Deploying CRM? Be Agile or Fail.
When deploying CRM, it’s important to remember that the success of the entire process is dependent on a number of fragile factors. Below I have outlined some major points you must take into consideration in order to increase the rate of its success.
1. Fast Development Cycles Keep People Engaged
When deploying CRM, remember that tech can be re-configured relatively easily, as long as you are organised and motivated. If something is not working, don’t stick with it — make a change and make it fast. Make users realise that you are on their side and want to help them get value from CRM. The longer these problems are a part of the system, the more apathetic users are likely to become and the more dissatisfied company stakeholders are going to be with the results and once you’ve lost people it can be really hard to get them back.
As soon as an issue is identified tell team members that they can have the changes fast. Adjustments are easy enough to make if you have the energy and will have a huge impact on how everyone in the company perceives the CRM system.
Be ‘pro-actively reactive’. It will ensure your deployment stays afloat.
2. People can’t Articulate what they want First Time
The need for regular review and re-assessment of stated requirements is an important part of CRM deployment; a one off requirement gathering exercise just isn’t going to cut it. Initial stated needs are just the starting point. Once you have identified a few problems that CRM deployment will help overcome, more are likely to surface. Holding regular meetings during the development process will stimulate ideas for new and bigger benefits and may lead to changes to the development. Bringing the most value to the business is what it’s all about and it’s why an agile approach tends to be more effective.
3. Every Firm is Different; so Every Set of Needs is Different
There is a need for contingency thinking in relation to CRM. As research, including my own, suggests, those who “prescribe design principles, derived from the best practices, and who contend that the principles are universally applicable irrespective of the context in which the supplier and customer operates, are myopic”. CRM deployment cannot be broken down into a clear-cut and straightforward structure; it is different for every company and therefore a formula will not work. Instead, the approach must by pragmatic and dynamic; the situation and requirements are likely to change.
If you approach deployment through the lens of strategic orientation, environmental factors and customer characteristics, you should get a good understanding for the suitability of CRM to a given set of needs and business context. But remember, this might not be identified at an initial meeting; continue to talk to sales executives as well as key stakeholders and spend a bit of time to identify exactly what the business wants out of CRM deployment.
4. The Curse of a Dominant Voice
The differing perspectives of layers of management and people who do the work can make it difficult to implement any form of change, let alone deploy a new CRM system. It’s often the case that management seek different end goals from CRM than that of sales executives. In fact, research has shown that activities reported as not being of value by sales executives were primarily CRM activities demanded by management.
The result of this then can be an internal struggle and may slow down CRM deployment. Identifying different needs is however a vital stage of the implementation process. It can impact how CRM is utilised within the company as well as attitudes to the entire system. Of course, it may appear as if some form of compromise is required but this should not be seen as a negative. Instead, look at it as a way of optimising CRM to get the best results for the entire company and for the uses that the company depends on.
If you are leading the change you must find a balance across the needs of all parties and ensure that the best interests of key stakeholders are balanced with the needs of sales executives (often what makes their working life easier) As discussed last month, when leading change there’s a need to form a coalition of the willing. It is critical for that coalition to represent different groups of users and managers at all levels.
The takeaway point here is to ensure you do not cave into any individual stakeholders (particularly managers). You must address the issues of all those who will be using or taking value from the system and ensure that their voices and concerns are heard. If they do not find value in how they use it, it will fail — it’s as simple as that.
