The foundational understanding of customer needs is changing in favour of a rich multichannel experience. Companies are facing the challenge of determining whether their existing technologies and processes are effective. In doing so they are increasingly Re-evaluating CRM Technology.
Markets often push companies to re-invent approaches for managing customer-centric processes. Smaller companies are able to respond to these demands more dynamically than larger organizations.
Within larger organisations, there can be a number of reasons why there is hesitation to iterate their CRM. These typically include:
- Existing CRM investment. In the past organisations have embarked on highly customised CRM deployments. For these organizations, the very idea of abandoning such an investment can be disheartening. What is often overlooked is whether an organization has already effectively realized a return on such investments—or is even capable of doing so.
- Incurred technical debt. Technical debt refers to the gap created by the misalignment of needs, processes, and technology throughout the solution’s lifetime. This represents all the work that needs to be done to minimize misalignment rooted in the past in order to be effective in the present and future.
- Business reactivity. Most organizations (as well as individuals) are highly emotionally reactive in the way they make decisions. They make changes only when they can no longer maintain the status quo, and the pain is intolerable. Solution and process handicaps are not given proper attention until the escalation chain arises.
- Lack of customer sponsorship. CRM processes run across many functions throughout the customer life cycle, from marketing to service. Who are the advocates and sponsors for the customer journey within the business?
Working under the combined weight of these factors is like trying to move a mountain. Organizations are sandwiched between these internal agenda and the external marketing pressures that drive their customer centred approach.
The following are some of the key steps to re-evaluating CRM technology
- Understand the problems. Initiate your inquiry by looking at the challenges and problems the business faces. Ask yourself: Do we know who our customers are across all service lines? Are we able to effectively drive cross-sell and upsell revenues? Are any of the problems the organization is experiencing further handicapped by the existing CRM solution set or absence of it? Understand metrics around the problems. What is the cost of acquiring or losing a customer? Where does my revenue come from?
- Evaluate opportunity costs. Assess what the risk and cost to your business would be if the status quo were to be maintained. Monetizing this will help justify financial decisions needed to address the problems at hand.
- Identify solutions. As you research solutions, do not limit your assessment to the technology only. The success of the technology as the enabler of business success is intertwined with the selection of an appropriate solutions partner. The solutions partner can assist with the process of properly defining requirements and provide guidance on the appropriate ROI indicators.
- Think big, start small. Too often we delay our decision process for fear of the potential size of the task. No one wants to open a can of worms. Truth be told, we can take small steps in the right direction, keeping our eyes on the larger vision all the while. On the technology front, there are many choices available that do not include hastily discarding your legacy solutions. You can easily introduce smaller pieces of the solution and technology within the fabric of CRM while still allowing it to play well within the overall existing architecture. Once this is accomplished, the answer to the question of whether to completely replace or augment the CRM innovation will be clear.
- Monitor progress. Create a consistent feedback loop, monitoring key process indicators around your CRM and related processes. Continuous feedback will help modulate your approach throughout the life cycle of your efforts and maximize the returns.
Customer relationship technologies took root in the early 1980s, with the introduction of personal computers. The launch of MAXIMIZER in 1987 was one of the first big milestones in the era of CRM. Not long after other firms launched their flagship products, thus announcing the birth of enterprise CRM. If you look back 30 years, you will see how CRM technology has transformed to match our understanding of the customer.
ProAptivity specialise in re-evaluating CRM technology as part of our comprehensive CRM solutions portfolio. They are the Northern Ireland solutions partner for Pipedrive and Maximizer CRM.
If you need help in understanding why my business needs CRM, maybe some of our eBooks could help! Alternatively visit Maximizer CRM for more information. Contact us today in Belfast on 028 9099 6388 or at our Bedford office on 01234 214004. Alternatively email us on info@proaptivity.com. Contact us today for a free CRM consultation that will assess if your business is CRM ready.
