By Merlin Software CEO and Chief Architect, Mike Pnematicatos
Merlin Software has a customer- or member-centric approach, and our vision is for the Member Services Web App (MSWA) to become your core Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.
Let’s look into the future and see where this is going. Imagine:
Your member has a question, compliment, or complaint. Either they log this on the Member Web App, or they send you an email. Using AI to read incoming emails, the member is identified, and whether from the Member Web App or the email, Merlin will instantly create a CRM Case.
Based on the Case Type, the CRM Case will automatically be allocated to the correct specialist department and managed from within the MSWA.
Your Member Services Agents will identify new CRM Cases and communicate with members from MSWA via email, VOIP/Telephone, SMS, WhatsApp, WeChat, and other channels, with all communications recorded in Merlin for ease of reference.
The next time you communicate with the member, you will have a history of communications and won’t need to refer to your sent emails in your email client. In other words, no “management by email”.
That’s the vision. We are working hard to make this a reality. The MSWA is a step along this journey.
Outsourcing
I have also written in previous musings about how we have begun providing outsourcing services to our clients. This has been an eye-opener to discover the extensive functionality available in Merlin that can be utilised.
Our outsourced clients’ needs can be performed in Merlin and reported on. Many of our current clients, who use our software daily, are unaware of the numerous existing features that can benefit them. Most of our clients probably only use a fraction of what Merlin offers.
Currently, as part of our outsourcing responsibilities, we are handling all member queries for a client. Emails are received at their owners@abc.com email inbox, which we can access. We log a CRM Case for each new email that comes in. We then manage that CRM Case in Merlin, conducting research, delegating actions to team members, ensuring actions are completed, and then updating the member via email.
All of this is done and updated in the Merlin CRM Case Tracking System, located in the marketing module. And we can easily report to the Client how many Cases have been created and dealt with each month.
How can any of our clients manage CRM queries if they do not log them in the Merlin CRM Case Tracking System?
While using this CRM Case Tracking System ourselves, we have determined that some enhancements are needed, and we will be implementing and releasing them very soon. We will let you know when these are live, and you should also try the CRM Case Tracking System. It has undoubtedly ensured that every member query received has been tracked and addressed, and the details are all stored in Merlin on the member’s profile.
We also utilise other features, such as undertaking monthly direct debit collections via BACS and sending out update emails and statements of account immediately after each monthly direct debit run.
Their members are certainly noticing and appreciating the service improvement. And it’s not that we are so much better at this. Having built the software, we understand its capabilities and utilise it to its fullest potential.
The takeaway is that you, our existing clients, could benefit from many of the existing features in Merlin that you are not currently using. So, why not contact support and find out what more you can do in Merlin? We may suggest changes to your business processes, but these recommendations will be made to increase efficiency and improve member satisfaction levels.
We will also continue to communicate and report on the features that we are using ourselves to assist us in our outsourcing duties.
Back to the MSWA
Why not take a look at this Web App? It is in its early stages, but it is entirely usable. It can run in a browser tab alongside Merlin Classic, and you can flip between Classic and the MSWA just by accessing the tab it runs in, the same way you do when you have multiple browser tabs running in different areas of Merlin Classic.
Become a beta tester and have the opportunity to request features and functionality that you need in the MSWA.
