CRM - The Value Proposition

By Rob Keene
Director, Banking Practice

First question… How often do you spend money from your marketing budget to attract new customers or to retain existing customers? All the time, right? This is the normal course of business, isn't it?

Next question… How often can you determine the statistical probability of the anticipated response to your marketing campaigns? Probably not often, unless you've discovered CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Many bankers are risk averse and, consequently, view CRM as a business proposition with an unfamiliar and unknown outcome. If you can accurately predict the outcome of your marketing campaigns within a reasonable margin of error, and you are meeting every need of your customers, then you may not need CRM. If you cannot or do not accurately predict the outcome of your marketing campaigns and you believe there is opportunity to improve customer satisfaction, then CRM could benefit your institution.

Properly deployed, CRM is a pathway to lowering the risk associated with spending money for marketing campaigns. CRM does this by improving response rates for your campaigns by using customer-driven strategies that meet customers' needs. Campaign revenue will increase relative to the cost. As I travel around the country talking to bankers, almost without exception, their organizations are in some stage of CRM development, but they have not implemented change as a result. All too often, the process stops because the point is reached where they need to make an investment in technology or people to "launch" CRM effectively. The inability to understand and believe in the value proposition of CRM grinds the process to a halt.