CRM and Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics, the science of predicting future probabilities or trends is becoming an important tool for companies to utilize thier CRM systems. CRM Magazine recently published an article regarding the importance of predictive analytics within CRM systems.

From "The Year in (P)review Looking back, and to the future: CRM trends and events to watch." CRM Magazine December 2005.

Colin Shearer, vice president of product marketing for SPSS, also believes that information, specifically analytics, is the next must-have part of the CRM puzzle. "More and more organizations are adding analytical capabilities to optimize [customer] interactions, and in the near term we'll see the vast majority of organizations incorporate some level of predictive analytics in their CRM infrastructure to gain a deep understanding of what customers want and to predict accurately how customers are going to behave," he says. "In the future, expect to see whole CRM infrastructures built on the premise that predicting customer behavior is fundamental."

When applied to quality CRM data, predictive analytics can provide sales managers and representatives with actionable insights that can profoundly improve sales performance indicators such as close rates, size of sale and repeat sales. Sales representatives may be armed with likely cross-sale and up-sale opportunities, critical incentives and other information specific to the individual customer they are relating with.

Sales managers are able to predict which opportunities are most likely to close, and focus resources where they will earn the greatest return. In addition, insight into the future value of certain customers allows managers to make long-term minded decisions.

As an award winning data analysis software company, ProWorks is well versed in providing valuable insights based on rich data. In the near future, look for ProWorks to release analysis tools that deliver predictive analytics information directed at helping sales representatives and managers execute their jobs more effectively.

Enabling the context menu in Microsoft CRM

When developing ISV solutions for Microsoft CRM, it can be helpful to see exactly what is going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, the right-click context menu is turned off by default. That's where the helpful little context menu item "View Source" is located.

To turn on the context menus for CRM and then gain access to the HTML source of each page, simply do the following:

CRM 1.2

• Find the Global.js file in the _common\scripts directory under your wwwroot.
  
  
• Make a backup of the Global.js file for when you need to revert back to the original version.
  
  
• Open the Global.js file in Notepad or your favorite text editor.
  
  
• Scroll down until you find the "oncontextmenu()" function.
  
  
• Comment out the "event.returnValue = false;" line with two slashes (//).
  
  
• Save
  

That will allow the default context menu to appear in CRM 1.2.


CRM 3.0

• Find the Global.js file in the _common\scripts directory under your wwwroot.
  
  
• Make a backup of the Global.js file for when you need to revert back to the original version.
  
  
• Open the Global.js file in Notepad or your favorite text editor.
  
  
• Scroll down until you find the "oncontextmenu()" function.
  
  
• Comment out the

  event.returnValue =
  (!event.srcElement.disabled &&
  (document.selection.createRange().text.length > 0 ||
  s == "TEXTAREA" ||
  s == "INPUT" && event.srcElement.type == "text"));

  lines with two slashes at the start of each line (//).
  
  
• Save
  

That will allow the default context menu to appear in CRM 3.0.

The Value of Real-Time CRM and Analytics

CRM Magazine recently published an article discussing the importance and future of real-time CRM titled 'Information at Your Fingertips': These five business drivers will propel real-time CRM. Based on an increasingly knowledgeable and less loyal customer base, the article predicts that real-time CRM solutions will expand in importance over the next decade. As a data analysis solution provider, ProWorks advocates the use of data to make better business decisions and CRM is no different. In order to be of real value to the customer however, CRM solutions must deliver real-time tools and information to the business user when it counts the most; when he is in contact with the customer.

Historically, CRM solutions have concentrated on the collection of customer data and making it available to executives and managers through scorecards and dashboards to monitor business operations from an elevated point of view. The challenge is to convert CRM data into actionable information that is available to the sales and service representatives that work directly with the customers. Providing floor level users with real-time tools that let them do their jobs better and easier, gives CRM an appeal for day to day adoption.

CRM analytics delivered at real-time speed can provide users with important insights about a specific customer and recommended actions to service that particular customer better. What types of products and services is this customer likely to need now and in the future? What are the key sales drivers for this customer? What values and incentives are most important to this customer? The answers to these types of questions are examples of how CRM analysis can be of real-time benefit to CRM end users and their customers.