The service provider* is struggling to acquire new customers and retain existing ones. Customers are becoming ever more price-sensitive, and the added value of the existing services is being perceived less and less. There has been no investment in IT for years, and numerous CRM activities have to be carried out manually, so that only a few are implemented and their contribution to success is very small.
In collaboration with CustomersX®, a CRM concept for a service provider was to be created.
Customer Value-based Decision Making
Customer-centric Transformation
Co-Creation
Customer Management
The service provider had tried to create a CRM concept on its own. Because of limited internal resources, a lack of competencies and the high requirements, we were asked to support the creation of a CRM concept for a service provider. Based on our CRM consulting offering, we created a three-stage workshop series to enable those responsible to make an optimal decision as efficiently as possible.
In the first workshop
the existing CRM concept for the service provider was put through its paces. It quickly became apparent that no goals had been defined for customer retention and customer growth. Comprehensive personas had been developed, but, as is usually the case, they were geared towards customer acquisition. So the first workshop focused on the central topics of customer retention and customer growth. It was clear that, until then, these two important aspects of profit growth had been considered far too rarely within the company. The existing CRM concept for the service provider was then revised and handed over to those responsible for further work.
In the second workshop
the data structure, usage requirements and existing surrounding systems were addressed. Here, those responsible were surprised at how many data fields were actually already available within the company. It also became clear that, in IT, too much attention had been paid to in-house development and too little to APIs. The result was an existing infrastructure with very high licence costs and individual systems that were not connected to one another. The core question of the workshop was whether to introduce a CRM system, a marketing-automation system or a combination of both. This question could be answered through a detailed presentation of the requirements catalogue: it turned out that both a CRM system and a marketing-automation system were needed.
In the third workshop
several applications were presented to those responsible. CustomersX is an independent CRM consultancy and supports all common CRM and marketing-automation systems. Despite the large number of systems, the vendor landscape now separates into four groups. (1) Full-service providers, which cover CRM and marketing automation with two systems — characterised by a large range of functions and high implementation and operating costs. (2) Focused value providers, which cover either CRM or marketing automation — the range of functions is somewhat more limited, but the costs are more than 50% lower. (3) 'Funky freddies,' mostly from India, offering an extreme range of functions at very low cost — but the company needs strong IT and CRM competencies to operate them successfully. (4) 'Happen to be there,' comprising 90% of systems that somehow also cover the basic functions but come either with a very expensive licence model or with severe restrictions in use or range of functions. Here, data protection via servers in Germany or Switzerland is often cited.
In the end, it was decided to select a basic CRM system and a marketing-automation system from the 'focused value provider' group. This still allowed, for example, the printing of mail-merge letters, as well as the implementation of more complex automations to improve customer value.
In summary
Based on our DTC approach, the existing weaknesses within the company were finally analysed and a learning system was recommended. None of the employees had much CRM competency. It was recommended that each employee take on a topic area and that internal training be held on a two-week cycle. It always surprises our clients that we are not convinced external consultants should be used to further develop a CRM concept for a service provider. The successful operation of a CRM/marketing-automation system requires extensive internal resources, so that the many data-acquisition and system possibilities are actually used to increase customer value. Today, the focus of CRM must be not on optimal implementation but on continuous further development.
*We take confidentiality towards our clients seriously. The name has been changed; the results are real.
Use automation and valuable data to create more value for your customers and your business.
