Calling Australia: Wake Up and Smell the Data

Their lives may be one endless round of lazy beach barbies and cool stubbies - but Australian companies could be left out in the cold by the CRM revolution.

The stark warning comes from one of Australia's leading CRM experts, who says his countrymen stand to lose tens of millions of dollars to CRM friendly companies in Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim.

Phill Campbell, of CRM consultants Workforce Transformations Pty Ltd, accused Australian companies of failing to get to grips with the new technology.

"I warn that unless Australian companies hear the wake up call about CRM they are destined to be overtaken very quickly by companies who have taken up CRM," he told CRM Forum.

"Already around the world, companies are likely to commit more than $9 billion to CRM based strategies over the next two years - while Australian companies are still trying to come to terms with CRM," he claimed.

"Overseas there is an aggressive take up of these systems because CEOs realise they can boost a company's share value through improved business effectiveness and reduced costs," added Mr Campbell.

He predicted that Australian companies with a turnover in excess of $100m would start to lose business from CRM literate multinationals.

"Customer churn or wastage can be as much as 30 to 40 per cent in some industries. If a company keeps only one half of those customers, it can translate into tens of millions of dollars in compound sales revenue over just a short period of time," said Mr Campbell.

"CRM provides information on customers and suppliers in a way that breaks down the walls between a company's various departments and brings the company closer to its customers," he continued.

"This results in better marketing and sales efforts, higher customer retention and as a result better profits