There are many definitions of CRM and they all try to explain what it is and what it stands for. I promise that I wont bore you with those. For a person to get a better understanding of what CRM is all about you really have to experience it as opposed to reading complex definitions about it.

I am going to use a recent example from personal experience with my periodontist to show you that real CRM still exists and that, in my mind, a lot of organizations and people should take a lesson out of this.

1. First appointment
   I am politely greeted upon entering their office and need to wait a little bit until the receptionist is finished with another client. Once she's done she introduces herself and shakes my hand and explains to me all the disclaimers that I need to read and sign. After this is all done, I am getting an assessment and based on that a plan on how to fix some of my issues. The dentist and his assistant are really friendly, down to earth and even make a joke once in awhile. After the assessment, I scheduled an appointment for the following week.
2. Reminders
   Four days prior to my appointment, I receive a card in the mail reminding me that I have an appointment scheduled on the specific date and time. Two days before the treatment, I receive a phone call reminding me one more time and confirming we're still on for my appointment as this technically would be my last chance to reschedule without costs.
3. The treatment
   The day of the appointment, I get greeted with "Hi Menno, how are you doing today?" She explains a few things to me and goes over the financial details. Once this is taken care of, I get into the dentist's room and get ready for the appointment. The doctor comes in and one of the first things he says, besides hi, is the fact that he took care of my last name (something we talked about in our initial meeting) in every single system and is even going to provide feedback to his dental software provider to address the fact that he is unable to spell the name te Koppele correctly! (Every American system defaults the first character of the last name to a capital!)
4. Goodbye
   After everything is done, I set up the next appointment and before leaving the office, all the staff said "Bye Menno, see you next week".
5. Follow-up
   My phone was still on quiet mode and therefore I missed the call from Mark, my periodontist, late in the evening. He left a voicemail though and here is what he said: "Good evening this message is for Menno, Menno this Mark calling, simply wanted to check in and make sure that you're doing well after your visit at our office today. If anything should come up you're always welcome to give us a call, otherwise you did great today and look forward to seeing you again at your next visit."

Yes, this is a dentist doing all these little things to make your experience with them as pleasant as possible. It is hard to imagine this isn't it? Being in the CRM industry well over 10 years now, I still find this rare to see, no matter what industry, but it feels great when it happens!

Again, this example illustrates that there is way more to real Customer Relationship Management than only having a software solution in place. It takes a certain mind set, a way of thinking and just a healthy dose of manners on how you would like to be treated yourself as a customer.

Tags: philosophy
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