Well, Kamran Hasanain's article is only partially right. In 27 Ways to CRM Return on Investment I provide a complete guide to CRM implementation, so I won't rehash that here again. While the title of this article alludes to reasons why a company should have CRM, in body it talks mainly about CRM implementation.
A few things about Mr. Hasanain's article could be improved:
It's what the customer wants, not what the customer needs. Customers don't buy what they need as often as they purchase what they want. Survey customer desires prior to taking efforts to improve your customer relationships, address those top concerns of your customer that also produce the greatest return for your organization. This focus improves your return on investment.
Internal promotion isn't as important if you start with end-user requirements. Involve employees who will use the CRM solution long before you select a product or start an implementation. Earn buy-in from these individuals by focusing on those areas that improve their productivity while reducing their overall work load. (Simplify their tasks, without backfilling new work in the slack space.)
You don't need a separate implementation team for CRM. Customer relationships should be a part of everything you do, not some special function you had to install a bunch of software. Make the building and tracking of customer relationships a part of your daily business, training people in their current roles how to do more through software.
All business actions are aligned with corporate objectives. A point is made to use metrics to align the CRM implementation with "strategic corporate goals." Let me just say, if you do anything in your business, you must align it with corporate objectives from day one. Have a defined period that you expect to generate a return on investment and the specific actions you intend to produce it.
Segmentation is for customers, phased based application is for implementation. A CRM strategy should integrate cleanly across your organization in short measurable phases. Segmentation alludes to separation, and while each department has different needs, all CRM efforts move toward the same business objectives. Again, improving customer relationships is a part of everything you do.
What is right about this article:
An incremental progress is key to a successful CRM implementation. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Break your CRM implementation down into a series of steps (or phases), each that bring the company closer to its objectives. Follow a cycle of perform, measure, adjust, and advance.
Clear metrics significantly contributor to CRM success. I was distracted by how this article suggests using metrics in CRM, but the underlying message of defining measures that map results against business objectives is important to point out. Actually measuring your progress helps you adjust strategy as integration progresses.
Communications is key to any software implementation. While there is more to communications in the integration process than was discussed in this article, understand that two-way communications with end-users can reduce delays. Often end-users know how to improve the customers experience, solicit this feedback and incorporate it in your implementation from day one.
Perhaps Mr. Hasanain was trying to cover a larger body of materials in this short article. I visited his website at K|Sciences, Hasanain is the CEO of this CRM integration firm, and they offer a variety of services, so don't write them off without giving them the once-over. It's only this article I have objections with.
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