The importance of reporting
When it comes to investing in a business intelligence or CRM platform, ensuring it has an effective framework for customer tracking and end-user reporting is essential, especially within the competitive housebuilding industry.
Reporting, analytics and information gathering can have a massive impact on the effectiveness of a company if implemented correctly. Yet often, reporting and results analysis can come at the bottom of the ‘things to do’ list, especially during busy periods.
“But busy periods are exactly the time to report in order to drive a pipeline of proactive customer decision making and create competitive advantage,” comments Dorne Wood, sales manager for ContactBuilder.
“Sophisticated business and customer intelligence is only as good as the systems being used, and if there isn’t a strict and time-critical reporting procedure in place it’s pointless to invest in the first place.
“Customers select our software because they don't have a system in place to look at the number of leads they have (and at what stage), and whether those leads have moved up or down in probability or in value since the last time they looked.
“We often find that organisations don't know which areas of the business they fall down with or at what stage they lose a customer. Although many think that they have a great offering with fantastic customer service, it's only when you really look at reporting that you gain a clear insight into who has bought what, when and why, or even why not.
“Effective reporting can demonstrate what leads were in the pipeline two months ago compared to last month and this month and that’s when you can get an accurate picture of your pipeline and potential revenue and profits.
“Discovering who the most profitable and important customers are is the pinnacle of any good CRM system, yet this is not always obvious. With effective reporting, you get to understand everything that customers buy, their purchase lifecycle and how valuable they are to a business.
“Reporting can also change the way people perform their jobs and how decisions are made, such as how sales teams respond to customers and in what time frame.”
“Customer research studies have shown that if you don't get back to somebody within 48 hours, after they contact you in any way, the likelihood of them buying is far lower than if you got back to them inside that timeframe – this is something we are acutely aware of and why our software begins tracking the customer from this time onwards.
“CRM reporting doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process, or even arduous, but it does have to exist and evolve to enable businesses to improve their service in the ever-competitive housebuilder market place.”
ContactBuilder is a hosted electronic lead capture and evaluation system built specifically for UK housebuilders. Being web-based, ContactBuilder does not involve any investment beyond an internet-enabled PC. It requires little or no capital investment and should form an essential part of any housebuilder's marketing strategy.