Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"We've implemented a CRM system, and we've accumulated data. But that data isn't being used to inform management decisions."

This condition indicates that the "System of Insight (SoI) is not functioning."

In Arcus Japan's emphasis on the necessity of Systems of Innovation (SoI), the role of each system in the PDCA cycle is clearly defined.

• SoI (CRM): Policy planning (Plan), analysis and evaluation (Check), consideration of improvement measures (Act)
• SoE: Execution (Do) for the customer
• SoR: Obtained data

In other words, CRM (SoI) is responsible for all three parts of the PDCA cycle: Plan, Check, and Act . SoE is only responsible for the "Do" action taken with the customer, while SoI is responsible for all of the Plan, Check, and Act actions before and after.

However, many companies' CRM systems remain merely an "extension of SoR"—simply "recording information"—and do not implement the PDCA cycle.

This article explains a specific design for shortening SoI's PDCA cycle from monthly to weekly and automating Plan, Check, and Act using EMOROCO CRM Lite's workflow and dashboard .

Why is "monthly PDCA" too slow?

The limitations of monthly PDCA

Many small and medium-sized businesses operate on a monthly basis for their sales PDCA cycle. The typical cycle involves compiling data in Excel at the end of the month, reviewing the previous month's performance at a meeting at the beginning of the month, and then deciding on the current month's strategy.

However, this "monthly PDCA" has a fatal flaw.

Problem ①: Information is delayed by one month.

When the fact that "Company A's enthusiasm had cooled" is first reported at the monthly meeting, that information is already 3-4 weeks old. During that time, Company A may have switched to a competitor.

Problem ②: "Check" is written as "Report".

Most of the monthly meetings consist of "reports" on "how things went last month," and no time is spent on "analysis" and "decision-making" regarding "why things happened" and "what should be done next."

Problem 3: The "Act" becomes a mere formality.

If you identify problems on a monthly basis, but the next time you can address them is at next month's meeting, the actions become meaningless. You end up repeating the same problems you had last month.

SoI enables "weekly PDCA".

When CRM functions as a System of Interest (SoI), the PDCA cycle can be run weekly, or even daily in some cases.

SoI, a system that analyzes data and derives business-relevant insights, functions as a "constantly running real-time analysis engine," automatically delivering insights every morning on "who to contact and what to do this week."

Designing a SoI-PDCA cycle: Automating each of the "Plan, Check, and Act" stages with EMOROCO.

■ Plan (Policy Planning) — The dashboard shows "Who should do what this week?"

The purpose of the Plan phase is to clarify "the customers, deals, and actions that need to be taken this week." EMOROCO's dashboard will automatically present this information.

[Design your Plan dashboard in 5 minutes every morning]

Simply open this dashboard every morning, and a priority list of "who to do what for this week" will be automatically generated. This eliminates "time spent thinking about what to do" and maximizes "time spent doing."

[Weekly 15-minute decision-making meetings (to improve plan accuracy)]

■ Check (Analysis and Evaluation) — Record "what happened" in 30 seconds and store it immediately.

The purpose of the Check phase is to "accurately record the results of the execution (Do) and transform them into insights that can be used for the next Plan."

EMOROCO's Check is designed for "30 seconds immediately after contact ends."

[Check field update rule 30 seconds after contact]

As these 30-second checks accumulate, the following Check dashboard will begin to function.

[Weekly Check Dashboard Design]

■ Act (Considering Improvement Measures) — The workflow automatically generates "What should be done next?"

The objective of the Act phase is to "immediately generate improvement measures to be incorporated into the next Plan, based on the results of the Check (analysis) phase."

EMOROCO's workflow automation automatically executes this action "before the person in charge even thinks about it."

[UK Design Examples of Workflows that Trigger Actions]

Weekly SoI-PDCA: "Weekly Operational Design"

From theory to practice: Here's a sample weekly operational schedule using EMOROCO CRM Lite.

Checklist for Transitioning from Monthly Reporting Meetings to Weekly Decision-Making Meetings

We will verify whether our company's CRM is functioning as a SoI-PDCA cycle.

Summary – Five design principles for implementing a weekly PDCA cycle for Systems of Interest (SoI)

Principle ①: Plan is shown by the dashboard as AI.

Instead of the person in charge having to figure out "who to do what for this week," the dashboard automatically presents a priority list. This is how SoI (Insights) contributes to planning.

Principle 2: The check is performed according to the "30 seconds after contact" rule.

The accuracy of the Check phase depends on the "immediacy of recording." Recording immediately after contact maintains the freshness of the information and improves the accuracy of SoI analysis.

Principle 3: Act is automatically executed in the workflow based on the results of Check.

The workflow automatically generates the Act before the person in charge even has a chance to think about "what to do next." Eliminating the burden of human thought is the only way to run the Act cycle on a weekly basis.

Principle 4: Do is the responsibility of SoE, and SoI does not intervene.

The Do phase (actual contact with the customer) is handled by the person in charge (a human). SoI's PDCA cycle "supports" Do, not "replaces" it. By having SoI handle Plan, Check, and Act, the time that can be focused on Do is maximized.

Principle 5: Transform weekly meetings into "decision-making forums."

We will eliminate the monthly 90-minute reporting meetings and replace them with weekly 15-minute decision-making meetings. Since all the information is available on the dashboard, there is no need for "time to listen to reports." Meetings that focus solely on "what to decide this week" will improve the accuracy of the organization's SoI-PDCA cycle week by week.

EMOROCO CRM Lite allows you to build the entire SoI-PDCA design starting today, from just 1,500 yen per user per month.

First, today, create a view that displays a list of customers with an emotional temperature of Cool or lower on the dashboard. The contact you make with the customers displayed there will be the first Plan in your SoI-PDCA cycle.
EMOROCO CRM Lite Product Page

Related article: [DX and CRM Series Part 1: Don't talk about CRM without knowing the "three-tiered structure" of DX - How SoR, SoE, and SoI are changing the design philosophy of management]

Related article: [Is customer data an "asset" or a "liability"? The difference between CRM that simply accumulates data and CRM that actually utilizes it]

Related article: [DX and CRM Series, Part 3: How CRM 4.0 and EMOROCO CRM Lite enable the implementation of SoI]