CRM Steps for Success - Managing Expectations. Part 5

Many CM and CRM systems are over-sold and over promise on the capabilities they can deliver from day one. This generates a high level of expectation and anticipation which puts pressure on the new systems and its ability to perform. No system is a cure-all and is unlikely to deliver excellence the moment it is implemented.

The reality is that during the first few months, everyday tasks will take longer to accomplish and information will be harder to find. For those using the system, excessively high expectations can generate high stress levels compounded by information overload and a feeling of disappointment. Experience leads us to suggest that it is far better to aim in the early days for a base level of use and then consolidate benefits before moving forward.

In the early days and weeks of implementation, the support infrastructure may ‘wobble’ and the help desk ‘fall over’. For a toddler, this is a natural part of the process of learning to walk, but for employees used to functioning efficiently with the old system, these setbacks can pitch them in to a trough of disillusionment.

The Customer Attuned process avoids this because a high level of reality is injected back into the user base. From the start it is made clear that:

Your start point will determine the level of frustration that you experience
This frustration should be confined to the first few weeks or months
Over time problems will be ironed out and you will find shortcuts
You will probably only ever use 20% of the rich functionality offered by the system
In the first instance therefore, mastering 20% of the system will more than meet requirements

Get staff involved and engaged by getting them to start thinking about the system and the part that it can play in helping them to do their work easily and more productively:

How might it impact the way they work with other individuals and departments?
What difference could it make to the way in which I fulfil my role and responsibilities?
What opportunities does it create for customer interaction?

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Dr Mark Hollyoake

Mark is a co-founder and Director of Customer Attuned Ltd. He holds a Doctorate from the University ofSouthampton, his thesis focused on Trust as a dynamic within business to business customer relationships.

He is an expert in B2B Customer Experience and Customer Management. This includes CM strategy development; execution of improvement plans (incl. organisational modelling for customer management); programme design; and partnership & alliance development.

Mark's applied work across FMCG, industrials, medical devices, financial services, business services and construction has led to organisations making, significant improvements to their customer management. A large focus of this work has been moving organisations up the Trust Ladder to enable them to benefit from reduced cost to serve, while continuing to innovate and deliver mutual value.

Mark is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Member of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management. He holds an MBA in strategy from Henley Business School.

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