant .
• reliable .
• coherent .
 Effective communication
in CRM
• For effective communications it's the message and meaning
that is received that counts, irrespective of what the
communicator thinks they've said, or written.
• Communications must be judged most vitally by the reaction
of the receiver.
• If the reaction is not good then the communication is poor.
• Communication should be directed at the correct audience, in
the correct way
• The communication system must also encourage and
facilitate honest and actionable feedback.
 Communication in CRM
• How businesses communicate, greatly influences how effective their
CRM is at ensuring that the flow of customer-centric information in
and out is accurate, relevant, maintainable, and able to be leveraged.

• Communicating with customers through various channels (call

center, email, Web, print, etc.) is the focal point of CRM’s challenge:
how to integrate communications channels and optimize the flow of
information to meet CRM requirements.
 Quality
Quality in CRM transactions means, that the personnel are :

1. Adhering to the customer interaction as per norms – according to laid

down script and flow.
2. Adhering to the procedures and processes.
3. Actively servicing customers as they should be.

In the end, these things will determine whether a customer is getting

a quality experience .
 Frequency
• Frequency is the number of repeated periodic communication
initiatives which are made in a given time-period , such that
the CRM exercise can be optimized .

• The right frequency of CRM communications aims towards

correct and timely information to be provided to the customer
at the right intervals.

• Correct feedback is obtained from the customer to follow

up on the CRM effort.
 Style
• A particular way in which CRM is carried out in any organization.
This involves identifying and adjusting to communications styles.

• This is determined solely by the customer the organization is dealing

with.

• Effort is made to match the communication style to the preferred

style of the target in terms of the pace or the orientation.

• This involves all of the senses: listening, watching, and speaking.

 4 basic styles
Four basic styles –

1.Dominator.
2.Inducer.
3.Conformer.
4.Stabilizer.

Organizations have the challenge of :

• how to identify them,

• what motivates them,
• what annoys them , and
• what they respond to.

How best to communicate with them.

There are two key aspects of communication styles
…. pace (fast or slow) and orientation (task or relationship).

• Pace is used to describe how the other person is communicating. Are their speech
and action patterns fast or slow?
• Dominators and Inducers tend to move at a rapid pace. Stabilizers and Conformers
at a much slower pace.

• Orientation describes basically what the conversation is about. Is it task or

business related or is it oriented toward relationship topics?
• Inducers and Stabilizers tend to be more people persons while Dominators and
Conformers prefer to stay on task.
Basic steps : CRM communication
• Choose a variety of topics representative of the expertise of your organization…. that can
easily be tapped to provide relevant insights to help your prospective customers improve upon
the choices they are making today – without necessarily buying anything.

• Create a frequency plan and design a series of 4-6 communications you can send out over the
next few months. ( Hold one article in reserve as a special offer. )

• Research your customers profile and write your messaging and content about the product and
services from a purely helpful perspective

• Monitor the communications sent and make follow-up calls to build on the dialog that has been
started with all the leads who have responded to more than one of the CRM emails. (Offer to
share that special offer article that you’ve held back as something special – just for them.).
Pitfalls in CRM Communication
• Screaming for attention – High Volume repetition and frequency of the
message –( if we can just get them to pay attention, we’ll be okay. ) It’s
actually perceived as monotonous, annoying and makes people click the delete
key even faster to avoid you. Not to mention that it makes the company look
desperate.

• Shifting the focus to your needs rather than the customers’ – The mistake
of swinging the focus to the organization is to be avoided. Instead, think about
what your buyers need to think strategically to fulfill their needs. Consider
how you can deliver messaging and content that will be received by your
prospective customers with thanks, because it’s designed to guide them
Desirable Qualities for
CRM representatives
Successful and effective Customer Relationship Management people
tend to display the following key characteristics:

• positive attitude
• people orientation
• organizational skills
• analytical skills
• customer focus - can empathaise.
• understanding of the link between CRM and profitability
 Communication focus in
crm
CRM Communication is basically focused upon the following factors to make it
effective………..

• How do we effectively communicate electronically and ensure our CRM is

integrated and leveraged?
• How do we assure the information we gain is factored into maintenance of
data which is accurate and bias free?
• How do we ensure that the maintained data is regularly updated and used to
carry on and enhance the CRM initiative.

Success or failure of our CRM effort will depend on answering the above queries
with honest deliberation and analysis of the actual situation.
 In conclusion…
• The best course of action is to create a CRM Communication
campaign which is spaced out , checked for its quality and
to deliver high-value style content . This helps befriend
customers because information offered is useful and can be
put into action without any undue pressure.
• The organization stays topmost in the customers mind and
converts into positive sale when the time is right.