There is an old saying "don't jump over dollars to get dimes"

The key to good customer relationship is to re-think your organization completely, and all its strategies, tactics, processes and interactions, in effect changing the philosophy to the “customer” is in charge. This kind of idea is really nothing original: we refer to it in our marketing strategies, business plans and financial assessments. Even though this idea is not ground breaking, the customer-centric in any company has never been more important as it is today. More than ever, in today's challenging business environment, companies are staying focused on their only assets – the customer. Companies try to retain their best customers and maximize the effectiveness of every customer interaction – though sales, service, and/or marketing. In the past, a company could be guilty of any of these customer perception "sins" and be forgiven for them:

• Thinking of your clients in terms of "what" they buy instead of who they are.
• Talking a lot about your mission, your team, your investors and your company without mentioning the customer component. The customer was viewed as revenue.

A company cannot get away with is type of behavior anymore. That’s because all companies are realizing that the investors, your staff and the company does not matter if the "customer" is not at the center of everything. The business world is moving to a "Sales, Service, Marketing, and back to Service" model. The client needs to be aware that if your business provides a service or product, product and service, or service for a product they must feel you will be their to support them in the now and future. Customer service is the key to success, as a company you need to:

• get the client to remember what you did for them
• let the client know they can trust you to satisfy their needs
• informed of anything that could cause them harm
• offer other services that will save them time and energy
• let the client know you will not breach their trust in your team or company
• ensure the client feel respected

A CRM (Customer Relation Software) package helps to track the client and the services that was used. If a client comes back to you for a part or supplies a CRM will allow your team to access information about the original purchase with ease, this demonstrates the depth of commitment you have to that client. "Knowing their name" is very important to most clients - understanding their needs is essential to the relationship and information is the key to that success. A good CRM will embrace Sales Force Automation, Customer Service and Marketing strategies. Getting a CRM solution that is flexible, easy to use, and designed to fit your business needs is critical to your business. With CRMs can transform every contact point into a marketing opportunity and harness the potential within your customer base. With marketing management and automation software from Microsoft, Sugarcrm, Vtiger, SAP CRMs you can market more effectively, improve productivity, and have information at your finger tip.

At Avant Garde we can help you evaluate and choose the correct CRM that will address your customers needs. We will also help you to achieve excellence in all aspects of customer relationship management.