CRM Program Strategy Scorecard

Use this tool to document your CRM program objectives, initiatives, measures, and targets for the next 12-18 months.

CRM Program Maturity Assessment

Use this prescriptive self-assessment tool to evaluate your organization’s CRM Program Maturity. Rate your compliance with best practices across the following dimensions: Senior Management Commitment, Alignment with Business Goals, Level of Process Documentation, Data Management & Accuracy, Customer-Centricity, System Training & Support, User Adoption, and Customer Satisfaction. Once you have completed the assessment, you will immediately be provided with results and recommendations for improvement.

Staffing up for CRM

Having a data steward, report builder, user-training expert, and system administrator is essential for CRM success. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable CRM Administrator job description to formalize the role of CRM application support.

Key CRM Administrator Responsibilities:

• Policing Company Data – Ensuring data is correct across Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities. Identifying errors and fixing them quickly.
• System Administration - building custom reports, maintain system upgrades, working with vendors to integrate other applications, etc.
• User Training & Support - conduct user navigation training to all users.
• Monitoring User Adoption Rates - ensure system is being widely used to improve return on investment, identify training gaps, and increase usage.
• Provisioning & De-provisioning – adding and deleting system users, re-assigning leads, activities, accounts etc. Ensuring that ex-employees DO NOT have access to company data after their termination date.

Evaluating Hosted CRM

Until recently, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software had the unenviable reputation for being difficult to implement in many mid-sized enterprises. Reasons for project failure included high start-up & maintenance costs, I/T resource requirements, lack of user adoption, and large changes to existing business processes.
Fortunately, vendors have recognized these issues and have adapted their products accordingly. Currently there are many hosted CRM solutions that can be quickly implemented at reasonable costs. Read this summary to learn the benefits of hosted CRM and understand the current marketplace.

What is a Hosted CRM System?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a business strategy that covers methods and technologies used by companies to manage their relationships with clients. Information stored on existing customers (and potential customers) is analyzed and used to this end. Automated CRM processes are often used to generate automatic personalized marketing based on the customer information stored in the system.

There are two major types of CRM system: in-house or hosted. Hosted software, or ‘on-demand’ as it is often called, is delivered via the Internet. Examples of common hosted software systems include Hotmail, Travelocity.com, and online banking.

CRM Consulting Partners Revealed

Many mid-sized organizations are in the process of implementing a CRM system, but few have a really solid understanding of how to best approach the project. Use this research note to understand the benefits that CRM consultants can deliver. Additionally, use our CRM Consulting Services RFP Template to compare vendors in a systematic, business-requirement-driven, fashion.

CRM Consulting Services Benefits:

• Better Organizational Alignment – consultants are great at focusing the attention of senior executives who can otherwise be difficult to engage. Consider purchasing a ‘Business Process Review Workshop’ professional service to quickly build organizational alignment on the role & risks of CRM.
• In-depth Expertise – Not only do consultants know the vendors very well, they have loads of experience with developing and refining business processes, which are the foundation of a successful CRM implementation.
• Additional Resources – some organizations are so strapped for time, they need an extra pair of hands for the heavy lifting of the CRM project. Help with data manipulation, cleansing, and migration, are key areas of benefit.

Are you Prepared for CRM?

CRM projects are notorious for failing for a variety of reasons in mid-sized enterprises. Although there have been considerable CRM product developments, including the rapid growth of solid hosted solutions, there is still a need for a foundation built on mature processes, alignment with goals, and senior level buy-in. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable CRM Readiness Assessment to gauge how ready your organization is to tackle this initiative.

What are the Key Success Factors?

• Senior Management Commitment - your executives must understand that CRM is a complex, long-term initiative. They need to commit to providing the required resources, and potentially upgrade backend I/T systems.
• Alignment with Goals & Objectives – CRM must be on your strategic plan for organizational development priorities. Each department needs to document their requirements for the system, and indicate how the increased functionality will help them achieve current and future goals.
• Process Maturity & Documentation – defined, repeatable, and measurable processes need to be documented for Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Billing, and Order Management.
• Data Management & Accuracy – customer and product information needs to be stored safely in either a data warehouse or online storage system. A unique customer identifier should be used across all departments, and I/T needs to take responsibility for all departmental data.
• Customer-Centricity – is your business driven by customer needs? Have you profiled an ideal customer and communicated that profile across departments? Do customers typically deal with more than one representative?
• System Training & Support – appropriate resources need to be allocated for training system users and administrators. Consider creating a position for a Director of Sales Support who can manage the CRM program.