Tips for successful CRM implementation

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The introduction of a CRM system is a complex process that can not be confined to the purely technical side. The system needs in the overall organization of the company are perfectly integrated, business processes and workflows should be amended accordingly. Not least, to think of the people that need to be familiar with the new software. Information exchange and cooperation among different specialists and departments is therefore an overriding block to the CRM implementation will be completed successfully. This cooperation begins, ideally, already in the planning and selection of a CRM system. They should look at the benefits and calculation of a CRM investment, the IT management and the departments work closely together and put through the common definition of requirements and the design of the basic processes.

The individual departments themselves should coordinate with each other. As the CRM implementation affects the different areas of a company, the implementation will be integrated into the overall structure of the company. To the best CRM system to integrate into business processes, so a company-wide coordination of the various departments is essential. And finally, the human factor is not negligible. The CRM installation leads to changes in their daily work, so that even the employees themselves are to be included: work processes must be changed, the software must be trained and it must be ensured in general that the CRM system is accepted.

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Preparation Phase

Typically, the implementation of a CRM system in several phases. This paper presents a model that is based on four main phases. The focus here is the procedure for the selection of software. The individual phases, and the problems that arise in this respect are presented. The proposed model is tailored to the needs of medium-sized companies. In larger companies, the selection process run much more complex. Particularly in the SME sector, it is important that the system fits with the company regarding the availability of resources, know-how and business processes. Otherwise cause unnecessary or excessively complex features additional costs that bring no benefit. Before even thinking of the first steps to choosing a CRM system should provide the appropriate staff be formed. In practice it has proven not to distribute any load on the shoulders of a single CRM representative, but to form a project team. At best, a very small company, a one-man team to take full responsibility for the CRM implementation.

The project team should be involved employees from various departments, as the CRM implementation usually affects all departments. Also should not just engineers sit in the team, but other experts. The latter should represent the future users to avoid so as to develop the CRM system on demand over. Consideration should also consider whether external service providers attention. Although this increase the cost but can provide their know-how for a smooth functioning of the CRM implementation.

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Analysis Phase

In the first phase, the current actual state collects and analyzes the need for CRM functions. These processes should be combined with cost considerations and a detailed analysis of business processes in the context of this paper but can not be pursued. An essential part of this phase is the working out of the functionalities that should provide a CRM system. Which included CRM capabilities, the system must necessarily, which are less important and what can be omitted altogether. If, for example, analytical CRM functions relevant, you need sophisticated data analysis tools, such as data mining tools? Or can you give up?

Important is to integrate the future users in needs analysis. The focus should ultimately always be the needs of users, not technology. Have proved to be the analysis of needs written staff surveys, especially structured interviews and workshops, illustrated with CRM deployment scenarios. I do not recommend is often used in practice method to collect from the feature list of CRM vendors required functionalities. The danger here is that you dazzled by the variety of functions and features can be integrated, which is not needed. The result of this phase should be a list of CRM functionality. Some of it will be possibly realized already, but needs to be adjusted. The unrealized portion is in mandatory, and can be no categories.

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Evaluation phase

The selected CRM functions have been inspected with respect to various criteria. Bring the individual features really the expected benefits that is related to the cost? An extensive cost-benefit analysis provides an important focus. Another aspect is whether the selected sub-functions are also practical to implement and use. For example, there is a need for analytical functions, but there are no employees who have the necessary know-how. Here, in each case to decide whether the relevant know-how should be purchased or to dispense with the feature you need. An important role is played acceptance problems. Experience shows that users do not take all the new features, it brings with it a CRM system. Here you should clarify in advance the acceptance by interviews. If it is negative for certain features that have either psychological measures to increase acceptance are taken or is considering whether to dispense with the relevant feature must. The data collected during the analysis phase of CRM functionality is based think of the ratings for now again. Only the most promising should be selected for good. Critical, non-essential functions can be upgraded later if necessary. At the end of this phase is a requirements profile that is used for communication with software providers to simplify the software selection.


Software selection - basic method

For the selection of a specific CRM system can be used depending on the size and ambition of the company, a simpler or more complex approach. In the simpler case, we first take on the basis of job profile preselect 5:00 to 10:00 CRM vendors. This makes sense because the number of providers of CRM solutions despite market correction is very large still. The selection offers plenty of scope for further selection and allows to analyze the specific suitability of the selected candidates in more depth. Important general decision criteria - in addition to company-specific - can be: Should the software be sector-specific or industry-neutral? If the software is modular, so that can be later used functions easily retrofitted? If there are interfaces to existing IT systems? Can these existing systems are easy to link to the CRM system and can integrate? Are individual adaptations and extensions?

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Software selection - Multi-layer approach

In Phase 1, the pre-selection, the quantity of systems is reduced to about ten to twelve. Basis for this first pre-selection may be the above-mentioned sources, which are preferable to those that allow to match your own requirements with the features of the manufacturers. In this way, a chart produced by the function. Reference can also help customers who have profiles similar requirement as the company itself. In Phase 2, according Schwetz Consulting fine selection is made with tender. It is given to the pre-selected dozens of CRM vendors, the requirements and other corporate information, such as IT infrastructure and objectives of the CRM deployment. Checklists and forms on important issues such as number of employees, sales or costs easier to compare. Manufacturers should be present on this basis proposed solutions, an initial offer and a first estimate.

The resulting data from the CRM vendors can be used for a first systematic comparison of tenders. be involved with this should also factors such as company profile or renown of the manufacturer. A central point should be the long-term sustainability of the provider. Will this still be in five years? The resulting data should be discussed with their advantages and disadvantages. The top six vendors can then be considered for the third selection phase.


Software Selection - Two remain

In Phase 3 will present the six selected vendors their respective CRM solution with key business requirements before the project team. The CRM vendors have to demonstrate a number of critical tasks of the announcement. Applicants who do not satisfactorily solve the tasks will be eliminated. The provider group should be restricted in this way further, that will ultimately have two relatively equal candidates left. The two favorites are selected by the project team and review samples and reference customer visits will be settled. Using several test cases should now be examined with two candidates each module both functionality and data supplies and on response times and load tests are carried out. It is appropriate here to test the use of the software under real conditions in order to detect adverse effects and to correct errors. All functions should be tested in field tests and the results are discussed in the project team. The end point is then the actual selection of a candidate. Overall, the whole process for a typical medium-sized companies a period of three months does not exceed.

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CRM implementation

After the final selection of the CRM system is the implementation that is usually carried out by own personnel or by the CRM vendor. This phase is hardly different from the implementation of other software systems. Many companies start before the actual introduction of a pilot phase. It serves the practical testing operation and compares the effect of the CRM implementation with existing processes. The effects are here mainly with key performance indicators measured and evaluated by staff and decision makers. After the pilot phase, the customizing. The CRM system will be adapted to the needs of the company and installed the appropriate CRM components. For this purpose, parameters and templates, and - in extreme cases - including the application source code can be changed. Also interfaces to communicate with other applications such as ERP systems are installed.

Lastly, we must also address the existing data-filled and taken over from the previous system. This should include a requirements document to determine how the different data structures in the CRM system and other applications - such as the ERP system - should be harmonized. The document maps the often-varying field names, types and lengths between the different systems, so that the source match and end dates. The question of which data fields are generally accepted, should be clarified. After a short test phase in which all components and functions of the software, including the exchange of data for errors and problems are examined, the rollout begins.