In this recent article, I came across a British writer that says that CRM is a making a come-back after a few years of massive failed implementations. He goes on to say that taking a pragmatic approach and realistic expectations are one of the reasons for this trend. I pretty much agree with him to this point. By the way here is the link to the article...
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,39404093,00.htm
Unfortunately this is where his vehicle starts careening over the cliff. He goes on to state that small businesses are using CRM on demand (fancy term for CRM that is web based) because the cost of ownership is lower, fine, that is true, but then he says something I can't believe, I actually had to read it a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing things...
"Smaller businesses tend to have relatively standard business practices"
You have to be kidding right? Some of the most complex CRM implementations I have ever done were for small or medium sized businesses. Typically there is nothing "standard" about these businesses. That term is reserved for giant companies that can't steer out of the path of the ice berg if that had a over a month to see it coming!
Small businesses can't afford to be "standard" in anything, if they are they will be a standard statistic for why they went out of business. Small and medium sized companies that want to be big companies and survive need to be fast, unorthodox, creative, smart, and able to dodge bullets!
Small businesses don't have the luxury of a giant staff, vast marketing budgets, a well trained sales force and many of the other "standard" things of large Fortune 1,000 companies. Instead they have far fewer resources and must use what they have very well and achieve higher than normal "home runs" to be successful.
CRM can give a small business some of these advantages, but rarely have I seen a system that will work out of the box (or off the web) because the company is standard. All companies have some standard things they need to do well, i.e. achieve sales, effective marketing, strong financial management, etc., but how those things are done and how many resources it takes to do them well is what separates the winners from the losers.
"Standard" is great for things like car parts and computers, but not for marketing and sales operations of any business, least of all a small or medium sized one. Large companies have tried for years to bring in new talent and set up "entrepreneurial" centers in an attempt to replicate some of awesome power of small and medium sized companies and their ability to innovate and out smart much larger opponents.
While CRM may be making a come-back because of things the author has stated the weakness of CRM solutions has always been the ability to offer cost effective customizations for the small and medium sized company. The CRM firm that figures out how to create customizations, scalability, and cost effective implementations and management as well as ease of use in a box or on the web will be the next great software company.
Michael Temple
