CRM – It Needs Leadership

Just what role does a high-level executive, even a CEO, play in a CRM initiative? Probably not nearly enough. Even those who understand that their company’s most important asset is their customers, not their products, are often too much in the background.

Leading the Charge for Change
CRM means change. People resist change. That resistance is countered by two factors: Motivation and a sense of Duty. People need an adequate dose of one or the other to accept a new way of doing things. The Duty people will do it simply because they’re supposed to – that’s the way they’ve always lived their lives and there’s no reason to stop now. The rest, the majority, require a better reason. The “Why Should I” mentality.

Some of the most effective motivation comes from company leaders. How?

• They lead by example. They follow the CRM procedures, and use the technologies.
• They communicate the value of customers to employees over and over and over again.
• They make it absolutely clear how important the CRM initiative is to the company, customers, and to them personally.
• They publicly praise employees who demonstrate full adoption and execution of the CRM processes.

In short, the executive forces employees to adjust the “statement” made when they choose not to adopt the new way of doing things.

It changes from:
“If I don’t follow this procedure/use this software, it’s no big deal.”
To:
“If I don’t follow this procedure/use this software, I’m telling my corporate executive that their fancy customer plan isn’t worth my time and effort.”

Think that raises the stakes of non-compliance? You bet it does. Now, I’m not saying that is enough motivation. It is important and goes a long way to fostering acceptance and generating the proper employee attitude, but it won’t necessarily make employees happy about the change. For that, you need to make their work lives easier through CRM technology or reward them financially, but that’s another subject.

Ok, so impassioned, motivational leadership has now been added to the list of the executive’s CRM responsibilities, as if they didn’t already have enough to do. Don’t forget about removing political roadblocks between departments, providing adequate funding and personnel, and creating the customer strategy in the first place. Still, providing this leadership often means the difference between success and struggle with CRM. It’s worth the extra effort.