Building a Customer Strategy from Ground Zero

I’ve spent the last few weeks helping a client define the specifications for their CRM strategy and system. The exciting thing is that this client is a start up organization, so they are able to create their customer strategy (and supporting processes, experiences, and technology) from scratch.

It’s been a great experience, because the client and I are having meaningful conversations such as:

1. What type of data do we want to know about customers and how are we going to use it?
   


2. How do we incorporate the online behavior of a customer into our CRM system? Can we infer needs and motivations based on their behavior and then translate it into marketing and sales activities?
   


3. What is the “correct” view of the customer for each of the customer touch points so that we can ensure that a customer never has to repeat himself?
   


4. How do the various touch points need to interact with each of the databases to ensure that the “correct” view of the customer is always up to date?
   


5. What type of data would allow us to infer a customer’s value – even though we are a new company and have no customer data yet?
   


6. What is the balance between product marketing and customer relationship marketing?
   


7. How can marketing manage the relationship with customers? What types of communications should be sent out and how do we prioritize them? And, how do we measure success?
   


8. How do marketing and sales complement each other in the sales process? Which team is responsible for what? And, how do we ensure that the two touch points don’t step on each other’s toes (and cause confusion for the prospect or customer)?
   

Now, not every company has the luxury to start with a completely blank slate like this company has, but the questions above are thought-provoking ones that all companies should spend time thinking about. These are the foundational questions any organization must answer when embarking on a customer strategy.