CRM Value Maximisation...

One of the things that never ceases to depress me is the hundreds of millions spent on CRM software that while live is generating marginal value for the organisation using it. In my experience the vast majority of CRM systems under perform against their potential. There are a number of reasons for this, but the two key ones are that a) CRM vendors are motivated to sell software not implement high pay-back systems, and that b) though some organisations have been successful in implementing CRM, the systems haven’t kept pace with the business over time and has fallen into obsolescence.

Anyway I mention all this as the preface for a shameless plug on one of two new services – the second new service I’ll shamelessly plug in a separate post. We’ve launched a new service this week called CRM Value Maximisation, or CRM VM for short. The rationale is as follows: most CRM systems under perform. Perhaps in a buoyant economy you can get away with it, but in tighter times the performance of the CRM system can be life or death. If you accept you need to get your CRM system on track who do you turn to? There’s the original vendor perhaps, but then they probably got you in this state in the first place, and their answer is likely to be to sell you some large commission generating batch of products or services which will nicely empty the wallet but probably won’t change anything. Or, and this is where we come in, you could turn to an independent who has a track record of getting value out of CRM technology, and with no software to sell, and is focused on getting you on track.

So that’s how CRM Value Maximisation was born. We’ve positioned it as a quick, and cost effective review service, performed over a couple of days, with a fixed price (£2,400 actually) and targeted at mid-size CRM implementations. The output will be an action plan of immediately actionable high pay-back changes, and a road-map for the longer term development of the system, and we even throw in three months of remote mentoring to help get the changes done. In many respects it’s the formalisation of something we’ve been doing for several years, but we wanted to try and package it in a way that was attractive to organisations trying to come to terms with a more hostile trading environment. I’m excited about it because I know we can make a great deal of difference, but then my thoughts are irrelevant, it’s what the market thinks that ultimately counts. If you want to know a little more, the CRM VM link is here.