rescueCRMHowtosarule,CEOsdon’tworrymuchaboutbusinesssoftwareinitia-tives.Butcustomer-relationship-management(CRM)software—thesystemsthatallowcompaniestoplanandanalyzemarketingcampaigns,toidentifysalesleads,andtomanagetheircustomercontactsandcallcen-ters—maybeadifferentstory.GoodCRMsoftwarecaninfluencehowmuchcustomersspendandhowloyaltheyremain.SomecompaniesusingCRMprogramsreportdouble-digitgainsinrevenues,customersatisfaction,andemployeeproductivity,alongwithdramaticsavingsincustomeracquisi-tioncosts.AcrosstheUnitedStatesandEurope,nearly40percentofthecompaniesinhightechnology,aerospace,retailing,andutilitieshaveinvestedinCRMsystems.Two-thirdsofallUStelecomoperatorsandhalformoreofallUSfinancial-services,pharmaceutical,andtransportationcompaniesareeitherimplementingoralreadyoperatingthem.1CRMhasbecomeasenior-managementissuebecauseitconsumesstagger-ingamountsofmoneyand,notwithstandingthesuccessstories,hasmostlyprovedadisappointment.Companiesaroundtheworldspend$3.5billionayearonCRMsoftware,2andthatisonlyafractionofthetotalexpense;implementation,training,andintegrationoutlayscanbethreetofivetimes49ManuelEbner,ArthurHu,DanielLevitt,andJimMcCroryEvendysfunctionalCRMsystemsmaybewellpositionedforfuturesuccess.Thetrickistostepbackandthinkaboutyourrealgoals.A1AMRResearch,2001.2GigaInformationGroup,MarketOverview:E-Business/EnterpriseSoftwareApplicationsin2001to2005:GigaPlanningAssumption,March5,2002.higher.Allinall,ahighlycomplexCRMinstallationcancostmorethan$100millionandtakethreeyearstocomplete.YetwhenmanagerswereaskedtoassessthreekeyfunctionsofCRM—marketing-campaignman-agement,call-centermanagement,andmarketinganalytics—nomorethan35percentoftherespondentssaidthattheirexpectationshadbeenmetinanyfunction.3Moreover,whilefinancial-servicesfirmsareamongthebiggestusersofCRM,only20percentoftheUSretailbanksthatimplementedithaveraisedtheirprofitabilityasaresult,andCRMinvestmentsduringthebigpushofthe1990sdidn’tgeneratetheexpectedreturnsforthebanksthatmadethem.4Youknowyouhavea...
