Extends The Season of Growth (NAPSA)—The challenge: Growing a business is expensive. Finding a new customer can cost seven times more than retaining an existing one. The reality: If small or midsize businesses don’t grow, chances are they won’t remain viable. The solution: Enlist customercentric technology to deliver superior customer service while help- ing secure newsales. Technology developed for cus- tomer relationship management (CRM) is on the markettoday. It’s affordable, it can be easily config- Small businesses can grow into requirements, andit’s easy to use. customer relationship manage- ured according to your business When employees aren’t bogged down with manually processing service requests or using technology that’s clunky, difficult to navigate and generally unreliable, they can devote their full attention to what differentiates a stellar busi- ness from a mediocre one: a genuine, sincere humantouch thatlets customers know theyre valued. Growing a Business With The Help of Technology Businesses that select the appropriate CRM product can grow by adhering to one simple concept: Focus more on customers andless on processes. “With our new CRM system, were going to be able to contact customers in a way we haven’t been able to do in the past,” said Jeff Merten, regional sales coordi- nator for AFLAC Inc., a leading writer of voluntary insurance cov- erage marketed at the worksite. For example, because many of AFLAC’s insurance policies are sold to employees though payroll deduction, AFLAC often haslittle individual policyholder data. “Since the policies we sell are individually purchased voluntary benefits, our customer really is the individual, not the company,” Merten explained. Microsoft CRM is the perfect place to store that information, allowing AFLAC to begin providing individualized big businesses with help from ment software. customer service. “We can even have a birthday card go out on the customer’s birthday, which is obviously something we’ve never been able to do before,” Merten said. “With that type of information, our customer service efforts can be virtually limitless.” Renewing Customer Loyalty There’s no doubt that winning new customers is important to every business. But keeping existing ones coming back is even moreso. “It’s those everyday experiences of superior service, or experiences where we receive that personal touch, that drive our loyalty to certain companies and brands,” said Dave Batt, senior director of Microsoft CRM. “The right CRM technology can help small and midsize businesses make superior customer service a standard by streamlining processes and proce- dures, joining areas of a business that were once incompatible, and putting the right information at employees’ fingertips so they can provide highly efficient service. It all makes a positive impact on the customer.” To learn more about growing a business with the help of CRM technology, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/busi nesssolutions/crm/default.aspx.
