Customer Relationship Management initiatives are designed to prioritise customer expectations and needs – in order to enhance loyalty and achieve maximum customer lifetime value, satisfaction and profitability. Successful implementation needs a clear strategy, good processes, and last but not least, the right IT system. This December, CorSol (short for Corporate Solutions), the Swiss Life Network’s new CRM tool, will go live, providing access to information and data for employees of the Swiss Life Network and network partners, as well as clients.
Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, is a business strategy that focuses on customer knowledge, satisfaction, and retention. Naturally, the overall goal of every business is to make a profit. CRM strategies help companies achieve this by starting with the customer and working from there towards the sale. This is quite different from following a sales-based strategy, which begins with the product or service, and then looks for customers.
What does it mean to start with the customer?
The first stage is to collect and analyse information to determine exactly who the customer is and what the customer needs. Naturally, needs can vary greatly within different customer segments. Based on the needs identified, specific products and services are then created, processes established, and training organised.
Companies that use CRM make a commitment to change alongside their customers, as they move through their lifecycles and adjust their requirements and buying habits. CRM also helps companies adapt to changing business and economic conditions, which is essential for success and profitability. Key CRM strategies include customer retention or win-back strategies, new customer generation, and continuous enhancements to products and services. These normally have an operational, a collaborative, and an analytical element.
CRM within the Swiss Life Network
For the Swiss Life Network, this focus on customer needs is hardly new. However, the Dolphin software we have been using up to now can no longer meet our various needs, as it mainly focuses on contract administration. This is why we have implemented a new tool called CorSol this year, which can not only better support our customer-centric approach, but also manage our contracts.
What does this mean? In a business involving people located in different cities and continents, it is vital to have immediate access to shared information in real-time. Customer relationships within the Swiss Life Network must be transparent to all the parties involved. It is also important for the data to be structured in a way that can be understood by everyone, whether the user is a parent company, Swiss Life sales executive, or network partner representative. In addition, the tool has to be easy to use, but also “understand” the complex logic of pooling. CorSol provides all this, and should therefore make life much easier for everyone.
The main features of CorSol are:
- easy tracking of all new and ongoing sales cases at parent and subsidiary level
- access to all contracts in force
- current and past activities and interactions between clients, network partners and Swiss Life
- information about clients, network partners and intermediaries
- profit and loss accounts (from data delivery by network partners to the preparation of the final PLA for the client)
CorSol has been built with a strong focus on collaboration, as all client interactions can be stored easily and are fully accessible to the different users. Based on these interactions, sales opportunities can be evaluated and assigned to the right contact person. The information is also used to continuously evaluate customer needs.
As a result, less time will be spent in future gathering information, and there will be more time to discuss clients’ needs and priorities.
As with all databases, it is essential for it to be kept up-to-date by everyone involved. The more CorSol is used and the more data it includes, the more time there will be to ensure we are meeting our clients’ requirements.
If you would like to know more about CorSol or have access to it, please contact your Swiss Life Network sales executive, or Madeleine Simmler at Swiss Life.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the term applied to processes used by companies to handle their contacts with customers. CRM software supports these processes by storing information on current and prospective customers. While the term generally refers to a software-based method of handling customer relationships, it is clear that successful CRM needs a holistic approach. If CRM is limited to software installation without appropriate training and encouragement for employees to make full use of the information now available, it will not achieve its goals.
CorSol – Swiss Life’s new CRM tool for corporate clients
The Swiss Life Network will implement its new CRM and contract administration tool “CorSol” at the end of 2010, replacing the current Dolphin system. We believe that the new tool will enable us to provide even better service to our clients through meeting their changing needs more effectively.
What does it mean to start with the customer?
The first stage is to collect and analyse information to determine exactly who the customer is and what the customer needs. Naturally, needs can vary greatly within different customer segments. Based on the needs identified, specific products and services are then created, processes established, and training organised.
Companies that use CRM make a commitment to change alongside their customers, as they move through their lifecycles and adjust their requirements and buying habits. CRM also helps companies adapt to changing business and economic conditions, which is essential for success and profitability. Key CRM strategies include customer retention or win-back strategies, new customer generation, and continuous enhancements to products and services. These normally have an operational, a collaborative, and an analytical element.
CRM within the Swiss Life Network
For the Swiss Life Network, this focus on customer needs is hardly new. However, the Dolphin software we have been using up to now can no longer meet our various needs, as it mainly focuses on contract administration. This is why we have implemented a new tool called CorSol this year, which can not only better support our customer-centric approach, but also manage our contracts.
What does this mean? In a business involving people located in different cities and continents, it is vital to have immediate access to shared information in real-time. Customer relationships within the Swiss Life Network must be transparent to all the parties involved. It is also important for the data to be structured in a way that can be understood by everyone, whether the user is a parent company, Swiss Life sales executive, or network partner representative. In addition, the tool has to be easy to use, but also “understand” the complex logic of pooling. CorSol provides all this, and should therefore make life much easier for everyone.
The main features of CorSol are:
- easy tracking of all new and ongoing sales cases at parent and subsidiary level
- access to all contracts in force
- current and past activities and interactions between clients, network partners and Swiss Life
- information about clients, network partners and intermediaries
- profit and loss accounts (from data delivery by network partners to the preparation of the final PLA for the client)
CorSol has been built with a strong focus on collaboration, as all client interactions can be stored easily and are fully accessible to the different users. Based on these interactions, sales opportunities can be evaluated and assigned to the right contact person. The information is also used to continuously evaluate customer needs.
As a result, less time will be spent in future gathering information, and there will be more time to discuss clients’ needs and priorities.
As with all databases, it is essential for it to be kept up-to-date by everyone involved. The more CorSol is used and the more data it includes, the more time there will be to ensure we are meeting our clients’ requirements.
If you would like to know more about CorSol or have access to it, please contact your Swiss Life Network sales executive, or Madeleine Simmler at Swiss Life.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the term applied to processes used by companies to handle their contacts with customers. CRM software supports these processes by storing information on current and prospective customers. While the term generally refers to a software-based method of handling customer relationships, it is clear that successful CRM needs a holistic approach. If CRM is limited to software installation without appropriate training and encouragement for employees to make full use of the information now available, it will not achieve its goals.
CorSol – Swiss Life’s new CRM tool for corporate clients
The Swiss Life Network will implement its new CRM and contract administration tool “CorSol” at the end of 2010, replacing the current Dolphin system. We believe that the new tool will enable us to provide even better service to our clients through meeting their changing needs more effectively.