I found this brilliant CRM video on Michael Seaton’s blog “The Client Side” and thought it was too good not to re-post.
In the video the caller is trying to order two “meat lover’s pizzas” and the lady in the call center uses the caller’s private information in their “CRM” program in a slightly dark, comical way.
The problem is that its not all make-belief.
Credit card companies, grocery food chains, and loyalty programs have very sophisticated “CRM” systems that stockpile personal information about you. I think using personal information to influence sales by remote call centers is slimy. Whenever someone calls me and wants to use my first name and tell me how much “such & such” company values my business, I get irritated and ask to be taken off their call list.
However, I think there’s lots of opportunity for small businesses to use automation to make sure they’re staying in contact with customers they do have a relationship with. And when you’re trying to run a small business, it can be tough to fuel those relationships when you’re constantly trying to finish another project (or software product!).
Maybe they should change the name of “CRM system” for large businesses to “Creepy Customer Database” systems – because ultimately, that’s all they are.
PS – don’t be too alarmed by this video. Smart technology doesn’t make a company bad, bad people do.
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Tags: big business, CRM, video
Great video indeed. I agree small businesses need such automation to help maintain their customer relationships. Without a good CRM system, a small business’ growth will be limited.
As for “Creepy Customer Database,” Google probably has all the information needed to put together the system in the video. Imagine GoogleCRM (beta, of course) at everyone’s fingertips.
I don’t like the way financial companies deal with my information and try to be so personal. But unlike this pizza company in the video, I’m happy that our local Chinese takeout keeps a record of our order.
I hate having to repeat the order that my wife gets:
Spicy Chicken Cashew, but hold the chicken, add to tofu… yes, fry the tofu and use firm if you’ve got it. No garlic. Really, no garlic. Add broccoli and add carrots. Fried rice if you can make it without garlic.
I’m looking forward to dex. It’s not sales force automation. I look at it as relationship management. I don’t need salesforce.com, sugarcrm or something similar. I need a way to leverage my contacts and be reminded to contact important, or potentially important people.
Wow! Great “plug” Mike. Thanks.