Four Dirty Little Secrets of CRM Requirements Lists

In reading many articles over the weekend I came across an article from Computerworld on “Four Dirty Little Secrets of CRM Requirements Lists”, it really did hit a home run for me. The article really is a pattern interrupt in the common thinking that features and functionality is everything when it comes to evaluating a new CRM solution for your business. The secrets are these:

“Secret 1 – Features are less important than User Adoption…
Secret 2 – Features are less important than Data Credibility…
Secret 3 – Features are less important than Platform…
Secret 4 – Features are less important than Reliability…”

The two secrets that stand out for me are #1 and #2. In my experience with clients who have implemented CRM it’s less about features and functions and  more about “how can my employees use this as an effective tool to make their life easier?” or “how can automating processes with CRM save time?”. When evaluating a CRM solution for your business ask yourself  “what processes can I automate or improve” rather than looking at it in terms of what are all the functions and features that I need. Most of todays CRM have the fuctionality or can be customized to meet your needs. Data credibility is everything, that is why secret #2 is so critical. Without credible data your CRM system implementation will fail. Having a strong data migration plan that puts reliable data into the system so users can get started right away.

referring article Computerworld:

http://bit.ly/72M2qa

Richard Bolton

Centricity360