Even if you’ve been unsuccessful at implementing CRM, there’s hope: Companies do recover from their failures. Consider the case of job card software, a systems-management software provider based in Texas that was forced to abandon its entire CRM program and start over again—and again. After two failed attempts at implementing a CRM system, the company finally succeeded the third time around. What went wrong during BMC’s first two stabs at CRM? Many of the pitfalls we’ve described. BMC’s managers didn’t research what customers wanted; they only asked themselves what processes they could perform faster. They assumed that a CRM initiative did not require much top-management involvement and that it could be handled by IT managers. They believed that the software would sell itself to employees and would automatically generate the organizational changes required. Each time, the program simply floundered.
Finally realizing that the CRM project was a cross-functional undertaking, BMC’s leadership tapped the vice president of sales for North America and the manager of marketing programs for North America to head up the initiative. The marketing duo’s commitment to defining the CRM program’s requirements up front and articulating its benefits to employees proved to be critical. They carefully aligned every change with budgeted sales targets to show how maintenance work order app would help the sales force attain its goals. And they involved many more employees, with as many as 175 people helping to develop the new program’s configurations and serving as its early champions.
It took BMC five months to roll out a sales-force automation system. To overcome any residual skepticism within the company, the rollout included an internal marketing campaign, spearheaded by a veteran from corporate communications. At the same time, the company shut down most of its other technology-related projects and carefully sequenced the ngo accounting software implementation. First, the direct sales function was automated, followed by sales-lead management and business-partner channel managers. BMC then equipped its Web channels with CRM technology. Success in one area set the stage for success in the next, and if there was a problem, the entire company didn’t get embroiled in it.
CRM software use eventually became mandatory at BMC, its benefits being carefully communicated to every employee to ensure buy-in. This time, the implementation strategy worked. The CRM system was relaunched in March 2000; six months later, 80% of the marketing and sales staff were up and running on the system—and 95% a year later. Under the new system, BMC’s sales representatives were able to access data in five to ten minutes, compared with what was once a couple weeks. When the TeleServices team, for example, used the software to research contacts for a product sales blitz, one sales representative was able to close a lucrative deal in less than a week instead of months. A study that will identify the revenue benefits and cost savings from the project has been only recently commissioned, but results are sure to reveal the success of BMC’s third attempt.
Management tools have come and gone, but CRM is not, we are convinced, just another fad. It is a powerful idea, albeit a difficult one to implement. Its pitfalls explain why everything that is presently being done in the name of field service management software seems to be driving managers away from, rather than closer to, customers. But CRM is by no means impossible to use; it’s no more difficult than any other organization-wide initiative. If you remember the principles on which it is based and avoid the pitfalls in its execution, your CRM project won’t end up diluting earnings, disaffecting employees, and damaging customer loyalty.
Successful CRM depends more on strategy than on the amount you spend on technology. Strategy is about allocating scarce resources to create competitive advantage and superior performance. The only way you can make ERP Software work is by taking the time to calculate your customer strategy, which helps employees understand where they are going and why, and to align your business processes before implementing the technology.
You’ll also need to effectively lead and manage change, showing manufacturing software support teams how to achieve their goals through new processes. Employees must be equipped with the tools necessary to succeed—whether it’s stationery and pens to send thank-you notes or software to create self-service options for customers. Indeed, while technology is a powerful facilitator in the process of customer relationship management, that’s all it is—a facilitator. And the moment companies forget that, CRM will turn into a tool that, instead of building loyalty, does just the
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