Classic advice

As a soon to be client of a yet to be selected brand of CRM software, I've gotten a couple emails offering advice. The truth is I feel I've done an effective job of educating myself. We aren't looking for pie-in-the-sky, we are just looking for a tool to keep our business going. I was frustrated when I first started shopping with software with very esoteric questions about our goals--our goals are to keep track of our clients and our "opportunities". After going to the CRM conference, I learned that many companies are looking for such software to solve a multititude of problems. I'd like to solve those problems too, but I doubt I will be given the time or resourses to do so. What I am looking at this week when I do "demos" is usability. Simplistic, yes; realistic, yes!

But, I promised classic advice, and here it is, followed with my comments:

I hope you're not Focusing Too Much On the Technology Side of the quation - That Would Be Like Buying a Car When You Don’t Even Know How to Drive; It Looks Good, But You Don’t Really End Up Getting Anywhere With It. I know how to drive, but I may buy an SUV when a Neon may do, just to give me some level of comfort and safety. But I don't realistically think I will be driving it off-road, but I may use it to haul a trailer once in a while.

Have You:
* Built a Business Case for your CRM Project - Without a CRM Vision, Strategies, Measurable Goals or Action Plans, There’s No Road Map for Achieving Anything Worthwhile. As other people have tried to pin on me for advertising, I don't have the resources to accurately measure the success. The benefit to us is apparent and needed, it doesn't need to be justified. If it becomes a competitive advantage, so much the better.

I do have a written plan and goals, divided into phases. I just hope my management sees the significance of the points it makes.

* Got Buy-in, Participation & Overt Support For Your Project From Top Mgmt - If Not, As Problems and Issues Continue to Add Up, it’s Easier to Give Up, then to Move Forward. We've got a software package right now that's broken. Its easy to get your wife excited about a new car when the old one shakes every time she steps on the brake, isn't it?

* Got Buy-in & Acceptance For Your CRM Plans From The People Who Will Become the Users of the New Software - If Not, You May End Up With a System That Isn’t Widely Used. Ditto previous comments.

* Focused Too Much on Company-Centric Rather then Customer-Centric Results - If so, You’ll Make All Kinds of Changes to Things That Will Have Absolutely No Impact on Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, or Retention. I am the customer-centric person in our group. Yes, I've got to keep others focused on the customer.

Also, Make Sure You are NOT:

* Trying to Implement Change Without Managing its Impact on People.
* Trying to Do Way Too Much, Way Too Soon
* Underestimating the Time, Resources and Money Required
* Significantly Underestimating User Training and Support Requirements
The last four are good warnings for any implementation. I've done ERP implementation, so I understand these, but the CRM conference was a good refresher. And I fear that I will be trapped by these as my other job duties press on me and my energy wanes.