Weaknesses of CRM systems – Part 2

Continuing from the earlier post, here are a few more points that CRM vendors are loath to discuss:

• Organizational co-ordination does not come easy. Departments can often be loath to align their operations to meet system architecture requirements. A smooth deployment requires co-ordination otherwise piecemeal deployments can throw the process off kilter. Companies also need to ensure that their key officers and managers stay involved with the deployment till the end, if one happens to leave mid-way, getting the right replacement can be a tedious process.

• A CRM solution is as effective as its users want it to be. A major reason for slow and failed deployments is that the management often fails to get a buy-in from the users who are to be involved in the day-to-day working. Salespersons especially can be loath to changes in established practices particularly if they are meeting their sales targets. System requirements are to be met at every touch point if the system has to deliver.

• A complete CRM suite that is equally effective across all applications is difficult to find. Each vendor has applications that can be considered best-of-breed and some that are not that good. So, while you may have good BI applications and data mining capabilities, your email management and SFA may not be that great.