Successful Implementation of CRM

John Eccles, 03 June 2013

According to a study by SandHill Group and Neochange (2008) the number 1 indication of "success" for an enterprise software implementation is "value realisation for the company."  96% of buyers thought so!  

But the same study showed that only 40% of buyers and 35% of software providers measured software success criteria. 

As observed in the report, "You can't manage what you can't measure."  The reasons given in the report for lack of success metrics are as follows: 

1. It is difficult to pull out measures of success for a particular software initiative and

2. Buyers are generally left to themselves to manage the success of the implementation with few in-house tools to do the job and with already over-worked IT executives. 

Clearly, this is an unacceptable situation.  Neither software buyers nor providers want implementations to fail to provide value.  But 60% of implementations are at risk of failure because success is not even measured. 

We MUST measure success so we can manage success.

I believe this should start at the very early stage of engagement between the provider and the prospective buyer - before there is even a proposal.  There needs to be a discussion around why the software is needed, what benefits and value will be provided and how success will be measured.  As a provider of CRM systems, I want to be confident that the system will provide the value the client expects before even providing a proposal.  If I don't understand the value, then the proposal is unlikely to be convincing.  And if the value cannot be delivered, the implementation is destined for failure and I would rather not be involved in a failure. 

At the analysis phase of a project, it is important that the business needs are well understood and documented.  These should include success criteria and measures of success.  This is an essential component of any good analysis and it should be the responsibility of the Business Analyst, whether from the provider or the client, to ensure that measures of success are explicit and agreed. 

At every subsequent stage of the project, the success criteria should be used for evaluation.  At the design / architecture stage, the design should be checked against the measures. 

For example, if one of the success criterions is high usage (and this should almost always be a success criterion) then the design should be checked for ease of use.  Then the developed system should be tested for ease of use.  The training programme should be thought through to engage the prospective users.  And the change to the new system should be carefully managed. 

A success criterion for a CRM system for Sales management may be improved sales force efficiency, measured by sales-call rate.  In that case, the design must be evaluated accordingly: Is the CRM interaction process efficient for the sales-person? Are processes automated where possible? The design must be similarly evaluated and the implementation needs to be thoroughly tested, especially when mobile devices are involved. 

It's not all over at go-live.  In fact, that's when the measurement of success starts. The measures of success should be measured; ideally by the buyer, but if not, then by the provider.  In the first example above, usage rates need to be measured.  How many of the intended users are using and to what degree.  Measure early and often.  In the second example, call rates of all sales-people would be measured, the average calculated and the results analysed over time. 

By measuring the measures of success, the success of the implementation, which depends as much on the management of the change as on the quality of the software, can be managed effectively. 

We can manage what we can measure. 

Image 2 from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-akHS4Xc_oSs/Tswx27JAA7I/AAAAAAAAAek/FEboLqxXVK4/s1600/Value.jpg 
Image 3 from http://blackdeer.edublogs.org/files/2012/02/Success-Criteria-1u7k8xg.jpg