Chapter 5. Determining CRM Business Processes

CRM solutions promise an “ideal” customer relationship process via instantaneous sharing of detailed customer information across multiple interfaces. But “ideal” is not always optimal or even feasible. CRM is built upon and acts as an enabler to your individual business processes (e.g., sales, marketing, customer service) and also the more holistic, integrated total customer process.

Therefore, the degree of success realized with CRM is dependent on the functionality of your existing or future business processes.

It is important to note that all organizations have business processes, even though many may claim a lack of process. Processes are the natural business activities performed that produce value, serve customers, and generate income. Therefore, all organizations have business processes, they just may not be documented, fully understood, or functional.

CRM applications do not replace your business processes or fix a broken or ineffective process. They don't create or maintain relationship, or produce a product or service. In fact, automating an ineffective or broken process can be a very costly mistake leading not only to CRM system failure, but also diversion of key personnel time and financial resources.

CRM does provide the opportunity to enhance your existing processes as well as create new, more integrated and customer-centric processes. To maximize the value of these opportunities for your company, you must understand the key business processes that lead to the purchase, payment, and usage of your products and services with special emphasis on the processes targeted for automation. This understanding must be developed from both a company and customer perspective.

Detailed below are a number of areas that you will want to consider when reviewing and potentially modifying your business processes. Because ISM has helped many organizations with business process assessments, we describe the steps that we would use. Nonetheless, you will likely find the information presented here to be invaluable to your efforts, whether you perform the CRM business process evaluation in-house or seek outside assistance.

At ISM, we use a stepwise procedure that has proven highly effective in identifying “gaps” in existing business processes and determining corrective action(s) needed prior to or during CRM implementation. There are two basic approaches to this procedure dependent on the perceived state of readiness of your organization.

In the abbreviated Business Process Review approach, ISM performs an initial assessment of your business process functionality as part of the ISM software selection and implementation process. In this approach, ISM typically spends a limited number of days with key process owners in direct interviews and meetings to obtain an overview of current business process functionality as well as make preliminary recommendations for business process enhancement.

The full business process review is typically utilized in the following circumstances:

• The findings of the CRM business process assessment previously described warrant a more in-depth evaluation or redesign of business processes.

• Your current business processes are dysfunctional to the extent you feel it is imperative to obtain a detailed process review and recommendations prior to beginning the CRM system design and implementation process. This approach may also be warranted if you are planning significant process redesign in conjunction with the implementation of CRM.

Irrespective of the approach utilized, it is imperative that you:

In determining functionality, you should, at a minimum, evaluate the following key business process elements.

• Ownership: Is there clear responsibility, authority and accountability for the success of the process invested within a functional group or groups?

• Integrity: Is the process consistent across time and within all units that use the process within the organization?

• Interfaces: Are critical interfaces between groups (internal), partners (external), and with the customer understood and functional?

• Procedures: Have key process steps been documented and agreed upon by process owners and customer-interfacing personnel?

• Measures: Are performance standards and measures routinely used to determine the success of the process from both a company and customer viewpoint?

Each of these elements should be evaluated for both the individual processes and the total process targeted for the CRM system. Not all elements will have the same level of functionality. For example, the sales process within your organization may have exceptionally clear and authoritative ownership but the interfaces between sales and marketing or customer service may be highly dysfunctional. The more dysfunctional elements create gaps that must be corrected prior to or during CRM implementation.