In essence, CRM is all about identifying these roles as they relate to your business and using technology to support customers when they operate in these roles. In the following sections, I'll discuss five common customer roles in relation to the CRM software universe. Every customer begins life as a prospect that the company must convert into a customer. An SFA package is also used to account-manage existing customers who may play the role of prospect not just once, but many times in their relationship with a supplier. It becomes immediately obvious why a fully integrated CRM system, as opposed to a series of information islands, is vital for managing any customer relationship effectively.
Salespeople are sometimes the last to know that a customer is in fact in prospect mode.
In reality, customer service and support people may be the first to hear that a customer is looking for or needs something new or improved. Otherwise, opportunities are lost and customers go elsewhere. Probably the greatest sales competition any salesperson faces is not another salesperson but simply ignorance of their customer's current mode. Customer As Account For many businesses, the bulk of their relationship management is in managing the customer in an account role. We've all contacted call centers to quibble bills, help desks to get that user-friendly software to work, or service centers to get warranty claims satisfied.