5.6. Getting Ready for the Next Project
As we've discussed, the benefit that all companies get from using this method is that it can be repeated. Your project team will do these same steps over and over until your company's specific CRM needs and objectives are met. The world will not suddenly recognize that you have “done CRM.” Instead, you will repeat these steps as long as the value of adding a new CRM capability outweighs the cost of the additional effort. At every step along the way, you will show benefit and value, and you will be aware of where you are going next.
As you begin the cycle again, that's the time to decide whether you have done enough. You don't have to implement every possible CRM capability. You should work only on the pieces that are most important to your business situation. There is no ideal CRM state that we should all be striving to reach.
Just as there is no perfect CRM state, there is no ideal size of a program or project. For a small company with few people to involve, it may take no more than a week to pull together a plan: You may need only a few days to complete internal interviews and talk to a couple of customers, and another day or two to summarize the results into a plan. Table 5-5 provides a gauge that will help you judge the size of your effort for each project phase. I've used number of employees to estimate size and complexity. A large, global company will need more time to gather information to build its strategy and to deliver results. Another factor to consider is the size and complexity of your customer base. Note that for all size companies, a project should be scoped small enough to be developed in six months or less. This probably will mean that a large company must bite off smaller chunks to be successful.
| Number of Employees | Strategy | Develop | Analyze/Target | Deliver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 100 | 1 week | 3-6 months | 1 week | 1 week |
| > 10,000 | 8 weeks | 4-6 months | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
Following these guidelines, no individual project should be undertaken that is more than nine months from strategy setting to customer delivery. Answer the questions at the end of the chapter, and find where you fit on the continuum.
Now that we've learned the basic steps of the methodology, we will go on to Chapter 6 and learn how to overcome some of the most common barriers to CRM success.