I found this in Jim Berkowitz’s e-Journal.

Here’s an article about a subject that’s near and dear to my heart, Businesses Still Failing To Use CRM Software To Its Full Potential:

DMC Software Solutions Marketing Manager Rebecca Haines notes:

The big problem with CRM systems is selecting the correct CRM software for company needs and getting the right amount of advice and training to ensure it reaches its potential. Resources are easily wasted without careful consideration and help, warns CRM specialist DMC Software Solutions.

What Jim kindly calls an article, I would call self promotional press release from DMC, completely fails to address is that many businesses start selecting software before they formulate clear justification and strategy for implementing CRM on the first place. Many “advisors” specialize in implementation of a specific software and consequently do not bother asking fundamental questions like “what business goals do you try to achieve by doing this?” and “how would you measure your success?”.

images CRM holds a promise of breaking walls of departmental silos by refocusing peoples attention on a source of “natural” business flow of information - CUSTOMER. That requires some serious cultural change and for the change to take hold an organization, i.e. management has to plan and execute with clarity and consistency. Clarity and consistency are a lot more scarce than “functionally rich” CRM software.

It’s so much easier to suggest solutions when you don’t know too much about the problem.

  - Malcolm Forbes