Training done right can truly impact the ROI of a CRM depolyment. Training done wrong can make a CRM deployment die a slow death.
When I am asked about training for CRM, “8 by 11″ comes to mind. Training turned an under performing CSR into a rock star. Soon he was closing 8 tickets by 11 AM everyday for my client, an enterprise software provider. His metrics put him at the top of the group. His customer survey feedback scores went from zero to hero.
Training made that change possible. Think about your CSRs. Do they have everything they need to be an “8 by 11″?
Nearly every client I have worked with has had concerns and challenges with Customer Adoption. Successful clients care about Customer Adoption. It can deliver real and significant ROI. There is a secret to Customer Adoption. Customers will only adopt if it improves their experience. Think about the customer’s experience. Improve it. Realize the ROI. Simple.
I have recently been really impressed with Zappos. No it is not the Kiva robots in the warehouse. Although that is very cool. They get “it”. Great customer service. My orders always have shipping upgraded. The shoes always arrive before they are expected. A recent pair of running shoes arrived the very next day — just as I was about to go for a run. Unexpected. Made a good run even better. Thanks Zappos! You guys get it. Great “show the love” customer care. I look forward to wearing out my running shoes and ordering from you again soon.
The notion of a proactive customer care has been around for many years and taken many forms from the airline calling about a canceled flight to current SMS alert notifications from any number of devices, products and services. The goal is simple. Customers do not want to have to tell you there is a problem.
How do you solve that challenge? Not to sound too much like a consultant, but it depends. Really. To solve the challenge today, a combination of e-mail and/or SMS alerts with some RSS capabilities for issue tracking and resolution would be my first recommendation. The process would have to be fully understood.
Most of the time an enterprise customer is calling because a service is down and they want it back up — fast. This customer does not want to collect log files and send them. They want you to already know the issue. Think about how to be proactive. You may find out that it improves your customer care metrics and support process at the same time.
The Skagit Valley Tulips are finally blooming. This is a very neat day trip from Seattle (approx. 1 hour north). I have been several times to tromp through the mud and work on my photography (above photo). That means up before dawn and out to catch first light. It is also a great place to bring a bike and ride from field to field.
Calico Cupboard Cafe is a great place to catch some breakie afterward.
Detailed information at tulipfestival.org.
Have a good one!
I have had some recent conversations about Google Gadgets. More than just simple applications, gadgets can be extended to useful applications for a CRM system.
On a related note, I have built 2 of my own PHP based gadgets for my photography website. They drive close to 80% of the site’s traffic. A brief tutorial on how they work can be found at How to build a Google Gadget.
Transaction to Trust: The New Era of Customer Service by John Yaggie.
Nice quick read that illustrates the “Show the Love” philosophy for customer relationship building and care.
Why McKinsey’s Cloud Report Missed the Mark by Joe Weinman at GigaOM is another good read on the now infamous McKinsey Cloud Report.
See earlier post if this is news.
FBI seizures highlight law as cloud impediment by James Urquhart is an interesting read on the law and the cloud. Having sold a “cloud” service, these aspects of the cloud come up — a lot. Legal departments live for this kind of stuff. As this example in the article shows, the conversation is not going to get easier.