Is CRM Technology Living Up To the Hype?

Over the last few years the buzz about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has grown extensively. It seems that every Sales & Marketing executive is talking about it. A study conducted by Jupiter Media Metrix found that U.S. businesses spent more than $5.2 billion in CRM technology software in 2001, a number that is expected to rise to $8.7 billion by 2006. CRM spending has been growing considerably, especially in financial services, retail, and telecommunications.

Many companies have invested in CRM systems to retain customers who demand more and better services by the day, but why? Due to recent trends, consumer behavior has changed dramatically in the last couple of years, and even more with current market conditions. According to a study made by The Center for Customer Strategy, consumers are less concerned with minor price differences, but choose companies based on their value-added services. They want to be able to get what they need, quickly. With tools like the Internet, its now a lot easier for both consumers and businesses to compare offers, and switch over if their needs arent met. This is especially true of high-value customers that produce the most profit for the business.

Businesses are scrambling for ways to retain these customers, and attract new ones in the process. So how is CRM an answer to keeping up with these trends? CRM is a strategy (no, not software) to transform your business to be customer, not product, focused. The CRM software is just a tool that helps the company carry out this strategy. Depending on its implementation, it can help your business identify who your customers are, what they need and anticipate what could want. It allows businesses to tailor offers to their current customers, building closer relationships that make them feel valuable. It can help eliminate contact and data overlap between departments and improve consumer service. For example, Leah Holzman, Marketing Manager of TradeCard Inc, explained how the marketing and sales departments in her company had problems tacking each others progress and customer data. They spent hundreds of hours managing disparate data across multiple systems. That is, until they implemented a CRM initiative with the help of Salesforce.com. Overall, CRM can make your company more efficient and customer-friendly to capture greater market share, increase customer loyalty, and attract more customers.

So far, CRM sounds like a dream come true. Yet studies show that more than half of CRM initiatives fail. Despite rising spending in CRM, a survey of 1,200 businesses executives conducted by the Data Warehousing Institute showed that 41% considered their CRM project a potential flop. Only 16% were satisfied with their CRM software implementation. As one senior marketing executive claimed, We turned a manual mess into an automated mess, and as a result we just made the same mistakes faster and more efficiently.

The problem with these companies is not that CRM automation fails to meet expectations. There are several reasons why these systems dont always generate the desired results. And most times, it has nothing to do with the software. The biggest mistake that a manager can make is think that once the software is installed, all problems will be solved. To be successful, a CRM initiative must be a company-wide strategic culture change and process design. It entails getting all your employees (not only customer service) to change the way they perform their every day tasks so that the appropriate information is collected and used in a productive way. The software is just a tool that keeps things organized so that a successful CRM is easier to accomplish. As any change in a corporate culture, this project requires complete support from senior management.

One of the most common problems is that data collected isnt used. Great sums of money are invested in collecting all different kinds of information on clients, yet many times this information is never analyzed, never used to understand the customer or provide all the benefits that CRM can deliver.

For better results, a company investing in CRM must first evaluate their current situation. They should determine what problems need to be solved, and what type of data are needed. Since implementation is often a complicated process (especially in large companies), it is vital to get input from all departments. It is also a good idea to include your customer in the process to get a better idea of what changes will be embraced. Often when a CRM initiative is left up to the IT department, it is harder for other areas of the company to accept any changes in processes (which are usually substantial). To be successful, the initiative must take place throughout the entire company. Employees must be trained to function with the new technology and processes.

When considering a vendor and/or product, its imperative that any software, system or processes implemented are flexible. They can then adapt, along with a company, to changing times and trends. This is especially useful in growing businesses, where needs might change as client bases grow and business expands.

No matter what precautions you may take when planning and implementing a CRM initiative, the only thing that can assure its success for the company are your people. After all, the whole concept of CRM is based on relationships. And those cant be completely automated. There is no technological substitute for a friendly voice or face that understands a customers troubles and is willing to go above and beyond to provide the best service. CRM can only help a company manage these relationships to provide a more personalized service to loyal customers.

Mark Levit is managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising and a professor of marketing at New York University. For more information visit http://www.partnerslevit.com or call 212.696.1200. SEO Copywriting Makeover: Good Rankings but No Sales Part 2 of 2Karon Thackston

In Part 1 of this article series, we looked at a local home security site that had fairly good rankings but whose conversion rate was lacking. (You can see the original copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/topsecurity-original.pdf.) Here in the conclusion, you'll see how several changes helped maintain this company's good rankings while improving their site's lead generation abilities.

The Rewrite

My first thought with the rewrite was to stop making "trust and urgency" the undertones and instead make them the obvious focal points of the copy. As usual, I started with the headline. The previous headline was:

When every second counts, turn to Top Security, Inc. who has been securing Orlando / Central Florida homes and businesses for 689,453,910 seconds.

I wanted something more direct so I changed the headline to:

Top Security, Inc. of Orlando
Security Systems From a Trusted Neighbor

This included one of their keyphrases and also made it perfectly clear this company was local and trustworthy.

For the introductory paragraph, I wanted to get the visitor's attention and hold it long enough to make a point: That security is something you need to think about now, not later. I opened with the following:

"If only Id called you sooner." "I never thought this could happen to me." These are just a few of the many comments we have heard from our customers in Orlando. Security systems suddenly became a top priority for them, but not until after theyd experienced a frightening break-in or a devastating fire. After these disasters, our Orlando neighbors were convinced that burglar alarm and security issues should be a forethought, not an afterthought.

The copy does not beat the visitors over the head with the fact that they could be hurt, face losses, or experience some other frightening situation. It simply plants a seed of "what if" and moves on.

This section of the copy also lends support to the keyphrases Top Security wanted to rank highly for. Because "Orlando Security Systems" can be an awkward phrase to repeat, I split it up in several instances to help the flow of the copy stay natural.

The remainder of the page speaks to the facts that Top Security is local, has longevity in the community, is right around the corner, and offers several other benefits national security companies simply can't (or won't). Benefit after benefit is listed and explained in order to drive home the fact that a local company can and will provide exceptional service. You can see the current version here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/topsecurity-current.pdf.

All throughout these sections of the copy, keyphrases are reinforced in the copy. When applicable, keyphrases are used in bold phrases or others that include special formatting. However, I never forced keyphrases someplace they didn't fit just for the sake of doing it. Keyphrase placement has to meld with the copy, not overpower it.

The call-to-action for the home page was simple. It asked three questions dealing with the biggest complaints about home security that users or potential users have regarding dependability, false alarms, and price.

The Results

The high rankings Top Security had prior to the SEO copywriting makeover were retained for most terms and even increased for a few others. While that's great, what's more important is that lead generations from the site increased, which gave Top Security, Inc. a broader customer base and the potential to make more sales they previously would not have been able to make.

It just goes to show that, even if your site has high positioning, copywriting can play an incredibly important role in bringing growth to your business. After all, what's the point of having good rankings if you have no sales?

by Karon Thackston © 2004-2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com

Karon Thackston is a veteran copywriting pro who specializes in SEO copy. If your copy isn't getting results, let Karon teach you how to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karons latest ebook How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy) at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.#BREAK#

Karon Thackston is a veteran copywriting pro who specializes in SEO copy. If your copy isn't getting results, let Karon teach you how to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karons latest ebook How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy) at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.SEO Copywriting Makeover: Good Rankings but No Sales Part 1 of 2Karon Thackston

It's been a myth for as long as the Internet has been in existence. Get good rankings and your site will be successful. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that has never been the case. What you get when you achieve good search engine rankings is a lot of traffic. That *can* be a wonderful thing, but it by no means guarantees even one sale.

You see, search engine rankings are not responsible for making sales. They are responsible for getting visitors to click to your site. If you (or your search engine optimizer) have done your job, you'll have descriptions in your search returns (or PPC ads) that bring in qualified visitors. But still even with qualified visitors, the engines are not in a position to make sales at your site. That's the job your copy and usability elements handle.

Top Security, Inc. faced this problem. They had good search engine rankings. They were listed on the first page of most of the major engines. They had the traffic. Sales, however, were not where they wanted them to be. What was the cause? One look told me the copy was the culprit. (Take a look at the original copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/topsecurity-original.pdf.)

The Problems

Top Security had a tough sale by anybody's standards. They sold home security systems and maintenance services. (Something hardly anybody likes to talk about until after something happens, and it's virtually too late.) In order to get someone to move on products/services like home security, insurance, and the like, you really must develop a sense of trust and urgency.

When I first viewed the Top Security, Inc. home page, it was obvious that they knew what they needed to do. They had made a few attempts on the page in the form of graphics and MP3 files to accomplish those two goals. For example, they posted a current Threat Advisory graphic from the Department of Homeland Security (establishing urgency). There was also an MP3 that played kindergarten children singing "God Bless America" (plays toward patriotism and trust). Lastly, the headline was designed to try to build a sense of longevity. However, none of these was reflected in the copy. The most important part of the page was overlooked.

In order to turn the home page around, the salesman of the site (a.k.a. the words) needed to speak to the visitors in their own language. It needed to show them what can happen to those who have no security system and then offer a way to prevent those tragedies. The copy had to give assurances and build trust while at the same time helping visitors to stop procrastinating and make a move now.

While current rankings were good, there was still room for improvement. For search engine purposes, the copy needed to offer better support for the chosen keyphrases. There were virtually no keyphrases in the original body copy and that had to be changed.

The Solutions

The biggest part of the solution for Top Security was to develop copy for the home page period. The copy on the original site was minimal, was company-focused instead of customer-focused, and needed to do a better job of addressing the needs of the site visitors and search engines.

The new copy had to set a tone of trust and community since Top Security dealt only with local Florida residents. In fact, I pulled out all the benefits small, local companies can offer their customers in order to play up Top Security in the new copy.

At the same time, I wanted to weave the client's keyphrases into the text without making them stand out. The goal was to have a home page that read as naturally as possible to humans while giving the spiders and bots what they needed in order to boost Top Security's rankings.

In Part 2 of this article, I'll show you how I implemented the changes in order to improve conversions and what the results were.

by Karon Thackston © 2004-2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com