Microsoft Dynamics CRM Projects

Recommendations for success

Kristian Svantorp – Strategist / ArchitectMicrosoft

(Hidden slide when presenting)

This presentation does not seek to cover all project topics for managing a CRM project, but outline the most important elements to ensure success and what’s often lacking in my experience.General «Project management best practices» should be applied as well of course.All recommendations are based on experience from observing and/or participating in CRM projects as well as change management literature and research on relevant topics, references at the end.

<Make sure to read the speakers notes to get the full story>

Introduction

Business strategy

Customer Program

CRM Projects

The need for CRM

Marketing Sales Claims SMB Private

Should start as a consequence of a clear business strategy,

That leads logically to the need for a customer experience/relation specific program,

Which consists of different CRM projects with a shared technical foundation to operationalize the customer tactics

What do you want to do?

Clear Vision

Defined Goals

Communicate

Good stories

In order to make sure you move off in the right direction

In order to sell your message

In order to execute well and stay on track

For people to navigate well themselves along the way

In order to on-board your supporters and end-users

In order to align within your organization

In order to make ambassadors

In order for your solution to take on its own life and form

Project cultureOpen and supportive

Encourage learning

Communicate broadly always

Encourage involvement from all parties

Empower the users

Empower the teams

Embrace diversity, value different perspectives

Goal oriented

Small wins focus

Continuous improvement

• Define which data should be in the CRM database

• Describe all relevant data sources and it’s CRM related use

• Describe what data is owned by which system

• Define the needed “freshness” of all sources

• Verify quality of all data

• Verify processes to maintain data accuracy

• Define which data should be shown in the CRM forms

• Describe why it should be there• Which goals does it presence support?• What's the related use case?

Your data is essential to success Insight into each of your customers is what could make you relevant and provide

the differentiating service. A CRM solution can help operationalize this knowledge

Use a «small wins» strategy• Smaller, easy to understand pieces. A better cognitive match to people. Less political resistance

• Help the users experience progress subjectively in appropriate “chunks”, easier to adapt

• Easier to achieve the box above and CRM projects might mean big changes for people on how the job is done

Involve “everyone” in the project• Or at least representatives from business groups, end-users on all levels

• Find out what they need, make them feel the have impact and really participates. Create ownership early

• Create a understanding and acceptance of the need for change

Ensure you have a clear and positive impact on day to day work• People need to experience for themselves that the change is to the better

• Build good stories and share them.

• Make and maintain ambassadors

Change & Adoption

Focus on covering customer and end-user needs- A better experience for your users will also ensure better customer service

- Give your users a great feeling of mastering their job

- Focus on customer needs can help balance and align between interests of owners/board and end-users

Include and utilize others• Include HR in the process, define owners of the «change track». Focus on people change, not structural change

• The business side should own the project, lead and participate.

• CRM projects is not an IT-project, the end goal is not a technical solution

• Do not forget the middle management in the process

There is different types of resistance, not all is bad• Handle all resistance fairly, investigate reasons and roots. Be open and discuss.

• Positive reasons of resistance, that can turned around: Strong ownership of the old ways, strong opinions on the “how” part, loyalty

Change & Adoption

Elements to ensure success

• Executive commitment. Balance top-down, bottom-up approach.

• Manage risk and stakeholders• Discuss openly and handle

• Integrate or replace other system• Avoid heavy end-user switching between systems

• Define and communicate success criteria• Define and use metrics

• Make a baseline and compare

• Do have technical QA in place• Performance especially

• Configure rather than develop• 80% rule

• Utilize Social tools in the project• All information in one place• Open discussions and “documented” decision

backgrounds

Cost cutting beyond the breaking point

Control the cost of different aspects within the project, but

Do not, as a general rule, focus on cutting cost

CRM solutions becomes business critical systems and need to yield a very good return

1) You might miss out on functionality that will bring good return if you cut in a CRM project. Always evaluate cost-elements impact before deciding

2) The consequences of the risks related to the project might increase with a higher cost. But cost related to reduction of (the probability of) risk-elements has proven worthwhile.

Process benefitsEnd-result quality(tech / functional)

Risk reduction (within scope)

B A

No risk impact C2 C

• Plan early for management and lifecycle of the solution• Handle all components in the solution in your plan• Specific management plans for key components as SQL. Direct impact on

performance and end-user experience• Stability and performance is key to ensure adoption of CRM solutions• Ensure all different systems and vendors SLA/OLA’s align perfectly

• Ensure that changes in functional design includes a technical implications process. • For instance, column changes in a list might mean a need for new indexes in

the SQL server• Functional design tends to be totally disconnected from deep technical

aspects like SQL in CRM projects/management processes

Solution management

Remember, this is not an IT project. Customer handling and experience is a strategy, not a product

Include business and end-user resources early

Do not try just to replicate todays situation, focus on improvement

This deck does not cover all aspects, you will also need at least• Good project management• Technical resources on CRM and SQL.

• Systems you integrate with• Possibly Sharepoint, AD, IIS

• UI / Interaction designers• Business process skills and optimization efforts• Deep understanding of your business, customer base & market

In conclusion

1. Bolman, Lee G. and Deal, Terrence E. 2009. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. 4 th edition. Jossey-Bass

2. Hennestad, Bjørn W. and Revang, Øyvind. 2006. Endringsledelse og Ledelsesendring. 2.utgave. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget1. Norwegian book on Change Management. BI Business School

3. Kendra, Korin and Taplin, Laura J.. 2004. Project Success: A cultural framework1. http://www.cob.unt.edu/mgmt/WHITE/Culture%20kendra_taplin_2004.pdf

4. Porter, Michael E. 1996. 'What is Strategy?' Harvard Business Review

5. Grant, Robert M. 2012. Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases. Wiley

6. Kvålshaugen, Ragnhild et al. 2006. Incremental learning in professional services firms: the importance of project and client characteristics

Other inspiration

4. http://www.marketing91.com/strategy-implementation /

5. Yang Li, Sun Guohui, Martin J. Eppler. Making Strategy Work: A Literature Review on the Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation 1. http://www.knowledge-communication.org/pdf/making-strategy-work.pdf

6. M. Scott Schaffernoth. CRM System Not Producing? It’s Your Own Fault1. http://www.crmsuccessplans.com/crm-system-not-producing-its-your-own-fault/

7. Mariem Ben Abid. CRM Success: Toward an Exploratory Research1. Survey results used before final phd thesis was finalized

8. Pivotal CRM - CRM: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE

9. Kimberly Collins, “How to Develop a CRM Strategy.” Gartner Research G00145702, 16 February 2007, p. 2

10. Gene Alvarez, “How to Create a Powerful CRM Vision.” Gartner Research G00146362, 1March 2007, p. 3

Literature

Technical / Functional• It seems most organizations are only using

50-75% of the CRM solution functionality 7)

• Bad performance planning

• Technical issues with integration7)

• Low quality custom code (lack of CRM experienced developers)

• Data models and ownership of data. Especially discussions around duplication

• Not planning for management and maintenance of the solution from day 1

Organizational / Process• It seems most CRM projects are delivered late

and above budget 7)

• Project manager without CRM experience, wrong priority setting and choices

• Planning to much, doing to little, delivering to slow. Loosing momentum with the people and thereby poor adoption

• Not investing in training7)

• Not ensuring involvement7)

Typical challenges