Three things to avoid to prevent a CRM Failure
Recently I met one of my very good friends’ who is currently working as a CRM Consultant. He shared a very interesting story about how one of the CRM projects he worked went for a toss in just three months and eventually got scrapped. While we talked in length about the possible reasons what could have triggered it, three distinct things came up which had led to the failure of the project.
Read on to understand our take on why a CRM project could fail?
1. Lack of goal:
When a salesperson or consultant talks about CRM or tries to highlight the benefits it can bring, all key stakeholders of an organization get really excited thinking all the existing problems of an organization will easily be addressed by the CRM Suite. As a consequence, they never set a goal. Lack of clear goals results in an aimless project and eventually leads to failure. Organizations first need to figure out the business problems that need to be addressed via CRM. Once those are identified then proceed to talk to the vendors. Use that list of goals while you negotiate with your vendor for the best CRM Suites. The proper goal can help the organization to do proper planning and ensure CRM Success. An important note to consultants. If you are not sure about the goals, ask about that. Ask again, ask as much as you want, but make sure you understand the required outcome before starting to work on the project.
2. Fewer Stakeholder engagements:
The other and second most crucial factor which determines the fate of a CRM project is the commitment from key stakeholders. Corporate management must be visibly and vocally committed to the CRM effort. They must approve the budget, provide resources, and engage with end-users to ensure that the CRM project gets the right attention and support that is required for success. However, it is often noticed that soon after engaging the consulting team, they don’t pay much attention to the project needs and get involved in other activities.
In addition to top management, the people who will use the CRM software system have to be engaged and committed to it as well. There is no point in implementing a CRM solution with the user having zero knowledge or idea about the reason for the same. So educate your user to get the best out of CRM.
Project managers must adopt an incremental way of development, Share weekly updates with all stakeholders. Build MLP (Minimum Lovable Product), do all things possible to ensure that your stakeholders are engaged with the project.
3. Inefficient software:
The last and the final one is the software you are going to use. I love giving this example always. You either need a ship or vessel or a boat to cross a water body and your choice of transport depends on how large the water body is and how much distance you have to cross. Similarly, for a CRM project, your choice should be based on your organization’s goal. Multiple CRM vendors in the market can offer you a solution. However, not all are equipped enough to address your organizational goal. Business houses need to do a thorough analysis of the CRM products before finalizing the deal. Keep in mind to seek inputs about SLA, Warranties, Support plan, etc. Remember, the more simpler it is, the more easier it is to understand for the end-user, hence unless it is required, don’t go for overweight products.
To wrap it up, as per CIO magazine, around one-third of all customer relationship management (CRM) projects fail. So be extra careful before handling a CRM Project. Keep in mind these crucial factors while working on them. After all, you never want your project to fail right?
Thanks to,
CIO Magazine
Mr.CRM Consultant :) ( My very good friend, who preferred not to reveal his name in public forum )
