Select A Phone System?
23 October 2008
There are many pitfalls to avoid when choosing
a phone system, commonly called a CRM or Customer Relationship Management
system. This author will be the first to tell you that the cost should not be
your primary decision . The primary decision should revolve around
what your customer wants or needs. Most customers want it the CRM to work
right and with little error. The first CRM system I contracted for was a total
disaster. I didn't check with his customers to see how they felt about the
system. The second thing I neglected to do was see if the system would fit our
business model. The third thing I neglected to do was determine if they were
able to maintain the system or not. Here are a few tips:
Check out the quality of the audio. A paying phone sex
customer deserves a clear connection. Ask questions about disconnects. Nothing is more annoying to
you, your customer and your employees. My first service had a a 15% percent
dropped connection rate. Not only did that upset my regular cliental, but they
had to redial the toll free number to get back to dispatch. Disconnects happen
and should only occur once every hundred calls or so. When a disconnect does
happen the customer should be connected with the dispatcher automatically and
not forced to redial to get what he paid for.Check out the CRM store front and the back room. Many poor
quality CRM Systems are run out of peoples basements.
The cost of these home
operated systems to own and manage are less then what any CRM firm would charge
you for setup.
If you want a piece of crap, its cheaper to go buy one yourself.A good quality system will have a substantial infrastructure
and a backup redundant system in a different region of the country. Downtime
happens and when it does you want it to be kept to minimum.Is it to good to be true. The cost of a CRM system should run
about $0.20 cents per minute when a customer is connected and talking with a
fantasy artist. anything less will cost you customers.In short you get what you pay for and do not sign a contract
until you know the potential CRM's reputation. |