Until recently, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software had the unenviable reputation for being difficult to implement in many mid-sized enterprises. Reasons for project failure included high start-up & maintenance costs, I/T resource requirements, lack of user adoption, and large changes to existing business processes.
Having a data steward, report builder, user-training expert, and system administrator is essential for CRM success. Use Demand Metric's downloadable CRM Administrator job description to formalize the role of CRM application support.
Strategic planning is a great way to identify which initiatives can add the most value to your organization. The next step is to prioritize initiatives with a systematic method. Use our downloadable Priority Index Tool to guide you through the prioritization process, and help you drill down on the value added for each proposed initiative.
Risk assessment is an area of concern for all senior executives, but many mid-sized enterprises do not have the skills, processes, or tools to effectively mitigate risks. Instead of reactively 'fire-fighting' and dealing with issues as they arise, consider adding simple risk assessment & analysis exercises to your project planning process.
Considering how important the interview process is for scrutinizing potential employees, it is surprising that most organizations do not have a formal set of interview questions. Don't misread another hire because you didn't take the time to plan for the interview accordingly. Use Demand Metric's Interview Questions Tool to create a list of standardized interview questions from your perspective.
Developing leaders is a top organizational development priority for every company. Effectively managing knowledge capital is especially important in highly competitive industries. Understanding and deploying a succession management strategy is an excellent way to manage your department, groom future leaders, and mitigate risk. Use Demand Metric's downloadable Succession Management Matrix tool to identify and develop the future leaders of your organization.
Leaders of marketing departments are charged with increasing the knowledge and skills of their team, but many do not have a plan for educating and developing their staff. Use this summary to identify which skills you have, and what strategies you can deploy to engage your team and expand their strategic & tactical skills.
How a prospect competitively positions your company is a critical factor when engaging in the buying/selling process. Fundamentally, positioning is about aligning your business with theirs, so that a clear synergy can be visualized by the prospect.
A focus group is a controlled group interview of a target audience demographic. The interview is often led by a facilitator who covers a set series of questions or topics. Benefits of focus group sessions include: increased customer satisfaction & brand perceptions, and informing product development decisions.
Focus groups are a key component to an effective market research program. Generating qualitative feedback in this medium can be more insightful than standardized surveys.
“Lead Generation refers to the creation or generation of prospective consumer interest or inquiry into a business’ products or services. Often lead generation is associated with marketing activities, such as cold-calling, targeted at generating new sales opportunities for a company’s sales force.
