Customer Service As A Profit Center
Reframing service as a profit center is the key to driving new growth – So says James L. Watson, regional manager, Neocase Software. In an exclusive viewpoint published at DestinationCRM, James states that all you need to do to drive growth from CRM is to look at it differently, consider it a profit center. Apparently, a shift in perspective will enable you to get your CRM activities to become a major revenue driver.
A read through his article tells that this is all that you need to do to make money from CRM, get a quick ROI. I say this because, although he suggests a difference in perspective, the accompanying activities are simply those that one would normally associate with a successfully operating CRM deployment.
James goes on mention activities such as offering good service, up-selling, cross-selling, etc as those that you need to do if you are going to look at CRM as a profit center on par with sales and marketing.
To be honest, I didn’t really understand the point of the article. I mean the ultimate objective of deploying a CRM solution has always been to make money – make money by keeping the customers happy. So, how does adding some new nomenclature to it make a difference when you are not introducing any new activities to go with your new concept? Is this vinegar in a wine bottle?
P.S The last paragraph of his article reminds me of typical boardroom pep talk that my boss used to give me. Does nothing to make it easy for the guys who are actually facing the heat out there.
Funny, but I have always looked at CRM as a way to make money. It’s the old adage; “It’s cheaper to keep a customer then to get one.”
Our tech support guys use our system to track problems and customer feedback so that we can make constant improvements. In the long run, we deliver a better product which leads to more sales. In the short term our clients are more likely to appreciate our level of customer service and recommend us to associates. Win-Win.
Mark