Smart CRM
A Game-Changing Investment for Tough Times

That’s why introducing a progressive knowledge approach to this problem makes so much sense. This new approach includes several initiatives:

• Right channeling. Support organizations can develop an effective, online self-service channel to push low-value interactions to the Web. Optimizing the right channel for the right interaction with a centralized knowledge platform is at the core of smart CRM. Customers, regardless of channel, receive consistent answers and the only way to meet the demand for service with a diminishing supply of people is to expand access to answers through more self-sufficient channels.
• Smart agents. Cloning the best agents is something every manager dreams of. Providing every agent with the knowledge they need to deliver fast, accurate answers is the next best thing. Equipping agents with knowledge not only increases their time to proficiency, but also has a direct impact on eliminating repeat inquiries.
• Collaborative services. A new generation of social collaboration is quickly becoming mainstream and is a trend we must adopt quickly in our service strategies. Discussion groups are quickly becoming a proving ground for peer-to-peer networks of service communities sharing everything from service tips and product feedback to buying advice. Helping customers help each other is quickly becoming a fundamental piece of the service picture, one that not only serves customers but also helps contribute to the feedback lifecycle of knowledge—smart CRM.

By accomplishing any one of these knowledge initiatives, we’ve typically seen organizations enjoy a 20%-30% improvement in operational efficiencies. Simply put, even after significant budget cuts, organizations can still deliver improved customer service.

Smart CRM Can Be Phased
Given the significant cost savings and efficiency gains that smart CRM can deliver, the financial justification is clear cut. But to minimize the up-front cost outlay and resource investment, we’ve seen many organizations phase in their implementations, so that the gains derived from an initial implementation phase can be realized, and help fund subsequent phases. For example, we’ve seen customers implement Web self-service in their customer support portals first, which can deliver significant cost savings through call deflection. Those savings can be leveraged to help offset the initial expenditure for deploying smart CRM technologies in their contact center.

Smart CRM is Changing the Market
In recent months, we’ve seen several developments that attest to the new market momentum toward smart CRM:

• InQuira and Oracle announced a partnership in which InQuira will integrate its knowledge management capabilities with Oracle’s eSupport application.
• Salesforce.com acquired InStranet, a provider of knowledge technologies for mid-market business to consumer (B2C) call centers.
• In the report titled "2008 Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers," Gartner boldly states the most pressing need for CRM is to deliver these capabilities: support of online communities, integration of Web self-service into the agent desktop, adaptive analytical applications that understand customer intentions, and to provide agents with tools to search swiftly and accurately for action-oriented answers. In other words, smart CRM.

In recent months, customers have also started to see for themselves how smart CRM capabilities can yield breakthrough results. For example, a manufacturer of automation and control parts integrated knowledge management capabilities with their Seibel CRM solution and saw 35% faster resolutions, and also witnessed a 68% improvement in customer satisfaction.

Ultimately, smart CRM represents a critical strategic imperative; one that can fundamentally transform the way businesses interact with their customers. With smart CRM capabilities, support organizations can:

• Truly understand the intentions of customers and use that understanding to optimize every interaction;
• Save operational costs by pushing low-value inquiries to Web self-service channels;
• Better capture and share knowledge among individuals and across teams and departments—enabling agents to be more responsive, efficient and effective;
• Give customers an opportunity to participate in user communities and become more self-sufficient; and
• Increase customer engagement in the business, boosting satisfaction and loyalty.

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1 "The Customer Service Challenge: Creating the ‘Perfect’ Customer Call," Accenture 2006