Beware of CRM Software Solutions

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Your needs should always determine what solution means.

***tier3square.shtml***Since the early days of CRM software solutions they were always cobbled together as a marketing tool. The angle is always that since they've already got a solution for your industry, the time and cost to get you up, running and competitive on CRM is minimal.

While this sounds like minimal risk, it's actually an ROI nightmare because you will have just invested in a lump of coal.

The Proper Order of CRM Things

CRM software solutions need to be told what to do. And as much as you may hate planning, here is what you need to do to become successful with CRM software.

• CRM is about your customer. So, take a look at how you do business from your customer's perspective. You will begin to see hiccups and burps which can only lead to extreme dissatisfaction over time. Develop a strategy to put the customers first. All things good will follow. Trust me.
  
• Realign your workflows with this new vision in mind. Use cross-functional teams to identify ways to eliminate unnecessary and inefficient processes.  Each team member should look for ways to improve value to the customer, which increases value to the company. That will help eliminate any turf battles.
  
• Identify new work processes that support the new workflows. These are the things that each person will do to support the flow of information in your front office.
  
• Identify the specific software features needed to support all of the above. It should be a snap now that you've laid everything out in the proper order.
  
• Invite software vendors or resellers to show you how their software can support the requirements you've developed. Your solution has already been created. The software is simply there to apply grease to the wheels.

CRM Software Solutions You Need to Avoid

What I've just implicitly laid out is a requirement that there are no salesmen allowed until you have done your homework as a customer-centric business. They do not have your best interest at heart. God love them, because sales people make the world go 'round, but their motivation isn't forward looking enough to see you extend your customer lifecycle through increased loyalty; and all the good stuff that goes with that.

CRM software solutions for industries (vertical market solutions) may be the place you start looking after you develop a solid set of requirements supporting your new workflows and work processes. But, not necessarily. Most of those are glamoured-up showcases of bells and whistles that could be totally unnecessary for your company.  Generally, they are designed to make brochures pop with cool looking visuals. That's a CRM software solution for the reseller, not for your company.

Avoid getting caught up in all the sales hype by following the simple steps I've laid out above. If you do, you will soon see that allowing a salesperson to enter the process before you are ready for them, will increase the risk of CRM failure.

CRM initiatives driven by middle management tend to be software focused. CRM initiatives from the top should be customer focused. Most of what I've seen over the years are the former. As a result, straight software installations were deemed a success when, in fact, there were no measurable improvements in any of the CRM metrics I've talked about on this site. Middle management, and that includes sales organizations, by definition are functional and not strategic. Initiatives driven from the middle will gain certain efficiencies, but there will still be problems handing off information between functional silos within your organization....and your customer will see little or no benefit

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