After using customer relationship management (CRM) for several years, most business software consultants have formed a clear opinion on the success or failure factors of this kind of implementation. This experience will subsequently be used to sell the product, to find the best possible architecture for a client, and to assist in new implementations.
This personal experience is often not shared with the client, either because it appears too complex at a time when a business has to be run and other priorities come first, or because the experience is overshadowed by the excellent results brought by the implementation partner.
However, by understanding the factors required for a successful implementation beforehand, companies could meet their goals quicker and with fewer costs involved.
Softline Enterprise compiled the following rules based on the experiences of several executives, consultants and managers in SA and abroad, concerning CRM implementations. The result: 17 rules of CRM. Here are the first four rules.
Rule one: CRM is more than a product
When a company chooses to implement CRM, it is taking a dramatic step forward in its customer commitment so as to generate more revenue. The more thoroughly one embraces a company-wide CRM project, the more the company will benefit from the features of a CRM solution.
In principle, give a CRM project time; it will repay this patience by delivering more than the organisation initially expected.
Ashley Ellington is MD of Softline Enterprise.
Choosing a CRM system is often the simple part: the implementation can be hard. Throughout the implementation of a project with broad scope, it is common to uncover areas and functions that can be automated that were not considered before.
In principle, give a CRM project time; it will repay this patience by delivering more than the organisation initially expected.
Rule two: Customers are everywhere
It used to be easy to define the word "customer" but companies are now becoming more diverse, with multiple locations, employees who telecommute and vendors who function as partners.
The idea of "customer" has broadened to include a wide range of end-users or different kinds of corporate information. For example, employees are customers when they need self-service information. Shareholders are customers when they look for financial information. Vendors are customers when they need detailed information before they proceed with a project.
A colleague is a customer when you need to deliver time-critical data. And, of course, the buyer is a customer whose experience is critical to the bottom line. Implementing a CRM programme will thus involve delivering information to all different customers timeously.
Rule three: Bigger is not always better
CRM is a broad discipline. Solutions are built to deliver and match different levels of functionality, complexity, structures, methods of working and business size. Just as you are unlikely to buy a tractor to mow the lawn, you should buy a system that matches the company's requirements.
One of the key areas of dissatisfaction is an inappropriately sized solution. My advice is to take a realistic look at current and potential needs when it comes to organising customer interactions.
Are the company's relationships long lasting or brief? Does it need to link other departments and people together on a shared system? All of these requirements have tools that suit them, and very often contact management, for example, is enough.
But sometimes, more of an investment is needed. Work with an expert to assess this. It need not be expensive and it could save money and hassles in the long-term.
Rule four: Different solutions for different companies
The first CRM solutions on the market were initially developed for the needs of very large or global enterprises. However, companies smaller than a JSE-firm often cannot reasonably afford these expensive CRM solutions with all their bells and whistles.
Instead, small and mid-sized companies should ensure they only pay for the capacity needed. Solutions specially designed for mid-sized companies enable them to start small and grow larger without wasting resources on capacity they don't need.
They also give the advantage of being fully functional right out of the box without requiring custom programming.
Whatever the size of the company, ensure it buys what is needed, when needed.
* Ashley Ellington is MD of Softline Enterprise.
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