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Bringing in Outside Resources when CRM Fails - Does it Help?

Why opt for a consultant? Is it essential? What are the services a CRM consultant has to offer? Is employing a CRM consultant truly beneficial? How much can you actually expect from a CRM consultant? These and a plethora of other questions are asked by organizations everywhere when they intend to embark on a CRM strategy.

This is because ordinarily the experience and expertise that most companies embody is insufficient for effective and successful customer relationship management implementations.

What is the Value of these Consultants?

The value of these consultancy firms has increased tremendously with the past decade and currently most consultants are trained professionals with years of experience added to their expertise. They are more than capable of giving advice to companies engaged in the CRM process and their advice can be counted on. Since they have been specifically trained in the field and have gained enormous knowledge they have an advantage over mere company employees.

CRM Consultants are Essential - Myth or Fact?

Most organizations nowadays opt for the option of bringing in CRM consulting as they are of the opinion that it is beneficial and achieves the overall company objectives. Consultants though sometimes simply state that the most profitable CRM solution is the system they know best or that gives them the highest profit. It is imperative to get a consultant who is good at process analysis, process engineering and change and who works for the benefit of the company. The CRM consultant opted for has to be well versed in both process analysis as well as CRM. He should be qualified enough to decide what works best for the organization.

The job of a CRM consultant includes:

Understanding organization goals
Studying company budgets
Vendor education
Weighing the benefits of each CRM decision
Assisting the CRM selection choice
Package implementation
System integration
Mapping out business processes
Workflow guidance
Identifying customer centric opportunities
Guiding the CRM implementation
Assisting and guiding organizational change

Why opt for a Consultant?

With the vast list of vendors available, organizations are often at a loss to know which solution best suits their needs. Sometimes they land up choosing one that does not fulfill organizational goals. Opting for the services of a CRM consultant is beneficial in that it enables an organization to actually choose the solution most suited to the organization
Consultants help in bringing about organizational change. They do this through anticipating as well as handling change as it occurs.
Since the methods of identifying customer centric opportunities are difficult to implement, consultants can be called in to do just this. They endeavor to coordinate the entire planning process and help to identify opportunities whereby the customer can be helped. They ensure that the process adopted caters to the customers preferences.
CRM consultants are aware of methods that enable a company to redesign workflow and this helps companies choose the appropriate person for the appropriate role. This leads to job satisfaction, cost reduction, less time and effort and ultimately overall productivity.

The Top CRM Consulting Firms include:

Accenture
BearingPoint
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
Computer Sciences Corporation
Deloitte Consulting
EDS
IBM Business Consulting Services
Inforte
Infosys Technologies
Tata Consultancy Services
Wipro Technologies

Pitfalls of CRM Consulting

CRM consultants can scarcely play a role in the management and employee attitude. They can make an effort to ensure their part is done but the actual step comes only from the concerned employee or manager. In this respect CRM consultants face considerable difficulties as this support is essential. It can redefine roles but cannot affect attitudes.
Adopting a good customer approach is not something that CRM consultants can ensure. To clarify CRM consultant is a person who can help people be aware of the rightness of the approach but he cannot ensure that they adopt it. Customer facing employees at the front line can always deviate with devastating results.
A CRM consultant helps a company choose the right CRM solution. They point out the various pros and cons of the available solutions and advise them on the right choice. They however cannot succeed at making sure that the choice is adopted. That is an internal selection and the consultant has to go with whatever is decided upon irrespective of whether or not he thinks its right. CRM Consulting could sometimes have adverse affects as companies may not always be able to make the right choice.

Organizations require additional help with new planning methods and to develop customer-centric strategies. CRM implementation requires experience that many companies do not possess. Hence the acquiring of a CRM consultant is an essential measure and needs to be taken in order to ensure success.

CRM Fails at Times - Who's to blame?
CRM's Unfulfilled Promise - why CRM fails at Customer Retention
CRM ROI - Far from Expectations
Know your Vendors Before you Choose
Get the Best out of Your CRM Choice

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