CRM and Controlling

Figures – a valuable basis for sales and other departments. However, they will be really useful when prepared and analyzed. Only then, the actual conditions can be identified and therefore meaningful decisions taken – whether regarding the purchasing behavior of the customer or the achievement of targets and long-term planning.

CRM and ERP – together strong in controlling

Turnover, incoming orders, open items… these and other figures are prepared in the ERP system. The figures are useful for sales employees provided that they are available at all times.

The solution is a CRM system that offers detailed analysis possibilities. Then the figures from the ERP solution can be taken over in the CRM and analyzed there. The result: sales support for customer care, but also an overview of their own processes.

Manifold analyses

… for a comprehensive customer picture

Individual and expert care is the goal. That’s why sales work is all about knowing your customers or your prospective customers. A genuinely comprehensive picture goes beyond address and contact management.

• If one knows who are the top 50 customers and one’s own turnover per customer, then one understands how to balance the care for each customer.
• If one keeps an eye on one’s turnover in the territory overview, one can act in each region accordingly. 
• If one knows which customer has bought which product, one can offer him matching products.

The more comprehensively the CRM system analyses data and figures, the more comprehensive customer knowledge is.

… for optimal sales management

What applies to sales employees is highly relevant for sales management and managing director. For successful sales work, you need deep knowledge to make the right decisions on a short notice and to be able to purposely plan on a long term basis.

A pure accumulation of figures is not enough. They must be available, prepared and evaluated at any time – always updated and without much effort:

• Monthly and yearly comparisons and cumulated overviews offer a summary of past time periods – from the overview into the details.
• Overviews per territory underline where the sales team must strengthen its actions.
• Customer overviews provide a panoramic view of all and each customer.
• If the sales targets are recorded in the CRM system, current/target comparisons offer an insight on target achievement, so that corrections or counteractions can be timely launched. 

… for expert service

Beyond the sales department, such analyses also provide a better insight to the service department:

• For which product are there particularly numerous complaints? Here, the product might need to be improved.
• For which customers are there particularly numerous complaints? They might be using a product not meeting their requirements.
• Are the terms of reclamation processing optimal or must the processes be adapted?

… for targeted marketing

For marketing campaigns, the analyses are likewise indispensable. Indeed, you can only select the appropriate target group when you properly know your customers and your prospective customers.

• If a mailing is planned for a given accessory, you can purposely select the customers using the matching product.
• Or a marketing campaign should only address the customers whose turnover in the last quarter year declined.