Technology seems to be moving marketing professionals further and further away from customers, especially when it comes to CRM systems. While this kind of technology has proven invaluable for marketers hoping to achieve greater efficiencies in their working lives, it threatens to overshadow the true aims of their profession.
What we’re forgetting is that the ‘R’ in ‘CRM’ stands for relationship. Much like the catalyst in a chemical reaction, technology may well help to speed things up, but ultimately it’s the means, not the end. The end result, regardless of how advanced a system might be, should always be better ‘human’ relationships with customers.
Unfortunately, CRM vendors are losing sight of this fact, focusing disproportionately on the technology itself. I see this most often with data collection: while data is crucial to understanding performance and identifying future opportunities, many CRM vendors endeavour to store all the possible data points, and boast they can to boot. But this just makes it difficult to find the information you actually need.
You don’t need just any data, you need the right data. When do your customers open their emails? Who from your organisation has been in touch with them recently? Who has the best relationship with them? This is ‘human’ centric information a CRM platform should provide – and not after hours of analysis either.
Realising this, some vendors are beginning to focus their attention on the end-user. But what does this ‘human’ software look like?
Practicality and ease-of-use are essential. CRM software should be simple enough that anyone in the business, regardless of level, can adopt it quickly and painlessly. There is also no excuse for standalone systems these days. Flexible CRM software should integrate seamlessly with, for example, your existing email marketing system.
It should meet individual business needs; after all, not everyone uses technology in the exact same way, or for the exact same reason – as a marketer, you’ll need different information to your colleagues in sales, for example.
Fundamentally, the best CRM software makes it easier to have meaningful relationships with customers. So forget ‘man versus machine’, ‘human technology’ is the true mantra of the modern marketer.
Peter Linas is international managing director of Bullhorn
