How do I know:
- How many customers do I have?
- How many of them are regular customers?
- Where my customers come from? Where can I acquire them from?
- What can I sell in the near future?
CRM system isn’t just another trendy system You need to implement in your company! Well suited CRM may significantly ease your work. But before we adjust the system to your needs we shall examine whether the standard solution meets your requirements.
Let’s make an assumption you have a flower shop (you may as well be a nanotechnology leader, but for the sake of ease, let us call it a florist business). When your shop is visited by someone even Madame Daralis can say only that he has never bought anything, this person is your lead. The mysterious gentleman is looking over flowers to decide what to buy. As he is spending more time on roses – we can qualify him – he might buy a rose. A possible purchase of the mysterious gentleman is an opportunity and the roses are our product (opportunity product). In the end, under pressure of the saleswoman’s looks, having bought nothing, the gentleman says goodbye and walks out of the store. This is a lost opportunity. Right after he leaves, Kate, a teacher from the nearby elementary school who buys a bouquet of red carnations every week, enters the store. She talks to the shop assistant, who is in the meantime preparing her bouquet. She tells her how was her day, how many tests she has to correct and how her pupils behaved during classes. Kate is a client (well, to be precise, she is a contact). Weekly visit at flower shop is an opportunity (each and every visit) but this time it is a won opportunity. Knowing Kate, we can actually estimate the probability of her purchase. But Kate is not only an individual client. Every year, on the 14th of November she orders wreaths for the school patron’s day of Elementary School No 1. She pays for the wreaths with money from school budget. So, Kate is a contact assigned to an account which is the Elementary School No. 1 (each company, that is our client, is considered as an account, and anyone who represents such a company is a contact). There are two records of Kate in the system: as an individual – Kate, and as a company contact – Kate from Elementary School No. 1. The possible purchase of wreaths is an opportunity related to the Elementary School No. 1. Admittedly, we do not know the budget of Elementary School No. 1, but we know how much the school may spend on flowers for the school patron’s day. This is estimated budget. Knowing the probability of wreaths purchase (let’s say 90%; a new flower shop opened in the neighbourhood and School may buy flowers there) and the price at which we sell, we can determine the estimated revenue.
The mysterious gentleman, whom we met at the beginning, returns to the florist after a week. A smiling shop assistant ask him if he needs help. It turns out the gentleman is looking for roses. But he is interested only in peach roses – his wife adores them. On his previous visit there were no peach roses. But today, they are! And again we are dealing with an opportunity. Presenting flowers and the possible florist composition is an offer. Picking up roses and arranging a bouquet is the order preparation. The mysterious gentleman finalises his purchase and becomes a contact. At last! He may even return someday (but only if we have peach roses!).
In case of the mysterious gentleman, the probability of purchase is rather small – 10%, and the bouquet price in our flower shop is £10. Thus, our estimated revenue equals €1. When it comes to the wreaths, the estimated revenue (given the price of wreaths equal to £100) is £90. This values are quite significant for an entrepreneur. Analysing the opportunities, we are able to create the sales pipeline, asses the revenue in the short-term and plan the further sales.
