May 2005 Newsletter - Strategy can Sabotage CRM

CUSTOMERCENTRICTIMES

eZines: February 2005 > May 2005 > July 2005

In this issue of CustomerCentricTimes;

The “S” Word: Strategy Can Sabotage CRM
The Loyalty Connection: Secrets to Customer Retention and Increased Profits

SRD Group Soapbox

Wow, May already, winter is almost here – where does the time go?

2005 has been a blur at SRD Group. We are working with our clients on their CRM journeys, Customer Experience and Balanced Scorecard initiatives in both Australia and New Zealand. In fact the Qantas Club Lounge has become our ‘boardroom’ as we, Tania and I in particular, have found ourselves to be passing through it so often. No complaints here as we are learning all the time but I wonder if we will be able to use our ‘so intended loyalty points’ when we want to …?

CRM Corner

The "S" Word: Strategy Can Sabotage CRM

Some of you might say, “Neil, you are nuts, why are you getting people to read such an article when you know that strategy is so important!” And it is, and most organisations we work with actually have a form of CRM Strategy, they just do not necessarily know it and they struggle to ALIGN it with the overall Corporate strategy.

“It's important to align corporate programs like CRM back to the company's strategy and to continue to align customer relationships (and CRM-enabling technologies, and key customer-facing business processes) to strategy in a sustainable way.” - Jill Dyché of Baseline Consulting. Jill drives home the points quite well … and yes we do ask the questions "What does 'CRM' mean to you?” and “What do we do now?” It is the second question that leads to the important ‘strategy fulfilling’ aspect of CRM … it is also the question that most companies struggle to answer or get right!

Growing GREAT Customer Experiences Forum

How many companies are really investing in the Customer Experience? There is a lot of talk about loyalty, a lot of talk about retention and a lot of talk about how it costs 5-10 times more to get a new customer than keep an existing one. Why then, is still so much spent on acquisition rather than retention?

Customer churn rates are higher than ever, and businesses haven’t figured out how to stop the bleeding. New CRMGuru research points to the cause: Although businesses say they are devoted to loyalty, their management systems and budgets don’t back that up. This article - The Loyalty Connection: Secrets to Customer Retention and Increased Profits by Bob Thompson of CRMGuru is a great read, and right on the money.

SRD Group have been evangelizing the need for greater focus on retention, loyalty and the customer experience for 3 years now. If you would like to know more about our Growing Great Customer Experience Programs or Customer Experience Surveys, that will have a real impact on your business, please contact me at .

SRD Group Consulting Services

SRD Group primarily consult on CRM, Growing GREAT Customer Experiences and Customer Satisfaction/Experience Survey Programs. We also provide consulting and facilitation services for sales and marketing efficiency and effectiveness improvement. More recently we have also started facilitating workshops on the Balanced Scorecard approach to Performance Management. If you are interested in finding out more about SRD Group please drop me an email

The Last Word

“The customer is the new emperor. Either you give him what he desires or you are banished from his kingdom.” -- Yousouf Hossen

Neil Stewart and the team at SRD Group.

SRD Group Limited
CRM and Customer Experience Consultants
Merging TEAMS, TECHNOLOGY AND CUSTOMERS

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