Waking up to Social CRM and the "Conversation"

I wrote a piece a while back about Customer Conversation Management or "CCM" which is really the essence of the new CRM 2.0 and now getting the label Social CRM. Regardless of the term you prefer to use to describe it the reality is that the customer is in charge of the engagement these days since they now have so many choices and your competition is global. I have plenty of blog articles here that further explore this concept but when I found this video, I had to put it up since it hits the core of the problem many companies have today with their customer engagements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM7ZaamZzDA

CNP Integrations has a proven process for succesful Customer Relationship Business Management and CRM 2.o or Social CRM implimentation. 

 If you have customer relationship pains and need consulting or technology solutions let's begin a "Conversation".

:-)

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Build Value by following a success program and planning carefuly

I have been following the ITtoolbox.com discussions lately and ran across these comments below. It reinforces much of what we have learned and why we have designed a consulting practice around our Value Building Methodology. Notice the date of these articles. In other words this is not new information but folks are still making the same mistakes nearly 4 years later.With the new Social CRM and social technologies that we have to now integrate into these systems it is only going to get more challenging.

 

Invest in good training, support and consulting to align your initiatives

To implement CRM effectively it often takes an outside consulting team to help plan, execute, train and align an organization's people and processes with the technology. Thinking you can just buy some software that an ambitious CEO or IT manager likes and that you can  implement it without a full support package from a qualified consulting firm is a path for disaster. It tends to be a rather expensive proposition on so many levels when you do not invest in the right balance of consulting with your technologypurchase. It is a myth that one you purchase the software and turn it on that your investment is over. This will become a paridigm shift in most cases for the way you do business and will continue to evolve over an extended period of time.

Open Source solutions positions you for future needs

This is one of the reasons we like solutions built off of an open source code base. The cost of entry on the software is much lower so you can get more implementation resources and training for the same investment while not being held over the barrel on the software should you want to modify the system to meet unique requirements down the road. Many of these requirements you may not even know you need yet.

Disclaimer: Contents are not reviewed for correctness and are not endorsed or recommended by ITtoolbox or any vendor. Popular Q&A contents include summarized information from CRM-Select discussion unless otherwise noted.

1/24/2006 By ITtoolbox Popular Q&A Team for ITtoolbox as adapted from CRM-Select discussion group

1. Adapted from a response by Vladimir Stojanovski on 1/20/2006

Here are a couple from my list:

1. Medium-size company wanting to facilitate revenue growth purchased SFA software without any sales strategy. They expected that the software would make their life easier. As most SFA software, it came with its own pre-packaged best practices, which did not fit the company's processes. The implementation dragged out as the company realized that they had to re-examine their processes.

2. A large company purchased call center software to address the growing backlog of thousands of unanswered customer emails. After the software was implemented, training followed. During training, the users scream: we can't use this system, we won't use this system. Two reasons: first, same as #1, little effort was made to align process to packaged functionality, and second, no effort was made to engage the users and build champions among them.

3. A fast-growing company with a solid CRM strategy purchased and implemented SFA, Call center, and Marketing automation software. They did not, however, consider the importance of data quality in the beginning. The Result: reports could not be trusted, pipeline and trending was worthless, and the project went through a major crisis until these issues started getting addressed.

After a number of years, the company in #1 has abandoned the original SFA software and opted for a more simplistic and less costly solution from an SaaS vendor. The company in #2 has taken a step back, re-examined their CRM strategy, re-mapped its processes, and rebuilt most CRM components. The company in #3 has continued building upon the described solution, overcomming the initial data quality issues.


2. Adapted from a response by Nic Harvard on 1/20/2006

Outside the scope of pure CRM systems, but within the scope of business-critical systems, plenty:

All boil down to:
1) Rubbish needs analysis
2) Rubbish solution analysis and selection on top of poor needs analysis
3) Poor end-to-end implementation, with little outcome-based assessment of the implementation team (with a serious stress here on training and external change mgt)
4) Zero, or poor metrics in place to measure success, not only before, but during, at time of go-live, and for 12 months minimum after.

The key points are 80% point one, and 20% point two. The third and fourth are merely confusing factors, that while important, could not *really* (other than in a completely dysfunctional org) exist without the first two.


3. Adapted from a response by gvertucci on 1/22/2006

CRM implementations fail for three reasons, and it all boils down to Human Nature! If a business owner can overcome these three things, CRM will pay for itself rather than be a huge expense.

1) CRM implementations live and die by its EMPLOYEES acceptance... PERIOD!! If the user refuses to use it, IT BECOMES AN EXPENSE!!!

2) Not only is there no BENEFIT for a user to learn and use a CRM application, it's actually a DETRIMENT for an end user to learn and use a CRM application!!!

3) If you encounter a businessman who is looking to purchase a CRM solution, regardless of price or company, they should be able to answer, INTELLIGENTLY and TRUTHFULLY, this one simple questions... "How will your EMPLOYEES benefit from learning and using a CRM application?" If they cannot, they will LOSE MONEY ON THE PURCHASE. Let's see if they can actually ENFORCE the use of a CRM if their sales department is under the impression that it will help line the pockets of the CEO/OWNER even further while THEY have to work harder with no
compensation to learn and use it for that purpose.

See related blog articles and links:

• 100's of Entrepreneur and small business resources
• Integrating the People in your business with CRM Technology
• Let's talk about flat bid contracts and Value Building for Joomla CMS Web 2.0 Development
• 10 Tips for entrepreneurs and your business to beat the recession
• Leveraging CRM Software in the Small Business
• Integration of People with Technology & Acquisition of Business Intelligence
• Cheaper is not always better when it comes to hosting.
• Universal project management concepts
• Good insight from Jack Derby
• Building lists to grow your business opportunities 
• Lower risk through low cost pay as you go retainers
• 8 Bench Marks of a Great Client
• 12 U.S. Laws Bloggers Need to Know
• Social Technologies are revision in the model of power
• CRM/ERP, Joomla CMS, QuickBooks all-in-one Solution for SMB's
• Value Building Landing Pages with Lead Capturing CRM
• Info@hand "CRBM Platform" best kept secret in CRM Community
• Platform as a Service an inspired new generation of CRBM
• How important is a CRM Software Application for your SMB?
• Where do I get started with CRBM (Customer Relationship Business Management)?
• Open Source or SaaS CRM in Your Business
• Universal project management concepts
• Virtual Office Tools Save Money
• Web 2.0 boom and useful web tools

You can also visit our blog home at www.cnpintegrations.com/myblog/ for regular new posts.

For more information about the CRBM Platform and other educational resources be sure to visit: www.learningcrm.com

 

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Configuration of Complex Joomla CMS and CRBM Platforms

Joomla is a powerful framework for delivering Complex web portals. With over 4700 extensions and counting, the largest developer network in the world and the most user friendly interface has made the award winning Joomla CMS the fastest growing open source CMS project perhaps in the world. With millions of users and enthusiasts from all around the globe and a low cost of entry this is quickly becoming the dominant content management system (CMS) for small businesses (SMB's) and even larger enterprises and institutions.  We compared Joomla vs Drupal and Joomla vs Wordpress which are other worthy technologies but Joomla seemed for us to be the best overall platform for recommending to our customers. As Joomla integrators and Joomla Component Developers we deliver complex Joomla configurations for a wide variety of customers. Joomla is a perfect framework for the micro small business owner that needs training and mentoring to work independently on building their web empire as well as the small business enterprise with complex Joomla configuration needs. 

There are several layers in deploying a Joomla CMS project.

• Planning and content architecture
• Template Design and graphics
• Components and Configurations
• User experience
• Customer Programming
• Legacy System Integrations
• SEO and Marketing
• Joomla User Training
• Ongoing Technical Support

Just to name a few... With any technology there are different points of entry depending on the experience and technical aptitude of the humans interacting with the system, the technical and business process requirements and the overall dynamics of the organization implementing the particular solution. We (our CNP Consultants) try to help folks "Get the most value out of their technology investment". Yea you will see this in our marketing but this is much more than hype. Value can be the key to success or failure.  Among the biggest mistakes we have seen folks make and even made ourselves are:

Common Mistake #1

Just because you can do something with technology does not always make it practical.

I have personally implemented many powerful tools that accomplish their intended functionality but they actually never get used to their full potential by the end customers. While these were fun for us to build as developers and to see something cool that works, it did not really serve any of us well since our clients customers do not use them and thus they have a significant investment they are net getting a return on and thus until this first investment is paid for they are not all that excited to engage us to build more stuff.

The key here is determining first the business priorities of the project and then making sure everyone is listening to the needs of the end customer or user. Hey sometime folks build web tools just for themselves. I know I often post blog articles with a lot of links I want to not only share but also refer back to and we put plenty of tools online that we want to use ourselves as much as we want to and share with our customers.  Just make sure you are clear why you are doing something and assess if it is going to deliver the right return on your investment.

Stay focused on what your customers are saying and what will yield the greatest return.

Technology implementation can be a never ending pit you throw money into, something that my father used to say about owning a luxury boat. If you are building your site for the shear ego of having a beautiful site with all kinds of creative features and functionality, have at it and of course we love to work with entrepreneurs with big ideas. However, like any relationship and any good investment a long term strategy is often much more practical. Our consulting customers get good advice about products and services that can grow their business or allow them to continue to get value from their investments. I have seen folks to often go for a quick sell and end up with dysfunctional customer relationships that ultimately cost more than the profit you made in the first place. Ask yourself many questions including "Is what I am doing today going to matter a year from now"? If you ask the right questions up front this can help you get the most out of your initiatives.

Technology is a moving target

One of the many reasons we got behind the Joomla CMS project as a core competency was because it was open source which offered freedom and scalable options for solving the greatest amount of business problems.  We took the gamble from the trends in the market place that Joomla would continue to grow with features and stability and that the developer community would continue to be attracted to the Joomla framework thus building more confidence in the market place. With a scalable platform that is built on open source code for use was great since we wanted to work with technology that sold itself and that we could support and expand upon it to meet the needs of the types of customers we wanted to attract.  Any kind of dynamic web portal project is a moving target and often needs to change course in mid stream. You have to keep good forward momentum yet listen to the trends in the marketplace so you can sail into the wind effectively. An innovative and scalable open source platform like Joomla is a perfect foundation for meeting this challenge.

But wait there is more...

A couple years ago, after a good year of working with Joomla we were looking for solutions that could actually help us build an all-in-one web based framework for managing our business in a Virtual Office Environment (everything accessible on the web). This is when after trying and implementing several CRM and project management tools ranging from SugarCRM to MS Project to SharePoint we found Info@hand CRBM. This was the perfect platform since it was open source code base and integrated with the Joomla CMS and QuickBooks. Now after 3 years of connecting the dots we have a powerful web infrastructure with "Complete transaction life cycle management" and "Customer Relationship Business Management". Very very very cool platform... we love it and so do many of the customers we have introduced to it. Though this system is also wired up with the DimDim.com conferencing and collaboration suite it also fills many gaps in client customer collaboration. These types of regular new innovations continue to add low cost of entry tools and value to the small business.

Sounds complicated but it is also very simple if you have time as your friend

What we have learned as "early adopters" is that there is much more to it than the technology if you are going to be successful. Complex Joomla Integrations are getting simpler as this platform evolves. The old carpenters saying get the right tool for the right job is very good advice.  Since there are so many tools now in our toolbox and we fully understand how they all can work together I know I can start talking about it and it does not take long to get that "deer in the headlights look" from a prospect. The trick here is making sure we establish a clear roadmap and strategy for implementing technologies that will bring the greatest reward to your business and value to our customers. This takes time and effort to get it right and should be done early on in your process.

Common Mistake #2

Just because you have the technology does not mean you should implement it.

The second most challenging aspect of implementing a complicated project is the thought process of "let's do it all at once".  I have often had clients that want to load up their sites with a ton of components and then they want to throw these new features out to their customers or workforce all at once. Well this is a huge horse pill that never gets swallowed. Hate to say it but until recently I have been guilty of this myself. There is a fine line between "Build it and they will come" and "Here take a bite and let me know if you like it".

Remember this is all about relationship management

I remember back in my days of dating that it only takes one or two words to "turn off" and scare someone away. Essentially this is a similar process we go through for attracting customers. While you want to make sure what you are presenting is honest and has substance you do not want to overload, overwhelm folks with more information than they are particularly interested in at the moment. You also want to put out information and web tools in a way that they want to have them presented. As in listen well and be a good conversationalist. Such is the case even more now with the Social Technology boon. I used to say "it is not hard to fall in love since people are impulsive by nature but the real challenge is falling in love with the right one". The same is true with technology. It can be easy to get excited about some new features and want to add them right away to your site just because they are cooler than the site next door. However,  every time you push something new out it may distract or turn off your customers.

In relationships of any kind they are best nurtured over time. Deploying technology is a complex multi dimensional relationship. Moving too fast has greater risk of failure for everyone involved. You actually have several relationships and processes that need careful consideration over time:

• Solutions: Customer Needs - Business Process Need - Technology Implementation
• Relationships: Vendor Teams - Client Teams - Customers

In Conclusion work smarter with a good plan

Plan carefully and gather the right information about your customers and how technology can get you the best results as it relates to your business strategy. Make sure you deploy solutions over time with good the right vendors and the right customers. These systems have enough complexity that you have to really keep your eye on the ball or you can and will often times fail. None of us want to waste time or money and the wrong decision in this economy could cost you business. Before you travel anywhere it is a good idea to get directions, a map or invest in a GPS. Why would you not want to invest in good quality consulting to help guide you along the path of implementing technology?

 

Value Builder Methodology

We have since built consulting practices to address these two common mistakes folks make with complex technology implementations. Yea sure we have to be geeks and able to wire all this stuff up and yes we do this well but the trick to getting value out of your technology is much more that the groovy tools we can dish out.  With a few exceptions, most of the technology these days is all ready built and what that means is there is a greater need for configuration and being able to map the humans with the technology in a way that will allow you to stay focused on your priorities. Just start asking yourself questions like: What actions will give the best long term results? What will put out the fires of tomorrow before they start? How can I make this profitable to my company and add unique benefits to my customers?This should help get you on the right path.

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The following is a press release that goes out today and tomorrow. We are excited about this program since it helps us give our new CRM customers (Small Businesses) an easy low risk point of entry. It will also help us demonstrate our value, expertise and better understand where we can help our customers the most. The Launch pad program will provide in-depth information for a small upfront investment that can save customers a significant amount of money. The program begins with evaluation and works through to a rapid deployment process based on CNP's  needs alignment process and value building methodology. Customers can either avoid purchasing the wrong technologies or failures from deploying infrastructures and new processes without clear focus on value to the organization.

We are looking forward to your questions and discussion as we continue to build success stories for growing small businesses.

Small Business launch pad program for CRBM Platform offers substance to the Value Equation

Boston MA, July 20th

CNP Integrations announced today the introduction of its new Small Business CRBM Launch Pad Program. This service and consulting support bundle is built off of CNP's proven success model; The Value Builder Program (VBP), a strategic, tailored planning methodology for businesses integrating virtual technology, designed with proven practices for success. "Setting your priorities and focus up front will help you better manage the results and expectations of your technology implementations" says Chris Nielsen CEO/General Manager for CNP Integrations. The CRBM Launch Pad program is based on the concept that significant cost savings and increased sales, along with improved customer and market relations, equate to greater profits and business value. Defined as the SMB CRBM Launch Pad Program, CNP is offering blended learning/consulting/technical support programs that include consulting, software solutions and training. These programs are designed to offer small businesses a cost effective way to deploy CRBM Technologies. By evaluating and mapping business processes with organizational needs and technology features to create an optimized deployment strategy provides an opportunity for guaranteed success.

The program comes in three distinct flavors;

1.     The CRBM Kick Start System,

2.     The CRBM Jump Start System

3.     The CRBM Rapid Deployment System.

Each of the three targeted technology alignment tracks is a tiered point of entry tailored to the needs of businesses eager to see rapid results with deploying Customer Relationship and Business Management solutions. This program pairs the human dynamics of your small business with the priority requirements to get your set up, configured and aligned with a proven success program. These programs can be delivered succinctly in a phased approach or as a standalone deployment launch program. It all depends on the size and expertise within your company. "We have found that CRM systems in general are often complicated in nature and companies often try to take on to much all at once when they deploy CRM. Essentially we have taken these lessons learned and turned them in to affordable solutions for business owners. We offer what SMB's need to launch a turnkey program that aligns the people with the technology successfully at a price point that maximizes their investment."

The Launch Pad Program is three unique deployment packages built around CNP's unique Value Builder Methodology. The VBM is a series discovery steps delivered in one-on-one workshops where clients and subject matter experts translate a proven methodology into a plan specific for the client's needs. The main goal is to build value and improve the return on investment for the targeted technologies. The strategic planning process will address an integrated approach including management consulting, IT solutions, product training and support services. Value Builder Program is a structured approach that will take your team through an in-depth evaluation and strategic planning process to define a solid roadmap. This is a hands on consulting experience tailored to a business's specific needs and goals which provides a working integrations plan. Based on this roadmap CNP configures a custom support contract based on your CRBM platform design, and offers this on a low cost monthly retainer fee vs. large upfront costs.

Download a brochure and other information at: http://consulting.cnpintegrations.com

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Short answer: Adoption

The graphic below is an example of a 5 step process used for implementing new technology. Some venders or consultants have variations on the process but for the most part this is a good guide. Missing or bypassing a step can seriously impact your success or utilization capabilities of your CRM system.

 

Training, strategy and proper implementation are key.

We have found the biggest gaps for companies implementing new complex technologies are between having a clear vision, strategy, mapped processes and how the humans are trained to integrate with the technical aspects of the applications. For example; most folks use a fraction of the features when they purchase MS Office products or other applications. They buy them for a couple very targeted capabilities. One user may use any of the suite of tools more than another such as excel, PPT or word and some may need to use them all. Most will have a few specific tasks they need to perform over and over again. However, the one time you need that advanced feature/capability... I know I get really frustrated if the right tool was not there when I need it. I also better be able to find someone who can help or some training or other online resource to help me find this feature/tool and turn it on without wasting a ton of time or it often defeats the purpose of having the tool available in the first place.

Sorting out what your users are going to need up front, setting a clear roadmap and providing the support they need over time is monumental to the success of implementing CRM solutions or any complex technology for that matter.

This seems like a double edged sword...

CRM systems are usually designed with tons of features because they are required to associate a lot of complex relationships between different types of data and information profiles. The reality is in order for any good CRM system to be financially feasible to develop it has to be versatile and adaptable since every business model and implementation is unique. Face it, these systems are just complicated in nature and it is very challenging to offer a custom business system that meets every process spec with the functionality required under the hood and a simplified user experience for non technical folks.

One of the other challenges we have found with any complex software application is that when the next batch of new features are released, often, with the new features comes a few bugs. With this comes frustration, which stirs emotions, thus making it harder sometimes for end users to get excited about the new processes or the software.

CRM is complicated by design... so is your business

Most businesses are like a complex web if information and resource associations that are then departmentalized to groups of folks performing roles in the organization. The systems have to be complex to accommodate this. It is often hard to find the right implementers that have the technical savvy to understand the complexity of the CRM systems under the hood as well as the overall required business processes this is intended to support. What this means is that not only is the software configuration different for every customer but the process in which it is deployed is also unique to the culture, participating talent and size of the organization.

Who is involved in getting this done?

I think another challenging issue may be that often folks in sales and decision makers are not in tune with specifically what the end user will need to work more efficiently. When you have a lot of people accustom to their own existing systems and processes it can be hard to get them to adopt the new systems and processes. They need to be convinced this is going to be a better process and make their job easier. This is one key reason why CRM has to be brought into any company both from the top down and the bottom up. It is also very important to maintain open dialog and flexibility across the organization so you can adapt appropriately to changing conditions.

Set your priorities, strategy first and map it... to your technology and with your people

What we found here at CNP integrations was that if we start at the first pain point which is the decision making process, we can help organizations implementing complex technologies with a proven method for getting the most out of their investment. We do this by asking the right questions up front and setting a clear roadmap for success.

I know when folks think of "consulting" they think expensive and it is the first thing they want to cut out of the budget but by far the costs of implementing CRM wrong or picking the wrong technologies to support your needs will far surpass any upfront investment in consulting or follow on training and project alignment support.

Check out our Value Builder Program and Small Business Success programs for more information about our methodology and associated services.

3 New programs to help small businesses grow and prosper http://bit.ly/tB9Md

You can also participate in our online video podcasts (Starting in mid July) where we bring experts together to discuss many key topics related to successful technology deployment and trends with Social CRM. http://webinars.learningcrm.com

Visit the new video podcast home page: http://www.cnpintegrations.com/technology/business-solutions/socail-crm-video-podcasts/

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