CRM Solutions Can Help Cross-Sell and Upsell
•Define how the system will be used and who will use it. Some systems can be used for online cross-sell and upsell, but Way points out, they aren’t always effective in the call center. New CSRs typically will have better success with scripts rather than systems that offer products visually, while experienced CSRs may build better customer rapport using a visual system than they can with scripts that force them to conform.
•Jackson cautions that you need buy-in from all departments in your enterprise. The greatest hurdle is not the technology, she says, but how it changes your company’s culture. CRM requires customer-centric thinking and tearing down the information silos so departments can contribute data and resources to produce a single customer-focused entity.
“Interdepartmental integration is a huge issue,” she says, adding, however, that it doesn’t work for every one. “Many say that the strategy is not currently working and that successful cross-selling is still a distant goal. Many are asking why it’s so difficult. If it makes so much sense, why is it so tough to execute?”
Research shows that making the sale still depends primarily on the chemistry between the salesperson and the customer, and not necessarily on features or benefits, Jackson continues. This holds true for cross-selling and with in-house sales teams.
Says Jackson, “Technology is important, but research still shows that the real secret to cross-selling is to develop the relationship between the people who do business together.” Melissa Sepos is the former managing editor of Catalog Success magazine. You can reach her via e-mail: msepos@napco.com.
Tips for Selecting a CRM solution
Once you’re ready to buy a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help with cross-sell and upsell efforts, you have myriad selection options.
Many companies are concerned about their legacy systems. Catalogers, especially those with older retail or catalog management systems, find it hard to incorporate their data into these new solutions and to integrate all of the systems together.
