Choosing Your CRM Tool

What does it means?

Requirements driving technology

Defining CRM Fungctionality As the requirements define the “what,”

functionality defines the “how.” Indeed, the best way to identify your

functionality is to map out your business process and identify the functions within it

The key question to ask when defining necessary functionality is “What aspect of our customer-focused processes do we need to support with technology?”

Requirement + Process = Functionality

Narrowing down the technology choice When you've identified the necessary

functions, you're ready to map the functions to the candidate technologies by answering the question, “Is there a CRM tool that can perform each of these core functions?”

Knowing the answer to this question is only part of the story. If indeed products offer all required functionality, is the functionality available “out of the box,” or does the product require some level of customization?

Emerging the Problem

Which one is better between, bringing the technology with the current business process or just the opposite??

Analyze cost and benefit for each option !

What’s the best way to find the appropriate CRM product? CRM conference and trade show Analyst Firm specializing in CRM Consulting firm specializing in CRM Trade publication, particularly those that

perform product reviews, such as inteligent enterprise or crm magazine

Business magazines, particularly those that review IT vendor companies

Vendor seminar CRM websites

What’s next …

Defining technical requirement Integration and connection requirement Processing and performance

requirement Security requirement Reporting requirement Etc.

Talking to your CRM vendor Negotiating price

Reference

Dyche, Jill. The CRM Handbook: a business guide to CRM, Addison-Wesley 2002 p.106-121