Time To Stop Talking CRM Failure

Gwynne Young
Managing Editor, CustomerThink
Member

Posted 26-Jul-2005 01:23 PM
I can't tell you how many proposed articles I get that warn of the huge failure rates of CRM. (It's usually a prelude to an article explaining how the author can change all that for you. I'm afraid those articles land in the circular file.)

Despite the fact that Bob Thompson, CRMGuru founder, has dispelled that myth (check out his article, How's the CRM Industry Doing? Not Bad (But Don't Stop Checking Its Pulse), and his interview with Gartner analyst Ed Thompson ), people are still claiming that the sky is falling.

Which makes me particularly happy to see new research by U.K. data management specialist CDMS showing that a majority of firms is successfully using CRM technology.

CDMS, which conducted research in April, found in its survey that more than half of the top U.K. companies were able to translate sophisticated database analysis into highly personalized and segmented campaigns.

According to the findings, 51.5 percent of major British firms now fully implement a CRM strategy from conception to actual delivery to the customer, 17.3 percent increase since 2003.

Surprisingly, telecoms, which have a pretty bad rap in terms of marketing practices, have the best integration between database analysis and practical delivery of segmented, personalized communications, according to the report.

So, instead of talking about CRM failure, isn't it time to talk about something else ... like good marketing practices?