CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?

CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you answer this question about your company's CRM initiative? It depends on how honest you are in answering some other questions, including:

Do your people have real decision-making power to provide great customer service?

Do you have the right people with the right knowledge and skills?

Are you including people across the board, not just in your customer service and call centers?

The bottom line is that people skill sets need to be similar to the technology they are using -- information sharing needs to be fast, focused, integrated.

Let's Start With the Leaders

For CRM to become the strategic engine, not just a tool that people opt to use when they choose, managers and leaders need to demonstrate the new vision through their day-to-day actions. Leadership is about making a vision happen. If you want your CRM strategy to be the engine that drives growth and profitability, take a look at what your leaders are doing and how they are behaving.

The heart of strategic change is when the leadership makes the conscious choice to focus on actions that matter. When an organization undergoes significant and fundamental transition, leaders must be teachers and role models of the new actions and behaviors. Leaders who successfully transition to new operating values and practices are those who recognize they are on a steep learning curve and adopt a personal learning ethic that others can model.

What About Everyone Else?

Just as any change needs good leaders, making CRM the strategic engine requires good followers. People need to have the knowledge and skill sets that will translate the vision to a seamless customer experience. Having the skill to build personal and professional networks of information and knowledge will allow managers and employees to think and act in less linear ways. There is a need to learn to behave as integrated teams, not individual contributors or functions.

Teaming, problem-solving behaviors across job boundaries, knowledge-discovery skills, personal networking outside the department, and building relationships to share knowledge and information are rarely seen metrics on employee performance evaluation forms. Yet these are the skills required to drive the CRM strategic engine. Those skills need to be valued, encouraged, and rewarded by the organization.

Don't Take New Roles For Granted

To move CRM deeper into the ethos of the company culture, clear and unambiguous roles for leaders and employees need to be communicated. When people have a role beyond that of being an individual contributor, accountability, involvement, and interest in making CRM the strategic engine all increase.

The key is communicating what new roles leaders and employees are expected to fill. As social scientists and consultants, it has been our experience that there is always a portion of leaders and employees who can't or won't adopt the new vision. This is why there are always tough people decisions involved in a large system change initiative.

Copyright 2002 Dailey & O'Brien, Inc.

(c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
Marketing educator, Kelly O'Brien, is creator of the "Create a
TurningPointe!" Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step
program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing
guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:51:03 GMT Theatrical Review of Body of Lies - DVDTOWN.com Theatrical Review of Body of Lies DVDTOWN.com - 5 hours ago By Jason P. Vargo "Body of Lies" is a certain type of movie designed for a certain type of moviegoer. I think the tagline describes the movie perfectly, actually. Body of Lies E! Online 'Body of Lies': Desert Norm, By Kurt Loder MTV.com Boston Herald - Los Angeles Times - Radar Online - Entertainment Weekly all 1,041 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:19:39 GMT Bush, allies seek to calm jittery investors - BusinessWeek Bush, allies seek to calm jittery investors BusinessWeek - 4 hours ago By JENNIFER LOVEN and MARTIN CRUTSINGER President Bush and financial leaders from nations rich and poor pledged Saturday to intensify their efforts to unblock a frozen financial system before it does more damage to an increasingly shaky global economy. Bush Says US Must Take Lead in Solving Crisis (Update3) Bloomberg Bush, allies seek to calm jittery investors The Associated Press New York Times - Austin American-Statesman - AFP - KSFY all 1,542 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:30:21 GMT Five killed in New York fire; 300 acres burn in Napa Valley - Austin American-Statesman CBS News Five killed in New York fire; 300 acres burn in Napa Valley Austin American-Statesman - 1 hour ago NEW YORK - A family of five, including three children, died in a blaze that filled an apartment with thick smoke and kept the victims from escaping through the front door, fire officials said. Napa County wildfire forces evacuations of over 100 homes Los Angeles Times Fire Threatens Napa Valley Homes and Wineries New York Times KEYC - CBS 5 - San Francisco Chronicle - WSBtv.com all 422 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:27:05 GMT McCain supporters face uphill climb in blue Jersey - Newsday Sunday Times.lk McCain supporters face uphill climb in blue Jersey Newsday - 15 hours ago By WAYNE PARRY | AP Writer WOODBRIDGE, NJ - Walter Zjawin is trying to help John McCain do what no Republican has done in 20 years: win a presidential general election in New Jersey. Maine now on McCain radar Central Maine Morning Sentinel McCain inches closer in Saturday's Gallup Kansas City Star Boston Globe - CBS News - Washington Post - Ethiopian Review all 220 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:04:37 GMT On the trail to the White House - Fort Worth Star Telegram The Age On the trail to the White House Fort Worth Star Telegram - 33 minutes ago Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential nominee, at a rally in Philadelphia on Saturday. AP/ALEX BRANDON Today’s headlines Report stings Palin over troopergate flap; Raw anger showing up in McCain crowds, candidate taking steps to minimize it; ... McCain Asks Supporters to Show Obama Respect Wall Street Journal Obama Thanks McCain for Urging Supporters to be Respectful Voice of America Washington Post - Chicago Tribune - ABC News - Bloomberg all 733 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:17:46 GMT Van driver's work in Mass. aided Nobel winners - Boston Globe Voice of America Van driver's work in Mass. aided Nobel winners Boston Globe - 1 hour ago HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—When two American scientists won a Nobel Prize this week in chemistry, the driver of a car dealership's courtesy van had reason to take special interest. Video: Nobel Chemistry Prize Goes for Jellyfish Protein AssociatedPress Comment by Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D., Director National Institute of General Medical Sciences The Daily Yomiuri - The Associated Press - Los Angeles Times - WTEN all 1,250 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:14:18 GMT Singer Lisa Marie Presley gives birth to twins - The Associated Press The Associated Press Singer Lisa Marie Presley gives birth to twins The Associated Press - 3 hours ago LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lisa Marie Presley is a mom again. A publicist says the 40-year-old singer gave birth Tuesday to twin girls, whose names were not released. Lisa Marie Presley delivers twins: report Reuters Today's News: Our Take - Lisa Marie Presley Gives Birth to Twin Girls Seattle Post Intelligencer E! Online - People Magazine - Monsters and Critics.com - Hollywood.com all 569 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:11:28 GMT RSS Parser Increase Search Engine Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Marketing Discipline and the Joy of Success

Discipline Is Important.I recently read an article about why discipline... Read More

The Marketing Recipe: Money, Marketing and Me ? 3 Keys For Success

You have a great product or service? Now, how should... Read More

The Illusion of Print Mail Services

If ever there was a lazy way to easy profits... Read More

19 Ways To Attract Higher Paying Clients

Some people have little difficulty attracting and maintaining clients who... Read More

Market Planning -- Getting the Word Out

"There are those who get things done and those who... Read More

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover

Are you on track for hitting all your business goals... Read More

Promotional Freebies

What's a promotional freebie? A promotional freebie is something you... Read More

Top 5 Ways to Generate Qualified Leads for Your Small Business

Do you ever wonder if you could be doing a... Read More

Keeping Pace with Business Marketing

Today's business marketing rules are different than they were in... Read More

Feature Your Benefits

Sales Copy? eventually every small business owner must consider what... Read More

Quick and Instant Marketing Soup

Everything happens Quickly and Instantly on the Internet. In the... Read More

Six Ways to Boost Response on Your Surveys and Gain More Useful Information

So... you spend time and effort putting together a survey,... Read More

Youre Halfway There!...Or Not Part 2

Now that you have had a chance to create a... Read More

T.E.A.M Profit

As you network and meet other business owners, keep this... Read More

Successful Surveys: 10 Tips for Better Results

Why would you use an email or online survey when... Read More

Sum of Its Parts

I just spent a week at the beach with my... Read More

Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment

"Dig your well before you're thirsty" is the title of... Read More

Small Business Marketing Tip - Focus on a Niche or Target Market

I think selling and marketing today often feels a bit... Read More

Creative Online Marketing For Salespeople and Business Professionals

New to a sales career? Want to market yourself but... Read More

Fern Reisss PublishingGame.com: Achieve Media Attention for Your Business

Do you want to be quoted by the national press... Read More

Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back

First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible... Read More

Loan Officer Marketing ? How to Target the Right Agents

Once there was a loan officer, who marketed his services... Read More

Marketing Planning Made Simple - Another Small Business Power Tool

Marketing planning must be really difficult and complex, otherwise why... Read More

Avoid These 5 Web Site Blunders!

The Web is intended to help people find information quickly... Read More

5 Steps to Success: A Surefire Way to Achieve Your Goals

No doubt you started this year with some big ideas... Read More