Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Now that the majority of mobile devices on the market have browser-based Web surfing capabilities – and the major U.S. wireless carriers are rolling out impressive wireless network initiatives to usher in the new age of “wireless Internet” – organizations all across the country are looking harness this new technology to empower their mobile workforces. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as any great surprise that a growing number of companies are looking to mobile CRM to give their mobile workers an even greater advantage when out in the field.

 

What this really means is that enterprises are looking to give their workers mobile access to their CRM, enterprise resource planning, sales force automation or other back office software systems. To help make this happen, the leading CRM vendors are developing (or have already developed) “mobile versions” of their solutions, which basically means the software interface is “re-sized” so that it fits on mobile screens, and offers the core functionality that is needed. By pushing this functionality out to mobile devices, such as those made by RIM (BlackBerry) Palm, Nokia and Apple -- or any Windows mobile device for that matter -- companies can boost the productivity of their mobile workers, streamline operations and increase customer satisfaction.

However, so far only a small percentage of companies are using mobile CRM --and many of those only on a limited basis -- which means it is a market segment that is poised for explosive growth. Recent research from Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Compass Intelligence LLC suggests that businesses in the U.S. will spend roughly $9 billion on mobile applications by 2011, up from an estimated $3.8 billion this year. One can be sure that a large chunk of that money will be spent on mobile CRM. Surprisingly, so far the early adopters have been small to medium sized businesses.

Mobile CRM brings many advantages to an organization, some of which are no doubt yet to be discovered. Suffice it to say that it does much more than enable mobile access to email and text messaging. This is about access to real data, and the ability manipulate it in real time, as well as the ability to conduct transactions remotely. With mobile CRM, changes and updates made in the field can take effect in real time (or near real time) on the servers at the central office. This “virtualization” of the company network means business information can be seamlessly shared across all channels, mobile or otherwise -- a huge leap forward compared to the clunky interfaces of the not-too-distant past. With mobile CRM, mobile or remote workers don’t have to perform additional operations or follow up work upon returning to the office: It’s just as if they had their office PC or laptop with them the whole time.

But mobile CRM is just as much about improving the customer experience as it is about improving internal processes: For example, when a mobile worker is doing business with a customer, say, at their home or office, it helps tremendously if he has all of the customer’s information, past and present, right at his fingertips. The ability to, for example, get the status of an order, see past buying trends, get the model number of the last item purchased, or find out if a particular part is available at the warehouse, while in the field, while the customer is there watching, leads to a much more satisfying experience and, as a result, higher customer loyalty.

To learn more about the many advantages mobile CRM solutions bring to the enterprise, ContactCenterSolutions recently interviewed Kris Brannock, vice president of corporate development, and Dave Miller, director of field service systems, at Vertical Solutions Inc., a leading CRM vendor offering mobile CRM. What follows are selected responses to our questions:

 

Kris Brannock: Mobile CRM apps are invaluable for companies that must take their support to their customers, such as in field service. Time is of the essence, not only in terms of customer satisfaction, but also in terms of efficient use of company resources. Mobile CRM enables companies to streamline the process of providing on-site technicians with the right tools, information, and parts they need to perform a fix. Techs can tap into online schematics, tutorials, and manuals to ease their troubleshooting and speed repairs; they can gather warranty and contract information instantaneously; and can provide customer information back to corporate in real time. Mobile CRM makes customers happier, because their provider has the right answers, and it makes providers happier because they can dramatically boost efficiency and effectiveness while capturing valuable customer information. In almost every case, there are positive, tangible ROI statistics once mobile technology is deployed in the field.

When’s the right time in the CRM selection process to start looking for mobile tools?

 

Kris Brannock: At the planning stages! If companies are even thinking about deploying a mobile solution – and every company should have that on its short list, if only to enable a remote and mobile workforce – their platform choice will need to support their chosen mobile toolset. All too often, companies get far down the path of choosing a CRM platform only to find that leading-edge mobile tools aren’t compatible. It’s important to factor mobile issues in from the outset of the planning stage.

 

 

Kris Brannock: Typically, there are three primary ways companies view mobile usage in the field. The CRM system must work in an “on-line” mode, an “off-line” mode, a blended “on-line/off-line” mode. The technical differences when creating a mobile application are significant. Dependencies such as mobile coverage (e.g. “Do my engineers typically work in basements where on-line access is difficult?”) and critical data access (e.g. “Our engineers need to see contract and warranty information immediately whether or not they’re ‘connected.’”) play a large role in the decision-making process.

The benefit of online-only access is that it’s the easiest to create and deploy if your engineers typically have mobile coverage. Off-line mobile options work well in environments where on-line access is intermittent. The advantages of a blended mode offer the best of both worlds. Therefore, finding a vendor that meets your specific requirements is key from the very beginning of a search.

What are the two or three considerations companies should pay particular attention to when selecting mobile CRM?

Kris Brannock: The first question is whether they’re selecting a CRM solution (or any component of CRM such as Field Service, Contact Center or Sales/Marketing) as well as a mobile solution. If possible, it makes sense to at least consider looking at both up front because one might choose a mobile solution that is not compatible with a new CRM solution…or is difficult to deploy. It’s also imperative to confirm what your mobile needs are up front regarding tethered, un-tethered, or a combination thereof. A good way to accomplish this is to ride along with a few engineers to see what issues they run into and how they work.

 

 

Kris Brannock: Vertical Solutions offers a modular solution that enables companies to build a chain of service success quickly. We specialize in helping companies unlock valuable data contained in fragile, legacy applications and migrating it safely to best-in-breed CRM point solutions. One of our customers, the binding company GBC, has 175 field techs who handle more than 100,000 service requests per year; its legacy field service system was aging and didn’t offer the real-time, two-way communications the company needed. It deployed PowerHelp - Field Service from VSI running on a combination pocket PC/pager/cell phone unit that provides meaningful, real-time communications between GBC and its techs in the field while lowering overall communications costs. The web-based solution was easily deployed and integrates with standard database applications including GBC’s ERP software. PowerHelp - Field Service also enables GBC to capture data on customer calls and categorize them in specific ways, including by cause, repair, and product class.

 

All of this detailed information is accessible to multiple divisions of the company, resulting in more immediate and improved customer support. The variety of data captured – from cause and repair codes to product information – helps GBC to improve and ensure quality, maximize parts availability, and educate product development and technology personnel. In essence, every aspect of the company benefits from the improved information-gathering capabilities of this system.

 

In addition, PowerHelp - Field Service automatically applies customer-specific Service Level Agreement terms to each service call. System rules constantly monitor performance and notify appropriate managers when SLAs are in danger of being breached. All escalations are logged and available for detailed reporting. This enhanced level of system tracking has resulted in a heightened awareness of attaining customer satisfaction goals throughout the organization.

 

 

Dave Miller: First, they would have a tremendous amount to spend on marketing. There are a handful of vendors that have amazing tools…but might not have the marketing dollars and stamina to dominate the mobile space.

 

Second, some key differentiators in the field service space would be a full view into the equipment service history and linkage to external portals with drill-down capabilities. Eventually, everything you get on your desktop will someday be available on a hand-held (e.g. today, issues can be hardware limitations, real-estate mobile device limitations, and data transfer rates). However, at some point in the future, customers will demand the exact same functionality they have on their desktop today. The vendor that makes this happen, and is able to market it appropriately, will dominate the space.

 

 

It’s easy to get hung up on demanding features such as Bluetooth capability or continuous real-time connectivity, and lose sight of the long-term focus of continuous process improvement. Rather than demand specific features, users must focus on benefits: what application will enable them to get the information they need to perform at peak efficiency while boosting customer satisfaction? What tools will enable them two-way access to corporate databases, both to receive and enter customer information? What functionality can be deployed quickly, and what will drag implementation out for months or years? How much ROI will be wasted while companies wait, and can they better achieve benefits by building a chain of modular, achievable successes? Answering those questions is the priority; the features are just the enablers.

 

 

One of the biggest issues we see CRM users face is the choice between CRM modules of enterprise packages and targeted point solutions. Many companies invest in large-scale ERP and other enterprise software, and push departments to adopt modules of that solution which the vendor offers for “free”. There are three problems with this approach – first, these solutions rarely deliver the performance that individual departments, such as customer support, need. Second, the deployment times are extraordinarily lengthy, often more than a year, grinding performance to a halt. And third, and perhaps most troubling, these deployments often “break” the fragile systems they are intended to replace. Instead, companies often can get far greater performance with rapid deployment times with point-based, module solutions. These solutions provide the ROI that companies need, and enable them to build a chain of success without crippling their existing operations.

 

 

Dave Miller: Vertical Solutions (VSI) will continue our drive towards a more expansive hybrid mode of on-line and off-line capabilities. This increase in our merging of dual modes will provide extensive, unique levels of functionality for our customers.

For more information about Vertical Solutions visit www.vertsol.com.

-----------

Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for ContactCenterSolutions. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.