http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-consulting-blog.html The CRM Consulting Blog lets you know what's new at Effective CRM Consulting en-us effective crm consulting Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:32:06 GMT Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:32:06 GMT effective-crm-consulting.com http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-consultant.html I'm a CRM consultant and here's a little bit of background on how I got here. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:32:06 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/saleslogix-consultants.html I've been involved with this product since it's inception and I've worked with effective Saleslogix consultants, and not so effective. In fact, I've worked with some extremely ineffective and extremely unproductive Saleslogix consultants! Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:25:53 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/sales-process.html Every business has some sort of sales process. There so many self-proclaimed sales experts out there that I just can't keep track. And most of them believe that CRM is all about sales and that sales is a strategy. Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:58:41 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/sales-force-automation.html Sales Force Automation Software was created to describe a new generation of software designed to fulfill the needs of the sales organization and not just the sales person Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:20:29 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/sales-and-crm.html How come everywhere else I go on the Internet CRM is talked about like it is for salespeople? If that's not the case, what is it for? Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:46:38 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/getting-users-to-adopt-crm.html Mike, I'm facing a big problem in my company. We invested in software vendor removed a year and a half ago and since that time the enthusiasm for it Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:58:03 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/is-saleslogix-software-any-good.html We've been looking around a lot for software. Before you jump on me, we already have a strategy and have been working with a consultant to optimize Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:56:50 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/whats-the-best-crm-software.html I'm trying to figure out what the best software for CRM is? Should I be looking at web solutions with monthly subscriptions? What are the best Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:57:02 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-strategy-building-template.html I really like your website. It turned my thinking around on what CRM really is. I had one of my people out collecting CRM software features so we Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:35:35 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/business-intelligence-software.html If you ask the average business intelligence software vendor, the answer would be yes. They tend to be just like the enterprise CRM vendors in the sense that they believe over-engineered software like there is necessary to meet the needs of the enterprise market. Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:21:14 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-readiness-assessment.html Don't let the phrase Free CRM Readiness Assessment fool you into thinking this is some cheap rip-off. I can assure you that it is not! Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:42:12 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/relationship-marketing.html Relationship Marketing starts with a solid understanding of your customers. While opinions and techniques vary, there is a simple and straight forward approach to analyzing data you already have that can help you identify when your customers begin to leave or defect (some call it churn). Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:45:21 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/free-crm-software.html Free CRM software, "you get what you pay for". Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:34:08 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-software-reviews.html The mentality I speak about through this site drives the desire for CRM software reviews. The problem is really very simple. If you are searching for CRM software before you have developed a solid CRM strategy, realigned your workflows to support it, and identified each work process, how can you possibly know what to look for? Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:49:14 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/business-process-outsourcing-companies.html Business process outsourcing companies seem to have filled a need by some of the larger enterprises. The basic need is flexibility and scalability. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:39:46 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/business-process-mapping.html Effective Business Process Mapping might scare some of the middle market companies I've worked with. The mere mention of it can send visions of an army of blue suits, a cacophony of acronyms and a salvo of symbols obviously designed to belittle and confuse those who didn't go to graduate school. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:21:13 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/marketing-mix.html The Marketing Mix traditionally refers to the four P's of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Of course, there's nothing traditional about my take on things. Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:48:42 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/what-is-customer-service.html If you were to ask me "What is Customer Service?" 15 years ago, I would have blown you off. At that time, I thought running a business was all about the numbers. I'd been through thousands of business plans and financial statements at that point, and I thought I had all the answers. We'll, I didn't! Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:02:54 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/small-business-marketing.html Small business marketing is often performed by folks who have no formal marketing education or training. Nothing wrong with that, it's just a reality. Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:18:31 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/small-business-crm-software.html The expectations of small business are that they have small business CRM software options just like the big boys; albeit at an affordable price point. Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:57:00 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-software-solutions.html Since the early days of CRM software solutions were always cobbled together as a marketing tool. The angle is always that since they've already got a solution for your industry, the time and cost to get you up, running and competitive on CRM is minimal. Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:30:51 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/effective-campaign-management.html Effective Campaign Management solutions need to provide you with enough bang to support the strategic CRM initiatives of your organization. Getting a glitzy campaign module and then trying to figure out what to do with it is, frankly, what I see in most mid-market companies Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:47:25 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/effective-business-intelligence.html Effective Business intelligence is a topic that I've only gotten involved with in the past few years. Before that, the middle market companies I've worked with couldn't afford the entry price. Expensive software with hefty consulting engagements for building data warehouses and business metrics simply made it impossible. Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:37:10 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/effective-change-management.html Effective change management is a crucial piece in CRM puzzle. Without it, fiefdoms are protected and people generally feel their value decline as they sense ownership of the process slipping away Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:35:27 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/saleslogix-crm-software.html Saleslogix CRM Software is a great business to business (B2B) software platform for the middle market. It has been one of the main players in this market since 1997 for a very good reason. It's is highly customizable and affordable. Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:22:04 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/six-sigma-process.html The Six Sigma process reminds me that I was an Economics major in College. Implicit in that was a core requirement that I study statistics. I stunk at it because I really had a hard time applying this stuff to the real world. There were no television shows about economists saving lives like there were medical shows. As a result, anything that requires a heavy reliance on theory bugs me. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:57:05 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/strategic-planning-process.html Whenever I think of the Strategic Planning Process I remember when I was part of enterprise corporate America. Oh boy, those were the days. Every change was preceded by an army of consultants and/or internal due diligence teams. Imagine how that would go over in a middle market company. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:08:47 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/good-customer-service.html Good customer service is one of those things we all have experience with. Or should I say, bad customer service is something we all have experience with. How do you want to treat your customers, and do you want to keep them? Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:00:55 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/customer-relationship-management.html Customer Relationship Management may commonly be know as a type of software. However, it's actually a way of doing business. As with any software, it's usually a tool used to facilitate a process, or set of processes. These are typically derived from a higher overall strategy. Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:19:14 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-solutions.html Digging thru the bargain bin of CRM solutions is a tough process, especially when you know idea what you're looking for. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:31:14 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/customer-tracking.html Convincing your CFO that customer tracking accounting can help predict future improvements to periodic account numbers takes time. Start the process well before you start your CRM project. Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:02:37 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/low-crm-user-adoption.html Low CRM User adoption - The classic reason for CRM failures is when no one uses it! Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:11:12 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-strategy.html Without a CRM strategy, there is no guiding corporate wide vision for how you will interface with customers. This is a key component which works in conjuntion with your functional CRM initiative (the technology). It takes both to succeed. Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:01:10 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-definition.html I believe a good CRM definition is as follows: CRM is the application of a well developed customer strategy, based on a high level of customer awareness, to a properly matched set of CRM technologies and services. In other words there are two components, both of which are required, that make a successful CRM solution. Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:22:11 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-failures.html CRM Failures are prevalent. But they are totally avoidable. I do a little talking and then I leave it to you to share your story.... Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:25:10 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-leadership.html CRM Leadership - there are books on how to lead from below, but if you're investing in CRM, leading from the top is essential Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:07:57 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/business-activity-monitoring.html Business Activity Monitoring is not just for the big boys anymore. SMBs and SMEs can now benefit from inexpensive and easy to use technology that will explode the results of their CRM initiative Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:50:29 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/postcard-marketing.html If you've ever wondered about postcard marketing, here's a started piece to get you motivated Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:23:03 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/database-marketing.html Learn about simple database marketing concepts that you can employ in your business to make your customers more loyal and increase your profits by retaining otherwise lost business Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:37:54 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/customer-relationship-marketing.html Find out how customer relationship marketing techniques can help your company spend less money, with a higher return, on your marketing initiatives Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:14:02 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-feature-focus.html CRM Feature Focus - In my world, I see so many peers selling CRM software features. Organizations that purchase CRM software based on features, are inevitably forced to work backwards to find how these features can benefit their company. Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:46:05 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-costs.html Quantify CRM Costs - Your CFO will be far more likely to write a check if you can detail the financial benefits as well as the financial costs. The return on investment is critical in making a major go/no go decision. Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:36:07 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/pipeline-management.html Pipeline management isn't what it used to be. Moving to a customer focus may reveal some great opportunities for your business Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:37:12 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-software-vendors.html CRM software vendors build software that becomes bloated with features year after year. The consultant's job is to focus on strategy and benefits and eliminate some of that bloat. That' what being effective is all about. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:10:15 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/crm-benefits.html Identify CRM Benefits - Clearly identify how you will apply knowledge you will gain about your customers through collection in your CRM software. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:52:04 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/contact-management-software.html Contact Management Software started it all. We've gone from "software is the solution" for individuals to true customer relationship management. Secret: even the sales people using contact management software had a plan Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:17:30 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/campaign-management.html Campaign Management solutions need to provide you with enough bang to support the strategic CRM initiatives of your organization. Getting a glitzy campaign module and then trying to figure out what to do with it is, frankly, what I see in most mid-market companies Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:11:29 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/small-business-software.html Small business software is generally packaged in suites that work fairly well together. This attempts to reduce the entry cost for smaller business while giving them tools to compete with their larger competitors. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:30:41 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/bpm-software.html BPM software, in my mind, can mean any number of things. Business Process Management essentially involves aligning your business with the needs of your customers. Of course, doing this requires that you have already collected enough information to truly understand their needs. At that point you can create a complete CRM strategy. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:28:03 GMT http://www.effective-crm-consulting.com/workflow-software.html Workflow software are tools to help your organization become more efficient and can help you look like a bigger organization, or simply a more attentive one. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:25:37 GMT