A CRM Database Doesn’t Mean You Can Now Do CRM

This is a brief, simple message: just because you have a CRM database does not mean you can automatically "do CRM". CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is not about software – CRM is a policy and a practise and a whole culture – not (just) a database. In fact, it is possibly one of the most abused terms in the IT industry and has been used to describe so much software that a few years ago had a completely different moniker.

That said, the good news is that if you are a NFP organisation then it is highly likely that you already practise good CRM – if you look after your clients, manage your donors, communicate well with your supporters then you are more than half way there. I believe that, in some ways, charities have been ahead of the commercial sector for years in terms of “CRM”, as charities have always known how important it is to look after their supporters and stakeholders.

So, yes, a good database will of course help your CRM strategy. It should do loads of things for you: keep contact information up-to-date, enable you to understand your supporters better, help you communicate with them better, in a more targeted and efficient way, record their correspondence with you, record all their activity with you, mean you can interact with them online and offline and store centrally all such interactions, allow you to allow them to tell you what they want to hear from you…

But don’t let any software vendor tell you that if you buy their database then you will immediately, magically be able to “do better CRM”. It is your organisation and their approach which defines that. The database will help but CRM database software will not automatically implement CRM at your organisation.

How technology can be at the heart of supporter care

There has always been a synergy between databases/technology and supporter care, but it seems to me that this has become a particularly hot topic for charities. Charities are realising that not only do they need to be efficient but they also need to show they are being so, to compare their policies against best practice and to give supporters the best customer support possible. And surely technology and databases can and should help with this; whether it is something as basic but as important as receiving and processing donations, right through to using supporter feedback to really drive your future fundraising strategy and operations.

So it is poignant that the Institute of Fundraising Technology Group are incorporating a dedicated 'Operations' stream in their forthcoming conference on May 13th this year. (I feel at this point that I should declare an interest and say that I am on the Technology Group committee, but as we are a non-profit making group and my interest is purely to raise interest so we can help more charities, then I feel it's okay to be blogging about this!) We actually held an evening seminar last year on outsourcing and data processing and sold out the event, so we know how just how important people consider the subject.

The conference is therefore going to have individuals from Unicef discussing 'The journey to transform our supporter service from efficient processing to successful soft sell Supporter Service Centre', Age UK talking about 'Using supporter and client feedback to inform Charity strategy', and Kings College London reflecting on 'How is operational support enabling successful fundraising?'; plus sessions on ensuring your online donations are 3D secure, integrating and automating online giving and more.

So if this is of interest to you then come along. The whole day is a chance to network with like-minded colleagues from other charities and you even get a free wine reception in the evening!

Visit the IOF Technology SIG web site for all the info and I’ll see you there!