Can Centralized CRM Be Delivered Locally?

Gwynne Young
Managing Editor, CustomerThink
Member

Posted 10-Mar-2005 08:11 AM
Silvana,

I'm curious. How do you manage the challenge of combining a centralized CRM approach that lots of multinational companies are going for with local CRM delivery?

Posted 24-Mar-2005 08:04 PM
Good question!

As simple as the famous "think global, act local", CRM also needs a strategic and common approach for multinationals that has to be executed on local level. The interesting question to answer is: what part of CRM should be "centralized" (and by whom) and what part of CRM should be free to define and deliver on subsidiary level?

Generally speaking, most multinationals define CRM guidelines, a customer strategy, high level CRM processes in their worldwide central - if they've come that far to really "institutionalize" CRM in their business. One major mistake they make is to define this CRM framework in the central, without picking best practices from their worldwide subsidiaries. It would be more efficient for the multinational to pick the best from each subsidiary to define the CRM framework on locally successful experiences. This is one major dispute you normally find in the central - local CRM discussion. Nevertheless, one thing they usually subestimate and do not define on central level is the organizational impact of CRM in business - and of course organizational charts in their subsidiaries.

Now, CRM activities that should definitely be defined and delivered locally are:

Change Management, Training, Cross-/ Upsell campaign potential, customer contact plans, customer data management - and the technology support as enabler for these activities. Lots of multinationals spend a huge amount for CRM implementation projects without really achieving the real CRM potential they're targeting for: keeping and growing the customer base to be more profitable in the long run...

Hope this short but intense answer could fulfill your curiosity!

Gwynne Young
Managing Editor, CustomerThink
Member

Posted 25-Mar-2005 08:51 AM
It does, Silvana. Thanks.

Can you give examples of global companies that are doing this "local" CRM well?

Posted 05-Apr-2005 01:19 PM
Hello Gwynne,

like so often, the best examples are lived personally. One company I really admire for having implemented CRM locally with a great and customer focused concept is the US hotel chain Marriott: they really deliver excellent service in terms of customer facing personnel and also have a high degree of customer information integration - offline as well as online - wherever on the globe you are. Their success criteria? Internally I would say: really understand CRM and get everybody on board, combined with intense training measures and a high standardization of "customer service rules and tools". Externally I would say: make the customer live the same excellent customer experience wherever he/she is.