Advice for CRM newbies

There’s a good piece for those new to the CRM implementation business over at WebProNews.com. “Expert author” (no proper bio is supplied) Colin Duffy’s piece entitled “How to Define Your Needs before Buying CRM” and is a decent piece defining some basics when attempting to choose the correct first CRM product. Like many other business trends, the pressure to keep up with the latest technology developments and hold on to your competitive edge can often lead to rushed and poorly researched decisions. Firstly, Duffy paraphrases a Kennedy-ism in posing the question would be CRMers must ask themselves first.

Ask not, says Duffy, “‘What can our organization / company / employees do with this CRM?’” but “‘What can this CRM do for my company?’” Duffy argues that the answer will assist in avoiding overkill and lots of bells ‘n’ whistles that sound great, cost more, and eventually turn off users because of the program’s unnecessary complexity. As Duffy sees it, most CRM software is based on best practices in business, essentially broken down into marketing and lead management; opportunity management; customer service; and customer support.

Since most industry solutions feature some variant on these principles, the potential client must test to see if the features are warranted for the particular firm. Of course, Duffy reiterates that future growth is absolutely key. In a growing business, things like billing and invoicing, contracts, quote management, product inventory, and human resource management will change rapidly and should not require CRM software upgrades or new products. Most of all, says Duffy, the prospective CRM newbie should define needs tightly.

Good advice for us all… “How to Define Your Needs before Buying CRM” can be found at http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/expertarticles/wpn-62-20060825HowToDefineYourNeedsBeforeBuyingCRM.html.