Many managements rightly question what all too often seems like the bottomless pit of informational technology expense dedicated to CRM, or customer relationship management. It seems many CRM projects start with a bang and afterwards sputter and fail. Then the CRM champions fly in and out of organizations with a tenure even less than the 2.5 years now common for senior management.
This very often is short-sighted and unfortunate.
That is because for most large companies with a large product set, face-to-face, call center, and internet delivery, CRM is the key to creating an outstanding customer service and multi-product delivery experience – especially when that company is managed primarily in product-based silos, each with its own P&L.
Fred Turner, the creator of the modern McDonald’s, used to say that his product was not any individual menu item but “QSCV” – quality, service, cleanliness, and value. That is the principle of the brand Experience in action.
CRM is the enabler of QSCV for financial services companies. At its best it creates one great, positive moment of truth experience after another for customers. And companies who pursue it diligently reap the rewards. Fidelity Investments paid out its substantial initial 3-year CRM investment within a year and a half of being operational. And it now reaps a substantial annuity per year because of it.
The key is understanding that the people and process changes must move in lock-step with the development of technology. These proceed from design, to pilot, to gradual roll-out, each with its own course correction.
Did I point out that one happy by-product of a robust CRM system is a greatly enhanced ability to measure revenue, actual per customer costs, the sales funnel, and marketing program success?
Success in financial services comes from providing a great customer service delivery experience. CRM is the key to making that experience great, especially in a multi-product environment.
