CRM - any suggestions?

CRM - any suggestions?

Didn't find your answer?

I now really need to get a good CRM system for my practice.

We use MS Word for mailshots etc and it isnt good enough we need a 'proper system' for mailshots/client management etc.

We currently use PTP for accounts and tax and wont be changing.

I am seriously considering ACCA Practice Manager.

Any thoughts/comments/recommendations will be much appreciated.

Nicola
Nicola

Replies (9)

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By Tomcogswell
24th May 2007 09:45

Not a problem at all Nicola
I think that you are right - there aren't many small practices using CRM at the moment, however it wouldn't surpirse me to see a large surge over the next year or so.

Customer management is becoming increasingly important in any line of business, and for time-based billing professions such as accountants or lawyers even more so.

I wouldn't be disheartened by the lack of response from other practitioners - I would just say that you are ahead of the game!

I hope all goes well, and if you need any further help please feel free to get in touch.

Tom

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Mark
By MarkRyan
25th May 2007 16:12

CRM must be integrated and it must be available to all
Hello Nicola

I spend my life advising practices on information systems and I don't sell any!

You'll need to manage relationships with clients and employees of clients, as well as contacts. You'll also need to manage lists of cold contacts, ensuring no warm contacts or clients creep onto the cold list

A "good CRM system" is one which is used

The system must be available to all members of the team, and not just be used for list-maintenance in the back-office. It has to be quick and easy to use

You should initially look at all your existing packages, to ensure they aren't CRM systems in disguise. For example, do you have a time-and-fees system? Some of them provide masses of CRM facilities

Whatever you do, don't implement one solution for contacts and another for clients - unnecessary cost, complexity and risk of messing up

If you want a chat, just drop me a line
(I do this for fun!)

Mark Ryan
[email protected]

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By Tomcogswell
23rd May 2007 10:34

There are quite a few options out there
And really the answer will depend on how your practice currently works.

When making any CRM purchase, there is a process to follow that will mean you have the greatest chance of success.

First of all take a look at how your practice currently works for customer management - are you custoemr centric? Do you want to be?

Then review your current processes for customer management - is there a director that sells all business, and then managers beneath them that manage the relationship? Is this information recorded? If not, woudl you like it to be?

Try to write a workflow for these processes, so that you can understand in a lot of detail how you currently work, and if there are any changes you would liek to make before you get your new system.

Then comes the easy bit - find out which systems match the workflow you have mapped out, look at the other relative strengths, and choose form there. Remember that the core functionality fo CRM has now been agreed and is pretty much standard - the differences you are looking at are ont he edge - i.e. GUI, add-ons etc.

Some solutions to review intially are:
- Sales Outlook (http://www.nouveau.co.uk - Paul Marshall)
- salesforce.com
- DRIVE (https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/partner/keytime/practice.html)

My advice would be to choose a CRM system though, and not a contact management system such as ACT! or Goldmine.

If you need any further help or info, feel free to email me at [email protected], or there is a wealth of information available at https://www.mycustomer.com/library/index.html.

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By MBK
24th May 2007 11:06

Try Busydesk from Logical Planet
We (3 partners + 20 staff) have been using this product since new nearly 4 years ago. Works really well provided you invest some strategic time at the point of setup. Could, theoretically allow us to go paperless - but we choose not to go there. Nice people too, good support, and listen to users. I think they have quite a few accounting firms as clients.

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By User deleted
24th May 2007 19:08

Thank you all - I am quite surprised to have been a little inundated with sales calls in the office today from some rather hard sell reps (excl Tom who was VERY helpful thank you)- not quite sure how they got my details but thanks all anyway. I have alot of research and testing etc to do.

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By User deleted
23rd May 2007 22:16

Thank you both very much for your responses - especially Tom. Both are appreciated.

I was rather hoping some fellow practitioners would have some comments but I suspect CRM systems are not actually that widely used by small practices.

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By AnonymousUser
23rd May 2007 16:44

SalesOutlook
Hi Nicola

It was kind of Tom to include my details for you.

Basically, we provide a simple to use, powerful CRM system that lives within Microsoft Outlook and Office.

This makes implementation and user acceptance very easy, as the users are working within an application they are already familiar with and use every day, so there are little training or change management issue to deal with.

I'd be happy to provide you with any information or advice if you feel this would be useful.

Best regards

Paul Marshall

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By User deleted
24th May 2007 11:28

Also Busydesk
I use Busydesk as a sole practitioner, having gone paperless (more or less), and it's a great piece of software with great support. I can't claim to use more than half its functionality - for example I don't at the moment use it for marketing.

I think the next 'evolution' of the software is coming out soon, and I look forward to seeing it.

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By AnonymousUser
24th May 2007 11:46

Small Practice CRM
Hi Nicola

I'm in agreement too re: small practices not taking up CRM.

CRM has traditionally been viewed as risky and the type of thing that large corporations with huge budgets do.

Times are definitely changing; CRM is now at a stage in its development where it has become an affordable asset to the smaller companies.

Unfortunately, most small companies are not yet aware of this; it's a bit like having to change the customer perception of the original Skoda cars as unreliable and badly made to what they are today.

It was quite a few years after VW bought them and immediately started producing high quality vehicles before they were able to change the public perception of them.

It took VW a long time & huge marketing budgets to shift this perception as nobody wanted to be seen driving a Skoda.

The image they portrayed was of a cheap set of wheels that was the [***] of innumerable jokes!

These days a good system is designed to be flexible, customisable and generic enough to fit 80% of a customer requirements, with the further 20% deliverable via easy customisation around your specific business processes.

The main difference today with a good CRM system is that where in the past it was a case of deploying a technology solution and changing your business practices to fit, today the focus is to use flexible technology to automate and compliment your business practices.

A sea change in thinking and consequently the success rates for CRM implementations has skyrocketed.

I have a white paper that might be of interest to you which cuts the waffle and provides an insight into the key stages and processes you need to be aware of to successfully wrap CRM into your business, which I'd be happy to forward to you.

Please feel free to drop me an email if you'd like to have a read.

All the best

Regards

Paul Marshall

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