CRM Software Ireland

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has a history of being complicated and too expensive for SMEs. However, the falling cost and strong business case for CRM means that an increasing number of small and medium sized enterprises are implementing the software to improve their focus on their customers.

CRM is a suite of applications which allows companies to enhance their relationship with their customers. At its most basic level, it involves a single database to track customers' names, addresses and contact history.

The contact history will allow anybody in the organisation who has access to the database to know the precise details of when the customer was last contacted by phone, e-mail or by mass mailing. But CRM involves a shift in mentality, as well as a software implementation.

"CRM is not just a product, it's a whole way of thinking, you can't just tag it onto financial software or forecasting software," said Glynis Elrington, sales director at Sage Ireland.

"CRM is largely a question of looking after customers."

In smaller companies, where it's easier to track customers and orders, an entry-level CRM packages such as Sage's ACT are sufficient for the company's needs. But as the company expands and more than one person has customer contract, the need for systematic customer tracking becomes critical.

"Everybody has had an experience of dealing with a large company, being passed from department to department, just while trying to find a claim number," said Elrington. Even relatively small enterprises need a CRM system that integrates the customer's contact details with their order and payment history. Maintaining a good relationship with the customer is important not just for current orders, but also for future business.

"The cost of customer retention is lower than the cost of customer acquisition," said Fergus Gloster, vice president of Salesforce.com "If I sell you a product and you like it and I look after you then you'll come back for more, but if you haven't bought it, then it costs more to convince you to buy it.

The most basic CRM implementation - which makes sales and marketing more efficient, provides a better service to customers and creates more targeted marketing campaigns - can quickly justify the investment in a CRM system. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce implemented a Siebel CRM system two years ago in an attempt to solve the problem of customer retention.

In mid-January it announced that it had recouped its CRM investment in less than two years. The system was implemented to track the 1,500 businesses that are members of the organisation.

Previously it had experienced problems tracking subscriptions and had a high turnover of members. This problem was compounded by the fact that the Chamber of Commerce wasn't able to provide its members with targeted information on the kind of issues that interested them - such as training courses, events and international business opportunities.

By implementing Siebel, the Chamber of Commerce reduced its membership attrition by one-third over a 12-month period and increased its annual revenues by €100,000. Once a CRM system is in place, it can also be used to forecast future demand and trends. The current orders in the system give a sense of existing customer demand.

Sales contacts, leads, prospective sales and orders in the pipeline indicate what customers are likely to demand in the near future. Notes on conversations with customers, gathered informally or at trade fairs, can give a sense of what the customers would like to see in the medium and long term.

Fergus Gloster, vice president of Salesforce.com says that this kind of information, which formerly was typically held on an informal basis by a couple of individuals in the sales department, can be used to build a picture of the company's future business prospects.

In the past many SMEs were deterred by the cost of CRM. Traditional CRM would have required hardware, software and networking equipment, all of which were prohibitively expensive for small companies. These issues can be avoided if a hosted CRM solution is implemented. The up-front costs are lower and if they system isn't working then the company can simply stop renting it.

According to Salesforce.com's Fergus Gloster, an SME could go for their team edition, which costs €1,050 per annum, or only €17 per user per month. Hosted software is designed for ubiquitous access and can be accessed from a laptop, wireless PDA.

This means that it doesn't have to be synchronised with the data on the network when the mobile workers - such as sales executives or field technicians - return to base. All of the CRM players can provide a generic CRM product.

These products include templates or best practice methods to allow the client to develop a system that it matched to each company. However, in some situations there is a strong business case for going with a vendor who specialises in a particular area of CRM.

Property and financial services is one such area. Ireland has thousands of estate agents, auctioneers and insurance brokers, many of whom combine these activities under one roof. At the same time, most of these businesses are small operations, run by a principal who has to maintain a business relationship with the people in their locality. Broker CRM is a new CRM product that has been developed in Ireland and is being promoted to auctioneers and insurance brokers throughout the country.

The property business is unique to each client, each of whom has a different housing requirement and a different budget. The agents needs to be able to keep the customer's details on file, so that they can contact the customer if a suitable property comes onto the market. People who are looking for a house are also often looking for life and house insurance. In some cases the agent won't manage to sell a particular house, but will make an insurance sale. Philip O'Reilly, managing director of BrokerCRM, makes the point that insurance is a much more regulated industry than property. Insurance has to be sold using a particular process, in compliance with particular IFSRA regulations.

The three modules of BrokerCRM blend property and insurance business lines, so that the agent always has the information they need to help their customers.

A new innovation at BrokerCRM is the development of an integrated mortgage system with the Educational Building Society (EBS),which can provide approval to potential customers in just a few hours. "Mortgage customers who have a one year fixed-rate need just a call to renegotiate their mortgage in twelve months time," said O'Reilly. "People's life insurance may no longer be adequate for their needs and if their own agent doesn't look after them then somebody else will."