“CRM
has had its day. CRM doesnt deliver.
Gartner reports failure of 50% of
CRM projects.”
According
to a spate of recent stories, CRM
should be preparing its own obituary
column and slinking away into the
annals of good ideas which simply
didnt work.
Over
the last decade, it has become one
of industrys most familiar buzzwords
and an integral part of most businesses,
especially in the B2B field.
In
reality, CRM has been around much
longer Interchange Group has
been involved in real CRM strategies
since the seventies, long before it
was given a fancy label.
Now
though, just at the time when it should
be coming of age, the current fashion
seems to be to knock it down. Everywhere
you look, people are complaining that
CRM doesnt work, it doesnt deliver
the benefits they set out to achieve
and therefore wont attract the level
of investment it needs in the future.
But
why, and is it really CRM itself which
is at fault or is there another answer
to the problem?
Only
then can an organisation truly begin
to explore the benefits which CRM
delivers not only in the short term,
but also in the longer term delivery,
of successfully underpinning business
goals and objectives.
At
Interchange, we believe blaming CRM
is simply a variation on the old story
of a bad workman blaming his tools.
In other words, getting a good job
done means much more than simply paying
lip service to e-business solutions
by bolting on a new piece of technology
and expecting it to deliver results.
Thats
why weve taken the decision to uniquely
share the risk and the rewards with
our customers through our Assure solution.
By guaranteeing the results and only
getting paid in proportion to the
benefits achieved, we are demonstrating
that used properly, CRM really does
work.
So
why is there all the negative publicity?
In reality, too many CRM projects
are failing because too many businesses
are simply relying on the software
to do the job and ignoring the fact
that it is the people and the processes
behind it that help build a strong
customer strategy and deliver results.
Successful
CRM means identifying measurable business
benefits which an organisation wants
to achieve. It means encouraging and
supporting the adoption of new business
practices that will help CRM work
throughout an organisation not simply
in isolation, whichis a recipe for
failure.
It
means understanding the real needs
of the customer, the loyalty and level
of service that needs to be delivered
and of course, it means identifying
and measuring the expected increase
in profits which a true CRM solution
will provide.
It's
not surprising that todays CEOs are
ultra cautious about investing in
IT systems which dont deliver the
Its
expected increases to the bottom line.
After all, if youve tried something
once and it hasnt worked, its a pretty
tough job convincing someone to invest
more in yet another IT system.
We
know the questions theyre asking because
we understand the constraints business
chiefs are up against. But we also
have the answers the right answers.
We
wouldnt have such a good track record
over the last 25 years with blue chip
businesses such as Rolls-Royce, Nokia,
IBM, 3M, Pitney Bowes and Sony if
we didnt.
Its
through that understanding and knowledge
that we know CRM works and were not
afraid to put our own reputation and
business success on the line to prove
it.
After
all, if we didnt practice what we
preach, we wouldnt be here ourselves.
CRM can deliver results but it requires
the assessment ofneeds and the benefits
have to be managed, measured, maintainedand
exploited and thats exactly where
we come in.
By
maximising the use of Internet technologies,
customers can now keep up-to-date with
the latest developments on their accounts
24 hours a day.
Dave Burrows, Research
and Development Director, said: We’ve
developed the portal both as a benefit
for our own customers and for businesses
within the service industry who want
to offer this facility to their own
customers.
It is not designed to replace
the traditional customer service methods
which are so important to us, but to
work alongside them and, by combining
our experience and expertise, we are
ensuring that both ourselves and our
customers can exploit that potential
fully.
Early indications from
customers who have already trialled
the service were, he said, excellent,
with a great deal of interest being
shown. Customers can access information
through a password protected window
on the Interchange website to log calls,
check progress on current projects,
post issues and queries and get up-to-date
information and news.
To prevent unauthorised
access to data, multi-layered security
measures have been introduced at all
stages.
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
where would we be without it? Delivering the best possible service
to all your customers both internally
and externally should be at the heart
of every successful business.
At
Interchange weve been in the business
of providing excellence in CRM solutions
for 25 years.
Its
a quarter of a century that has seen
the company develop its pedigree of
personalised business solutions to
serve an international client base.
The Post Office, Hepworth Heating,
Getronics and Scottish Power are just
a few of the well known names on our
customer books.
Last
year, we took another major step forward
when we teamed up with Oracle as a
certified solutions partner for the
Oracle E-Business Suite.
The
decision was made after we spent 18
months evaluating Oracles offering
within its E-Business Suite where,
for the first time, we found a solution
that went close to meeting all the
needs of a service company.
No
other major ERP or CRM supplier has
been able to achieve this within a
fully integrated business solution
and it is by combining our experience
in service management with Oracles
CRM/service solution that enables
us to guarantee our customers a return
on investment.
Yet
where did the Interchange story begin?
It was a contract to install a software
solution for the Confederation of
Holiday Inns, in Canada, in 1976 which
launched us to global success.
The
hotel chain wanted software which
would manage the servicing of its
hotels and since then we have gone
on to install service solutions around
the world from as far as
Australia
and Hong Kong to the Middle East and,
closer to home, throughout the UK
and Europe.
Weve
been at the forefront of process innovation
in CRM for over 20 years, although
it wasnt called Customer Relationship
Management when we started out.
We
predicted long before the 90s that
Service would become an increasingly
important strategic element, because
of what was happening in the market.
As
pressure has been put on cost margins,
service departments have taken on
a much more important role as revenue
opportunities and profit centres in
their own right.
SERVICE
SOLUTIONS
In
many organisations, service has been
elevated to the most profitable contributor
to the business instead of being seen
as a cost centre, as it had been historically.
Of
course, as this has happened, customer
expectations about the level of service
they can expect have increased, and
service solutions have had to be devel-oped
to make sure businesses can deliver.
We
recognise that no two companies have
exactly the same requirement for service
and our flexible approach has stood
us in good stead for delivering solu-tions
which suit many variable needs.
Our
skills mean that whether a business
needs to improve customer service
from its call centre or help desk;
whether
it wants help automating its sales
and marketing divisions; or it needs
to look at outsourcing key areas to
improve efficiency and save costs
- we can provide a tailored solution.
Customer
knowledge is central to maintaining
a successful business relationship.
Sharing that knowledge between multiple
departments, locations and cul-tures
is a skill at which we excel, enabling
businesses not just to meet but also
to exceed, their customers expectations.
Improvements
to CRM technologies are enabling businesses
to achieve better results every day,
not just within service departments
but across entire enterprises and
not just locally, but globally too.
Helping
businesses maximise value from their
investment in IT through the provision
of services and solutions is what
we do best and our track record proves
our success.
Today,
our solutions and expertise in service
management and knowledge management
are being used by some of the worlds
top companies.
“Trends
may come and trends may go, but in
our world after 25 years, customers
remain where they have always been:
at the focal point of core business
activity for our customers.”
What
our customers say...
Alan
Hughes, UK National Service Manager,
Pitney Bowes
“Because we are so dependent on the
service system, there is a high requirement
that the company supporting us are
also very responsive, helpful and
understand our business. Interchange
has been totally responsive and extremely
good at understanding what we need
and why we need it.”
CRM
- what next
?
As
CRM has evolved over the last 25 years,
where will it be in the next 10 years.
What will customers expect and how
is Interchange working to meet those
goals? Phillip Jones explains:
There
is no doubt that Internet technologies
will continue to take CRM to another
stage of customer service. We are
already using the Internet to offer
dedicated portals which enable our
customers to check progress on projects
simply and easily via the Internet
and communicate with us 24 hours a
day.
We’ve
taken that one step further by offering
our customers a full managed service
which provides a helpcentre and service
delivery via dedicated portals.
What
our customers say...
Ernst
Greefhorst, Project Manager, Getronics
“Interchange
know our business and are aware of
our strategic goals. Combined with
the technical and management expertise
to help us achieve them, they have
exhibited a high degree of responsiveness
and flexibility to meet our changing
need.”
Free
for all
CUSTOMER
CARE
Interchange
is finding that more and more customers
are looking for total managed services
solutions as part of their CRM strategy.
With
its own call centre that specialises
in providing call handing for service
delivery situations, Interchange offers
a simple, efficient alternative to
managing systems in-house.
By
using the serviced call centre, companies
are able to avoid the expense of implementing
their own service managed solution
and can take advantage of the range
of hosted services available.
Outsourcing
a call centre facility to Interchange
means using the latest telecoms technology,
allowing vital customer data to be
recorded and accessed simply and easily
for operational purposes.
As
well as help centre services, Interchange
also offers outsourcing for service
delivery areas such as warranty support
and workshop repair...
At
Interchange, our business managers have
extensive experience in all areas of
business. Our mission is to share that
experience with you so your business
and your customers can benefit. Remember,
our expertise is just a phone call away....
Here,
Barry Fairburn looks at Freeware. Whats
it all about and should businesses be
using it?
The
roots of freeware go back a number
of years, but it is only in the last
decade, most notably since the arrival
of Linux, that the phenomenon has
really taken off. Of course, that
means serious implications for the
future of software development and
commercial licensing.
So
what is it? Freeware is exactly what
it says it is free software. It comes
in two distinct types, some freeware
simply allows users to use the software
while the other allows you to examine
and alter the source code.
The
difference is the GPL or GNU General
Public Licence, a document which enshrines
the terms and conditions under which
much current freeware is distributed.
It was set up as part of the GNU project.
The
GNU project was set up to create a
free version of Unix by writing everything
from scratch as freeware. What many
people think of as Linux is, in fact,
a collection of lots of freeware,
most of it GNU.
Torvalds
The
freeware that accompanies or comprises
Linux, includes utilities, compilers
etc., along with a kernel written
by Linus Torvalds. Packaged together
in this way, it is referred to as
a distribution of Linux.
Some
of the most important software on
the Internet is freeware. The Apache
web server is independently produced,
as is the X-server software for Linux,
and so on.
Essentially
it enables an author to retain copyright
of a work, but allows free distribution
and modification provided that source
continues to be made available and
any changes are documented. This is
so the original authors do not get
blamed for any subsequent code problems.
It
does not mean that people cannot charge
for the process of distribution, or
other services such as integration,
but it does prevent the charging of
licence fees.
Freeware
is typically written by enthusiasts
around the world, often via the Internet.
What is clear though, is that the
output is usually very high quality,
timely, and a more effective software
generation methodology than traditional
commercial techniques.
One
of the big questions is whether freeware
is safe to use commercially. Many
companies do rely on freeware, for
example, buried in the heart of the
current Oracle 11ie-Business Suite
is a copy of the Apache web server.
Around
75% of all web servers on the Internet
are Apache and many are hosted on
Linux. At Interchange, we use a great
deal of freeware: our email systems
are based on Berkeleys sendmail, our
firewall is built from Linux and our
network management system is also
freeware.
There
is actually more freeware in most
organisations than people realise
and, of course, network managers the
world over dont need capital authorisation
to use freeware!
It
is the reliability and stability of
free-ware that is driving many organisations
to use it in e-commerce applications
and with the advent of the latest
main-frame and highly scalable versions
of Linux, this reach is likely to
spread into more traditional commercial
areas.
Because
freeware is vendor neutral, anyone
can support it. Youre not tied into
a specific company and, generally
speaking, bugs are found through peer
pressure and posted on the Internet
with incredible speed.
There
is also tremendous power in the ability
to self-customise your freeware environment
to meet your own exact requirements.
Now,
major companies such as IBM and HP
are moving into providing support
and service for freeware, as their
margins on commodity IT hardware decrease.
Viable
freeware is undoubtedly changing the
face of the market and, as it becomes
more commercially acceptable, an increased
take-up is inevitable. Helping our
customers turn it to their advantage
will be the secret of our success.
For
further information about Interchange
Group or any of its Solutions or Services,
please contact us at:
Interchange
Group Garden Court,
Lockington Hall, Lockington,
Nr Derby. DE74 2SJ
Its
expected increases to the bottom line.
After all, if youve tried something
once and it hasnt worked, its a pretty
tough job convincing someone to invest
more in yet another IT system.
Here,
Barry Fairburn looks at Freeware. Whats
it all about and should businesses be
using it?
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2001 - 2008 Interchange Group Limited - All Rights Reserved
