Who Should Own the CRM Software Project?

Posted 12-Apr-2004 08:01 PM

Posted for Ryan Gahl [by Teri Robinson]

Our company is evaluating CRM software right now, and the whole project is seemingly being run by our IT Director. I have been studying CRM for about the past 2 years and have it in my head that this project should definitely be supported and possibly implemented by IT, but definitely not driven by and owned by IT. As a general rule of thumb, is this true? If so, what can I do to steer the initiative in the right direction (I'm in Marketing but think CRM should be it's own department since it covers the whole company)

Graham Hill
Guru
Member

Posted 12-Apr-2004 11:41 PM

Ryan

You pose a difficult question that many have faced in the past. Fortunately, you can learn from experiences.

In principal, I agree with your proposition that IT should not own CRM. The only three independent studies on CRM's critical success factors ALL highlighted that IT was not a critical success factor once a base-level of competency was achieved.

In most organisations, it is probably a mistake to let IT be in the driving seat in any business-critical development, whether CRM or something else. They are an invaluable enabler and supporter, but usually do not possess the right knowledge, skills or experience to drive business in the right direction.

The question then becomes, "Who SHOULD own CRM?". This immediately becomes an open ended question about what you want to achieve through CRM and who has the required influence to get it to come about. If Marketing has it, then they should drive the CRM initiative. If Operations has it, then... and so forth. It is unlikely that a new organisational group (CRM in this case) will have enough organisational influence to get the broader changes made that CRM requires to be successful.

The real challenge sounds like getting the right business owner to take over the results of the CRM software evaluation project (as you describe it) at the right time to transform it from an IT project to a business project.

As an old saying at PricewaterhouseCoopers change practice used to run, 'OO + NT = EOO' (Old Organisation + New Technology = Expensive Old Organisation).

Good luck.

Graham Hill
Independent Management Consultant

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VinodChand
Member

Posted 15-Apr-2004 11:37 PM

Is IT a department that process information or suggests action on the processed information? The role of IT differs from organization to organization. If your organization is of the first type then it should not own the CRM process which has got more to do with business improvement and enhancement of relationship with customers. On the other hand if your organization's IT department is proactive and is involved in all the business processes emanating from processing information, then IT is the best department to own and drive CRM.

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Stephen Tambolas
Member

Posted 16-Apr-2004 06:12 AM

For most organizations the answer is "Maybe". If CRM is properly seen as cutting across department lines it requires an organizational support that also cuts across those same lines. Often IT is as good as any. However, more enlightened firms, usually larger, will have a solid Customer Relations point person. They then become the driver.
I guess my answer is that it is resource dependent.

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Mike_corvus
Member

Posted 16-Apr-2004 08:22 AM

I can only speak from my own personal experience both as user from a large organization and now as seller of CRM. My first experience was as a user with the CRM system owned, implemented and supported by IT. It was a failure. It failed because it didn't reflect the real world business rules and work-flow of the users. How could it IT works in a different world then the users did. The result was a complicated system that didn't get used.

Now as a seller of systems I find the most successful implimentations go through the group that is ultimately being "measured" by the systems success or failure. Normally this group is the "users"(sales, marketing, communications dept, etc.) not IT. IT is there to help install and support the system.

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Naras Eechambadi, CRMGuru Panelist
Advisory Board
Member

Posted 16-Apr-2004 08:35 AM

Ryan,

I would agree entirely with the first post on this chain from Graham Hill. In our experience we have never seen a successful CRM program driven by an IT organization. However, a competent, business objectives driven IT organization is critical to success. A business owner with a stake in the success of CRM, who knows how to lead a team across divergent channels and/or businesses should lead the effort. If that is not possible, then it might make sense to try and implement the program in one division, learn from the experience and then scale it across the organization. That way you reduce risk, but it may end up taking longer.

Naras Eechambadi
CEO
Quaero
www.quaero.com

Naras Eechambadi, Ph.D.
CEO, Quaero Corp.

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Ram
Member

Posted 17-Apr-2004 02:14 AM

IT people generally do not "get" CRM. They are merely implementors of CRM software (although implementation is an important part on the road to success).. Its similar to asking—"should my mason design my house?". The CRM process must permeate throughout the organisation—but it must be "owned" by the person whose primary role lies in internally chanpioning the interest of the customer. This could be CRM Head, Marketing Head (maybe even the CEO!).

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Jean-Patrick (J.P.)
Member

Posted 21-Apr-2004 01:09 PM

Most people seem to agree on one thing ... IT should not own this program. I also agree, especially for a project of this type. Business is the main driver!

In most cases it would be advisable for your company to determine first your goal for CRM. For what and why are you looking to implement this tool?

Are you trying to boost revenues by creating up sell opportunities in an existing support or call center? Or are you simply trying to know what is going on in your sales organization in order for you guys (marketing) to develop new and better products and/or services. In these two examples you can have very different Business Drivers. One might be Sales and the other Marketing. Does Marketing drive your Sales organization? Is that why you wanted a separate CRM group?

You surely see where this is going.

To keep my answer simple, have the group with the most influence in the Business Area were CRM will be implemented drive the project. It's a hard to move ... and you will need buy-in from senior management and also the users.

Good luck

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Bill
Member

Posted 23-Jan-2005 08:20 PM

I thought the question was an oxymoron, sorry! Smile
Seriously, if I can be strong in my opinion, there is NO WAY IT should own or drive CRM.
I may be out of line here but in my humble opinion IT is the facilitator of organisational strategies that involve technology. They will and do come up with fantastic ways to implement business growth processes and streamlining other processes to cut costs in many appropriate areas. But to allow them to drive a CRM strategy would be detrimental to the overall strategy of customer acquisition and retention.
Again, only in my opinion, this is one of the reasons CRM has promised so much and delivered relatively little.

No offense intended to any member.

Bill

Bill James-Wallace
Director, Business On Purpose
Business On Purpose is a coaching and training practice. We work with our clients to achieve personal best results and consistent business growth through the development of individuals and teams.

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Dick Lee, CRMGuru Panelist
Advisory Board
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 07:18 AM

Bill—there's a long history of IT heading CRM implementations, and it's virtually all bad. The chances of success are slim to none if the business side (rather than technology side) leads.

Dick Lee

Author Dick Lee is founder and principal of High-Yield Methods, a Twin Cities-based consulting firm specializing in helping clients achieve customer-centricity through CRM and proper alignment of process and technology. Dick is the developer of the Visual Workflow approach to business process improvement.

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Jim Sterne
Guru
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 07:25 AM

Does it make sense for IT to own accounting?

Jim Sterne
Target Marketing www.targeting.com

Emetrics Summit
Web Analytics Conference
www.emetrics.org

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Helmar
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 08:17 AM

Although many of the answers are correct, it was the question that was (for lack of a better word) wrong.

I am surprised none of the comments above actually questioned whether there is a need for CRM to be owned by anyone in particular at all. In other words, it appears that if something (like, in this case, CRM) isn't owned, it can't work—or worse—doesn't exist (through manifestation and materialisation). "Was that a dog or a frisbee that just went over my head?...." Wink

Ok, a little less abstract and horse before cart: _IF_ CRM isn't "owned" by each individual within the organisation, chances are that it won't work as well as if it was, because if it is, each member of the chain will do utmost to please both internal and external customers. Each member will be empowered enough to make sensible decisions and/or have open backup channels for when it gets complex or dicey. In other words: CRM owns itself through the buy-in of all members. That there are "champions" within the specific departments who act as guides, mentors & supporters goes without saying, but even they don't own it. They can't, because ownership somewhat implies control, and CRM cannot be controlled as such.

In fact, CRM doesn't even exist as such. In my opinion it is the result that "happens on the periphery" if you get all your other things right. This also means that you cannot specifically aim for "CRM", just as little as you can make someone love or trust you. This, again, happens if you get things right. And the benefits of CRM happen when you get things right, but not CRM things.

So, bottom line: no one can own CRM. Implicitly, no one should own CRM. CRM owns itself. It "appears" to the benefit of all if everybody within the company exudes positive karma. If not, well the chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

I hope this wasn't too much on a tangent. Smile

Helmar

—
Helmar Rudolph helps companies succeed with CRM-related business transformation process by utilising his unique "Diamond CRM" framework.

http://www.helmar.org

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Bill
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 01:53 PM

Helmar

I don't think anyone would disagree with you that in practical, everyday use of CRM is the responsibility of every individual of the company.
However, the reality is, when companies want to install a system to catch the results of all those individuals and prevent staff tripping over themselves to serve the customer, you do need a system.

So, in that context SOMEONE needs to own or take responsibility for the system. Wink
What you are suggesting is great from the philosophical view but when something goes wrong (or right) I want to talk to someONE. And what most people agree on is that ONE should not be a representative of IT.

I will agree that IT should own the implementation of any technological solution but only as an implementer not a strategist.

Regards

Bill James-Wallace
Director, Business On Purpose
Business On Purpose is a coaching and training practice. We work with our clients to achieve personal best results and consistent business growth through the development of individuals and teams.

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bsteeves.com
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 04:00 PM

I need to ask what relationship you presently have with your customers, and how do you manage those relationships?

Who are your customers and how did you get them in the first place?

What relationship do your customers think they should have with you, your sales people and your company? Have you asked them? What relationship do your customers think they have right now? Have you asked them?

Are your customers satisfied with you, your product or service and would they recommend you to friends and business relationships? Have you asked them?

Perhaps you should manage, improve or change the relationships your have with your customers. Benchmarking is a very good tool.

Perhaps you should get a customer and manage the relationship so they become a loyal customer. Perfect this and repeat it several more times; voila, you have a business.

Don't get hung up on the tech stuff. Get a customer and make them loyal.

Brian.

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Dhyaan
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 08:04 PM

CRM I am given to understand is an ongoing process. If your organisation does not have a customer centric idealogy, then it doesnt matter which department owns / disowns responsibility. If a CRM initiative could be set up by a team consisting of the head of departments it will be easier to implement and evolve the system. Also set targets to measure if the initiatives taken during the year have paid off. The core of any CRM initiative is actually wanting to effect change.

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Supavadee
Member

Posted 27-Jan-2005 08:06 PM

I believe that CRM is the business process that is aimed to manage customers at all points therefore it should not be owned only by the IT department. IT would definitely plays a key roles on designing or support the infrastructure but the whole process should start with the business planning which involve the CEO/Board of Direcots/MArketing/Sales/After-sales/Call center down to the front office that interact with the customers.

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Peter Thomson
Member

Posted 28-Jan-2005 01:06 AM

Ryan

Here is an example of why IT should not own CRM projects—a client of mine had successfully implemented SFA as part of a business improvement programme, together with continuous improvement forum which I was facilitating.

They decided to go a stage further and create and end2 end customer interaction management solution. The problem was IT decide to own the programme- it failed reasons why
IT choose the wrong integration providers
IT project managed (or did not) themselves
They developed the platform in isolation
Little or no process review
Little or no end user functional review
Developed solutions in isolation did not discuss with end users

I got involved at the request of the Sales Director only to find the above had not been done—it was rolled out on a test basis—lasted 4days

So IT should not own CRM projects—They need to be part of the project but its process and people first then the platform

Peter Thomson
Independent CIM consultant

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Helmar
Member

Posted 28-Jan-2005 01:18 AM

If something goes wrong, then you usually know where it's gone wrong, and as there is someone within the department responsible _for that part of CRM_, you can talk to him. It is pointless to make the CRM champion within accounting responsible for something that goes wrong in IT, and vice versa. As much as this sounds like "management by committee", each department champion has distinct responsibilities, and as Dhyaan said so poignantly: "The core of any CRM initiative is actually wanting to effect change.
"

—
Helmar Rudolph helps companies succeed with CRM-related business transformation process by utilising his unique "Diamond CRM" framework.

http://www.helmar.org

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Susan Abbott
Member

Posted 28-Jan-2005 07:22 AM

There have been a lot of great comments here.
All I want to add is that CRM TECHNOLOGY, needs to support the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE strategy. If there's no plan to change the strategy, the communications, or the sales and service process, then it doesn't need to be an integrated effort. (ie. pave the current path)

Typically, organizations are looking for improvements in the actual customer experience, which means the new tech needs to support and be a part of much larger changes.
Good luck!

Customer Experience Strategist
** Qualitative Research ** Change Management Support
blog: www.arc.typepad.com/customercrossroads

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Bob Thompson
Founder, CRMGuru.com
Member

Posted 02-Feb-2005 11:55 AM

We must be making progress, because now we're debating who should own CRM. Which implies it's worth owning in the first place!

My take is that in the most successful companies, where CRM really is a business strategy, they don't call it CRM and no owns it. Rather, customer-centric thinking is integrated into the business strategy of senior executives, and naturually the organization is aligned accordingly with the processes and tools they need. CRM systems, even.

Still, well-run organizations have owners for results at all levels. If you can't find specific people in an organization accountable for customer-oriented results, then I doubt CRM will proceed beyond a slogan or IT project.

Bob Thompson
Founder, CRMGuru.com