Exact Online
CRM IN
THE CLOUD
The New Selling
www.exactonline.co.uk
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
01 Management summary
5
02 The importance of CRM
6
03 CRM in everyday practice
8
04 CRM and the sales process
10
05 The sales pipeline and results
12
06 The Effectiveness of marketing
14
07 CRM success factors
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
INTRODUCTION
The New Selling is becoming increasingly popular, the collective term for a
whole new trend as companies move their Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) into the cloud.
What exactly does that all entail? Why are
people doing it? And what’s the best way to
succeed?
this white paper contains practical info and
detailed explanations for beginners of CRM in
relation to The New Selling.
Whether you’re in the process of selecting
a CRM package, already rolling 1 out, or just
think you should find out more about it,
If you still have any questions or would like
to find out more, just get in touch with the
experts at Exact.
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
CRM IN THE CLOUD
5
01
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
What does CRM stand for?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship
Management. It helps you to maintain a good
relationship with your customers more easily.
Giving you a better chance of contacting them
at the right time with all the info you need
to make your pitch. As you probably already
know, that’s easier said than done. Good
CRM, an effective CRM system and a new way
of dealing with customers can make all the
difference.
Introducing The New Selling
So what is The New Selling all about? Well, it
simply comes down to 2 simple facts:
1. Customers have an ever-decreasing
amount of time for face-to-face
appointments with sales reps.
2. All the info they are likely to need is often
a click or 2 away on the Internet.
In short, online is taking the place of in-person.
How do we respond?
Depending on the type of product and the
sector, this new way of selling typically
develops by:
-- undertaking more business online and via
social media.
-- reflecting this in mobile-focused
communications.
-- linking sales to a CRM system.
The impact of CRM on sales roles
So what does CRM actually mean in everyday
practice for the various roles in sales?
-- It offers sales staff access to customer info.
-- It provides managers with clear insights into
the results and developments taking place in
the sales field.
The importance of insight into customers
CRM puts customer relationships onto centre
stage. In collecting as much info about
customers, agreements, products and services
as possible, CRM helps companies know their
customers better and respond to their needs
more effectively.
Defining the sales process
A clear sales process will deliver greater
efficiency and enhance returns. So before you
start working with CRM software, it’s a good
idea to define the context in which it will sit:
-- the different steps of the sales process.
-- the people responsible for them.
-- how the end result, turnover and profit are
all measured.
Setting up a CRM system in the cloud
Collecting, segmenting and storing CRM
data is increasingly being done in the cloud.
That means the software is online, secure, and
accessible from anywhere, rather than being
physically installed and maintained locally.
Besides being flexible and cost-efficient, the
cloud offers far-reaching benefits to a saledriven organisation.
Online marketing, analysis and success
factors
Finally, this white paper will provide an insight
into the way online marketing, analysis and
success factors influence the implementation
and use of CRM software.
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
02
THE IMPORTANCE
OF CRM
Nowadays, the Internet and ever better hardware and software provide instant
access to vast amounts of info – info that can be looked up and used at any
time, from anywhere. CRM can harness this power to control your customer
data.
2.1 CUSTOMER CONTACT AND
CRM
2.3 FROM SPREADSHEETS TO
CRM
Despite the exponential rise of digital media
and communications, it’s still important to
meet customers face to face as we cruise
down the information superhighway. It’s also
crucial that this contact occurs at the right
time, with the right info to hand.
For some strange reason, many companies
continue to attach a great deal of importance
to spreadsheets. Yet using a spreadsheet
program such as Microsoft Excel to share and
process customer info with colleagues is far
from ideal. Mistakes are copied, updates are
missed, latest versions are lost…
At the same time, CRM in the cloud makes
it a breeze to save data in a structured and
straightforward way for use in sales and
marketing.
2.2 THE CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIP TAKES
CENTRE STAGE
CRM puts customer relationships onto centre
stage. In collecting as much info about
customers, agreements, products and services
as possible, CRM helps companies know their
customers better and respond to their needs
more effectively.
2.4 WHICH CRM SOFTWARE
WORKS FOR YOU?
CRM software come in any number of shapes
and sizes. Choosing the 1 most suitable for
your company will depend on a number of
factors:
-- The size of your organisation.
-- The number of customers.
-- The complexity of your products and/or
services.
-- The sector in which you operate.
-- The features you require.
CRM IN THE CLOUD
2.5 THE BENEFITS OF CRM IN
THE CLOUD
Cost-efficient
With software in the cloud, there is no longer
any need to install or maintain it on your
premises. No big upfront investment in new
software or hardware is required. In fact,
there’s no need to run your own servers
anymore. You just pay a fixed monthly fee.
That’s all there is to it.
More mobile
Thanks to the cloud, info is becoming
increasingly mobile. Everyone has instant
access to the same data from anywhere
and in realtime, from Macs and PCs as
well as smartphones, tablets and laptops.
That offers obvious benefits to people like
sales representatives, who spend a lot of
time either on the way to or on the premises
of their customers (and even sometimes in
restaurants).
Fast and flexible
Customer relationship managers, project
managers and service engineers also
increasingly need remote access to key info
while travelling, on site or even from home.
The cloud allows them to act more quickly and
work more flexibly, without having to hunt
down the latest version and then remember to
back it up.
Connected business
By integrating financial and project/logistics
systems into the cloud alongside your CRM,
you’ll seamlessly connect all operational
processes. That opens a world of benefits, such
as centralising data so that info only needs to
be entered once.
Improved productivity, better results
CRM supports employees in their day-today work, helping them to work smarter
and offer a better service to customers.
That can significantly raise levels of customer
satisfaction, which more often than not will be
shown in your sales figures – not to mention
your bonus.
EXAMPLES OF CRM APPLICATIONS
A good CRM system will play an invaluable part in any customer-centric approach. The benefits
reach across every aspect of your business to streamline your process, improve efficiency, and save
you time and money (and probably a lot of headaches too).
-------
Gain instant access to customer contact info.
Document contact reports and agreements directly onto your system.
Record quotes and ensure they are followed up on time.
Gain insight into historic sales data.
Analyse turnover by market segment.
Forecast future turnover more accurately.
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
03
CRM IN EVERYDAY
PRACTICE
Sales opportunity > Quote > Project > Invoice > Finance
In today’s dynamic 24-hour economy, more info is available than ever before.
Managing and using data in the right way provides you with a competitive
edge, helps you to quickly adapt to the changing dynamics of the market and
leave the competition behind.
3.1 THE NEW SELLING
So what’s this The New Selling all about? Well,
it simply comes down to 2 simple facts:
1. Customers have an ever-decreasing
amount of time for face-to-face
appointments with sales reps.
2. All the info they are likely to need is often
a click or 2 away on the Internet.
In short, online is taking the place of in-person.
How do we respond?
Depending on the type of product and the
sector, a new way of selling typically develops
by:
-- undertaking more business online and via
social media.
-- reflecting this in mobile-focused
communications.
-- linking sales to a CRM system.
3.2 PUT THE WIND IN YOUR
SALES
USE LINKEDIN FOR ACQUISITION
LinkedIn can really help with your acquisition. Company profiles generally list employee
names and their roles. You’ll often find the person you want to get in touch with is 1 of
your 2nd or 3rd line contacts. By asking your 1st line contact to formally introduce you,
you quickly and easily create a warm lead.
Social media are great tools for your sales
reps. Take cold acquisition, for example.
You can waste a lot of hours or even days
ringing contacts or visiting them, mainly
because you never know whether they need
your product at that particular time – if ever.
But what if your website receives a number
of hits from visitors, directed there from an
online advertisement, or say a Tweet that
got their attention or a blog that raised their
interest? By definition, these visitors may well
be interested in what you have to offer right
now – and you haven’t even had to pick up a
phone.
Knowing how to use social media can help
to generate a lot more warm contacts than
not so good old-fashioned cold calling, in the
same amount of time. In short, it represents a
different way of selling. The New Selling.
3.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF CRM
AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The Internet is becoming an increasingly
valuable tool for identifying and interacting
with prospects and customers. When it comes
to social media, your online visitors will
largely determine the content of your posts,
Tweets, blogs and updates, as well as strongly
influencing whatever happens to be trending
at any given time.
The benefits of CRM in social media:
-- Modern CRM systems incorporate social
media platforms, so you can stay up to the
minute with customers via their profiles,
Tweets, status and other public online
activity.
-- Social media platforms are not only up-todate but also easily shared. That makes
CRM IN THE CLOUD
them extremely useful in reaching niche
markets, as well as getting feedback from
customers on products and services at
minimal cost.
-- In turn, the info CRM helps you obtain can
make a valuable contribution to improving
your processes, products, and services - and
ultimately increasing your turnover.
3.4 IT’S TIME FOR INTEGRATED
BUSINESS SOFTWARE
Companies that grow to a certain size will
generally require financial and/or Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software. This will
incorporate any or all of the accounting,
invoicing, project management, logistics and
manufacturing processes in addition to your
CRM.
As part of an integrated ERP system, CRM
lets you:
-- enter customer data just the once, avoiding
mistakes and duplication.
-- instantly apply data to sales activities.
-- generate a quote as soon as a sales
opportunity has been entered.
-- automatically change quotes into an order
or project.
-- view project, logistics and financial data,
such as outstanding items, on the customer
card.
-- build a complete picture of the customer.
-- integrate CRM with word processing,
spreadsheets and email.
-- link to cloud services such as Office365 and
Google apps for smarter sharing of sales
info, anytime, anywhere.
-- reduce IT costs with less hardware, fewer
licences and reduced management.
-- spot pain points and take action more
quickly and flexibly.
-- increase efficiency through time savings.
3.5 IMPROVE YOUR SALES
SUPPORT
When dealing with customers, office sales
staff need fast access to the right info, such
as details about a previous order or price
agreements. CRM software can provide
everything they need to know – instantly.
CRM software lets sales staff:
-- register quotes automatically containing
customer references and internal serial
numbers.
-- provide up-to-date overviews
of outstanding quotes for sales.
representatives, with date and time of
follow-up.
-- enter contact reports into the central
system quickly and easily.
-- pass on follow-up steps to the sales
representatives - and vice versa.
3.6 GET RELIABLE MANAGEMENT
INFO
Sales manager and directors need a
comprehensive overview of the entire
organisation, from the number of orders likely
to be received in the coming period to the
overall status of the company.
CRM software provides this insight to let
management:
-- gain holistic insight of the entire business.
-- spot problems and take corrective action
sooner.
-- quickly identify trends in customer activity
and turnover.
-- improve sales through insight into customer
sales behaviour.
Examples of insights from CRM data analysis:
-- Sales activities per type of customer.
-- Sector trends.
-- Size or number of employees.
CRM data analysis lets you:
-- use relevant info to support sales, make
better decisions etc.
-- combine data fields with segmentation or
classification variables.
-- sort relationships on the basis of type, size,
sector, sub-sector, region etc.
-- generate relevant contacts on the basis of
historic sales transactions – ideal for crossselling and upselling.
-- make faster decisions based on realtime info
and reports.
3.7 TURNING RAW DATA INTO
USEFUL INFO
The more complete and accurate customer
info a CRM system contains, the better.
Theoretically speaking, there is a difference
between data (i.e. the data you enter into your
system) and information. Info is a product of
data that has been compiled, compared and
processed over time to identify useful insights
such as trends and opportunities.
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DID YOU KNOW
As of 2013 1 million new Twitter accounts are
created every day? LinkedIn has over 225 million
members worldwide?
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
04
CRM AND THE
SALES PROCESS
A well-defined sales process will help you to manage your workflow and lay
the foundation for an effective CRM system. Just like any other aspect of your
business operations, sales can be divided into a number of phases. You’re
undoubtedly well aware of this, but let’s go over the basics just in case.
CRM IN THE CLOUD
Advantages of dividing your sales process
into phases:
-- The working method becomes clear to
everyone.
-- The process becomes transparent and
measurable.
-- Sales can be streamlined and efficiency
improved.
-- Turnover can be increased.
4.1 THE 3 MAIN PHASES IN THE
SALES PROCESS
Phase 1 | From marketing to sales opportunity
Without marketing, there are no sales.
Marketing activities prepare the ground, plant
the idea, and produce this awareness within
the target market.
Phase 2 | From suspect to prospect
A potential customer is referred to as a
suspect. Suspects aren’t necessarily interested
in the company, service or product. After a call
or a meeting you’ll know if there’s interest, in
which case the suspect becomes a prospect.
The New Selling has a clear impact on this
phase, with social media and online tools
helping you to identify prospects more quickly
and easily - by bringing them to you.
Phase 3 | From prospect to customer
Assuming the follow-up goes well, you can
now start working towards producing a quote,
or better still - an order. That’s when the
prospect can be added to your CRM database
as a fully-fledged customer.
Worth noting:
-- Value the customer! It takes far more effort
to win a new customer than retain an
existing 1.
-- Make sure you always meet your customer
commitments.
-- Actively maintain your relationship with the
customer after delivery, not only to make
sure you keep the account but to develop
and grow it too.
-- Consider how you can turn the customer
into an enthusiastic ambassador for your
company. Marketing materials that are more
effective than word-of-mouth referrals have
yet to be invented.
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4.2 HOW TO APPLY THE 3 PHASES
TO CRM
As we’ve just seen, the status of relationships
changes during the sales process from suspect
to prospect to customer.
-- Ensure every relationship is updated to
show the correct status within the process
to accurately segment your CRM database.
This is essential to planning relevant
marketing and sales activities.
-- Try to avoid creating too many sub-phases
on the sales process (e.g. identification of
needs, quote and negotiations) to keep it all
clear, transparent, and manageable.
-- Monitor the sales process regularly to
keep on top of sales opportunities as they
progress through the different phases.
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
05
THE SALES PIPELINE AND RESULTS
Regular analysis of the sales pipeline,
an up-to-date overview of the
activities and developments in a sales
process, provides an accurate picture
of how well a company is doing in
terms of future business. It essentially
works by plotting leads against the
different phases of the sales process,
then measuring their progress
through the pipeline from prospect
to satisfied customer allowing you to
estimate incoming cash flow.
5.1 THE VALUE OF INSIGHT INTO
SALES OPPORTUNITIES
5.2 WHERE CRM IN THE CLOUD
COMES IN
This knowledge is relevant and valuable to
every aspect of the sales process, reaching far
beyond the ability to estimate future earnings.
For example, it can help you to identify weak
points in your sales operation and reduce the
‘leaking’ of customers. It also gives you the
power to:
-- plan follow-up steps more efficiently.
-- gain greater insight into opportunities.
-- serve customers more quickly.
-- understand the competition.
-- monitor the progress of sales processes.
-- steer and coach sales staff more effectively.
-- identify bottlenecks in the sales pipeline.
-- increased chances of success.
-- manage projects more efficiently.
-- estimate workload, production and stock
control more accurately.
A CRM system is an excellent way of gaining
better insight into the sales pipeline. You don’t
need to invest in a heavy, complex CRM
package when a straightforward, more
streamlined CRM in the cloud will do the job
just as well – and in a more flexible, userfriendly and cost-effective way.
Online CRM software will provide you with the
regular, realtime and instant insight you need
into:
-- turnover per period.
-- the sales pipeline.
-- sales estimates.
-- quotes.
At a later stage you can refine or extend the
info you want. Just bear in mind that to make
the most of a CRM system, you want to focus
on the most relevant info such as:
-- results per member of the sales team.
-- results per sector/subsector.
-- results per source or campaign.
-- orders won and lost.
-- reasons why orders were lost.
-- competition analysis.
-- most successful products or services.
In short, cloud-based CRM gives you all the
info you need to define, refine and make the
most of your sales process.
CRM IN THE CLOUD
5.3 RETURN AND RELEVANCE
5.4 SEGMENTATION OF DATA
These new levels of knowledge can empower
a company to take highly targeted action at
any point in the sales pipeline and improve
conversion ratios.
For optimal impact, CRM info should be
structured in such a way as to be easy to
find – and easy to view. This can be done by
categorising data by customer, salesperson
or sales opportunity, for example.
Identify needs
Quote
100,000
80,000
60,000
Segment by salesperson: sort sales info by
customer relationship manager. It can also be
useful to subdivide by sector or by size.
40,000
Negotiations
20,000
Negotiations
Quote
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Identify need
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Segment by sales opportunity: depends on
the sector in which you operate. A professional
services provider may want to classify sales
opportunities by type of project or service,
while a wholesale distributor might classify by
product group.
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Consequences of these improvements:
-- More sales staff successfully completing a
greater number of sales.
-- Greater insight into the tools required to
help sales staff succeed.
-- Sales staff and management working
together towards the same, clear goal: the
optimisation of sales results.
-- Improved sales results that are also
measurable, providing a set of metrics to
help optimise them even further.
Segment by customer: classify customers by
size to help sales staff to identify the accounts
that require most attention.
Au
Ways to improve the conversion ratio include:
-- adopting an alternative sales strategy.
-- improving specific skills of sales staff (e.g.
opening a dialogue, closing a sale).
-- changing the product and/or service
portfolio.
-- improving products or services.
Visualise it
Presenting sales info in a more graphic
format also makes it easier to understand
quickly. So CRM in the cloud will usually
have a sales dashboard that allows everyone
to see key business info at a glance.
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CRM IN THE CLOUD
06
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING
We’ve already touched upon the role
of marketing in generating new leads.
Social media in particular can drive
significant numbers to your website
to look at specifications, watch
demos, ask questions and submit
requests – and create contacts.
6.1 THE ROLE OF CRM IN YOUR
MARKETING
CRM can be effectively used to support
marketing campaigns in a number of ways:
-- Segmenting customers into distinct
categories helps to market the right
products and services to the right people.
-- Linking your CRM software to an existing
email database (e.g. from the Chamber of
Commerce) makes it extremely fast to enter
customer email addresses and ensure your
database remains up-to-date.
-- By entering activities, documents and
contact lists into the CRM system per
campaign, you can produce a cold calling
list for several contacts at a time.
6.2 WHY USE EMAIL MARKETING?
Email marketing has become the most
frequent form of direct marketing, allowing
companies to send highly targeted messages
quickly and cost-effectively.
Things to bear in mind:
-- Make sure your mailing list is accurate and
up-to-date.
-- Ensure recipients have given their
permission.
-- Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe.
-- Actively manage your email campaigns
using online software like MailChimp
(www.mailchimp.com), which shows the
number of emails that are read and opened,
helping you to optimise future campaigns.
Linking CRM and email marketing
Integrating email marketing management
into your CRM will allow the 2 systems to
automatically exchange customer data and
campaign results. This provides you with
a clear overview and goes a long way in
preventing double entries.
CRM and e-commerce
In addition to marketing activities, an
increasing number of companies are using
e-commerce to collect leads. Linking
e-commerce to your CRM system leads to
the ideal scenario of customer and sales data
being directly entered into the system by the
customers themselves.
6.3 MEASURING THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR
MARKETING
How do you know which lead comes in via
which channel? When dealing with different
marketing campaigns across a range of
channels, each requiring a certain level of
investment, it pays to know which is the most
effective method of attracting new customers.
A CRM system gives you that info by plotting
orders received against the original source of
the first contact.
CRM IN THE CLOUD
07
CRM SUCCESS FACTORS
Successfully implementing CRM in the cloud relies first and foremost on solid
preparation. Involving your employees plays an important role: after all,
they’re the ones who will be using it every day.
7.1SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTING YOUR CRM
7.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA
QUALITY
-- Remember: the customer is key.
-- Keep your strategy clear.
-- Focus strategy on customer satisfaction,
loyalty and retention.
-- Encourage management to support and
promote the implementation as much as
possible (among other things, by making
sure the people who need to get involved
are free to do so).
-- Implement the rollout in phases.
-- Use a step-by-step plan to divide and
manage tasks.
-- Involve customers in the process wherever
possible to ensure a smooth transition for
everyone.
Keeping data up to date, accurate and clean is
a challenge even when it comes from a single
source, never mind several different ones.
Speed of access to the right decision makers
can make or break success in sales, so always
bear in mind the following:
-- Accurate entry and proper maintenance of
data on customers is vitally important.
-- Data should be processed on a daily basis to
prevent the workload piling up and the CRM
system used less effectively – or not at all.
-- Input and maintenance of variables for
optional fields such as sales staff, phases,
classifications, categories, etc. should be
managed by 1 person to safeguard quality.
-- There’s nowhere for incomplete or incorrect
data to hide in a CRM system. Keep it
(automatically) corrected so customer info
remains up-to-date.
7.3 AND FINALLY…
A good CRM system offers business-wide
benefits. It makes it easy to put the customer
at the heart of your operations. Lets you
connect your different operations for seamless
oversight. And by moving sales data to the
cloud, provides secure access anytime,
anywhere, from any Internet-enabled device
mobile.
But like any process of change, CRM shouldn’t
be rushed into and needs to be widely
supported within the company.
Be careful not to lose sight of your CRM goals:
to offer the best customer service possible,
maximise customer satisfaction, and increase
sales.
In the case of sales you could say that,
The New Selling or not, the buck still stops
with good sales staff - and always will.
But with an efficient CRM system in the cloud,
you can can add impact to your marketing,
identify and categorise leads more quickly,
and ultimately increase your sales. And who’s
going to argue with that?
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