As the premiere of Game of Thrones approaches, we can’t help but wonder what would happen if CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software existed in Westeros. In this three-part blog series, we examine the ways Microsoft Dynamics CRM could help you change your fate in the dangerous quest for the Iron Throne. In last week’s installment, we talked about how CRM gives you better data and insights so you can make better decisions. In this post, we’re going to discuss how CRM can help you maintain good relationships with your customers by using some more fun Game of Thrones examples.

Stop Losing Customers (or Allies)

So maybe you’re not worried about your data and you’re even doing a decent job of forecasting, but for some reason you seem to be losing customers. Now you’re wondering “where did I go wrong?” Well, this could be for a number of reasons and if you can’t pinpoint what that reason is, you’re going to have a tough time resolving it. CRM is a great tool for figuring out what is or isn’t working as well as managing your customer service and satisfaction needs.

A good Westeros example of the losing customers issue would be House Lannister. While being rich and powerful, the Lannisters have made a bad habit of gaining great allies only to lose them later on. This is caused by a combination of not listening to their best “sellers” (Tyrion), not addressing bad interactions (Joffrey in any setting), and failing to foster trustworthy relationships.

Figure Out What Isn’t Working

CRM gives you the ability to drill into your sales data and see what is actually making a positive impact and what just isn’t working. Whether it’s a campaign that has flopped, an underperforming salesperson who is losing deals, or generally unhappy customers—CRM will help you pinpoint what needs to change.

With CRM, the Lannisters could use their “sales” data to see who is truly the best asset to the family. The data would be pretty clear on this one—Tyrion is their strongest asset when it comes to relationship building. Instead of following their prejudices and banishing Tyrion, they could have used his abilities to gain more allies, improve relationships with other houses, and mitigate some of the ill will felt towards their family.

CRM would also allow the Lannisters to track what types of interactions are happening with their allies and to send out surveys to receive feedback. From this data, it would have been pretty clear that Joffrey’s violent outbursts were causing the family to lose positive associations and they could have counteracted this with proactive outreach and a strong PR campaign. When it comes to winning loyalty, it really doesn’t matter how rich or powerful you are if you can’t keep your allies happy.

HBO

Woo Your Customers with Great Service

CRM also makes for a great service platform and is a perfect tool for building relationships. In order to foster trust and good relationships with your customers it’s important to provide them with great service made up of tailored and personalized interactions. These positive interactions need to occur regularly and throughout your customer’s lifecycle. With CRM, you can track a customer’s history and interests and even add notes to ensure that your interactions are always on point.

The Lannisters could really learn from Margaery Tyrell, who has a good handle of how to build positive relationships. Margaery manages to make all of her interactions personal and she knows how to tailor her conversation to suit her audience. From extending friendship to Sansa and trying to set up an advantageous marriage for her, to meeting with the common people and providing them with charity, to managing Joffrey and calming his temper—she knows exactly what to say to build trust. Margaery pursues House Tyrell’s ambitions by building relationships. The Tyrells are just as strategic and cunning as the Lannisters, but they are able to successfully reach their goals through persuasion and relationship building.

With CRM, you can accomplish this too! CRM provides you with the ability to send automated and targeted communications to contacts and leads that are tailored to their interests and needs. This can be scheduled at regular intervals or after specific events. When speaking or meeting with customers, it’s easy to pull up their information and history so you are always prepared for your interactions. By using CRM as a relationship management tool, you will soon be wooing and winning over your customers.

HBO

As Game of Thrones teaches us, your relationships can make our break the success of your “House.” Even one minor negative interaction with a customer can hurt your business and it’s critical to find the cause of a customer loss and address your customer service proactively. The good news is that you can always correct your course by leveraging the power of CRM to have meaningful, targeted, and responsive interactions.

Stay tuned for part three of this blog series where we will examine the ways CRM can you manage rapid growth! In the meantime, check out our Why CRM site on the ways CRM can help you delight and retain your customers.

Happy CRM’ing!

How to Win the Game of Thrones with CRM Part 1: Better Data = Better Decisions

How to Win the Game of Thrones with CRM Part 3: Managing Rapid Growth