You’ve Got a CRM. Do You Need CCM or CEM?

I know, it’s a case of acronyms gone wild. But if you follow the sales and marketing press (and I do, it’s in the job description), you’ll see the experts are excited about some new letter combos. Two of the biggies are CCM, which stands for customer communications management, and CEM, short for customer experience management.

The gist is the CRM works for companies of all sizes, and now many of them want to do even more. The good news for SMBs (small and mid-sized businesses) is that your communications management needs are already built into your CRM package! For example, it’s easy to use “set it and forget it” social posts using Zoho Social to enhance your digital presence. So you’re already ahead of the many of the big boys, who may still be struggling to find technology to get their New York marketing group to line up with their California web team. Sometimes it’s nice to be small.

What can be transformative, however, is to embrace the concept of CEM. The idea is that the customer’s entire experience with a company matters, and that experience should be unified and blow-their-socks-off good every step of the way. While SMBs will vary in what kinds of customer interactions they have (we don’t all send out welcome packages or need a help desk, for instance), it’s helpful to take a look at when and how you do make contact with customers and see if there are ways to up your game.

This might include:

• A sales process with plenty of opportunities to gain more information about the product or service, so the customer really knows what they’re buying into and what to expect.
• An onboarding process that makes the customer feel valued and underscores the message that they made a good decision in selecting that product or service. The little things count! I recently purchased a wine stopper designed to keep champagne bubbly overnight (a must have) and received a short follow-up email asking if I had questions. The product was finicky to use the first time, so the proactive contact came as a pleasant and helpful surprise.
• Updates and marketing communications that build the relationship without being annoying. So not like the online fabric outlet that automatically enrolled me to receive 3+ sales emails per day. More like the gardening provider that sent me a quick note about their comprehensive online growing encyclopedia. (Yes, I’ve got some home projects going!)
• Billing that is as seamless and painless as possible, with the right payment options for the audience. For many SMBs, the occasional personal note or “something extra” can transform a regular bill into a relationship-builder.
• Customer service that is responsive and effective. Consider convenience. Customers love to be able to email or text if they can’t find time during business hours to pick up the phone.
• A digital presence customers can follow, whether they want to lurk or interact. Pick your poison here, but don’t feel like you need to be everywhere. A great Instagram page and nothing on Pinterest can be better than spreading yourself too thin!

When you think about customer experience, it’s more than putting the same logo on everything. It’s about delivering customers what they want and need on their terms. If they like personal contact, they should be able to reach a human being by phone if they have a question. If they picked you because you’ve got great tech, maybe you need an app. All the better if each contact has a similar “feel,” whether you’re an edgy design firm, a supportive yoga studio, or a totally geekified IT security outfit.

Considering the big picture of the customer experience can help SMBs stand out from the competition. It won’t take more tech investment, but you might need to learn some additional functions in your CMR system.

Need help with that? We’d be happy to pitch in – shoot us an email or give us a call 410-472-5058.