Build Value by following a success program and planning carefuly
I have been following the ITtoolbox.com discussions lately and ran across these comments below. It reinforces much of what we have learned and why we have designed a consulting practice around our Value Building Methodology. Notice the date of these articles. In other words this is not new information but folks are still making the same mistakes nearly 4 years later.With the new Social CRM and social technologies that we have to now integrate into these systems it is only going to get more challenging.
Invest in good training, support and consulting to align your initiatives
To implement CRM effectively it often takes an outside consulting team to help plan, execute, train and align an organization's people and processes with the technology. Thinking you can just buy some software that an ambitious CEO or IT manager likes and that you can implement it without a full support package from a qualified consulting firm is a path for disaster. It tends to be a rather expensive proposition on so many levels when you do not invest in the right balance of consulting with your technologypurchase. It is a myth that one you purchase the software and turn it on that your investment is over. This will become a paridigm shift in most cases for the way you do business and will continue to evolve over an extended period of time.
Open Source solutions positions you for future needs
This is one of the reasons we like solutions built off of an open source code base. The cost of entry on the software is much lower so you can get more implementation resources and training for the same investment while not being held over the barrel on the software should you want to modify the system to meet unique requirements down the road. Many of these requirements you may not even know you need yet.
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Disclaimer: Contents are not reviewed for correctness and are not endorsed or recommended by ITtoolbox or any vendor. Popular Q&A contents include summarized information from CRM-Select discussion unless otherwise noted.
1. Medium-size company wanting to facilitate revenue growth purchased SFA software without any sales strategy. They expected that the software would make their life easier. As most SFA software, it came with its own pre-packaged best practices, which did not fit the company's processes. The implementation dragged out as the company realized that they had to re-examine their processes.
2. A large company purchased call center software to address the growing backlog of thousands of unanswered customer emails. After the software was implemented, training followed. During training, the users scream: we can't use this system, we won't use this system. Two reasons: first, same as #1, little effort was made to align process to packaged functionality, and second, no effort was made to engage the users and build champions among them.
3. A fast-growing company with a solid CRM strategy purchased and implemented SFA, Call center, and Marketing automation software. They did not, however, consider the importance of data quality in the beginning. The Result: reports could not be trusted, pipeline and trending was worthless, and the project went through a major crisis until these issues started getting addressed.
After a number of years, the company in #1 has abandoned the original SFA software and opted for a more simplistic and less costly solution from an SaaS vendor. The company in #2 has taken a step back, re-examined their CRM strategy, re-mapped its processes, and rebuilt most CRM components. The company in #3 has continued building upon the described solution, overcomming the initial data quality issues.
Outside the scope of pure CRM systems, but within the scope of business-critical systems, plenty:
All boil down to: 1) Rubbish needs analysis 2) Rubbish solution analysis and selection on top of poor needs analysis 3) Poor end-to-end implementation, with little outcome-based assessment of the implementation team (with a serious stress here on training and external change mgt) 4) Zero, or poor metrics in place to measure success, not only before, but during, at time of go-live, and for 12 months minimum after.
The key points are 80% point one, and 20% point two. The third and fourth are merely confusing factors, that while important, could not *really* (other than in a completely dysfunctional org) exist without the first two.
CRM implementations fail for three reasons, and it all boils down to Human Nature! If a business owner can overcome these three things, CRM will pay for itself rather than be a huge expense.
1) CRM implementations live and die by its EMPLOYEES acceptance... PERIOD!! If the user refuses to use it, IT BECOMES AN EXPENSE!!!
2) Not only is there no BENEFIT for a user to learn and use a CRM application, it's actually a DETRIMENT for an end user to learn and use a CRM application!!!
3) If you encounter a businessman who is looking to purchase a CRM solution, regardless of price or company, they should be able to answer, INTELLIGENTLY and TRUTHFULLY, this one simple questions... "How will your EMPLOYEES benefit from learning and using a CRM application?" If they cannot, they will LOSE MONEY ON THE PURCHASE. Let's see if they can actually ENFORCE the use of a CRM if their sales department is under the impression that it will help line the pockets of the CEO/OWNER even further while THEY have to work harder with no compensation to learn and use it for that purpose.
The graphic below is an example of a 5 step process used for implementing new technology. Some venders or consultants have variations on the process but for the most part this is a good guide. Missing or bypassing a step can seriously impact your success or utilization capabilities of your CRM system.
Training, strategy and proper implementation are key.
We have found the biggest gaps for companies implementing new complex technologies are between having a clear vision, strategy, mapped processes and how the humans are trained to integrate with the technical aspects of the applications. For example; most folks use a fraction of the features when they purchase MS Office products or other applications. They buy them for a couple very targeted capabilities. One user may use any of the suite of tools more than another such as excel, PPT or word and some may need to use them all. Most will have a few specific tasks they need to perform over and over again. However, the one time you need that advanced feature/capability... I know I get really frustrated if the right tool was not there when I need it. I also better be able to find someone who can help or some training or other online resource to help me find this feature/tool and turn it on without wasting a ton of time or it often defeats the purpose of having the tool available in the first place.
Sorting out what your users are going to need up front, setting a clear roadmap and providing the support they need over time is monumental to the success of implementing CRM solutions or any complex technology for that matter.
This seems like a double edged sword...
CRM systems are usually designed with tons of features because they are required to associate a lot of complex relationships between different types of data and information profiles. The reality is in order for any good CRM system to be financially feasible to develop it has to be versatile and adaptable since every business model and implementation is unique. Face it, these systems are just complicated in nature and it is very challenging to offer a custom business system that meets every process spec with the functionality required under the hood and a simplified user experience for non technical folks.
One of the other challenges we have found with any complex software application is that when the next batch of new features are released, often, with the new features comes a few bugs. With this comes frustration, which stirs emotions, thus making it harder sometimes for end users to get excited about the new processes or the software.
CRM is complicated by design... so is your business
Most businesses are like a complex web if information and resource associations that are then departmentalized to groups of folks performing roles in the organization. The systems have to be complex to accommodate this. It is often hard to find the right implementers that have the technical savvy to understand the complexity of the CRM systems under the hood as well as the overall required business processes this is intended to support. What this means is that not only is the software configuration different for every customer but the process in which it is deployed is also unique to the culture, participating talent and size of the organization.
Who is involved in getting this done?
I think another challenging issue may be that often folks in sales and decision makers are not in tune with specifically what the end user will need to work more efficiently. When you have a lot of people accustom to their own existing systems and processes it can be hard to get them to adopt the new systems and processes. They need to be convinced this is going to be a better process and make their job easier. This is one key reason why CRM has to be brought into any company both from the top down and the bottom up. It is also very important to maintain open dialog and flexibility across the organization so you can adapt appropriately to changing conditions.
Set your priorities, strategy first and map it... to your technology and with your people
What we found here at CNP integrations was that if we start at the first pain point which is the decision making process, we can help organizations implementing complex technologies with a proven method for getting the most out of their investment. We do this by asking the right questions up front and setting a clear roadmap for success.
I know when folks think of "consulting" they think expensive and it is the first thing they want to cut out of the budget but by far the costs of implementing CRM wrong or picking the wrong technologies to support your needs will far surpass any upfront investment in consulting or follow on training and project alignment support.
Check out our Value Builder Program and Small Business Success programs for more information about our methodology and associated services.
3 New programs to help small businesses grow and prosper http://bit.ly/tB9Md
You can also participate in our online video podcasts (Starting in mid July) where we bring experts together to discuss many key topics related to successful technology deployment and trends with Social CRM. http://webinars.learningcrm.com
Commercialism is like a rigged slot machine do you ever win?
This week end I drove by 10 garage sales. I'll bet most of us in America have a collection of a bunch of stuff we do not need or use any more. This got me thinking about our economy and what I believe may be a culture that has grown off course in America. Are we not programmed to go work hard for money just so we go buy stuff? Are we buying what we need and can realistically afford our purchasing appitites? It seems quite often we end up buying many things out of impulse that we do not really need on credit and then pay interest. To me it is much like a rigged slot machine at a casino. So where did this mind set come from? Perhaps from the many clever advertising, merhandising and the persuasive sciences which have evolved in the last few decades? As someone marketing a product we want to master these techniques yet as a consumer we want to beware to not fall prey. We all need to be aware of the impact these techniques have on our purchasing decisions and the aftermath of when the wrong purchasing decisions are made.
The funnel game always eats your quarter
In many ways selling is like pointing a vacume at a customer with the hope you can "suck them in". It all reminds me of the funnel game I have seen at local malls where you roll in a coin and get to watch it go around and around in the funnel but eventually the coin goes into the bottom and all you got was to watch it spin around for a while. The real reality check came for me a few years back on a trip to Mexico. At the time I had a great paying job, penthouse apartment and what most folks would consider an upscale life style. The problem was that under the hood I was just not happy and the stress really kept me from enjoying these acquired pleasures. In Mexico I met a family of 8 living in a single room hut with very few worldly possessions. I watched how they interacted with their kids and each other and there was no doubt they we very happy and satisfied with who they were and what they had. They did not seem to be corrupted by the "keep up with the Jones's syndrome" or the "glamour and fashion trend setting craze" since they did not get blasted with the constant programming contained in advertisements. They had what they needed and since they had limited resources they put a lot of thought into any purchase they made and only "consumed" what they needed.
Addicted and under the influence
I get the feeling we as "Consumers" are addicted to this need to keep buying stuff that we really do not need or because we want to have the latest and greatest of a brand just because we can. Caught up an a never ending cycle that continues to draw us back in to the center. If you think about it we are so programmed and it feels a bit like a modern form of slavery. We either buy stuff the ends up in our next garage sale where we sell it for pennies on the dollar after the quick joy ride and impulsive enthusiasm dies. Who are the real profiteers in this game anyway? Ching, ching, ching... three jokers is not a win on this slot machine. How can we get away from the emotional impulsive response to this science and step back to a more practical and focused decision making process?
Program yourself with the right questions
I wonder what it will take to un program ourselves. How can we step back and ask the right questions as we make our future purchasing decisions. I tell my son of 5 yrs old as he is learning to navigate the world and make decisions with his piers that before he does something he should ask the right questions.
"Is something going to get broken?
Is someone going to get hurt?
Is it the right thing to do?"
Perhaps we can program ourselves to ask the right decisions about what we spend our money on.
"Do we need this?
Will it bring value to my life?
How will this impact the world around me?"
I am sure you could think of even more appropriate questions. If we can do this I think we can all prosper on so many levels. One we will only purchase what we actually need thus giving us more time and less stress in our lives. We also take away the power of the mighty marketing machine that acts like "The man behind the curtain" in the wizard of OZ. Pulling our fear and heart strings to milk us of our time and resources.
Don't listen to the snake oil salesman
So the next time you have a garage or yard sale think about the stuff you have and ask yourself if you asked the right questions when you first purchased this and did it really bring value to your quality of life and how did it affect the world around me? I am sure you will find that something in your collection of stuff that you just would have been better off without. Every little purchase made wrong keeps you from what may bring greater value to your happiness and life experience. Perhaps we need to get out of our easy going thought less sheepish behavior and step up to a thoughtful engagement in our decision making processes by putting more consideration on the big picture in our lives and the lives of others instead of just feeding "the machine."
Value Building to protect your time and resource investment
One of the things we take very serious at CNP Integrations is asking the right questions before we engage with a new or existing customer. Life is way to short to have our time and technologies shoved off to your next corporate garage sale. We want to make sure the right decisions are made and that you are purchasing the right tools for the specific needs of your team as it grows. We also want to make sure you are aligned with your priorities. One of the cool things about the tools in our CRBM Platform is they can do just about anything if you configure them correctly. This is however a double edged sword since this capability is like drugs to an addict or candy to a child and the many choices can distract you from your key objectives. The Value Builder Methodology developed by CNP Integrations is designed to help you get the greatest value out of your technology investments and to help you with establishing priorities so you do not spend your time or money on stuff that will not bring significant value to you and your organization.
More Information:
For more information about CNP Integrations' "Value Builder Program, Small business Success Program or Web Site Kick Start Program", visit our index page at http://www.cnpintegrations.com select the program you are interested and you can download information or request for us to contact you.
Social Networking and Green Technologies are much more than buzz words in the current blogosphere. They are a revolution and the wave of the future. You had better get on the wave and ride it with some skill or you will be left swimming with the sharks.
It is hard to go online, read a newspaper or magazine or watch any TV channel without getting blasted with terms that include "Green Technology" or "Social Network". They are the marketers' handles for holding on to the merry-go-round in the marketplace. Though we are just at the beginning of this "Green-Social" revolution and there is a lot of unknowns as to where this will all lead us, I do think overall this is causing a significant shift in public awareness. There are more folks in general paying attention to current affairs and real world issues that will affect them and generations in the future. I see little bad with this momentum since it should be a welcome change for people to start thinking ahead and with a more careful eye on the impact of the decisions they make in the short term. Perhaps this will lead to more careful planning or thoughtful execution of technology. Since we are in the middle of a technology revolution the idea of thinking ahead is very relevant.
As an example, in our household we made several decisions a couple years back related to lowering our carbon footprint as well as reducing our overall energy consumption. One of which was to get a hybrid car (we love our Prius) but lately we considering the purchase of a small truck so we can haul stuff and go back to having two vehicles. As we are reviewing the specs, the pros and cons, we are actually feeling a little guilty with getting this vehicle since the fuel efficiency is so poor in comparison and the need is just not that great. Getting over the hump at first to make the decision to "Go Green"was not so easy since we traded in two relatively new cars plus paid more money to get into our hybrid and the other changes we made in our home and offices were also at a big price tag. The reality for us though is now that we have made this lifestyle change, it feels great and costs us much less. It is "hard to go back" sort of speak and by beating the curve we have actually recouped the investments in a very short period of time.
Translating this into the world of doing business
The hardest part of any new technology deployment is to get started and to get over the first phase of planning and adoption. Once you get past this it only requires discipline to see real results. With the maturity of open source technologies, small businesses can now afford technology solutions such as Content Management Systems (CMS), Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and Learning Management Systems (LMS) that will enable them to compete not only in a Global economy but against much larger enterprises. With powerful open source platforms such as Joomla CMS (with over 4600 extensions and counting) and blended commercial/open source solutions like info@hand CRM we now have a full life cycle transaction management capability with all of the ERP or LMS required for having superior business intelligence in real time. This technology in the hands of the right small business owners and if it is implemented effectively can revolutionize their capabilities and open many new doors of opportunity.
Join the conversation or you don't get invited to the party
With the wave of Social Networks and the trend of Social CRM the main point is to "listen to your customers or they will go somewhere else." Why? Because they can! One of the most important achievements in your marketing and general way of doing business will be to build customer loyalty since it one general rule of doing business is that it is much easier to get more business from your existing customers than it is to acquire new customers. Another key point is that with the explosion of Twitter you now have individuals with more power of "twitter influence" than major news networks. The groundswell of social technologies and the chatter in these communities are changing our culture forever. Just my opinion but overall the top down and territorial boundaries will change significantly in scope to a much more horizontal collaborative network as people become more aware and systems get more and more transparent. What does this mean? Well, it means that individuals will first have to take more responsibility and become more informed but with this they will ultimately have much more power and influence if the collaborate effectively.
Save money time and become more effective
With the whole shift in our economy with unemployment rising and the types of jobs in the marketplace changing as we adapt to the effects of globalization, I think we will see a boom in "micro-small businesses" and an awakening of self-motivated individuals working from home offices. Not only will this reduce fuel consumption with long commutes to and from work but it also can offer an additional slice of time in each day that can be used towards individual efficiency. This is going to mean that the companies that can adapt their business model and implement the technology infrastructures to accommodate a virtual office will have a significant advantage over those that do not. By the way, since this cuts back on energy consumption it is very much considered as adopting Green Technology.
Another key factor is that will save companies money is through developing quality training systems and managing business intelligence. The average employee stays with a company much less than ever before in history. With this constant turnover it is increasingly important to develop processes and systems that are less dependent on the individuals that are performing the particular roles. Having a solid technology platform and infrastructure in place will give your company the ability to remain resilient and keep track of knowledge assets. Essentially this can add up to significant savings in the amount of time and money required to retrain or move talent around to perform different roles within your organization.
Good news and the key to success
Well the good news is that every small business can afford to implement these types of tools now that were once only affordable by large enterprise organizations. The small business will have some home field advantages since they are more agile and can begin to transform their business models and adapt to the new world of social networks. The reality though is that all of your competition can also have access to the same process efficiencies and communities through clever technology adoption. So what will set you ahead is how effectively you can use and adopt technology in your organization and how well you can train and integrate your people with your technologies. It takes real effort and discipline to bridge this gap. It will also take some skill and creativity to ride the wave. The surf boards are now cheap but the skill to ride will determine your success.
Careful planning, creativity and strategy are the solution
CNP Integrations has developed a "Value Builder" methodology and service plan that can help you identify your priorities, define the correct technologies for deploying a Customer Relationship Business Management Platform to help your business bridge the gaps and allow you to get the very best value out of your technology investments. Think of the "Value Builder Program" as an incubator project for reinventing your business with better and smarter use of low cost of ownership web based virtual office tools. Whether you work with CNP or other vendors make sure you are focused on defining your priorities, identify your short term and long term technology needs and how you can use "Being Green" and "Social Networking" in your approach. If you do this you will connect to the pulse of your customers, participate in the "Grand" collaborative conversations and prosper both professionally as well as get the best value for the companies or businesses that employ you.
Well, for about a year now in our regional area, I have been trying to figure out how I could get a cohesive message out to the VC Community about why CRM is so important for them to think about. It just seems to me like a natural for the companies they invest in. After all it can save them money and help protect their investment. With a low cost of ownership CRM system in place, like our CRBM Platform, if a company goes south you still have all of the business intelligence assets. They own the assets which live in a virtual space that can easily get repurposed with a new front end opportunity. No need to keep starting from scratch and if you are successful you can clone it for your next venture. I have to say that Paul Greenberg's recent blog post helps reinforce my thinking path.
As a entrepreneur trying to grow our business away from a lifestyle model into a sustainable organization propelling the next best thing, I have been getting involved in a lot of networking groups where venture capital groups or "VC guys'" linger in hopes of finding bright entrepreneurs to help grow future opportunities. Unfortunately when I have tried in the past to get our CRBM Platform message out, which can often be very difficult to get into an elevator pitch, they just shrug me off as another software vendor trying to make a sale.
Investors know what they don't want but they need CRM
Investors typically run from lifestyle businesses and from what I can tell are shy about businesses that only offer labor based services. As a guy that has build more than 20 small businesses, I think any great business can be built from a foundation of a service model if it includes some kind of residual income platform. However, it is important to get out of the coal mine mentality if you want to attract investors. In order to scale a company in the current Global Economy and build a business based on roles and processes, a CRM strategy and associated technologies are a must have. Well implemented and thought out CRM is a platform which can yield greater profitability to virtually any organization trying to climb this mountain to the top. To me it seems like a no brainer... If I had a boat load of money (and hope someday I will) and wanted to invest wisely in companies with the next big idea, I would look at the, grandness of the idea and talent for sure but equally as important is the infrastructure available for the company to scale, retain and manage it's knowledge assets.
Where this idea originated
I remember back to when I started down this path of CRM, I read Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat" and I got the light bulb on how the right CRM platform was the key to connecting a global team. Glue for a competitive service model that would meet the next generation of businesses. I also read Paul Greenberg's book on "CRM at the speed of Light" . This book was filled with endless statistics on how CRM has saved large companies tons of money and improved their efficiency across the enterprise. When I merged these ideas in my head and built our service and support platform, I tried to think who is going to be the perfect customer for our CRBM Platform ? I thought about how much we could save, how much more efficient we could be, how much more power we could have under the hood of our business. Then hey... if it works for our model why would it not work for other Small Business "Start-up's"? This idea of building a solid foundation first just screams out the loudest to me. The company I came from previous to starting CNP Integrations was struggling with tremendous pains of Change Management. Mostly because they did not have a CRM in place and they grew too fast with nothing to scale upon. If you can start from the beginning with technology platform built into the way you do business, right out of the shoot, you can jump leaps and bounds above your competitors while gathering and retaining better business intelligence to future proof your business.
Our new case for Value Building
Like any good marketing soldier when hit by a brick wall, I dust off and try to reinvent my message to find out how I can get our target audience to see the value. After endless round table discussions and our mini focus groups often filled with passion, we came up with the whole concept methodology of our "Value Builder Program" . While we know our CRBM platform very well and can tell if it is the right solution, often our potential customers are struggling to sort out the right tool for the right job as their first pain point. What we concluded was that customers needed more than just a needs assessment but a mapping of these needs to the right technology solutions and a real picture of the value and benefits they can bring to their business and associated processes for engaging with customers. Then as part of this they need a realistic action plan to implement this new technology within their means and over time. Our new Value Builder Program is just that. Though we explore our CRBM Platform as a model the VBP methodology is universal in concept and platform independent.
So now with the light bulbs having sparked in the Venture Community that this technology adds real value to protecting their investments and with our new found message and service model of building a value case first, I hope we will fare a good conversation that leads to new opportunities for everyone.
Our core team of service and support technicians,
configuration specialists, project managers, Sr. CRM Consultants, creative content designers and subject
matter experts all share a common thread with our "Value Builder Methodology".
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Our proven integration process assures expectations are realistic and clearly defined.
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Build Value by following a success program and planning carefuly
