The Challenge
The biggest challenge to implementing a CRM/MRM system is not the technology but getting your employees to use it effectively. It’s changing human behavior, plain and simple. Companies that fail with CRM/MRM, in most cases, did not adequately consider “the people factor” in addition to “the technical factor”. Another obstacle directly tied to this lack of behavior change is getting frontline staff to actually use CRM/MRM as a tool to generate revenue. No matter how you look at it, the challenge is to get organizationally ready so that you get a significant ROI on your investment.
Banks and credit unions that buy a CRM system do so usually because they see the immense value it can provide as a tool to support staff in reaching out to customers or members, deepening relationships and generating organic growth. However, when a CRM system is introduced a number of changes will occur in how your employees must do their jobs. If they do not see the value of the system and to capturing conversations in profiles, they’ll be reluctant to change. This can eventually cause your program to fail. Your people must accept the tool “before” it is implemented. Don’t assume this will automatically happen.
So how do you get your team to accept the changes and use the software for both service events and generating revenue? How do you protect your investment in your CRM system? How do you overcome these challenges?
The High Definition Banking® Solution
If you have a CRM system and feel you are not getting your best return on it, or if you are contemplating a purchase, you need to include creating a relationship building culture and getting employee buy-in. We can help you do that and accomplish the following:
- Incorporate use of your CRM software into your staff’s daily routine. This includes building member or customer profiles and using it to build trusting relationships that generate revenue.
- Tap the full revenue generating potential beyond service events so you can achieve the best CRM ROI you can.
- Ensure your staff inputs information about your clients’ goals and their unique situations after each interaction and your managers are coaching them on doing so.
Here are a few highlights of the structured and sustainable nine-step process to build a relationship building culture:
Communication – We assist our clients with ensuring that all stakeholders are totally aware of the reasons for the new system, understand the benefits and have buy-in.
Train Employees – We train frontline staff on relationship building skills that are a step beyond conventional cross-selling skills. They learn how to build a customer or member relationship that turns into revenue now and in the future instead of just focusing on quick transactional sales. Product pitching is discouraged and the focus is on trust building. Part of the training includes creating customer or member profiles and integrating the use of CRM tools and reports into their daily activities. Our process ensures they are using the customer information and reviewing profiles to anticipate, prepare and offer valuable solutions to build relationships and generate revenue.
Train Managers – We train your managers on how to coach your staff to perform activities that lead to relationship building. They have defined activities that support the use of the CRM system and look to see staff completed those activities. For example, they check the quality of the information staff enters into a customer or member profile, how they use the tools to prepare for a member conversation and then observe and coach the interaction. When your managers consistently embrace and reinforce the use of the CRM, eventually your staff realizes they can’t live without it.
Marrying “the tech side” of CRM with “the people side” of relationship building results in customers or members who view you as a trusted financial partner, not “just another errand”™ and a higher ROI on your investment in CRM software. If you want to get organizationally ready for CRM/MRM and ensure your investment, give us a call.
