Module 05

Issues and Challenges in Implementing

CRM

Dr. Savita Sharma

CRM Implementation roadmap:
A CRM Roadmap is a strategic plan that identifies how an
organization can meet and exceed its customers' needs.
This includes, but is not limited to, assessing how the
sales, marketing and service entities work together to:

gain insight from their customers (e.g. purchase history,

desired products/services)
produce valuable offerings/products (e.g. personalized
product) and
provide the ultimate customer experience (e.g. multiple
touchpoints, 360 degree view of the customer).
Steps to a CRM Roadmap:
Step 1: Gain Senior Level Sponsorship
The sponsor for a CRM Roadmap effort must have a vested
interest in the project and ideally has P&L responsibility for the
group to be impacted. This helps develop buy-in from the
senior management team and the operations staff.

A Roadmap effort without senior level sponsorship and with

little cross-unit influence can diminish the returns of such an
effort. As with any project an organization undertakes that
involves significant change to business processes,
organizational structures, or roles and responsibilities, the lack
of key, influential sponsorship reduces the effectiveness of the
project, since there is no driving force for implementation.
 Cont…
Step 2: Gather Information
It is critical to gain insights of various key stakeholders and
decision-makers within the organization. These insights can be
acquired most effectively by holding one-on-one meetings. We use
an "interview template" that consists of more than 30 questions.
This template serves as the foundation for framing initial
discussions with the client.

Depending on the scope and effort of the project, these meetings

may include not only executives, but also individuals all the way to
the front line. Given their more frequent and direct interactions
with the customer, front-line personnel may know more about
customer needs, preferences and concerns that may not have been
communicated to the executive level.
Cont…
Step 3: Assess Current state and Define Future state
Gaps
Through these meetings, we gain an understanding of
the client's current CRM capabilities and significant
opportunities to improve their customer relationships,
and map out our findings. We also strive to understand
company's future direction (usually between 6 months
and 2 years).
Use the results to determine how close these
organizations are to meeting and exceeding the
customers' expectations, and present the gaps between
their current state of CRM and their desired state.
Cont…
Step 4: Identify Value Opportunities
Value opportunities represent the potential benefits delivered by
being more customer-centric. Identify and categorize value
opportunities along the lines of people, process and technology
by analyzing the gaps between the organization's current state
and its desired future state. Once value opportunities are
identified, meetings should be held with the executive team to
prioritize them.
One example of a "process" value opportunity is improving data
capture for all customer contacts across sales functions and touch
points (e.g. phone, e-mail, etc.). "People" value opportunities may
involve additional training on service procedures for capturing
customer data. "Technology" value opportunities might include
developing a data warehouse.
 Cont…
Step 5: Link Value Opportunities to strategic CRM Capabilities
Determine where the value opportunities lie, determine where the
value opportunities lie.
Eg:
Value Opportunity:
Improve customer understanding

Strategic CRM Capability:

Possess good knowledge of the customer

Leverage customer information from the service process

Understand customer profitability and cost-to-serve.

 Cont…
Step 6: Define CRM Projects and Requirements
Once value opportunities are prioritized, specific CRM projects
need to be developed. Defining and executing CRM projects
will ensure the company masters the relevant strategic CRM
capabilities.
An effective way to define relevant projects is through
brainstorming sessions with the client. Samples of the outcome
of a session might include:
- Understand customer profitability
- Enhance call center operations by implementing sophisticated
touchpoint technologies
- Establish a data warehouse
- Improve sales force training
Cont…
Step 7: Develop Business Case
Once the projects and requirements are defined, it is necessary to
develop the business case to support or refute the criticality of a
specific project. The business case seeks to justify the dollar
investment needed and the ROI (return on investment) that will be
realized over the course of the investment, usually three to five
years.
Each business case should include:
- Details and costs of required resources (people, technology,
training, outsourced resources, etc.),
- Projected duration of time of each project and
- Options for completing the project using internal or external
resources.
Cont…
Step 8: Develop a roll-out strategy
Developing a roll-out strategy enables organizations to
focus their resources, money and time on the most
important projects that help them become customer
driven.
Prioritization and phasing of projects is conducted with
the executive team, a process in which they evaluate the
results of the business cases, and consider for each
project's financial results, duration, level of effort
required, and technical impact.
 Critical Success Factor:
In order to successfully develop a CRM Roadmap, there are several critical success
factors that must be kept in mind:
It is vital to have buy-in from top management.
A strong sponsor is required (skilled, knowledgeable and politically savvy).
It is essential to have buy-in and involvement from all process owners.
It is critical to have a strong leader who can hold constructive, productive
brainstorming sessions, and is good at maximizing participation from the client
team. Also, it is helpful to hold brainstorming sessions during numerous steps
within the development of the roadmap.
Feedback from all affected internal and external parties (customer groups, other
inter-dependent internal departments) must be obtained and considered.
Do not lose sight of your customer's needs.
Installing technology without revisions in supporting processes and
people/organizational elements will not result in a comprehensive CRM Roadmap.
Lack of communication can be life threatening to a CRM Roadmap project. You
cannot over-communicate.
CRM Roadblocks (4Ps):
1. Process:
Companies are slow/unwilling to modify business process
to support both customer relationship comfort zone of staff
or customer old way of doing things, tentative
responsibilities etc.
2. Perception:
CRM must be viewed as job enabler not as latest in the
series of doctrine to be implemented corporate policies.
People are made to believe that they should be able to
accomplish the test in less time and purpose new task as
well.
Cont…
3. Privacy
Understand that customers may or may not like to share
their personal details publicly or with any other company.

4. Politics
Need to understand that you need to deal ethically with
customers and diplomatically with the people who may
create politics.
Emerging trends in CRM:
Near-field communication

Location-based services

Augmented reality

Social media on mobile and social media as customer

service channel

Next generation mobile apps

Questions?