Report indicates SMEs gain success from CRM

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The results of the benchmark study provide SMEs with a clear understanding of how their peers are deploying CRM, what objectives they are setting for their CRM investment and what main benefits and business outcomes they are gaining and measuring.

The study, titled ‘Measuring Value and Success from CRM’, consists of two results reports plus a practitioner’s workbook, with the Part 1 report published on 19 January 2017 and the other two publications available in the coming weeks.

Highlights

The study has revealed that 84% of SMEs regard ‘improving process efficiency’ as the primary business objective for their CRM deployments. This is a very clear tactical benefit from CRM solutions, delivering measurable hard cash savings.

On the other hand, a significant minority – 31% - of SMEs have adopted the objective of strategic business growth and are putting their CRM at the heart of their business. The research highlights the growing evolution of CRM, with businesses adopting the solution as the ‘go to’ platform for delivering customer experience and linking it with other IT systems.

CRM is now being employed as a company-wide repository for customer intelligence, and that intelligence is used to drive growth in every aspect of the business. The study also looked at key benefits achieved by CRM and confirmed that the centralisation of customer data is a key advantage as stated by 87% of respondents with 70% also achieving improved data quality and value from their CRM.

Mike Richardson, md EMEA at Maximizer comments, “Too little is yet understood about the return-on-investment that SMEs are gaining from their CRM. This is an appropriate time to establish a success benchmark for SMEs , sales techniques of the past have changed rapidly, nowadays customers embark on a new ‘journey’ where they start with their own research. This means businesses need to be seen as informative and helpful, as customers progress along their journey to purchase – CRM solutions have become the critical tool for understanding the customer and is the new hub to which all decision-driving company information is relayed.”

Annual report

Alison Smith, head of marketing EMEA, adds, “It is the intention that this annual benchmark report will be an important first move in filling the information gap for evaluating return on investment from CRM deployment. The aim of the peer evidence within the reports is to help SMEs measure and deliver successful CRM that actively contributes to their business growth.”

Part one of the Maximizer study looks closely at the critical business objectives that SMEs typically have for their CRM investment and the top five key operating benefits that result from successful CRM. Part two of the study looks at the key product features and the top six business outcomes that are being achieved using CRM. The third and final publication of the study is a practitioner’s guide providing a series of practical value and success measures based on the top strategic business objectives identified in the study.

To read the report, download here.