Chapter 5. Understanding the Method

Part 1 set the stage for our CRM efforts. We discussed how changes in the marketplace have made building customer loyalty and Customer Relationship Management imperatives. We developed a common understanding of what we mean by CRM and what it entails both on and off the web. We also discussed the following:

• The marketplace has changed for all companies. The Internet has dramatically raised customer expectations, but it hasn't changed the basic business rule that in order to be successful you have to run a profitable business. Competitive pressure on product and service uniqueness and cost has made commodities of many products, so it is even more difficult to be profitable.

• Customer loyalty (preferring to buy from us over competitors) is a key differentiator for companies, no matter which value discipline (product superiority, customer intimacy, or operational excellence) they focus on. Because of the ease with which customers can now get information and compare products, the level of acceptable performance in the other disciplines has been raised for everyone.

• CRM on and off the Internet is the discipline aimed at building customer loyalty. It combines information, process, technology and people to build strong relationships with customers.

• CRM is not just buying a piece of software to automate some of your current processes and then plugging it in. If it were that easy, more companies would have had CRM success already.

Now we will prepare for a successful outcome of our CRM program. CRM is no silver bullet. CRM program success is achieved by completing small, focused projects that add up to a big victory over the long run. We have been and will continue to use the terms CRM program and CRM project throughout the book. They are not interchangeable. Let's start by clarifying CRM program.

DEFINITIONS A CRM program is the sum of all the work your company does to improve the customer experience and increase loyalty. Your program can be as long or short as appropriate to your business needs.

A CRM program is made up of all the individual CRM projects. Each project will follow the same basic method. We define and use a standard method because that is the only way we can successfully tackle a program as large as CRM.

We will repeat the method steps as long as projects remain to be completed and they make sense for the organization. We'll deliver quick wins along the way to achieve visible success before the notoriously short corporate attention span wanders. Let's review the methodology steps and who is responsible for what. Both a formal method and formal responsibilities required for building a CRM program that is successful.