FEATURE S Bv Scott Thomas, ldle Tools Corp.
GRM systems
bolster LBM sales
vou eRs unfamiliar with the term cRM, it stands for lCustomer Relationship Management. e""orJlrrg to
fr
Wikipedia, it's a "model fb, llrurruging a company's iiteractions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support'"
Today, cRM plattbrms have evolved una.tung"a to meet the needs of modern businesses, which includes cloud-based systems, seamless integration
vicetomarketingmanagement. If youstartbyaskingyourself what information you have to waste time chasing' requires time-consuming consolidation' or is managed on spreadsheets, that will reveal a basket of areas where CRM can help'
Q: w1yarecompaniesinterestedintoolslikecRM? A: It trur a lot to do with competitive envi-
ronments and tighter resources. In the past,
withmobiledevices,integrationwith.c.wouldsimply..throwpeople social media (such as Linkedln), in ESNs (internal collaboration
( tu^ ""ilotlltiln:n ir came to an issue or an
built-
net-
works for business), connections
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opportunity. Today, companies need io be proactive towards revenue and
,*i$,l**T,'ir'!t-aa; -4etatiooCF- ,,i:::liii!!]ilii{{:"friih:i:: i,:ir,:1*"i::Ti;TdX":1"';"3i' -r'rtr'to get a similar with existing ERP many organizations always feel like they _
systems
are
te
il:T::"l ;'"',f$yr:tH:1il:iT,JTil"""*: prior transactions. l,dditionalty, many CRM providers offer dedicated suites to manage marketing and customet t11]9. with integration to phone systems and more' Some CRMs also offerweb portals andtommunities so."t;;;;;"; suppliers can log in and collaborate.
scrambring
O: you mentioned the phrase "proactive towards rev.nu.-i' What did you mean by that? A: tn most organizations' the only data they have
relied on to manage sales teams is transactional sales data
from an ERP system and anecdotal feedback from man-
agers' This information is intrinsically backwardsJooking spiked, do you Q: Sin"" interest in CRM has recently utrd,"unr"r reactionary behaviors' By using CRM' you can believe that these systems can be a fit for.o-puni"r in',tr" revenue opportunities while in motion, pre-transactrack building industry? A: cnu can be a fit for reauy anv companv :"?l;3J,Jff':'.',ls'nt;T"'.1|:liff;"1i,1"t?lilili;'j industry, it just depends on what you want to accomplish' right salei opportunities, ai the right time, with the approAlthough CilM seems mostly known as a sales automation pfrut" .etouicis, to get a positive outcome. Additionally, you tool (and is mostly presented that way)' it can really trackwhy siles opportunities are won or lost and ser"un to customer processes internal from anything improve 6egin to analyze your areas of success and failure so you
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The Merchant Magazine
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October 201 3
Building'Products'com