10.14.03
 By
Ojas Rege
Over the past decade, companies have spent untold millions on the
promise of CRM—that a single, shared view of the customer offers value
to the organization, including field support. Yet acceptance of CRM
systems by the frontline in the field—the sales representatives—can
prove to be a considerable challenge. Low sales representative compliance
compromises data quality; and a CRM system with incomplete data is
of minimal use.
According to AvantGo Sales Management & Field Representative
Survey, the top three obstacles cited by sales representatives for
not using CRM/SFA systems were that the systems:
- are too time-consuming;
- are difficult to access; and
- provide limited value in the field.
These key barriers have resulted in lower field adoption and utilization
levels than management requires or desires in order to reap the anticipated
benefits. |
Enter mobile handheld computing, which can provide a highly accessible,
easy-to-use version of the CRM functionality representatives need
to do their jobs. By extending existing CRM investments, customer
data and call reporting becomes accessible to field sales when and
where they need it.
Shrinking CRM for the Field—Steps to Consider
In most organizations, field CRM or SFA has been designed around the
sales reporting needs of management, not the sales process needs of
the end user. As a result, these systems tend to be forced on the
sales staff without necessarily addressing their pain points or fitting
easily into their daily workflow. What features will increase adoption?
What do they think of the current system? When do sales representatives
prefer to do their call reporting? What information do they *really*
value in the field? These and other important questions help in mapping
out a mobile CRM project. Instead of building around management, a
successful field CRM implementation will focus on the issues of the
user. In stripping down CRM to a pint-size version, the following
steps will help to ensure a successful mobile CRM solution.
Step 1: Talk to the Representative
Design from the outside-in. If the sales representatives don't see
value, they simply won't use CRM, so design the mobile solution around
their workflow. Talk to "reps" and identify common frustrations and
how best to fix them. Find out what barriers are coming between the
rep and the customer. For example, if the sales team member has not
been able to access the most up-to-date marketing, product and pricing
information in the field, it is likely that he couldn't answer customer
questions. It makes sense to empower representatives with the information
they need to answer questions on the spot, to maximize those customer
interactions.
According to the same survey, 72 percent of sales reps said they spend
50 percent or more of their time away from their home or work office.
Most will agree that much of this is non-selling downtime that could
be spent preparing for calls or finishing up administrative tasks.
Much of this work consumes their mornings or evenings at home. Mobile
solutions give the representative a chance to tap into this downtime
and make it more productive, improving their quality of life and effectiveness.
Step 2: Map Information Flow
After identifying the issues that sales reps face, consider the information
flow that could address those issues. Sales representatives in the
field need information to be effective. Look at the day-to-day process
they follow in the field to determine what kinds of functionality
or information should be provided to help address any issues raised
in step one.
If, for example, quality of life is affected by the demand of administration
tasks, there is likely information or functionality missing that might
alleviate the problem. Mobile solutions provide an information delivery
and capture mechanism that is tailored to the workflow of the sales
rep. But first, you must understand what type of information is needed
by the team and in what context.
Step 3: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
Reps need the right information, not all the information. As a rule
of thumb, they do not need the entire CRM system on their handheld.
More likely, they need specific opportunity management and service
histories from the CRM system, marketing and competitive messaging
from the Intranet, and inventory information from the ERP system.
Don't be limited to mobilizing information from just one back-end
system. That will rarely serve the rep's needs. Instead, pick and
choose based on your specific sales process.
It is critical to build an architecture that will flexibly aggregate
corporate information. Despite the progress in mobile devices, a small
form factor still presents limitations in screen size and memory,
requiring careful thought and planning. Remember—less is more.
Step 4: Build for the Environment
You also need to understand the work environment of field sales. Representatives
are mobile by the very nature of the job, and for technology to be
useful, it must support their work environment. What type of screen
navigation works best? Do they really need wireless connectivity or
will an offline solution do the trick? Does the solution map to their
workflow? What personalization and flexibility is required? The survey
discovered that over 80 percent of sales reps surveyed believe that
a PDA sales solution would make them more productive in the field
and 90 percent said they would use their CRM/SFA system more if they
had handheld mobile access. If you design for usability and value,
the sales representatives will adopt the solution.
Mobile computing has successfully provided a pint-size version of
CRM for many companies—driving adoption, data accuracy and increased
sales effectiveness, and ultimately maximizing existing CRM investments.
With all these benefits to mobile CRM, what are you waiting for?
* Originally published at CRMguru.com
About the Author:
Ojas Rege leads product development and management for iAnywhere's
Mobile Solutions group. In this role, Mr. Rege is responsible for
product strategy for the company's mobile middleware, e-mail and line-of-business
enterprise solutions as well as AvantGo, the popular mobile Internet
service. iAnywhere provides software and services that enable the
delivery of enterprise information anywhere, at anytime. Visit http://www.ianywhere.com
for more information.
Read
this newsletter at: http://www.crmnewz.com/2003/1014.html |
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