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Avoiding CRM Project Pitfalls
Although customer relationship management software is well established as a vital component in a CRM strategy many businesses are still disappointed with the return they see. In many cases failure is caused by inadequate planning and poor implementation.
As independent CRM architects we have around 20 years experience of helping organisations achieve results from CRM. In a new guide we summarize the top 7 CRM mistakes, in our latest update:
Tip #3 - Don't leave CRM solely to IT teams
As we’ll cover in a later point IT teams should be fully involved during a CRM implementation. However, if the CRM project is being solely led and driven by IT it’s very likely that responsibility hasn’t been placed with the right people.
CRM is about managing customers, improving processes and driving business growth. However, rather than IT teams, it’s actually service, sales and marketing leaders that should be accountable for these areas as they will gain the most from the improvements that can be achieved with CRM. As part of the pre-implementation process, CRM project leaders have responsibility for ensuring readiness of processes and users which will again typically fall outside the remit of IT teams.
Ownership and accountability for CRM projects should always be with its main beneficiaries. CRM is a business wide initiative to create a single view of each customer and improve organisation efficiency. To achieve this it’s essential for individuals throughout the business to fully participate in the planning process. When individual groups don’t get involved and leave it all to IT teams CRM will fail.
Part 1 - Don't be too ambitious with CRM
Part 2 - Gain buy-in from teams & management
Part 4 - Research CRM thoroughly
21 December 2009
Warren Butler, Marketing Director
wbutler@preact.co.uk
Preact is an independent Customer Relationship Management (CRM) consultancy supplying high quality solutions to businesses in the private sector as well as charities and educational organisations. Since 1993, Preact has helped numerous organisations select, implement and achieve tangible results with CRM. As an accredited supplier of four distinct solutions, ACT!, GoldMine, Sage CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM we offer customers the benefit of a broad view of the CRM market.
At Preact we believe in providing impartial pre-sales advice combined with proven implementation skills to help businesses gain rapid and long term benefits from their investment in CRM. We understand the competitive advantage that CRM can leverage by sharpening sales, service and marketing efficiency so our experienced consultants work closely with clients to design and deploy systems precisely in line with individual businesses needs.
We complete over 150 CRM projects each year for customers in numerous industries with varying sized deployments from 1 to 200+ users. Our Microsoft Gold Partner certification and our status as a leading Sage and FrontRange Solutions business partner reflect our ability to deliver complex and innovative solutions.
Our recent CRM projects have included implementations for John Lewis Plc, ThomsonLocal.com, Scottish & Southern Energy, Cranfield University, DPAS Dental Plans, Europa Worldwide Logistics and Constructionline.
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