Saying it Again –
CRM isn’t about the Software

“CRM is not about the software”.

You’ve heard it before, I’m sure. You can’t open a CRM web site without seeing a topic like this in an article a click away. So why do many people still seem to ignore this fundamental concept that is accepted as fact these days by virtually all analysts and experts?

Let’s postpone that bit of psychoanalysis and look at why people shouldn’t ignore that concept. It’s because the software isn’t going to achieve somebody’s business goals for them. People will. And they’ll do it by following some kind of plan established to take the company from point A to point B.

Now, those people are going to need some help. Software? You bet. Probably even CRM software. But they’ll need other things too, like new incentive models, new roles and responsibilities, and maybe even new attitudes. They’ll need a detailed road map of objectives set up to bring the company plan to fruition.

But so often the first thing the sales or IT manager does after reading that fateful C-level email titled “We Need CRM” is start Googling for CRM software sites. Has to respond to the “get me a cost estimate” paragraph of the email and so begins contacting software vendors who are all too happy to explain how their software will deliver a quick ROI and how their features will simultaneously increase productivity, make customers happier, and increase profits. So, a few generic demo’s later, the manager has his short-list, filtered out by his ad-hoc software review committee nixing the ones whose user interface they “just didn’t like as well”.

Wait a minute. Where are the CRM objectives? How can somebody claim a quick ROI when there’s been no financial benefit defined for solving a particular problem (perhaps also undefined)? How will you know if your customers are happier if you haven’t measured their satisfaction now? How will success be measured?

Forging ahead without answering these and similar questions is what causes CRM initiatives to turn ugly. At some point, management will start questioning the benefit of the software, then the finger pointing starts. “The software is too hard to use, takes too much time, or it doesn’t work right” say the users. Management blames IT for it not working. IT blames the users for not using it properly. And the sad part is that they’re all wrong. By focusing on the software as the vehicle for bringing improvement to the company, management is missing the mark completely. They might as well try to increase earnings per share by getting Finance and Accounting to upgrade to the latest version of Excel.

So back to the initial question: Why do people go after CRM with a focus on software instead of on strategy? Well, the strategy road is more work. Really, it is - a lot more planning, thinking, and measuring. Also, it takes a big picture perspective that some people just don’t have, at least those put in charge of the CRM project. And it is full of intangibles. Hey, software is real. I can see it, touch it, and write a PO for it. It is a lot easier to say “go use that customer software” than to say “go be customer-centric”. So the people that focus on software have a lot of good reasons why they do it – but it doesn’t make it any less wrong or dangerous. Just makes it easier.

But there is good news. There are people who do “get it”. They understand that software isn’t the magic customer bullet. They know it is going to take more than good software and training to make CRM work. And if the C-level executive who starts the ball rolling is one of these people, it is almost a given that CRM will succeed by anyone’s measurement.