Building True Stakeholder Commitment for CRM
Stakeholder commitment is essential for a successful CRM initiative. While the concept gets bantered around in magazines, blog posts, online articles, and discussion groups, many produce a weak view of what stakeholder commitment actually is.
First, a stakeholder is anyone “without whose support the organization will cease to exist” (Stanford Research Institute, 1963). By this definition, the concept of stakeholder goes far beyond executives and management. Since CRM cuts across a broad spectrum of your organization, you will need to gain support from the accounting department, the marketing department, IT, and the end-users as well.
The second word we need to look at is “commitment.” This is the point where many implementations veer off-track. When executives give the go-ahead for purchasing CRM technology, IT agrees to implement it, or sales managers sign off on rolling it out to sales reps, an apparent “yes” answer is mistaken for full commitment to the CRM strategy.
Commitment looks different for each type of stakeholder. It is essential to gain support for the full implementation and not just the concept of using a new piece of software. For executives, that means not only giving a stamp of approval on purchasing a product, but enlisting the help of CRM consultants, embracing changes to business processes to be implemented through CRM, and providing the necessary motivation and support for each division affected by the implementation.
Sales managers will need to be committed to using CRM technology in coordination with core business processes. CRM cannot be seen as something being added to their workflow, it must be embedded in their daily routine. The information harvested from CRM must be used to hold sales reps accountable, produce more accurate forecasting, and identify key areas for servicing existing customers and recognizing the potential of new customers.
For the end-user, there must be commitment to integrating their daily activities with the use of the CRM technology. Salespeople need to actively pursue the key pieces of information for qualifying prospects and assessing opportunity, report their daily activities and communication with each lead or customer, and use data from other reps or divisions in their sales process.
Basically, each division or stakeholder needs to recognize that CRM is more than software. True stakeholder commitment means the intent to fully integrate existing processes with CRM technology and taking the steps necessary to implement those changes at every level. With this type of commitment, your CRM initiative has the support it needs to produce a healthy ROI from the cost of the implementation.
For more on stakeholder commitment and CRM success, check out our free white papers: The CRM Success Guide and Why CRM Fails.
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