I came up with it on my dog walk, and it’s been teasing me off ever since then because you’ve got CRM all wrong. It’s not customer relationship management; what it really stands for is consistent records management.

I’ve been reflecting on our best customers and our best projects and what works well, and the ones who actually have a decent system in place already for recorded inquiries, for making sure things don’t get missed, for all of the team having the right culture.

Now, they have to put the data into the system properly, accurately, and in good time. They’re the ones that make the best progress with a CRM project. They’re the ones who get the most value from the system. They’re the ones who get the better reporting that understands how to run their business better.

So, I’m throwing CRM out the window for customer relationship management for today because it is consistent records management. We see it there in doubt, and it’s seizing your business when people don’t put data in your system.

And if someone else hasn’t got the information they need to answer a customer inquiry, and then you all get around the table and think, ‘What’s gone wrong? Why haven’t we got this answer to this customer properly in the right time?’ And you realize that someone hasn’t put data in the system properly, and it’s really, really frustrating and galling as a business owner and annoying for colleagues because they have to ask someone else for information. They can’t answer the customer question themselves.

So, today is my little wrap-up before Christmas. My rant is over. I’m delighted to be looking forward to a festive break. I hope you are as well. Consistent records management is what CRM is really all about, and we’re talking about customer relationship management again in 2019.

Have a fantastic break. See you on the other side. Bye for now.