Thursday, October 1, 2015

Reflections week 4: CRM - Ron Gaines

This week I completed the Customer Relationship Management module.  I have some experience with SalesForce; however, I appreciated the simple exercise emphasizing the fact that you can use Outlook as a simple and easy to use CRM tool.  Outlook is a program that most of my students already have on their computers and mobile devices. I downloaded the worksheet that outlines simple directions for using Outlook for CRM and I plan to use this in the classroom. The "plant exercise" was frustrating to complete; however, I think this was the point. The exercise was a good example of the frustration that many CSRs and Sales Reps experience when trying to keep up with contact information, appointments, and follow-up calls. The module is very similar to all of the other modules.  It is not an exhaustive study of the subject; however, it is a good introduction.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ron - I agree with you about the "Plant Exercise." I was very frustrated with it and gave up trying to figure it out. However, I thought this week's section did have a good amount of applicable information which could be used in the classroom. I liked the unit on inventory management and I could see using this information in a lesson plan.

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  2. I agree with you two. The exercises are frustrating. I feel this is a pilot course and we are to provide feedback in order to improve the sessions. I am not sure if these sessions are too elementary for our students, We are dealing with the, "Millenniums".

    With that said I have some merit in each session. The CMA session made me search for different software for my needs. Ron, I would be interested on your take on SalesForce. The Outlook approach has proven to be frustrating, especially when linking the program with my Constant Contact account.

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    1. Andy, Sales Force is probably the best contact management software available; however, it is very expensive. Most small businesses would probably use Outlook or a cheaper CRM software program instead.

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  3. I tried the plant exercise too and gave up. And I really wanted that exercise to work, because it was a great analogy. My frustration with downloading the directions for support materials is that I am never able to backtrack and continue the course. I have to start over with that particular section. That wastes time and is annoying. I can't believe these HP modules were Beta tested with anyone. They could be SO good if HP would work out the bugs. If you noticed on the feedback modules in HP, most of the students are doing very short responses.

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