There are few technology projects that raise fear levels more than client relationship management. As CRM has grown in importance in the last decade, and the number of vendors in the field has broadened substantially, this area is renowned for its high profile failures and often-unimpressive ROI.  I’ve managed a number of CRM projects and since the success rate of new CRM initiatives hasn’t improved much in the industry, I’d like to distill some advice in an attempt to help anyone out there attempting their own CRM deployment.

CRM is a strategy, not software

Starting with a particular software vendor rather than a set of strategic objectives tends to result in unnecessarily complex integration work and unhappy users. Deploying CRM requires a company to analyze its workflow and existing systems and look for areas of transformation in order to yield actual results. When CRM software is simply bolted onto a range of legacy systems, it usually causes duplication in workflow and reduces the buy-in from end-users. If you have a patchwork of existing data and systems – from users’ Excel spreadsheet up to corporate-level SAP platforms – you need to consider how to integrate or replace these up front.

Let the Project Manager manage the project

Since CRM cuts across silos and divisions, functionally-driven organizations are prone to having the biggest failure rate. It’s important to have a Project Manager empowered to use resources across divisions to have any likelihood of meeting the requirements of different divisions, and the strategic goals of the project should be realized to achieve milestones for every division involved. If CRM is created by the IT division and fostered onto the sales department without cross-divisional support, it simply won’t be used. A good Project Manager who is given authority to manage effectively will identify the scope of the project, have a much better chance of delivering within time and budgetary constraints, and achieving the overall goals as well as those for each stakeholder.

Workflow is critical

Organizations frequently have a series of informal workflow chains to create deliverables for their internal and external clients. These are usually not documented and proceduralized, but are well-understood by the subject matter experts at each stage. The front-to-back workflow within a company needs to be analyzed with the support of each group along the way before any decision is made about systems and software. When this is done correctly, CRM has a capacity for simplifying tasks, reducing workloads and creating rich management reporting. If the informal workflow is ignored, CRM becomes just another piece of corporate software that users ignore.

Managing Customer Relationships

Many CRM projects start with little or no customer involvement. If improving customer service and a desire to improve sales and client retention are the broad goals, it’s essential to find out from customers what they think about the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. In my experience, without exception, customers have  provided feedback that has been critical to the success of CRM projects, and shown gaps previously not considered. Customers are often interested in improving multi-channel support (phone, web, email, etc.) and receiving more timely and higher quality communication from their vendors.

Don’t Under-estimate Data Cleanup

Since CRM projects almost never start from a blank state from a data perspective, it’s essential to plan how data will be migrated and cleansed. Duplicate and erroneous records from existing systems cause serious roadblocks to end-users, and unless poor quality data is handled appropriately, it prevents adoption of any new system. The biggest problem here can be the overwhelming quantity of data, mismatched primary identifiers in different datastores, and validating corrections.

In many ways, implementing a successful CRM platform is one of the largest IT projects that many corporations undertake. Approaching CRM as a strategic cross-divisional initiative with the goal of improving the customer experience while streamlining internal workflows is the first step towards success, but it’s essential to plan for and predict pitfalls along the way.