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BPM plays vital role in maximizing benefits of CRM

Malcolm Ross, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy, Appian
June 28, 2013

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems have gained prominence in recent years, especially as organizations have begun having them hosted in the cloud. Cloud-based CRM systems enable organizations to manage customer relationships more efficiently and flexibly while keeping costs under control. However, a good CRM system alone is rarely enough to transform a business into a more customer-centric operation. As a result, many organizations are turning to business process management (BPM) software to maximize the value of their CRM deployments, News Factor reported.

Aligning BPM and CRM

Industry expertBrian Reale told the news source that organizations using CRM as part of a broad BPM initiative can leverage the customer relationship technology to instill customer-centric operational ideals into day-to-day processes, improving efficiency and making it easier for businesses to keep up with customer demands. In the end, CRM and BPM can be best used when integrated into a holistic Customer Experience Management platform.

"Today's knowledge worker needs the ability to quickly find and utilize customer information in order to deliver the best possible customer experience," Reale told News Factor. "When software is used as part of Customer Experience Management in an organization, the ideal solution should utilize not only CRM software but also BPM software."

According to Beale, BPM is central to the Customer Experience Management equation, but integrating the two systems can prove difficult because many CRM leaders do not have an understanding of BPM. When it comes to sheer volume, the CRM market is much larger than the BPM sector. As a result, many CRM leaders in businesses do not know much at all about CRM, while BPM experts are often familiar with and ready to work with CRM systems. Because of this, a BPM-focused strategy that works in conjunction with CRM can prove vital to finding success in this area.

Using BPM effectively

Maximizing the value of BPM solutions, even in the context of a Customer Experience Management solution, often depends on using BPM software to align operational demands and technological capabilities. Enterprise social, cloud and mobile BPM solutions can equip employees with the tools they need to use cloud, mobile and social technologies as effectively as possible. This can prove incredibly valuable in a variety of operational settings as emerging technologies take on a vital role in a wide rangeof business settings. Furthermore, more consumers are engaging with cloud, mobile and social technologies, positioning businesses to capitalize on those unstructured platforms in their Customer Experience Management plans.

Malcolm Ross

Vice President of Product Marketing