I attended a very interesting talk given by Steve Burrows on Enterprise Class CRM solutions last week, held at a local BCS meeting.
What struck me was the inference (intentionally or otherwise) that CRM for a big company was different to CRM for smaller companies. The talk was very informative, however, whilst the case study being presented had undoubtedly achieved the business objectives, it struck me as odd that you might approach a small business implementation differently.
In the enterprise space, a lot is made of a product’s scalability and the level of integration that can be achieved. Whilst sometimes relevant - far more important is a thorough understanding of the problems you are trying to address.
Statistics show that more than 80% of CRM projects fail. I personally believe this is due more to insufficient knowledge (of the business processes) than a poor choice of software.
The concept that an Enterprise Class CRM solution is somehow different to a small business CRM solution conveniently ignores the simple reality that; the most scalable, expensive and complex software package will deliver little business benefit if you don’t have a clear understanding of what you need it to do. Conversely, if you have a thorough and detailed understanding of how your business works and what you need to do to make it more efficient, the simplest and least expensive of solutions MAY be all you require.
The magic ingredient is KNOWLEDGE, knowledge of your business; how it works; how to make it work better; faster; more profitably and effectively. Ironically, CRM systems were originally sold as Knowledge Management systems, maybe that drew too much attention to the fact you actually need KNOWLEDGE in order to achieve success.
Charles Response BCS, CRM, Steve Burrows
While we’re already busy testing our Outlook toolbar for MIGTurbo CRM out on the new Windows 7 operating system, the bods at Microsoft are also busy … building pretentious marketing videos for Office 2010.
Have a look at their work so far at http://www.office2010themovie.com/.
While I’m sure you’re just as concerned as me about the “No Return, No Undo” captions, one question remains: Will they backtrack on their ribbon user-interface? They now have two sections of their users that prefer the “classic” menus and toolbars and those that prefer the new ribbon interface (which includes me).
Nathan Response Graphical User Interface (GUI), MIGTurbo Outlook Toolbar, Office 2007, Office 2010, Windows 7
Apparently, The Department of Trade & Industry have “been working on a project for some time to develop an e-commerce solution for local independent retailers with a leading UK service provider called Venda. This solution is {apparently} beyond what is currently available on Island and will not only have a significant impact on our local retail sector but will also generate a considerable amount of work for supporting service provider companies, specifically in the areas of web and branding design, web services, online marketing, copywriting and photography.”
It is incredible that a local government body can seek and obtain approval to spend significant revenue with an off island supplier, and in doing so deprive local businesses of a valuable revenue stream when there are clearly service providers on the island who have both the infrastructure and the necessary skills to provide these services. Far worse - to my mind, is to claim “There are no credible e-business providers on the Isle of Man”. When you consider the level of investment in infrastructure - Domicilium, Manx, Wi-Manx etc., service provision such as isleofman.com, e-business service providers such as ourselves. - Freedom to Flourish!.. actions, speak louder than words.
Charles Response Department of Trade and Industry, e-Commerce, Isle of Man Government
