Customer relationship management

The brief

Turn reactive customer managers into 'farmers' and 'hunters' by turning the customer relationship management (CRM) system from a strategic document to a living reality.

To do this, we needed to create tools to support the practical execution of CRM on a daily basis. We also had to design and implement a learning and development programme to equip 800 managers with CRM skills.

The solution

We designed specific analysis tools to define 'farmer' skills and 'hunter' skills and consulted with managers to identify the challenges they faced, as well as their skill gaps. We worked with individuals to ensure the CRM tools integrated well and complied with all existing systems, right down to regional and branch level.

Next we designed a learning and development programme that encapsulated the CRM strategy and translated it into 'what does this mean to the way I go about interacting with our customers?' The programme ensured that managers understood the rationale behind the CRM strategy and gained the skills to function as successful 'farmers' and 'hunters'. Follow-up coaching was provided to embed the skills and deliver ongoing support.

The result

Senior management has noted more pro-active behaviour from managers in looking for new business and asking for support in winning it. Customers have commented on a marked improvement in service, open dialogue, issues being quickly dealt with, and better articulation of what it is they are buying. The organisation's managers are beginning to sell solutions and value to clients, not just products and services.

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