An obvious example of this is the selling process itself. The sales process includes customer contact and tasks. Making a follow up phone call is both customer contact and a task. They are so intertwined it is impossible to separate one from the other, sales is simply a progression of tasks that turns leads into customers.
What happens post sale is also a mixture of customer contact and tasks. Efficient delivery involves tasks but also customer relationship management. How well every task is executed will impact on your client relationships and your customers will influence the tasks performed by your team. This is why systems that separate task management and CRM are so flawed.
Separating your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Task Management triggers waste. Multiple systems waste staff hours. If your staff have to enter data into two separate systems this will take up valuable work hours. If they are not sure which system has the data they need, searching for it across two systems will cost more time. When the extra data hassle of using two systems becomes too much staff members often abandon using both programs and revert back to manual processes.
Maintaining two systems has a knock on effect on your data. Staff may enter data into the wrong system. Or leave data unrecorded to save time. Due to the overlap between systems you'll encounter duplicate data. So you'll end up with inconsistent and patchy data, with duplicate records in some areas and a lack of data in others.
One of the benefits of business software is being able to see a snapshot of your business at any point in time. When you run task management and CRM separately you lose the ability to evaluate your business as a whole. Any reporting or charts generated will be incomplete as each system can only see a part of your business. Making it more difficult for you to process data and make strategic business decisions.
Then there is the cost. By running two systems you double your expenses. Your monthly (or yearly) fee is doubled along with your data migration, customization and training costs. Even if your software provider offers free training you have to factor in the time your staff spend in training. It takes double the time to up skill staff, time they could have spent on revenue generating activities.
The ideal system combines CRM functionality with task management. You won't lose out on quality either. As most comprehensive (or total solution) systems have task management and CRM modules which are as strong as their stand alone counterparts.And many newer web based CRM systems have advanced task management included as standard.
When you merge task management with CRM capable software you can manage your client relationships, manage your staff and ultimately improve your whole business.
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Want software that combines tasks management and CRM modules? Visit: http://www.picrmsoftware.com.au/pi-crm-help/task-management-and-setting-reminders/
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