COMMENTARY
Five Steps to Reframe Your Brand's CRM
- by Joe Rueckert , Yesterday
Customers’ expectations of brands are changing at a rapid rate, especially as choices expand. Are customer relationship management (CRM) programs keeping pace? With multiple analysts estimating 20%-70% of CRM projects either fail to improve company performance or result in losses, it's time to think of CRM as more than data, tools and workflow. An effective combination of loyalty, customer experience and branding—delivered in personalized ways—is the key to unlocking greater engagement. Here are five steps to help reframe your CRM program.
Create a strategy. The first step is defining what the desired outcome of the CRM strategy is, and then determining how to reach that outcome. Think of CRM’s greater purpose: a holistic strategic practice that activates a customer-centric mindset and approach. Try reframing CRM by reappropriating the "M" to be marketing rather than management. This can expand thinking to include one-to-one, direct-response and other marketing disciplines.
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Fuel the strategy with data. All good strategy starts with analyzing data to uncover insights based on customer behavior patterns, particularly those that offer an opening to influence. Once this is identified, CRM must deliver meaningful interactions with both customers and prospects. Customers expect information they provide -- either explicitly or implicitly -- to result in relevant brand communications.
Make customer empathy the focal point. What needs does a product or service fulfill? What moves them further along the journey? Questions like this help determine crucial moments of engagement when a brand can effectively influence the attitudes and actions of its audience.
Once needs are defined, it’s critical to identify how to meet them. Which exclusive benefit or product features are at the core of meeting consumers’ tangible needs? Once discovered, make it all actionable through personalized and compelling interactions with individuals.
Take stock of engagement and long-term brand capabilities. Prioritizing marketing tactics moves strategies forward. Personalizing the strategy by targeting customer segments in different ways will drive core objectives. For long-term success and sustainability, map out key milestones based on additional customer use cases and the capabilities needed to enable them for increased engagement and measure the results.
Anticipate roadblocks. Ensure the data, technology and strategic vision are in lockstep. Share the strategic vision and long-term marketing plans with data and technology partners so they can prioritize and sequence data strategy and technology functions to support the vision. Avoid the temptation to replace underutilized technology with the newest available. Replacing an old platform won't solve underlying inconsistencies or blind spots, but it can eat up months of a timeline. Communicate -- both roadblocks and successes -- with all departments to make sure they’re all guided by the same strategic vision.
Remember, having a CRM platform doesn’t deliver an instant “in” with customers. It takes a well-planned strategy with data-driven and personalized interaction to drive brand loyalty and engagement.
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