CRM ‘R’ : Rescue / Repair / Refresh / Re-launch / Renew
Illustrative industry CRM project failure rates
- 2001 Gartner Group: 50%
- 2002 Butler Group: 70%
- 2002 Selling Power, CSO Forum: 69.3%
- 2007 Economist Intelligence Unit: 56%
- 2009 Forrester Research: 47%
Few organisations doubt the potential value of CRM and as a result, have invested (often heavily) in projects to enable them manage their customers more effectively and to acquire new profitable revenue. Initially the term “CRM” came to represent a pre-packaged solution that was applied to an organisation and/or a distribution channel.
By the early 2000s, excitement had faded to disappointment (illustrative failure rates % to the right) and mid-2000s with analysis of what had gone wrong and remarkably consistent conclusions: Despite having become synonymous with technology or software, CRM was not actually about either one. It was about strategy, processes, and change.
Failing to define a customer strategy, align processes, and attend to organisational change made the achievement of CRM objectives unlikely.
What are the options for CRM?
Despite the conclusions, many organisations continue to experience disappointment from the CRM initiatives. Options to remedy include:
- Make do (a new project cannot be justified)
- Replace the software (the technology is at fault)
- Start again (new everything)
Because the potential value and importance of CRM is so high, Option 1 is not really a viable option in mid-term. There are many persuasive software vendors happy to position their technology as the “solution”, Option 2, but in our experience, the primary problem is rarely technology. Option 3 is expensive.
CapricornVentis offer a 4th Option:
CRM ‘R’ (where ‘R’ = Rescue / Repair / Refresh / Re-launch / Renew)
The terminology of Rescue / Repair / Refresh / Re-launch / Renew will depend on the mindset of the executives on what needs to be done to bring the CRM project into line with their strategic goals. We will adopt a proven business approach that will focus on narrowing the gap between actual performance and these goals (see our approach to CRM projects).
To support our team of business analysts, we employ certified engineers on Microsoft CRM, Oracle CRM OnDemand, SalesLogix, SageCRM and have access to Salesforce contractors.
Where possible, our aim will be to leverage existing technology. The most identifiable benefits of CRM R
- Software Cost: no need to buy a brand new software system
- Deployment Costs: No need to go through an expensive and time consuming data migration
- Speed to solution: Reduced user training needed
- A fantastic opportunity to examine business processes and to make adjustments for new processes or for those that may not fit the business anymore
- To initiate a change that re-builds trust in what CRM is and does for your company
CRM ‘R’ Success Stories:
Having made the decision to invest in a Customer Relationship Management solution (SageCRM) to support the acquisition of new business, Willis was failing to get the desired traction from within the business. Wishing to optimise on the technical investment Willis contracted CapricornVentis to help re-launch the system.
Using the Blueprint methodology and working closely with the business sponsors CapricornVentis produced a working model and a system that was simple and could be deployed and operated by all area of the business in a consistent way.
“The focus and sponsorship of the solution is founded on the views and priorities of the business at all levels, and removed the technology label associated with the initiative before 2007. The solution enables a single model to address our critical client engagements, including marketing, new business development and ongoing client management, through multiple channels for multiple markets in a single, coherent and easy to understand way.
CapricornVentis have engaged with us very effectively to bolster the skills, resources and methodology of our joint team. They differentiated themselves to us with their business focus as well as their technology skills.” Allan MacDonald (COO Willis International, 2009)
