At the recent PM Forum conference, I picked up an accountancy marketing case study from technology suppliers there about the use of marketing technology by accountancy firm Grant Thornton.
The Senior Executive – CRM, Marketing and Business Development talks about the use of the CRM solution amongst the 200 partners across 25 offices at the firm:
- There is a world of difference in how the solution is both perceived and used compared to when it was first used in the firm eight years ago
- Prior to Interaction® we were using a CRM contact database alongside several other databases and there was no consistency – so initially it was used to manage contacts and for relationship management
- Subsequently we also deployed the Interaction Opportunities module which allowed us to adopt a structured approach to managing our sales pipeline. We have good visibility of the status of prospective business but can also analyse our wins and loses – which strategy worked, which individuals/contacts played a key role and the reasons for a piece of business not materialising
- Today we use the solution much more strategically – partner KPIs are aligned with the strategic objectives of the business and Interaction helps us monitor performance and progress
- Example KPIs include whether we are engaging frequently enough with prospects and if we are addressing the clients’ broader agenda
- Anyone can go into the tool and see how they are performing against their KPIs – fundamentally, these ensure relevance and urge forward thinking
- The information is used for guidance at individual partner level and cumulatively at an office, practice, department and organisational level – clearly linking the impact of activities to quantifiable business objectives
- It is integrated with Microsoft Outlook, Companies House data and with our billing system
The full case study can be seen at: http://www.lexisnexis-es.co.uk/resources/case-studies/grant-thornton-interaction-case-study And a video interview is available here http://www.lexisnexis-es.co.uk/videos/Grant-Thornton-Case-Study-Future-Plans-of-Lexis-InterAction/
I have produced a full conference report of the 2014 PM Forum conference which will appear in a future edition of PM Forum magazine http://www.pmforum.co.uk/magazine/
