What is a Customer relationship management (CRM) platform?

In today's digital world, managing relationships and interactions with our communities in different parts of the University is a growing challenge. We’re often speaking to the same people but without visibility on when else they have engaged with the university, meaning that someone could receive more than 20 emails a day from the University, but they would be the only person who knows. This is where a university-wide Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform can help. But what exactly is a CRM platform, and how can it make your job easier?

What is a CRM platform? 

In the context of Oxford, we use ‘communities’ to refer to our customers including staff, students, alumni, donors and everyone else who interacts with Oxford. A CRM platform is a collection of joined-up technology products that allow us to manage and improve engagement by providing visibility of processes and interactions with Oxford’s communities in one system. It brings together data to enable personalised communication, informed decision-making, and better collaboration across departments. Essentially, it acts as a central hub where you can store contact information, view interactions, and monitor the progress of communication and cases.

Why Do We Need a CRM Platform?

Colleagues across the university often face daily challenges when communicating with their contacts. Collecting data from two or three systems to send one email, manually tracking the process of cases with Excel and searching through different SharePoint systems and folders for policy information. A CRM platform can help overcome these obstacles by providing a unified system that simplifies tasks, reduces silos, and enhances the daily work and experience of our communities.

Benefits of a CRM Platform

A university-wide CRM platform offers several benefits:

• Improved Communication: It allows for personalised and targeted communication with Oxford’s communities, ensuring that everyone receives relevant information tailored to their needs.
• Enhanced Collaboration: By centralising data and interactions, a CRM platform fosters better collaboration across departments, making it easier to work together on projects and initiatives.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: With access to comprehensive data, we can make informed decisions about the most effective ways to communicate with our community.
• Streamlined Processes: A CRM platform simplifies administrative tasks, such as managing email campaigns, tracking information requests, and handling student welfare cases, giving us visibility of the status of a process and reducing administrative burden. 

Real-Life Example of CRM Usage

Imagine you are part of the marketing team at the University. With a CRM platform, you can create and send email campaigns more efficiently. You can segment your audience based on their interests and send them tailored messages about upcoming events or new courses all from within the CRM platform.

A single university-wide CRM platform is a powerful tool that can transform how we manage relationships and interactions at Oxford. By connecting data, enhancing communication, and streamlining processes, it can make your job easier and more efficient.

For more information about the CRM Programme, visit Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Programme