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June 2017
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Goldman’s Latest Handle Innovation Consistency Between Departments
L ast month, we covered how Goldman Equipment has employed Handle CRM to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Goldman’s use of account management and inventory features was the starting point for their CRM success story, and from there they implemented a form and process for trade assessment. They haven’t stopped seeking out ways to make CRM work for their business. Recently, they’ve used Handle to streamline the delivery and service request process, and it’s had a massive effect on their operations. In fact, they call it the most impactful initiative they’ve undertaken in the past year. The request process at Goldman, as with most companies, requires collaboration across multiple departments. There’s a lot of crucial information traveling back and forth between the sales representatives, the delivery team, and service staff. Prior to integrating the request process into Handle, Goldman relied on a much less systematized method for relaying
Action was faster and more reliable, which of course made customers happy. It also made lives easier for employees, who never had to spend valuable time tracking down information from any number of sources. Now, it was all in one, convenient place. Additionally, Goldman used Handle’s mobile functionality so that their service and delivery team could make updates from the field. Once a service request was completed, no matter where it happened, the team back at the home office would be aware of it. If a problem arose in the field, that could be reported as well. Both the person making the request and the person acting on it could see the fruits of their labor in real time. Goldman continues to find new ways to make use of their CRM software. They find a hole in their processes, figure out a way to address it, and implement the solution. They’re a great model of what happens when a company uses CRM to meet their needs, and the impact Handle has had for them shows what a difference successful CRM adoption can make. – Gordon Hilleque
requests from one team to another. The problem with this way of doing things — a combination of Post-it notes, text messages, and emails — was that it lacked consistency. There was no way to ensure that a communication was received and followed up on, and there was no permanent record of communication. Goldman realized that transitioning these functions into their CRM software would make for a much easier to monitor and reliable request process. They started by using Handle to request inter-department tasks. If the sales team needed something from the service or delivery team, they filed their request in Handle. This change allowed all of the relevant information to exist in one place, making it easy to find for everyone. From an efficiency standpoint, Handle’s integration with their business system minimized time entering data. Consistent communication between departments kept everyone connected and meant that nothing slipped through the cracks as it traveled from one part of Goldman’s operation to another.
Action was faster and more reliable, which of course made customers happy. It also made lives easier for employees, who never had to spend valuable time tracking down information from any number of sources. Now, it was all in one, convenient place.
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BABY COME BACK!
How to Reactivate Churned Customers
Retaining customers is important. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Amy Gallo says that“increasing customer retention rates by 5 percent increases profits by 25 percent”—but it’s hard . Customers leave for all sorts of reasons, and some of themweren’t a great fit to begin with. Don’t shut the door on those folks just yet. Recently churned customers are actually a great source of reactivated revenue. “Acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one,”Gallo writes. But it’s cheaper to reactivate old customers than onboard new ones. Andmost businesses have a large supply of these customers. In fact, Bain & Company research suggests most businesses have as many inactive customers as they do active ones.
creating consensus is to tie this back to you purpose and strategy. When people understand why they are doing it they are far more likely to provide information they may not otherwise. Asking them to update information without this explanation is a recipe for disaster. Additionally, the software must be setup to do their daily and weekly routine as easy as possible. If the routine is not established early on, you’ll spend an inordinate amount of time reformatting entries and checking for errors. Spending time on these tasks is counterproductive to your purpose and strategy, so a weak third pillar will damage the first and second as well. One of the reasons companies opt for CRM software is to create processes that are replicated across an entire organization. Rather than relying on each teammember to create something translatable, the software makes things uniform and precise. This precision, though, only comes when your team understands the routine they will follow within Handle. Without a thoroughly planned routine, you won’t get the most out of your CRM software. product to returning customers is a good idea. If you have a lot of complaints about a specific issue, and you’ve recently fixed that issue, get in touch with old customers and let them know. Many of themmay want to sign up again. Remember, engagement leads to sales. If you can get them to take a survey or read a white paper, their odds of buying just went up. It’s very similar to how you’d treat a new customer —align your brand with value in their mind. As you reactivate customers, keep an eye on your churn rates and exit polls.“When you know that more customers or subscribers are cutting ties with your firm, you can work to adjust,”Gallo says.“Changes in a company’s churn rate could be a signal that something is working.” Why Routine Matters
In previous editions, we’ve covered the first two pillars of CRM adoption: purpose and strategy. Once your organization has a clearly defined purpose for what you want to gain from CRM implementation, and after you’ve developed a strategy for achieving your goals, you need to establish a routine for how your staff will use the software itself. Routine is the third pillar of CRM adoption, and it will go a long way toward setting up a model for long-term success. The most common problemwith the routine component arises when companies simply show their staff the software. A presentation introducing features and applications is not sufficient when it comes to installing practices that all team members clearly understand and will act on consistently. If you expect everyone to use CRM the same way without detailed instruction, you’ll end up with different teammembers using it in different ways. The way to avoid this confusion is through planning a routine in detail. The routine should include what they do daily and weekly, the key to Divide the number of people who stopped using your services in the last month by your total customers. That’s the“churn rate,”and those churned customers are the ones to go after. If you haven’t been exit-polling customers, you should do so. It can be as simple as an email asking why they stopped using your services and incentivizing themwith a gift card or something similar for completing the poll. Combined with the churn rate, this provides valuable information on who’s leaving and why. You’re thinking,“Gee, I have some former customers, but I don’t think they’d want to hear fromme again.”Leave the cases that involved heated language, aggravation, and a history of upset. Everyone else can be reactivated, and there are a lot of ways to do it. Offering a free service or
THE 6 PILLARS OF CRM ADOPTION
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STAYALERT
WITHYOUR CUSTOMERS
How Handle’s Alert Functions Generate Awareness
Handle’s Alert functionality is a crucial tool in raising awareness amongst individuals and teams within an organization. Alerts foster collaboration by allowing every member of an organization to investigate the status of a customer interaction. Further, employees will be notified when interactions progress and be updated on relevant information the second it becomes available. You won’t have to guess the stage of a process or hunt down the person who made most recent contact. Instead, you’ll have access every step of the way. When an Alert is set up, you’ll input crucial details regarding the process and relationship it regards. The account name will be featured at the top of the page, followed
measurable. Once an Alert is completed, you can create a report to measure activities to evaluate the action, which will allow you to note areas for improvement. In addition, you can add notifications to Alerts that work the same way CCs do with email. They don’t require action, but you can think of them as an FYI to team members and managers not directly involved with the relevant Alert process. When team members are alert, they stay on the same page and campaigns can progress quickly and consistently. With Handle’s Alert function, you won’t need to worry about missing opportunities or doing the same task twice. More importantly, your customers will appreciate your promptness and attention to detail.
by a brief description of the interaction. The three categories of the alert details are Name , Description , and Action . The Name section will give a broad outline of the action required. Examples include customer complaint, large order, machine down, sales issue, and service issue. Description will expand upon the Name of the Alert for added clarity. The Action section will detail what is expected of the Alert owner(s), whether that be a phone call, internal team conversation, or anything else. Once an Alert is created, it will remain on the home screen and at the top of the Active Account feed for all listed owners. All senders and owners will be emailed anytime an Alert is created, updated, or completed. Not only are alerts clearly actionable, but they are also
BRAIN! TRAIN YOUR
SUMMER CRAB ROLL
Start your summer off fresh with this sandwich from the sea.
Ingredients
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2 soft rolls, split down the center like hot dog buns Green leaf lettuce leaves (for serving) Freshly ground white pepper
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8 ounces fresh or canned crabmeat 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
•
• • •
Kosher salt
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Directions
4. Place a large leaf of lettuce in each bun. 5. Add crabmeat mixture and season with white pepper, if desired. 6. Enjoy!
1. Mix crab and mayonnaise in a small bowl and season with salt. 2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. 3. Butter opening of buns and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side.
Recipe inspired by bonappetit.com.
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INSIDE
this issue
1 2 3 4
Consistency Between Departments
Reactivating Customers
The Third Pillar of CRM Adoption
How to Stay Alert
Summer Crab Roll
Book Review: ‘Black Hole Focus’
‘BLACK HOLE FOCUS’ Book Review:
“Finding a purpose for living is the only way to escape from a life of mediocrity and meaninglessness. It leads to a brighter internal spark and a longer and more productive life.” Relying on destiny makes people complacent. When you assume there’s already a plan in place, you may put your life on autopilot, drift aimlessly, and fall into a habit of small, meaningless decisions. This could lead to a hollow fate, but one that you can avoid with effort. As internationally acclaimed Fortune 500 consultant Isaiah Hankel, Ph.D., explains, “The toughest decision a person will ever make is determining his or her ultimate purpose in life.” Hankel has worked with leading corporations around the world and regularly presents at premier academic institutions, including Harvard University and Oxford University. In his book “Black Hole Focus,” Hankel rejects the complacent notion of destiny entirely, instead
mindset and avoid willpower depletion. From here, you can create a whatever-it- takes mentality, which makes you better able to overcome challenges without feeling discouraged as you pursue your purpose. Based on scientific concepts from the fields of psychology, physiology, and motivational theory, Hankel’s ‘Black Hole Focus’ offers valuable instruction to benefit anyone, from CEOs to stay-at-home parents. If you feel bound by circumstances, using “Black Hole Focus” to help you find your purpose may be the way out.
giving individuals the tools they need to find and fulfill their own purpose. Hankel starts by presenting research that links having a clear purpose with slower rates of mental decline and greater longevity. This is due to the fact that having a purpose enables you to meet your three prime needs: growth, connection, and autonomy. By “ruthlessly evaluat[ing] your current position,” as Hankel instructs, you determine if these prime needs are being met. Your purpose is determined when you established a plan to meet all of these needs.
When trying to meet your prime needs, it’s important to remember every purpose will demand years of effort. For this reason, Hankel guides you to develop a can-do
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