Key to CRM Implementation Success - Internal CRM SME

One of the first CRM 3.0 Implementations we did years ago for a large Bank here in Texas, the CIO was very adamant that we would not do all the work. He wanted me to understand that they had very strong IT staff and could do much of the work. He came right out and said "if you say you will do it all then we will find someone else."

He was correct also, their IT team and PM team were tops and smootly handled much of the implementation with some higher level help, advice and guidance from us.

This comes up time to time. Many larger orgs do have very strong and capable IT so we have learned and embraced this.

One of the key items we have seen that insures the success of a large scale, upper mid market or enterprise implementation is the appointment and investment if an internal subject-matter-expert (SME).

All implementations need to have this SME on the client side but we have found it integral to the success of larger (100+ user) deals. Smaller orgs and implementations usually do not have the budget for one dedicated CRM person SME on their team. So they work with us and we usually get a savvy manager to pick up some work.

We have done a number of implementations for larger $1Billion+ or Multi Billion dollar annual revenue clients and we have definitely found this factor very important.

We actually encourage and ask the client to appoint or hire a dedicated person for the implementation project and also for the follow up. The client will be very unhappy calling us to add fields or build a simple advanced find view. So we include this person on our implementation team and they work with us as a partner through the implementation.

There are a lot of reasons why this is important to us and also we feel it is the right thing to do for a larger deal.

First and Foremost the long term client satisfaction and sustainability and enhancement of the CRM system. With the internal SME constantly leveraging the system the business owner will feel they are getting value out of it. For some reason they feel better about hiring a person in house and managing them then paying consultants. That seems to be a norm.

Second, We have a knowledgeable buffer between our team and the end users and management. The SME serves as a liaison and internal champion. helping us to navigate the complex waters inherent to larger implementations. They can help clarify requirements and scope and get greater details etc.

Third, We like to and are designed to do Implementations and complex integrations and advanced customizations. Everyone on our team can do the basic application level customizations like adding fields and entities and relationships. Our team is not extremely excited about the basic customisations work. We really get excited and passionate about integrating 7 different systems into CRM so the client and end users have one interface to see everything [Not and exaggeration - We did this at a Fortune 100 client]. We really get pumped up to do the high level work and push the boundaries and show the client what can be done. So this SME takes a lot of the load off of our team for the small and normal application level customizations and configurations.

There are many more reasons that this is a valuable strategy and component but that should get you started thinking about it.

Regards, Jon Petrucelli - http://www.produtivegap.com/

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