Implementing Strategic CRM

A CRM strategy is a major undertaking that needs to be dealt with and planned properly. In order to successfully implement a CRM strategy it is necessary that the firm first builds a team. The members of this team should include a representative of every department who will use, or may use, the system either initially or ultimately. It is necessary to include members from sales, marketing, customer support, customer service, management, IT, finance, and sometimes others. A key member of the team should be an external, or outsourced, individual who is experienced in planning and implementing CRM solutions. Second, it is necessary to market the project internally. Giving it as much exposure and hype as possible in order for the entire firm to understand the project so they accept it as a positive effort will benefit the firm and its customers.

A firm has to make sure its CRM strategy has a business case focus, by ensuring there is a clear understanding that this project has a direct contribution to the firm's bottom line, there is a return on investment that is definable and understood, and this is not just a project for technology's sake. One of the most important aspects of successfully implementing a CRM solution is to plan for a phased rollout. The second phase can introduce additional functionality, such as opportunity management and forecasting. The next phase could include integrating email, custom letters, and reporting, and so on. Doing a CRM project in small phases is infinitely more successful than attempting to implement the entire project at one time. Training is critical to the success of a CRM strategy. Finally, the path to success must include a benchmarking phase in order to find out how much it has achieved. A firm also needs to establish milestones to measure against and audit its results.