Recently having had a poor customer service experience I am inspired to revisit the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and the tweets from Forrester's CRMJam. Looking back through the tweets it rings true more than ever that having a comprehensive approach to managing your organizations customers, their inquiries and concerns is essential for success and growth.
In the business world of today many companies find themselves divided into departmental, service and/or information based silos. It is the inability to connect these various silos that jeopardizes customer service. Had Company X implemented a more comprehensive CRM system, such as one backed by BPM, they could have avoided a series of mishaps that ultimately led to an unhappy customer.
BPM supports and advances the effectiveness of CRM in several ways:
- First of all, it connects the various departments and silos of information that provide the customer with answers and service, enabling fluid communication within the organization
- With fluid communication, a company also gains greater visibility into tasks and activities that have either been completed or require follow up attention.
- While different departments use different systems, a BPMS has the ability to integrate these various systems allowing access to important customer information and the ability to auto populate information fields. (As a consumer I find nothing more frustrating than being transferred from department to department and having to recite the same information over and over.)
- BPM provides businesses with the ability to automate processes such as email notifications that are sent to customers or other departments, whether they are order confirmations, shipping information, product back order notifications, etc.
- Finally, BPM provides the ability to track order status and the actions taken as they relate to customers to ensure that concerns are adequately being followed up with.
There is a great deal to be said for maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty. Is your company actively following up with customer service requests and doing all that it can to keep customers happy?
Relevant Links:
The Age of Social: Thoughts from Forrester's CRM Tweet Jam
5 Ways to Improve Quality by Connecting Technology Systems
BPM As A Foundation For Business Transformation
Mary Katherine Strupe
Marketing Coordinator
Ultimus