London, January 9, 2002 - Extraprise, the international technology consultancy specialising in CRM, today sounded an optimistic note for the CRM industry in 2002. Far from seeing the market as littered with implementations that fail to live up to expectations, Extraprise believes that by following a set of inexpensive measures wayward projects can be put back on track, while new projects can expect to see concrete returns on investment.
"Some people see CRM as another over-hyped, under-achieving technology acronym," said Jim Beagle, President, International, Extraprise. "It's time for that to stop. If companies ensure buy in from all relevant stakeholders; understand how to measure programme success; get to grips with the necessary people, process and technology requirements; and try not to do too much too soon, they should start to see real returns. Following these steps requires considerable specialist expertise, as well as a management team with vision and courage. But if organisations get these steps right, new CRM projects will flourish, while existing deployments will reach their mouth-watering potential."
Executive buy-in -
By failing to obtain sufficient executive commitment, not just at the beginning of the project, but to its short and mid-term goals, projects will not deliver expected returns.
CRM New Year's Resolution -
Conduct a business effectiveness review. Often, the primary reason for CRM programme failures is lack of executive commitment. Unless the CRM programme is consistent with business vision and strategy, it is destined to be ignored. Organisations need to clarify objectives and tie them back to appropriate measures in order to build executive consensus. According to Extraprise, it is important to involve all stakeholder groups in the process and establish confidence and trust by setting clear goals for everyone. If executives are not committed to short and mid-term goals the scope of the project constantly changes, resulting in a system that addresses short-term pain points in an ad hoc fashion at the expense of overall success.
Measurement -
Businesses frequently fail to develop an ongoing approach to modelling and measuring return on investment.
CRM New Year's Resolution -
Extraprise asserts that a strong ROI model needs to be developed prior to implementation and kept alive throughout the CRM programme. Only by developing a methodology for continually assessing and tracking the progress of a CRM project will companies realise the full benefits of a CRM implementation. The figures used to develop the ROI prediction should be provided by the people responsible for producing the results and should not just be a guestimate by external consultancies or internal IT heads.
Out with the old, in with the new? -
Trying to automate existing systems and business processes that are old, out of date and ineffective will hamper an organisation's ability to hit CRM targets.
CRM New Year's Resolution -
Attempting to automate existing business processes that are ineffective, incomplete or outdated will just add time, cost and frustration to the project. Extraprise advises that instead a process effectiveness review should be carried out to identify process constraints that limit the effectiveness of the solution. Automating a bad business process only intensifies the underlying problem. The simpler or more automated a process can be, the lower the cost and the greater the return.
Technology -
Many businesses focus on CRM technology at the expense of addressing the necessary changes in organisation design, infrastructure and employee training and change management.
CRM New Year's Resolution -
According to Extraprise, organisations should conduct a user effectiveness review to measure the level of employee adoption of the new CRM system. Where acceptance is low, it is important to identify if this is the result of training and motivation of the staff or the capabilities of the system. It is usually an organisational problem of some sort, but whatever the cause it is impossible to rectify if evidence of failure is apocryphal. A close analysis of user patterns and attitudes can yield immediate returns.
One step at a time -
Too many organisations adopt a 'big bang' approach to the initial deployment and try to roll out too much functionality to too many users too quickly.
CRM New Year's Resolution -
Extraprise explains that developing a successful CRM programme is a journey, not a destination. Like most journeys, it involves the interplay of people, process and technology under the direction of a clear roadmap. Develop a multi-generation approach focused on continuous measurement and deliver the plan in stages. Trying to deliver too much, too soon, across two many channels results in expensive, highly customised systems with a high rate of failure.
Jim Beagle concluded: "Last year saw many CRM implementations delivering impressive returns. This year should see even more. Understanding the people, process and technology implications of embarking on a CRM journey is not an easy thing to achieve. But it can be done, and companies with the necessary skill, vision and courage, in conjunction with the right consultancy partner, should have a very successful 2002."
Extraprise® is a leading systems integrator and business process outsourcer specializing in customer management. The company's "Insight-to-Interaction" (or "i2i") solutions combine data management, business insight, demand generation, and customer management. Clients use Extraprise services to make their customer insights actionable throughout their marketing, sales, and service channels. Solutions are available on premise and as on demand services at the company's hosting centers. Extraprise is headquartered in Boston with offices in the U.S. and Europe. Extraprise is on the Web at www.extraprise.com.
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