CRM and great aunt Edith...

Sitting in on a series of CRM short-list presentations this week, I became acutely aware of just how much we seem to rely on acronyms and jargon. I had to stop a couple of sessions because it was obvious that the audience wasn’t following what was being said. Even when you ask presenters to stop using jargon it’s amazing how quickly they can lapse back into it. I’d love to say I’m clean on this point, but while it’s something of worked hard on over the years, it something I still catch myself doing.

If you can’t convey points in a way that your great aunt Edith would understand (if you don’t have a great aunt Edith feel free to substitute a similar non IT savvy friend or relative) then stop and re-word it in a way she can. Ultimately the buyers and users of CRM technology are rather more like great aunt Edith than most people in the CRM industry seem to realise. If we are to be effective in getting CRM technology used to add business value, ditching the comfort blanket of CRM industry speak is a key first step.