CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
(CRM)
Solution Study

Insights, Landscape, & Vendor Analysis

 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Solution Study

Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary 03

2 What is Customer Relationship Management? 05

3 CRM Maturity Model 08

4 Benefits of CRM 10

5 CRM Deployment Lifecycle 13

6 Vendor Selection Criteria 15

7 CRM Solutions Landscape 21

8 Analyst Bottom Line 24

Action Plan 25

Our Solution Study Methodology 36

About 37
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Solution Study

Executive Summary
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 4

Executive Summary
Effective Sales Enablement is a multi-stage process. In our Sales
Enablement Solution Study Series, we examine each key stage of Sales
This Solution Study covers:
Enablement, from initial marketing and sales alignment to the final deal
close and revenue capture.
What is CRM?
In this report, we focus on one of the two foundation technologies of
Sales Enablement – Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

The insights and analysis presented in this report provide marketers with Benefits of CRM
a baseline understanding of the CRM landscape.

If your organization is considering CRM software, currently implementing

a CRM system, or providing a CRM-related product or service, this CRM Deployment Lifecycle
report will provide you with fresh insights on the landscape, technology,
strategies, and vendor solutions.

Vendor Selection Criteria

CRM Solutions Landscape

Action Plan
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 5

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Solution Study

What is Customer
Relationship Management?
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 6

What is Customer Relationship Management?

Demand Metric defines Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as: FIGURE 1
Modern CRM Solutions

The strategies, processes, tools, and technologies

Contact Sales Support & Helpdesk &
to develop, manage, and support customer inter-
Management Email Marketing Trouble-ticket
actions, relationships, and experiences across the
organization.

Integrated Channel &

Modern CRM
Architecture & Partner
At their most basic, CRM systems support sales, marketing, and customer Platform Solutions Management
service functions.

Advanced Enterprise CRM systems now support the entire customer rela-
tionship, including activities and interactions from the back office to social Sales & Business eCommerce
Field Service
communities. Intelligence Integration
 SALES ENABLEMENT
ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES
Revenue Accountability
Senior
Staffing & Channel Management
Management
Reporting to CEO/Board
New Product Development
Product
Create Sales Tools/Guides
Management
Messaging & Positioning
Build Reports & Dashboards
Sales Operations Monitor Sales Productivity
Data Management
Build Reports & Dashboards
Marketing
Marketing Systems Admin
Operations
Data Management
Lead Generation & Events
Demand
Branding & Social Media
Generation
Content Marketing
Customer Acquisition
Sales/Account
Customer Retention
Mgmt.
Up-sell/Cross Sell
Staffing for Sales Enablement
Human
Sales Training
Resources Performance Management
Customer Service/Support
Customer
Identify Sales Opportunities
Support
Customer Insight/Feedback
Roles Matrix
PROCESSES
Budgeting & Planning
Performance Reviews & QA
Recruitment & Retention
Product Launch
Win/Loss Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Sales Forecasting
Territory Management
Sales Compensation
Marketing Budget
Campaign Analysis
Lead Scoring & Nurturing
Advertising/Sponsorship
Lead Generation & Appointments Digital Asset Management
Tradeshows & Webinars
Sales Process
Opportunity Management
Contact Management
Recruiting & Hiring
New Rep Onboarding
Performance & Firing
Helpdesk (phone support)
Email Support (case/ticket)
Online Community Requests
TECHNOLOGY
CRM
Business Intelligence
MRM
Product Mgmt. System
Enterprise Feedback/Survey
Content Management
CRM
Proposal/CPQ
Sales Content Portal
CRM & Marketing Automation
Analytics & B.I.
Asset Mgmt. & MRM
Marketing Automation/Email
Event/Survey Management
CRM
Proposal/CPQ
Sales Content Portal
HRIS
Learning Management System
LinkedIn & Job Websites
Customer Support, Twitter
CRM, Order Management
Accounting/Billing/ERP
CONTENT METRICS
Thought Leadership Blog Revenue by Channel
Webinar Presentations Customer Lifetime Value, NPS
Conference Keynotes Return on Customer (ROC)
Data Sheets, Whitepapers Market Share, Profitability
Case Studies/Testimonials Brand Equity
Competitive Analysis Content Usage
Compensation Model % Quota Achieved
TCO/ROI Calculators Sales Cost/Revenue Ratio
Sales Playbooks Incentive vs. Quota Ratio
Buyer Personas Sales Qualified Leads
Customer Journey Map Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Proposals, Presentations
Cost of Acquisition (CAC)
How-To Guides Campaign ROI, Email Metrics
Research Reports Marketing Qualified Leads
Webinars Contribution to Pipeline
New Features/Ideas for R&D % Quota Achieved
Objection Responses Renewal Rate, Revenue
Opportunity Metrics
Sales Scripts
Job Descriptions Avg. Time to Achieve Quota
Quality Assurance/Coaching % Unsuccessful Hires
Sales Training Manual # CV/Resume Submissions
New Features/Ideas for R&D Avg. Time to Resolution
Support Scripts % Escalations to Tier 2
FAQs, SLA Net Promoter Score (NPS)
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 8

CRM Maturity Model

As our Customer Relationship Management Maturity Model (next page) Our Maturity Model shows the progression of an organization from Stage 1
illustrates, organizations moving from a lack of experience with CRM to those (Undefined) to Stage 4 (World Class) that is characterized by the following best
which fully embrace it must consider key components. practices:

Level of Commitment
The strength of the commitment and the focus on excellence in Mar-
keting initiatives and campaigns drives other best practices.

Planning
Marketers create strategies, goals, and KPIs for every point of
their Content Marketing effort.

Processes
Marketers develop measurable processes for each phase to
ensure progress and success.

Resources
World Class Organizations ensure that sufficient resources (time, talent,
tools, money) exist for each initiative, campaign, and phase of their plan.

Management
World Class companies effectively manage the change, progress,
and results of Content Marketing efforts.

Demand Metric’s CRM Program Maturity Model can be used in combina-

tion with the vendor landscape analysis and charts detailed in the CRM
Program Solutions Landscape section of this report.
 CRM PROGRAM
Maturity Model

STAGE 2 - Progressive
STAGE 1 - Undefined
No CRM System
Reps Manage Opportunity
Funnel in Excel or not at all
STAGE 3 - Mature
Contact Database used
Reps Manage Opportunity
Funnel in Contact Database but
reporting is inaccurate
STAGE 4 - World-Class
CRM System integrated with
other Business Applications
CRM System in place
Opportunity Funnel is accurate,
Reps manage Opportunity
ability to forecast
Funnel in CRM System
Lead Source tied to Sales to
Lead Sources are mostly known
determine Campaign ROI

Lead Sources are unknown
Sales Process is not defined
Success Metrics are unknown
and not tracked
Opportunity Win Rate is less
than 10%
Some Lead Sources known
Sales Process defined but not
mapped to Buying Process
Success Metrics for Top
Performing Reps are known
Opportunity Win Rate is 10-15%
Sales Process is mapped to
Sales Process is repeatable and
Buying Process and Opportunity
measurable
Funnel in CRM
Success Metrics are managed
Success Metrics tracked
closely to get reps performing
Opportunity Win Rate is 15%+
Opportunity Win Rate is 20%+

Want to rate your organization’s CRM maturity with an

interactive tool? Download our CRM Maturity Assessment VIEW RESOURCE
and get started today!
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 10

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Solution Study

Benefits of CRM
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY
Benefits of CRM
The primary benefits of CRM are associated with the three functional
areas these systems support – sales, marketing, and customer service.
Here we explore the fundamental features/benefits of a standard CRM
solution.
We will explore the advanced and emerging features and benefits, such
as customer experience and lifecycle management, discussed in the CRM
Solutions Landscape section of this report.
Benefits to Customer Service
The primary benefits to customer service include:
A single-view console for faster case management
Access to the complete customer history to quickly
answer questions and resolve issues
Detailed product information through access to an
online product directory with online query search
Real-time access to customer services metrics through
dashboards, reports, and alerts
Management of service contracts
11
Benefits for Sales
The primary sales benefits of CRM include:
Prospect customer profiling to provide a
comprehensive view of customer details, interests,
and activities
Lead scoring and account management to enable
sales to manage the account as it moves from lead to
close
Opportunity management to enable sales to quickly
determine where to spend their time for the highest
ROI
Territory and quote management to maintain
performance and margins
Social selling tools to integrate insights on prospect/
customer social activity into the sales cycle and
knowledge base
Pipeline management and forecasting with dashboard
analytics for better sales performance management
Mobility apps to provide sales the ability to present
and sell anywhere on any device (PC, tablet,
Smartphone)
BENEFITS OF CRM CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 12

Benefits for Marketing Additional Benefits

Advanced CRM solutions offer many benefits beyond
The primary benefits to marketing include:
those directly related to the sales cycle. These include:
List management to create campaigns targeted at the
Architecture/Platform Integration – depending on the
right customer groups
sophistication of the vendor, the vendor will either
Email marketing campaigns based on deep prospect/ integrate with a leading CRM Enterprise platform like
customer knowledge Salesforce.com, Oracle, or SAP, or allow this level of
Campaign templates to streamline marketing campaigns application integration

Lead generation and scoring to qualify sales leads Business intelligence and reporting for better
customer insights
Automated lead nurturing to develop leads into
opportunities Back office ERP integration to extend CRM
functionality from the frontlines to business operations
Social Marketing to enable marketers to listen,
functions, enriching the customer/contact information
engage, publish, and advertise across all social
with payment and invoicing history, etc.
channels and communities
Workflow automation for streamlining processes,
The ability to measure and track email marketing
activity monitoring, and inquiry routing
campaigns to determine ROI
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 13

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Solution Study

CRM Deployment Lifecycle

 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 14

CRM Deployment Lifecycle

Demand Metric considers CRM to be an integral part of Sales Enablement
as illustrated by our Sales Enablement Roles Matrix (on page 7). As you will
see, CRM products and services are associated with the following roles and
processes:
A typical CRM deployment lifecycle begins with sales and often moves
through the organization in process/technology phases as follows.
Figure 2 illustrates the typical CRM Deployment Lifecycle.

Senior Management uses CRM to support budget & strategic planning, FIGURE 2
performance reviews, and the retention of sales reps. CRM Deployment Lifecycle
Sales Operations uses CRM to support sales forecasting, territory
management, and sales compensation.
Marketing Operations uses CRM to support budgeting, campaign 7 1
Field Service
analysis, and lead qualification. Sales

Sales/Account Management uses CRM to support contact & opportunity

management and the overall sales process.
6
Channels
Customer Service uses CRM to support helpdesk and case management,
email inquiry management, and online community requests.
CRM
Deployment
2
Customer
Lifecycle Service
Deployment Stages
5
Deployment of a CRM solution depends on the needs of each organization. eCommerce
CRM vendor solutions vary widely in feature/function depth and breath.
(if applicable)
3
It is critical to choose one that encompasses the entire scope of your
organizational needs rather than just the first step or two. That decision
4 Marketing

Architecture &
helps avoid having to stay with a system you have outgrown simply because Platform
Integration
the cost and business disruption of change is too high.
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 15

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Solution Study

Vendor Selection Criteria

 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 16

Vendor Selection Criteria

Demand Metric recommends the features/functions listed in this section Sales
to be included in any evaluation of a CRM Vendor Solution.
Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
For each function listed here, determine the availability and strength of the following key areas:
vendor’s offering. Lead Management
Also determine that functions’ importance to your organization. Is it a Must Account/Contact Management
Have, Nice to Have, or Not Needed? Opportunity Management

The Action Plan of this report identifies several Demand Metric tools that Territory Management
you can use to evaluate CRM vendors and the features/functionality of Sales Compensation
their solutions and applications, including Demand Metric’s CRM Vendor Social Insights & Social Selling
Evaluation Matrix. Pricing & Order Management
Sales Performance Management
Forecasting/Pipeline Management
Email Templates
Social Collaboration
Mobile Apps

Our CRM Vendor Evaluation Matrix utilizes the features listed in

this section to evaluate and score CRM vendors in the critical imple-
VIEW RESOURCE
mentation areas of sales, marketing, customer service, and support,
as well as business requirements and technical requirements.
VENDOR SELECTION CRITERIA CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 17

Customer Service Marketing

Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
following key areas:
following key areas:
Self-Service Portal
Campaign Management
Web Forms
Email Marketing
Email-to-Case
Auto-Response Emails
Case/Ticket Management
Search Marketing
Contract Center
Loyalty Management
Contact Management
Customer Experience Management
Agent Console
Lead Management
Call Scripting
List Management
Live Chat
Content Production
Workflow Opportunities
Digital Asset Management
Policy Management
Event Management
Telephone Integration
Closed Loop Marketing
Knowledge Management
Community Management
VENDOR SELECTION CRITERIA CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 18

Channel/Partners Field Service (Point of Installing Services)

Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
following key areas:
following key areas:
Recruitment
Field Performance Optimization
Account Management
Part Planning/Product Catalogs
Training
Contract/Warranty Management
Channel Plans
Fleet Management
Lead Flow
Dispatch and Repair
Deal Registration
Remote Monitoring
Opportunity Management
Mobility Apps
Pricing Management
Call Scripting
Communications
Performance Management
Reporting

Use our CRM System RFP Template to obtain key information from
VIEW RESOURCE
vendors on all of the criteria listed in this section.
VENDOR SELECTION CRITERIA CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 19

Architecture/Platform eCommerce
Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the
following key areas:
following key areas:
Customer Data Integration
Site Navigation & Search
Business Process Management
Visual Merchandising
Knowledge Management
Promotions & Pricing
ERP/Back office Integration
Checkout Process Management
Workflow & Approval Engine
Customer Service
Point & Click Development
Order Management
Multi-language Development
Inventory Management
Sharing & User Access Controls
Online Marketplace Support
Reporting and Dashboards
Demand Pricing Models
Real-time Data Feeds
Payments & Fraud Prevention
Tools & APIs
Customer Profile Management
Mobile Services & SDK
Business Intelligence
Identity Management
Shipping/Tracking
Affiliate Management
VENDOR SELECTION CRITERIA CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 20

Analytics

Evaluate the strength of the vendor’s solution in the

following key areas:
Prospecting
Lead Management
Opportunity Management
Pipeline Coverage
Account Management (% Quota Achieved, Sales
Cost/Revenue Ratio, Incentive vs. Quota Ratio, Sales
Qualified Leads)
Sales Win/Loss
Data Mining
Dashboards & KPIs
Timeline Visualization
Customer Value Analytics (Cost Per Lead (CPL), Cost
of Acquisition (CAC), Campaign ROI, Email Metrics,
Marketing Qualified Leads)

Measure and track your CRM analytics with our CRM Program
VIEW RESOURCE
Metrics Dashboard.
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 21

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Solution Study

CRM Solutions Landscape

 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 22

CRM Solutions Landscape

History
The birth of sales and marketing automation, which brought automated
solutions directly into the hands of marketers and to the frontlines of the
sales call, can be traced to the first generation CRM systems like Maximizer
CRM (1987), NetSuite (1998), and Salesforce.com (1999).
The shift was dramatic. These were the first systems that marketing and
sales could actually manage within their departments.
Previously, most corporate data was locked away in large data management
and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems managed by centralized
IT departments.
The early CRM systems contained basic functionality – contact
management for sales, sales support for marketing (primarily email
marketing), and helpdesk/trouble-ticket for customer service.
Systems are based on an integrated architecture/platform. One, SugarCRM,
is based on an open-source architecture.
Today, the CRM landscape spans more than 50-plus vendors serving small
and medium businesses (SMB), Global Enterprises, and specific industry
niches.
These solutions provide dozens of customer relationship-related
applications covering marketing and sales fundamentals to extensions
for Sales Enablement, Customer Experience, and Customer Lifecycle
Management, as well as localization, personalization, and predictive
analytics.
In this CRM Solution Study, we will focus on 12 primary vendors that
account for the largest portion of the CRM market segment.

As CRM systems have evolved over the last decade, many CRM solutions
have expanded beyond sales, marketing, and customer service to include:
channel/partner management, field service, ecommerce integration, sales/
business intelligence, and customer data management.
CRM SOLUTIONS LANDSCAPE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 23

Playing Field Evolution of the Landscape

The CRM Solutions Landscape begins with the three primary The CRM landscape is evolving dramatically from its core roots in developing
functions within the organization – sales, marketing, and and managing customer relationships to enabling organizations to become
customer service. From this core, vendors have extended “customer-centric.”
their CRM platforms to support operations, channel, and field
The trend toward customer-centricity has accelerated CRM vendors’ drive
service functions. New applications in the landscape include
to build or buy social, mobile, and customer experience-related applications.
social insights, communities, and collaboration, as well as
mobile applications. Applications that increase personalization, customization, and localization
of the customer experience at every touchpoint and interaction are being
The CRM technology landscape is three-tiered: Enterprise,
integrated into existing CRM platforms at a breathtaking pace.
Mid-Market, and Small Business. Each tier has its leaders.
The Enterprise leaders are Salesforce.com, Oracle, SAP, and Demand Metric expects this pace to quicken as organizations using
Microsoft Dynamics. CRM systems shift their initiatives toward customer experience
management as a core driver of organizational success and growth.
The Mid-Market leaders are Maximizer, NetSuite,
SageCRM, SalesLogix, and SugarCRM. Salesforce.com,
Oracle, and SAP offer Mid-Market versions of their suites as
well. Small Business market leaders are CampaignerCRM,
TrackerRMS, and Zoho.

To evaluate a selection of key vendors in the CRM space, download

VIEW RESOURCE
and review Demand Metric’s CRM Vendors Matrix.
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 24

Analyst Bottom Line

Customer Relationship Management systems provide the
foundation technology for the successful deployment of Sales
Enablement initiatives.

If your organization has not yet invested in a CRM system, now is

the time to consider it.

The CRM landscape is changing quickly, with new emphasis on

social business integration and the mobile customer experience.

Expect CRM vendors to continue to deepen their Customer

Experience and Customer Engagement Management functionality
to move the CRM landscape from “customer relationship” to
“customer-centric” as organizations make customer-centricity a
top executive priority.
THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 25

C U S TO M E R R E L AT I O N S H I P M A N AG E M E N T
ACTION PLAN

Follow this simple, step-by-step methodology to develop a CRM plan that increases sales, builds
customer insights, and grows brand awareness.
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 26

1 Evaluate

2 Review Evaluate Your CRM Maturity

3 Develop If you are currently considering a CRM solution, use our CRM
Readiness Assessment Tool to evaluate if your organization is
ready for a CRM initiative and system implementation.
4 Understand
If your organization has already implemented a solution, use
our CRM Maturity Assessment to evaluate your solution’s
5 Request effectiveness.

6 Identify
VIEW RESOURCE

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 27

1 Evaluate

Understand The Roles Required For World

2 Review
Class CRM
3 Develop
Evaluate the organizational impact of making the change from
your current systems and processes to a CRM solution.
4 Understand
Use our Sales Enablement Roles Matrix to review the company
roles, responsibilities, processes, and technology that may be
5 Request impacted by the change.

Use our CRM Requirements Roadmap to map out which func-

6 Identify tions you are going to integrate with your CRM platform and at
what point in the project.

7
SALES ENABLEMENT
Select Roles Matrix

ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY CONTENT METRICS

Revenue Accountability
Senior
Staffing & Channel Management
Management
Reporting to CEO/Board
Budgeting & Planning CRM Thought Leadership Blog Revenue by Channel
Performance Reviews & QA Business Intelligence Webinar Presentations Customer Lifetime Value, NPS
Recruitment & Retention MRM Conference Keynotes Return on Customer (ROC)

New Product Development
Product
Create Sales Tools/Guides
Management
Messaging & Positioning
Product Launch Product Mgmt. System Data Sheets, Whitepapers Market Share, Profitability
Win/Loss Analysis Enterprise Feedback/Survey Case Studies/Testimonials Brand Equity
Competitive Analysis Content Management Competitive Analysis Content Usage

8 Strategize
Build Reports & Dashboards Sales Forecasting CRM Compensation Model % Quota Achieved

VIEW RESOURCE
Sales Operations Monitor Sales Productivity Territory Management Proposal/CPQ TCO/ROI Calculators Sales Cost/Revenue Ratio
Data Management Sales Compensation Sales Content Portal Sales Playbooks Incentive vs. Quota Ratio

Build Reports & Dashboards Marketing Budget CRM & Marketing Automation Buyer Personas Sales Qualified Leads
Marketing
Marketing Systems Admin Campaign Analysis Analytics & B.I. Customer Journey Map Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Operations Proposals, Presentations
Data Management Lead Scoring & Nurturing Asset Mgmt. & MRM Cost of Acquisition (CAC)

Lead Generation & Events
Demand
Branding & Social Media
Generation
Content Marketing
Advertising/Sponsorship Marketing Automation/Email How-To Guides Campaign ROI, Email Metrics
Lead Generation & Appointments Digital Asset Management Research Reports Marketing Qualified Leads
Tradeshows & Webinars Event/Survey Management Webinars Contribution to Pipeline

Customer Acquisition
Sales/Account
Customer Retention
Mgmt.
Up-sell/Cross Sell
Sales Process CRM New Features/Ideas for R&D % Quota Achieved
Opportunity Management Proposal/CPQ Objection Responses Renewal Rate, Revenue
Opportunity Metrics
Contact Management Sales Content Portal Sales Scripts

Staffing for Sales Enablement Recruiting & Hiring HRIS Job Descriptions Avg. Time to Achieve Quota
Human

9
Sales Training New Rep Onboarding Learning Management System Quality Assurance/Coaching % Unsuccessful Hires

Train
Resources Performance Management Performance & Firing LinkedIn & Job Websites Sales Training Manual # CV/Resume Submissions

Customer Service/Support
Customer
Identify Sales Opportunities
Support
Customer Insight/Feedback
Helpdesk (phone support) Customer Support, Twitter New Features/Ideas for R&D Avg. Time to Resolution
Email Support (case/ticket) CRM, Order Management Support Scripts % Escalations to Tier 2
Accounting/Billing/ERP
Online Community Requests FAQs, SLA Net Promoter Score (NPS)

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 28

1 Evaluate

2 Review Build a CRM Plan You Can Share With

Stakeholders

3 Develop
Develop a solid plan and goals for the next 12-18 months
for your Sales Intelligence initiative with our CRM Program
4 Understand
Strategy Scorecard.

5 Request

VIEW RESOURCE
6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 29

1 Evaluate

2 Review Discover and Research Key CRM Vendors

3 Develop Review our CRM Vendors Matrix to learn about the key vendors
in the CRM space, and to understand which vendors may work
best for your organization.

4 Understand

5 Request VIEW RESOURCE

6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 30

1 Evaluate

2 Review Obtain Proposals From Your Short List of CRM

Vendors
3 Develop
Request proposals from potential vendors to gather informa-
tion on products/services.
4 Understand
Use our CRM System RFP Template to create a standard

5
proposal template for your organization.
Request

6 Identify
VIEW RESOURCE

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 31

1 Evaluate

2 Review Learn More About Your Potential Vendors’

Product and/or Service
3 Develop
After receiving RFPs from potential vendors, schedule and attend
product/service demos with 3-4 vendors to get an up-close-and-
4 Understand
personal view of their solutions.

Follow these best practices:

5 Request
prioritize your requirements and use cases

6
send your use cases to vendor in advance of demo
Identify
define meeting length (max 1 hour) up front
don’t let vendor control the demo
7 Select
rate each vendor using a scorecard
have vendor demo their solution to your top use cases
8 Strategize
make list of key items that vendor doesn’t have clear answers for
set clear expectations around follow-up and timeframes
9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 32

1 Evaluate

2 Review Find the Best Fit by Evaluating Vendors Using

Selection Criteria
3 Develop
Evaluate the 3-4 vendors at the top of your list with our CRM
Vendor Evaluation Matrix in order to help you make your
4 Understand
selection.

5 Request

VIEW RESOURCE
6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 33

1 Evaluate

2 Review Follow Proven Best Practices to CRM Success

3 Develop Develop an implementation & communication strategy to roll-out

the initiative in the organization and through your channels.

Use our CRM Program Playbook to create your plan.

4 Understand

5 Request

VIEW RESOURCE
6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 34

1 Evaluate

2 Review Train Your Team About CRM

3 Develop Develop an education and training plan for all affected personnel:
sales, marketing, operations, and channels.

4 Understand

S TA R T L E A R N I N G
5 Request

6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
ACTION PLAN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 35

1 Evaluate

2 Review Track Key CRM Metrics

3 Develop Measure and track the progress and results of your Sales Intel-
ligence initiative with our CRM Program Metrics Dashboard.

4 Understand

VIEW RESOURCE
5 Request

6 Identify

7 Select

8 Strategize

9 Train

10  Measure
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 36

Our Solution Study Methodology

The Modern Marketing landscape is an ever changing, ever evolving Our Digital Marketing report series includes Solution Studies on:
environment in which new strategies, technologies, vendors, and
Content Marketing
products appear continually.
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ)
Demand Metric Solution Studies provide marketers with a focus
on a specific technology solution set or focus area so that they are Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
armed with the knowledge, information, and tools they need to Email Marketing
develop effective strategies and action plans for their organizations.
Enablement Knowledge Management
Each Solution Study involves hours of analyst research, draws infor- Marketing Automation
mation from interviews with vendor executives and established
Mobile Marketing
vendor clients for a specific technology solution, and is usually
accompanied by a mini Tool-kit of practical resources. Public Relations

Solution Study Tool-kits are designed to provide marketers with the Sales Communication
tools & templates they need to plan for an initiative in a given focus Sales Intelligence
area, analyze the vendor landscape, and select the best vendor for
Social Media Marketing
their organization.
Video Marketing
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 37

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THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SOLUTION STUDY 38

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