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04.09.09 Driving Decision-Making Trends In CRM  By Jim Berkowitz Here's an excellent article by William Band, VP, Principal Analyst with Forrester, Six Trends That Will Drive CRM Decision-Making in 2009: In light of the recent sudden and dramatic deterioration of the economic climate, what are the key developments driving CRM strategies and the adoption of enabling technologies now? Here's what I know: Locking-in customer loyalty through deeper engagement and differentiated experiences will continue as critical priorities. Six trends will drive CRM decision-making in 2009. Trend 1: The Emergence of the Social Consumer Social technology adoption has increased tremendously during the past 12 months. Three in four U.S. online adults now use social tools to connect with each other compared with 56 percent in 2007. This new trend - which goes by a number of names, including CRM 2.0, Social CRM, and Collaborative CRM - is forcing CRM professionals to look for innovative ways to engage with these new "social consumers." In 2009 CRM leaders will be looking to enrich the customer experience through community-based interactions, and architecting solutions that are flexible and foster strong intra-organization and customer collaboration. Trend 2: The Imperative That CRM Strategies Deliver Business Value I recently conducted a survey with business and IT managers about the pitfalls that trip-up CRM projects. I examined 133 separate projects. Nearly 20 percent of those surveyed reported troubles with their CRM strategy. Problems cited were: poor deployment approaches (40 percent); difficulties in defining business requirements (23 percent); inability to gain organizational alignment on objectives (18 percent); and concerns about cost (18 percent). During tough economic times, CRM professionals will be retooling their strategies with a focus on spotlighting the biggest opportunities for quick wins. Trend 3: The Requirement to Fully Cost-Justify CRM Investments CRM professionals tell me that during this economic downturn they need bullet-proof financial arguments to get funding for the technologies the need to deliver value to the customer and back to the customer. In 2009 every business case must answer four critical questions: What are the business benefits? What is the impact on IT or project costs? Is future flexibility increased or decreased? How will risks be mitigated?
Trend 4: The Necessity to Reduce the Risk of CRM Initiatives CRM professionals cannot afford failed CRM projects, particularly in down markets when business survival may be at stake. There are plenty of risks to worry about. In the survey of CRM professionals mentioned above, more than 200 individual problems were reported. Thirty-three percent of the problems related to technology, 27 percent to business processes, 22 percent to people, and 18 percent to CRM strategy. In 2009 "risk-proofing" projects will near the top of the priority list for CRM professionals. Trend 5: The Need to Get More Value From Customer Information CRM professionals tell me that poor customer data management is one of the biggest barriers to getting value from their CRM programs. In a recent Forrester survey of more than 1,000 North American and European decision-makers, 44 percent said that a master data management initiative was a critical or important priority for 2008. But, the right approach to customer data management is elusive. In 2009 I expect CRM professionals will continue to focus intently on how enterprises collect, distribute, and use customer data to create value. Continue reading this article. About the Author: Jim Berkowitz is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of professional services and project management experience related to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Financial Management (Accounting & ERP) software solutions for small, mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies. As a Sales Force Automation and CRM Consultant, Jim has assisted more then 100 companies with the design and implementation of custom CRM solutions. Mr. Berkowitz is the founder and President of CRM Mastery, Inc.; a company dedicated to serving small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) by offering affordable tools and guidance to help them plan for and succeed with their CRM initiatives. |
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