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Gartner Outlines Three Steps to Create a Successful CRM Strategy


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Analysts to Discuss Key Elements of CRM Strategy at Gartner’s Customer 360 Summit, June 28-30, Los Angeles

STAMFORD, Conn. - Building a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy is a unique process for each organization that nevertheless should always involve three key steps, according to Gartner, Inc. The three steps needed to create a successful CRM strategy are: setting the destination; auditing the current situation; and mapping the journey to the destination.

“A CRM strategy cannot be developed in isolation. It must be relevant and linked to the overall corporate strategy, and it must build on existing sales or marketing strategies that are already in use,” said Ed Thompson, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Following these three steps will provide a solid framework for CRM success.”

Set the destination: The vision of the company and the goals derived from this vision are the intended destination of the CRM strategy. The vision will be heavily dependent on the leadership of the company and on the selected CRM strategy.

“Ensure that the CRM vision is to articulate the future environment for the organization in terms of profitability and customer experience,” said Mr. Thompson. “During the initial stages of the CRM initiative — while the CRM vision and strategy are being developed — the leadership and governance structure must be agreed upon and roles allocated before it is stressed by the impact of change management upon employees.”

Audit the current situation: Skills, resources, competitors, partners and customers all need to be consulted in assessing the starting point. Before beginning the CRM initiative, organizations need to identify how mature their existing approach to CRM is. Most organizations have some existing or past attempt at CRM; even if these were deemed failures, there are usually some foundations that can be leveraged rather than ignored by the new team.

“Use the audit to evaluate the organization against equivalent organizations in the same or a similar industry,” Mr. Thompson said. “A competitive benchmark is an excellent way to gauge how far behind or ahead the organization is in comparison. Along with these two approaches, there are many other types of audit. Ultimately, companies should use as many of these assessment types as possible to prepare for the development of the CRM strategy.”

Map the journey: The journey may take many years, and the map will change en route. It is important to plan for this before starting.

A CRM strategy explains how an organization will achieve the CRM vision. It is the integrated blueprint for how the organization will achieve its sales, marketing and customer service goals. Therefore, it must give quantitative answers to questions such as: What is the ideal customer base? What products or services is it going to sell, to whom, at what price and through which channels? However, it must also be able to give much more subjective answers to more-holistic, organization-wide questions such as: What is the best way to build customer loyalty? How will the organization connect with a customer to create a positive “gut feel”? What will drive customers to recommend the organization, brand and products to others more often to the point that they are willing to pay a premium price?

“Setting the destination, auditing the current situation and mapping the journey is an iterative process that may require several revisions before a final CRM strategy is developed,” Mr. Thompson said. “The challenge is to avoid rushing the development process, as the company may be committed to many years of change.”

Additional information is available in the report “Three Steps to Create a CRM Strategy” which is available on the Gartner website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1298722.

About the Gartner Customer 360 Summit
Additional information on the future of CRM will be discussed at the Gartner Customer 360 Summit. The Summit focuses on business and IT collaboration and harnessing the potential from the emerging “social” dimension of the customer experience and relationships. The Summit, taking place June 28-30 in Los Angeles, brings Gartner’s CRM research to life, concentrating on strategic advice and best practices for creating a customer-centric enterprise, social CRM, analytics and performance management, customer experience management, marketing, and sales optimization. For complete event details, please visit the Gartner Customer 360 Summit website at www.gartner.com/us/crm. Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

Additional information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gartner_inc and using #GartnerCRM.

About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.



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