Where Are CRM Managers Going Wrong?
CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management”, so why is so much CRM focused on short-term revenue increase? Krzysztof Szymanski, CRM lead for global tour providers GetYourGuide, thinks CRM managers are getting things wrong by treating customer relations as short-term flings rather than long-term relationships.
Relationship building requires data, creativity, and consistent brand vision and voice. Today’s CRM managers have unparalleled access to customer data, however, by not prioritizing creative data activation as part of a consistent long-term brand vision they aren’t retaining their customers as well as they could be.
“In CRM, you should go as far from ‘average’ as possible”
Good data just isn’t enough. Take a large customer pool, use your business intelligence to calculate an average response time, and engineer a campaign that utilizes that: Your campaign will miss the mark for many customers on either side of the average, creating negative moments that those customers will remember. Shoot for an average in timing, channel, and content, and your messages will come too early, too late, or won’t make sense in some other respect, drastically affecting response rates for future engagements.
The goal of CRM is to approach each and every customer in a way that feels natural and that makes them eager and ready for the next communication. That involves attention to detail, meaning holistic customer profiles, creative approaches that aren’t simply short-term revenue-drives, and a consistent brand vision so that customers always feel that they know who’s talking to them.
“Every business should have a unique CRM strategy”
Tech is not the enabler of great CRM, it is the enabler of great CRM strategy. Krzysztof Szymanski explains why the right tech is important, but why no CRM manager should switch their creative mind off when using it.