crm best practices framework forrester

Making Leaders Successful Every Day

November 5, 2010

Updated 2010: Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRMby William Bandfor Business Process Professionals

2010, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester, Technographics, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To purchase reprints of this document, please email [email protected]. For additional information, go to www.forrester.com.

For Business Process Professionals

ExECUtivE SUMMaRyIn the time since we last published this report, we have witnessed severe economic upheaval and the emergence of a new phenomenon: the social customer. However, the fundamental business needs for effective and efficient customer management have not changed: acquiring new customers; building tighter bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing. Smart companies are selective about how and where they invest resources. How can you make sure your company gets the best return from its investment in CRM? Forrester developed a framework that includes more than 150 best practice CRM capabilities, organized into four categories: strategy, process, technology, and people. To help understand how your organization stacks up against these best practices and to identify where you can best achieve quick wins, we created Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM. Use the framework and the self-assessment tool to improve your current CRM initiative or to jump-start new projects.

taBlE oF CoNtENtSCRM Initiatives Flounder Without Focus

Four Key Elements Of A Successful CRM Strategy

Assess Your CRM Capabilities

Define Strategy

Redesign Processes

Leverage Technology

Lead People

Take Action Now

RECoMMENdatioNS

Make The Most Out Of The Best Practices Framework For CRM

Supplemental Material

NotES & RESoURCESForresters Best Practices Framework For CRM is based on a synthesis of findings from interviews with business and it professionals at 101 organizations and evaluations of 33 CRM vendor solutions. We have also incorporated our experiences from working with more than 30 clients during advisory projects.

Related Research DocumentsForresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self assessmentNovember 5, 2010

the Forrester Wave: CRM Suites For large organizations, Q2 2010June 16, 2010

topic overview: Social CRM Goes Mainstream January 5, 2010

November 5, 2010

Updated 2010: Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRMUse our CRM FastForward Self-assessment to achieve Quick Winsby William Bandwith Connie Moore and andrew Magarie

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2010, Forrester Research, inc. Reproduction ProhibitedNovember 5, 2010

Updated 2010: Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM For Business Process Professionals

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CRM INITIATIvES FLOuNDER WIThOuT FOCuS

Despite the recent economic turmoil since we last published this report, the fundamental business needs that drive the requirement for effective and efficient customer management remain unchanged: acquiring new customers; building tighter bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing.1

Forrester defines CRM as the set of business processes and supporting technologies used to acquire, retain, and enhance customer relationships. CRM encompasses the activities organizations use to understand, target, deliver, and respond to customers across marketing, sales, and service, as well as among external demand chain partners.2 The phenomenon of the social Web which Forrester calls Social Computing is forcing business process professionals to expand their thinking beyond the goal of optimizing a two-way relationship between an enterprise and customer to also include the simultaneous interactions that customers have among themselves. CRM is evolving from its traditional focus on optimizing customer-facing transactional processes to include the strategies and technologies to develop collaborative and social connections with customers, suppliers, and even competitors.3

Notwithstanding this emerging trend, one challenge remains constant. Organizations still struggle to define the right CRM strategies and effectively acquire and deploy the right CRM technology solutions that will meet their needs.4 In 2010, when we surveyed business and IT executives at 99 organizations who are responsible for CRM initiatives, well under 50% fully agreed that the applications really improved the end users productivity and business results anticipated from the implementation were met or exceeded.5 Complicating the situation, business process professionals are often confused about which customer management technology solutions have the strongest track record for delivering results. We have found that while social CRM is capturing the imagination of decision-makers at many organizations, it is the tried-and-true technologies that offer the most certain return on investment.6

Disappointment with CRM is usually the result of poorly conceived strategies that lack a laser focus on improving a specific set of business capabilities to increase revenues or reduce costs.

To avoid wasting your time and money on ill-conceived CRM programs, beware of the two most common pitfalls of CRM plans:

1. No strategic focus on business value. Many companies have a grand vision to become more customer-focused, but the implementation of this vision often lacks practical focus and recognition of the typical constraints (e.g., time, money, and politics) that must be taken into account to make the vision a reality. A CRM program should be tightly linked to business goals, focused on customer benefits, clearly identify the processes and constituencies that will be affected, and specify the associated information and functionality needs.7

2010, Forrester Research, inc. Reproduction Prohibited November 5, 2010


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2. Lack of attention to business process and people issues. In some organizations, CRM initiatives have degenerated into technology-centric projects aimed at basic process automation. While automation projects may well lead to cost savings, the sheer complexity and size of these initiatives has led to a blurring of the target value. Complexity and a lack of clear objectives divert resources from the important tasks of redesigning underlying processes and architecting how employees will work effectively within these processes. The potential of CRM lies not in technology itself, but in the process of using technology alongside an in-depth understanding of the customer to drive unique, valuable customer interactions.

The most successful CRM initiatives are framed in terms of their overall impact across the organization and the customer but are implemented in focused, incremental steps.

FOuR KEY ELEMENTS OF A SuCCESSFuL CRM STRATEgY

Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM defines the critical capabilities necessary for building high-quality customer relationships. The framework distills findings from our interviews with 101 user companies, analysis of 33 CRM vendor solutions, and insight from discussions with 29 CRM professional services organizations. It also incorporates our recent experience in applying the framework to help more than 30 Forrester clients define their CRM strategies and establish a road map for the future. The framework includes 11 sets of capabilities across four categories comprising more than 150 best practices, including social CRM capabilities (see Figure 1).

1. Strategy. Your customer strategy identifies the customers the organization intends to serve and articulates the desired customer experience to be delivered.

2. Process. Business processes are comprised of the practices associated with major customer-facing business functions in the organization. For example, marketing, eCommerce, direct sales, partner sales, customer service, and field service.

3. Technology. Your technology environment plays an important role in enabling the CRM business processes and is comprised of customer analytics, customer data management, and technology infrastructure.

4. People. How people are organized and led has a large role in determining success with CRM. You must pay attention to the organizations corporate culture, leadership practices, collaboration methods, training programs, and performance measurement approaches.



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Figure 1 Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM

Source: Forrester Research, Inc.58002

eCommerce

Customer strategy

Marketing Direct sales Indirect sales Service Field service

Customer analytics

Customer data management

Technology infrastructure

People management

Strategy

Process

Technology

People

ASSESS YOuR CRM CAPABILITIES

Firms must be selective about deploying their resources by carefully defining the best opportunities for quick gains and avoiding the temptation to do too much too quickly. Successful CRM initiatives have great discipline about the correct order of implementation of business process improvements for particular circumstances facing the organization.

To a VP of sales, CRM may mean providing remote salespeople with access to customer information or automating the generation of a quote. To a VP of service, CRM may mean providing customers with options for self-service. And to a VP of marketing, CRM might mean access to a 360-degree customer view to more effectively target promotions. While CRM may incorporate all of these things, it is really an enabler that provides businesses with the tools necessary to effectively interact with customers. To win in the marketplace, first define what CRM means for your organization and then pinpoint the specific capabilities that must be strengthened.



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We developed Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM to help your business understand how it stacks up compared to best practices and identify where you should focus your attention for quick wins. Forresters Best Practices Framework is also available as an online tool, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. You can use the latest version of this diagnostic tool, which has been updated to include social CRM criteria, to evaluate your capabilities against more than 150 CRM best practices.8

DEFINE STRATEgY

Start your evaluation of CRM business practices by evaluating your companys ability to define a customer strategy and communicate the strategy widely throughout the organization. The customer strategy identifies the customers you will serve, articulates the desired customer experience to be delivered by the company, and is based on sound analyses of customer value and behaviors. Evaluate your capabilities compared with best practices for customer strategy (see Figure 2):

Customer management, vision, and strategy. Defining what is to be accomplished by the customer management strategy, communicating the strategy, and also defining the metrics by which success will be measured.

Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting. Differentiating customers by needs and value and defining the appropriate customer experience for each target segment.



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Figure 2 Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive.

Customer management, vision, and strategy

1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding

Please score your companys performance relative to each of the capabilitystatements according to the following scale.

Average score

We defined the specific goals and metrics to be achieved through our customer-facingstrategies (e.g., gain new customers, retain existing customers, upsell/cross-sell,improve customer satisfaction, etc.).

Our business strategy is influenced by what we learn about our customers.

We have a solid understanding of which competitors we lose customers to and why.

We have a strategy in place to deliver consistent customer experience across all locationsand within all customer-facing channels.

We have a Voice of the Customer program that regularly collects customer feedbackfrom across customer interaction points, using a variety of techniques, to inform ourbusiness strategy.

Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting

We segment our customers based on their value to our enterprise.

We can segment customers based on their social influence in our markets.

Brand (product) managers know what customer data needs to be collected to moreeectively devise go-to-market strategies.

We are able to dierentiate our customers by their needs.

We are able to serve specific target groups of customers consistently across channels.

We have a deep understanding of our customers use of, and participation in, socialmedia channels and activities.

We have in place the capabilities to monitor customer sentiment toward our brands asexpressed in social media and in customer communities.

Average score



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Figure 2 Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of customer strategybest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means

ScoreAverage of scale 1 to 5

(1 = Poor to 5 = Outstanding)

Little use of best practices is evident. Odds ofsuccess are low.

Some use of customer strategy best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5

REDESIgN PROCESSES

CRM business process management practices are typically associated with major customer-facing business functions, including marketing, eCommerce, direct sales, partner sales, customer service, and field service. Evaluate each of the functional areas pertinent to your business model.

Marketing

In the context of CRM, consider the relevant marketing capabilities that support managing marketing resources and developing and distributing marketing offers to specific target customer populations. These activities are most often associated with the practices of direct marketing (see Figure 3):

Marketing resource management. Effectively supporting marketing planning and management, allocating marketing resources, and collaborating within the marketing function and across the enterprise.

Marketing campaign design. Designing marketing campaigns such as carrying out list management, establishing program step sequences, and setting rules for customer response management.

Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns. Building customer lists that are appropriate for the receipt of a specific offer and having the ability to understand the explicit characteristics of different customer segments.

Marketing campaign offer management. Assigning specialized offers to specific audiences, coding offers to segments, and linking offer content to the appropriate target groups.



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Marketing campaign execution and tracking. Tracking and managing campaigns in execution channels and optimizing the marketing resources allocated to each channel.

Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management. Managing inbound customer interactions across channels to facilitate the prioritization and delivery of offers in real time.

Marketing support for lead management. Identifying, recording, nurturing, and assigning sales leads for further action.

eCommerce

In todays Internet age, it is critical that your online presence be compelling and effective so that customers can easily engage in commercial Web transactions with your company. As part of your CRM capabilities assessment, be sure to evaluate your eCommerce practices (see Figure 4).

eMarketing. Managing email and Web campaigns, including cross-selling and upselling.

eCommerce quote and order management. Supporting quoting over the Web, facilitating orders online, and supporting returns and exchanges.

Direct Sales

Direct sales make up the business processes and activities used by organizations that sell directly to customers. You should evaluate your ability to manage contacts, sales opportunities, and track sales performance (see Figure 5):

Sales contact and activity management. Capturing customer contact information, assigning action to be taken against customer contacts and accounts, managing calendars, and administering email communications.

Sales opportunity management. Converting leads to opportunities and promoting opportunities for further action through the sales pipeline, supporting quotes, proposals, and sales forecasts.

Sales performance management. Managing individual and team quotas and goals. Sales performance management also includes sales commission administration.

Sales analysis. Analyzing historical and trending sales data, creating customized reports, and sharing sales data and reports within the organization.



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Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Marketing resource management

Average score

We have tools to help marketers make decisions about how to most eectively allocatetheir marketing budget.

We are able to capture marketing goals, strategies, and metrics; ensure alignment of newprograms with marketing goals; and do marketing planning across complexorganizational structures.

We are able to define, track, and trend marketing business metrics (e.g., cost per lead,response rate).

We are eectively able to manage marketing suppliers and manage task assignment,costs, RFPs, bids, and invoices.

Marketing campaign design

We can manage multistage communications programs.

We are able to manage rented lists of prospect data.

We are able to manage recurring communications programs.

We can build complex business-rule- and workflow-driven communication sequences.

Average score

We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, andmaterials for reuse.

Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns

We are able to facilitate the deployment, enforcement, and measurement of local andglobal control groups.

We have tools that allow us to select customers across dierent entity levels and switchaudience levels within a single selection.

We have tools available for monitoring segmentation membership in a dashboard,time-series fashion.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




10

Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Marketing campaign offer management

Average score

We have tools to help manage and link to oer content.

We have flexibility in defining and assigning oers to campaign cells or individualswithin a cell.

We are able to analyze oer performance over time and can track oer performancedown to an individual customer in a campaign while enabling oer analysis across avariety of dimensions.

Marketing campaign execution and tracking

We are able to collaborate with or through channel partners.

We can manage and track campaigns in execution channels, including direct mail, email,Web/eCommerce, telemarketing, and inbound call center.

We can eectively execute campaigns through emerging channels such as SMS, mobile,and social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, product review sites, etc.

Average score

Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management

We can easily manage real-time scoring of customers based on business goals and areable to prioritize oers delivered in a real-time context.

We have the capability to take into account analysis of unstructured social content likeblogs, customer product reviews, and customer emails.

We use interaction management tools that provide a single common solution that canspan multiple inbound customer channels.

Our interaction management tools are integrated with campaign and oer management.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




11

Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of marketing best practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means



Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low.

Some use of marketing best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5

Marketing support for lead management

We are able to eectively route and assign leads.

We are able to validate and score leads.

Average score



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Figure 4 eCommerce Capabilities Best Practice Self-assessment


eMarketing

Average score

We are able to cross-sell and upsell through our eMarketing.

We are able to eectively manage email and Web campaigns.

We have the capabilities to undertake eMarketing campaigns through social andviral media mechanisms, such as user-generated content.

eCommerce quote and order management

We can facilitate ordering online.

We have strong quoting capabilities.

We are able to facilitate returns and exchanges online.

Average score

1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of eCommercebest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means




Some use of eCommerce best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




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Figure 5 direct Sales Capabilities Best Practice Self-assessment


Sales contact and activity management

Average score

We are able to eectively manage sales activities.

We can search for contacts, accounts, or deals.

We are able to eectively manage email communications.

We are able to eectively manage salesperson calendars.

Sales opportunity management

We are able to track sales opportunities, including features like competitive informationand win/loss reasons.

We are able to convert sales leads to opportunities.

We are able to forecast and manage the sales pipeline.

We have social collaboration tools that allow reps to use historical sales data, productaffinity analysis, and knowledge from their peers and community to identify whichproducts to sell to which customers.

We have social collaboration capabilities that allow reps to form virtual teams andconnect reps within an organization with other people and knowledge that may behelpful to them.

We can collaborate with individual customers during the sales cycles using Web portalsand/or social media platforms.

Average score

We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, andmaterials for reuse.

Sales performance management

We are able to eectively manage individual and team sales goals.

We are able to establish and eectively manage sales force compensation.

We are able to manage individual and team sales quotas.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




14

Figure 5 direct Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of direct salesbest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means




Some use of direct sales best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident insome areas.

4-5

Sales analysis

We are able to create custom sales reports.

We have sales dashboard reporting capabilities

We are able to analyze trending and historical sales data.

Users can create widgets/gadgets for top accounts, top opportunities, and contacts.

Average score

Indirect Sales

Brand owners who market and sell through indirect channels face special challenges. Their ability to drive sales is in the hands of outside partners and allies. Assess your strengths and weaknesses for driving sales through your indirect sales partners (see Figure 6).

Partner recruiting and administration. Identifying and registering channel partners, establishing administrative interfaces such as partner portals, and providing partner help.

Partner collateral management. Creating content that can be used by partners, enabling partners to find the right content, and pushing appropriate content to specific channel members.

Partner management. Distributing leads to partners, profiling partners, and tracking and managing partner tiers.

Partner program management. Managing preferred partner programs, managing marketing funds, supporting joint partner marketing, and supporting partner promotions.



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Partner sales management. Tracking partner leads and deal registration. Also, cross-selling and upselling through partners, supporting tiered pricing structures, and managing discounting and approval requests.

Partner training. Delivering service through partners, sharing best practices with partners, offering partner training, and tracking partner certifications.

Partner analysis. Analyzing partner performance through ad hoc analyses or predefined reporting templates.

Customer Service

Customer service is the provision of labor and other resources for the purpose of increasing the value that buyers receive from their purchases and the processes leading up to these purchases. Customer service is most closely associated with support provided through phone contact centers but also includes the support available through other channels such as the phone, kiosk, and Web-enabled customer self-service. When assessing your CRM capabilities, include an evaluation of customer service process strengths and weaknesses (see Figure 7):

Customer service phone agent support. Supporting phone agents in creating customer incidents or cases with respect to a specific customer inquiry or request, routing the incidents, and handling the inquiry within the guidelines for a specific class of customer.

Customer service call center infrastructure management. Managing, assessing, assigning, and matching calls and emails to the callers record. This also includes prioritizing customer needs and matching these needs to customer service agents based on agent skill and availability.

Customer service knowledge base. Guiding an agent through unfamiliar business processes, generating and using frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists.

Customer service self-service to live-service transition. Passing information to an agent when a session transitions from self-service to live-service and initiating agent-to-customer chat.

Customer service email response management. Managing and responding to a high volume of incoming email, routing assignments, analyzing messages, and managing acknowledgements.

Customer service forums. Supporting forums for sharing information with and among business customers or consumers, including participant registration and administration. Also includes the managing of knowledge bases and diagnostic tools.



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Figure 6 indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Partner recruiting and administration

Average score

We have the ability to create partner portals.

We are able to register and add partners as well as capture partner attributes or otherinformation.

We have partner-specic help available through our administrative interface.

Partner collateral management

Partners and our own organization can eciently search for sales collateral.

We eectively use tools to create sales collateral content for partners.

Average score

Partner management

We have the ability to track and manage partner tiers.

We are able to distribute leads to partners.

Average score

Partner program management

We have support for joint partner marketing.

We are able to manage loyalty or preferred partner programs.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




17

Figure 6 indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Partner sales management

Average score

We have the capability to support partner deal registration.

We are able to track partner leads.

We are able to cross-sell and upsell through partners.

Partner training

We have support for partner training.

We are able to track partner capability certications.

Average score

Partner analysis

We are able to create custom reports for partner analysis.

We have sophisticated partner dashboard capabilities.

We are able to do historical and trending partner analysis.

Average score

We are able to eectively manage partner discounting and approval requests.

1-2.9

3-3.9



Strong capabilities and use of indirect salesbest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means


Some use of indirect sales best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident insome areas.

4-5


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




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Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Customer service phone agent support

Average score

Phone agents can quickly and easily review the products or services that the customerowns as well as the various histories while maintaining visibility into the customersname/basic details.

We are able to create incidents (agent, user, system alert, email) and then take groupskills and queues into account when assigning and routing incidents to agents.

The service entitlements of a customer are clearly visible to phone agents.

Customer service call center infrastructure

We are able to eectively manage, assess, assign, and match calls/emails to the callersrecord.

We have time zone and language support for global agents.

Average score

We have an integrated member account and profile that allows consumers to seamlesslytravel between channels; (social) community profile and history is included as part ofthe customer record; community content is fully available for inclusion.

We have the capability to interact and service our customer through emerging socialmedia channels and platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and other private and publicWeb-based customer communities.

The agent can see call time/length during the session.

We have insight into call center and service issues, customer interaction patterns, andemployee productivity.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding


We have call scripting capabilities.



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Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Customer service self-service to live-service transition

Average score

We have support for agent-to-customer chat facilities.

(Social) community discussions can be escalated into the formal incident workflow.

We can pass relevant information to the agent when a customer service sessiontransitions from self-service to live-service.

All interactions between an agent and the customer (e.g., page/push and sharing, formfill, remote control) are transcribed and stored.

Customer service knowledge base

We are able to automatically generate and rank frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists.

We have tools available to guide an agent through unfamiliar business processes during a call.

Average score

We can segment viewing of knowledge base content by groups, both internally and externally.

Our knowledge base answers include discussion threads from the (social) community;integrated search returns community discussions, blogs, or Q&As together with curatedknowledge base answers.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding


Customer service email response management

Emails are processed by a business process engine to ensure routing, assignments,message analysis, entitlement checking, language identication, parsing for junk emails,and sending of acknowledgements; and the email business process engine also tracksstatus of emails for escalations and automatic response for status checks by customers.

We are able to manage and respond to a high volume of incoming email, and agents usea browser-based UI to access a single companywide customer information database.

Average score



20

Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Customer service forums

Customer forum content is well-integrated with the knowledge base and problemdiagnostic tools.

We have support for moderated forums of consumer or business customers.

Average score

1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of customer servicebest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means




Some use of customer service best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident insome areas.

4-5

Field Service

Field service includes the repair and testing activities typically performed for a customer at its site, based on warranty or other contractual agreements. If your company supports customers in this way, include an evaluation of field service processes as part of your CRM capabilities assessment (see Figure 8):

Core field service capabilities. Providing field dispatchers with visibility into service orders, handling third-party service providers, and managing invoicing.

Field service scheduling. Managing field service personnel schedules based on decision rules such as availability, skills, distance, costs, and service-level agreements.

Field service mobile capabilities. Providing mobile devices to support on-site communications, invoicing, and parts management.

Field service spare parts management. Managing spare parts inventories, handling defectives, and processing excess parts returns.



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Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Core field service capabilities

Average score

We are able to eectively manage third-party service providers.

Our field service dispatchers have good visibility into the service orders.

We are able to eectively handle invoicing of customers for service calls.

Field service scheduling

We are able to easily change the parameters for field service call scheduling rules.

We have tools that leverage optimization formulas and have built-in rules to makeeective field service call scheduling decisions.

Average score

Field service mobile capabilities

Our technicians can generate an invoice on-site using mobile devices.

We have good mobile device support for field service activities.

Average score

Our technicians have parts management capabilities available through mobile devices.

Field service spare parts management

We are able to eectively manage excess parts returns processes.

Field service personnel have strong processes for spares planning, including a clear viewof spares inventory.

Average score

We are able to eectively manage spare parts defectives processes.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




22

Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of eld servicebest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means




Some use of eld service best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5

LEvERAgE TEChNOLOgY

Technology infrastructure and tools play an important role in enabling CRM business processes. The CRM self-assessment should include a review of your capabilities in the areas of customer analytics, customer data management, and technology infrastructure.

Customer Analytics

CRM analytics includes all information technologies that analyze data about an enterprises customers and presents it effectively, allowing business decisions to be made quickly and efficiently. Assess strengths and weaknesses with respect to your firms ability to analyze and use customer data (see Figure 9).

Customer information analysis tools. Undertaking ad hoc query and OLAP analysis, using real-time analytics to support personalization and offer optimization, and using data visualization techniques.

Customer information reporting and analysis. The technology and process requirements around built-in reports, report design tools, and report publishing methods. In your evaluation, consider the best practices for key performance indicator (KPI) tracking and dashboards for management decision-making.

Customer information business activity monitoring tools. The tools that support event collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoring operations and alerting users to key exceptions in the business process.



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Figure 9 Customer analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Customer information analysis tools

Average score

We use predictive analytics to support decision-making.

We use prebuilt analytics applications that combine CRM data with relevant informationacross the enterprise (e.g., providing sales professionals with a customers order statusand receivables balance out of ERP systems).

We are able to do ad hoc query analysis.

Customer information reporting and analysis

We use tools with strong, exible, and easy-to-use customer information report designcapabilities.

We have full reporting capabilities for customer information, including custom and built-in reports, and personalized dashboards.

Average score

We have tools that use real-time analytics to support personalization and oeroptimization.

We can run advanced online-analytical-processing-style (OLAP) analysis of customer data.

We have multiple delivery options for customer information reports.

Our customer analytics tools use built-in best practice customer management keyperformance indicators (KPIs).

We are able to drill to the underlying action from any report element or KPI.

We have the capability to undertake analysis of unstructured social content like blogs,community posts, customer product reviews, and customer emails.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




24

Figure 9 Customer analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of customer analyticsbest practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means


Some use of customer analytics best practices.Improvement opportunities are evident insome areas.

4-5

Customer information business activity monitoring tools

We have predefined, process-focused dashboards for real-time monitoring of operations.

We have tools that support event collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoringoperations in real time and alerting users to key exceptions in the business process.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




Customer Data Management

Customer data management includes the practices for administrating customer profile information, providing data to the appropriate individuals in the company when it is needed for decision-making, ensuring customer data is accurate, and adhering to appropriate customer data privacy guidelines (see Figure 10).

Customer profile information. Collecting, associating, and organizing information about individual buyers and users or customer accounts. Defining the right information that should be aggregated about customers and how customer information should be integrated from across the organization.

Customer data availability. Providing personnel with access to the appropriate customer-level information necessary to properly serve customer needs in a timely manner.



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Customer data accuracy. Ensuring that master information is consistent in all customer repositories and that processes exist to correct inaccurate data.

Data privacy. Making customer data available only on the basis of well-defined privacy guidelines that are broadly communicated to employees and customers.

Technology Infrastructure

Managing applications, building a sound network infrastructure, maintaining systems availability and reliability, and using good program and project management practices are required to support CRM capabilities (see Figure 11).

Customer-facing applications. Selecting or building CRM applications that are intuitive and easy to use, are configurable and scalable, and incorporate workflow capability.

Network infrastructure. Ensuring that hardware such as desktops and servers are adequate to support application functionalities, that the telecommunications infrastructure is consistent across service centers, and that mobile devices provide adequate support to frontline personnel.

Systems availability/reliability. Using technology that is highly reliable and available and that has a sound disaster recovery plan; defining a method to ensure that customer insights are delivered to the right people in the organization.

Technology program and project management. Ensuring that there is a clear fit between technology programs/projects and the organizations customer-centric goals which include program management structures for allocating resources and tracking progress toward objectives.



26

Figure 10 Customer data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Customer profile information

Average score

We have a single view of the customer across all systems and platforms.

We have clear definition of the customer information we need to collect and analyze tosupport our customer management strategy.

We have a continuously updated customer knowledge base that provides all the criticalbusiness information about customer relationships.

We have the capability to enrich customer profiles through appending information fromthird-party data.

We have the ability to enrich account and customer contact profiles through appendingdata derived from social media, blogs, wikis, and customer communities.

Customer data availability

Critical customer databases/data warehouses are configured to capture the informationnecessary to capture cross-channel, point of sale, and brand specific information.

All of our customer information/data is available in real-time mode.

Average score

Customer data accuracy

We have a process to correct inaccurate data.

Customer master information is consistent in all customer repositories.

Average score

Personnel have appropriate access to customer information (information needed toproperly service customer needs).

Users of customer data consider it to be easy to find, accurate, and current.

We have the capabilities to adequately maintain our customer data processes andinfrastructure.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




27

Figure 10 Customer data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9



Strong capabilities and use of customer data management best practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means


Some use of customer data management best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5

Customer data privacy

We have assessed the customer data legal issues that could aect how we manage ourcustomer management programs in our diverse local markets.

Our customer data is accessible by relevant personnel, subject to applicable privacyguidelines.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




28

Figure 11 technology infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Customer-facing applications

Average score

Our customer-facing applications are highly congurable.

Our customer-facing applications have an intuitive look, feel, and navigation to minimizethe need for training for both advanced and new users.

Our customer-facing applications are single sign-on.

Network infrastructure

Our hardware is adequate to support application functionalities.

Our network infrastructure is highly available and reliable.

Average score

Systems availability/reliability

We work with the most eective available technologies that put customer insights intoall the right hands in our organization.

We have an up-to-date disaster recovery plan.

Average score

Desktop devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel tosell and serve customers.

Mobile devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel to selland serve customers.

Our customer-facing applications are highly scalable.

Our customer-facing applications have strong workow capability.

Our customer-facing applications support open technology standards and provide toolsfor integrating with other applications and third-party providers.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




29

Figure 11 technology infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Technology program and project management

Average score

Our implementation protocols allow iterative and scalable solution deployment,allowing measurability at each stage.

Our program and project management structures establish appropriate priorities andbuilds consensus around the activities critical to realizing our CRM strategy.

We have a formal program management process that tracks and evaluates progresstoward our customer management goals.

1-2.9

3-3.9



Strong capabilities and use of technologyinfrastructure best practices. Chances of successare high.

What it means


Some use of technology infrastructure bestpractices. Improvement opportunities areevident in some areas.

4-5


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




30

LEAD PEOPLE

Supporting employee management and motivation is perhaps the most important, and often the most overlooked, category of business practices that will turbo-charge or sink your CRM initiatives. This means evaluating your corporate culture, leadership practices, collaboration methods, training programs, and performance measurement approaches (see Figure 12).

Customer-oriented culture. Fostering an attitude among employees that customers are important by incorporating customer care as part of the company philosophy and using customer-oriented, not product-oriented, organizational structures.

Leadership. Demonstrating the commitment of top management to customer-facing improvement initiatives, providing adequate resources, and communicating the customer management strategy to all involved workgroups.

Inter- and intra-organizational collaboration. Working cooperatively across organizational boundaries to serve customers.

Stakeholder support and management. Gaining the necessary support from both management and end users for new CRM solutions and tools. Ensuring that business users are deeply involved in the process of transforming customer-facing processes and adopting new tools.

Business-IT collaboration. Reducing the silos between IT and business managers by creating organizational structures that integrate IT with the business, hosting regular meetings to enhance collaboration, and offering technical support that provides rapid redress for issues.

Training. Supporting the development of skills that allow employees to effectively serve and interact with customers. One way to do this is by creating a working environment with well-defined customer-facing processes and providing access to adequate training resources.

Performance measurement. Ensuring that the performance measurement process is closely linked to improving customer relationships.



31

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment


Customer-oriented culture

Average score

Our organizational structure is customer-focused, not product-focused.

Customer care is an integral part of our philosophy and culture.

We encourage our employees to seek ways to engage with customers personallythrough social media channels like blogs, monitoring Twitter feeds, and activeparticipation in customer communities.

Leadership

We have full support across all levels of management for our customer relationship management initiatives.

We have CxO-level commitment to ensure accountability, facilitate internal/externalcommunications, authorize funding, and align the organization to support our customermanagement strategy.

Average score

Inter- and intra-organizational collaboration

Our business units and products eectively share relevant customer data.

The relationships between the dierent groups within our organization are open andcollaborative, not adversarial.

Average score

Adequate funding is available to support investment in improving our customer management capabilities.

Stakeholder support and management

We consistently use metrics, rewards, and incentives to focus people on increasingcustomer relevance and value.

Business users are intimately involved in the process of transforming customer-facingprocesses and tools.

Average score


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




32

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


Training

Average score

All of our sta receives formal training on the use of marketing, service, operations, andsales technologies.

Our employees know their responsibilities with respect to servicing and interacting withcustomers.

We have defined competency models and criteria for all key marketing, sales, service,and operations employees.

Business-IT collaboration

Average score

Technical support for customer management technologies is available within theorganization, allowing rapid redress for issues.

We have regular meetings that bring together business and IT personnel to enhancecollaborative processes.

Performance measurement

Average score

Our sta receives quantitative and qualitative customer feedback on a regular basis.

Our performance measurement process is linked closely to improving our customerrelationships.

Our sta is supported with easy-to-find, easy-to-use materials to enhance or refresh theirknowledge with respect to customer management processes and technologies.


1Poor

2Below average

3Average

4Very good

5Outstanding




33

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-assessment (Cont.)


1-2.9

3-3.9

Strong capabilities and use of people management best practices. Chances of success are high.

What it means


Some use of people management best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas.

4-5



TAKE ACTION NOW

Where should you start on your path to getting more value out of CRM? Use Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM to assess your current capabilities and identify opportunities for improvement. Download Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. Distribute the spreadsheet to your team and score your company against CRM best practices. Based on the results, identify the top 10 CRM capabilities most in need of improvement during the next 12 months. Build an action plan to strengthen these capabilities and define the metrics by which you will measure success.

R E C o M M E N d a t i o N S

MAKE ThE MOST OuT OF ThE BEST PRACTICES FRAMEWORK FOR CRM

Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM is a powerful tool for organizations embarking on the path to assessing and improving their current CRM programs or for jump-starting programs that are just getting started. dont just peruse the FastForward best practices self-assessment; use it as the basis for an active dialogue about CRM. How?

Take it. Everyone involved in customer relationship transformation efforts should take the self-assessment and develop their personal view of the companys current location in its CRM journey.

Compare it. teams should share their individual results and identify any major differences. Why is this valuable? Because if these differences of opinion arent identified early in the process, they can cause alignment problems down the road.

Discuss it. Use the results, both similarities and differences, as the basis for an active discussion about priorities. Where should the company focus its efforts?



34

Improve it. CRM represents a significant makeover for most firms, so it will take time to achieve. Use Forresters CRM framework as a guide along the way, always asking the question: are we improving our CRM proficiency?

SuPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Online Resource

Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM is also available as an online tool, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. 9 You can use this diagnostic tool to evaluate your capabilities against more than 150 CRM best practices, including social CRM capabilities.

ENDNOTES1 As the economy recovers, what are the key trends that will drive customer relationship management (CRM)

strategies and technology adoption in 2010? Business and IT professionals who support customer-facing business processes must take into account 11 key trends: 1) companies return to investing in their most important asset customers; 2) CRM evolves to become the extended CRM application ecosystem; 3) SaaS CRM solutions become the default choice; 4) social CRM hype reaches a crescendo, but projects remain in pilot mode; 5) customer service embraces real-time methods; 6) next-generation customer intelligence solutions emerge; 7) the struggle to integrate customer data continues; 8) mobile CRM becomes a must-have capability; 9) price/value trumps functionality in purchase decisions; 10) scrutiny of business cases remains intense; 11) best practices continue to separate the winners from losers. See the February 9, 2010,

Trends 2010: Customer Relationship Management report.

2 Customer relationship management (CRM) addresses how companies get new customers, keep existing customers, and increase customer value. Forresters CRM research provides advice on how to plan, justify, evaluate, implement, and manage critical customer-facing processes and technologies in areas like customer analytics, marketing campaigns, sales force automation, customer service and support, customer self-service and assisted service, and multichannel management. See the October 5, 2006, Topic Overview: Customer Relationship Management report.

3 Forresters customer relationship management (CRM) research helps business process professionals embrace best practices from process optimization to technology implementation to improve customer interactions and drive top-line growth. Our research spans the business processes that support sales, marketing, customer service, the related topics of customer business intelligence, and data management. We are researching how the rise of the social Web affects the way customers buy from and interact with organizations of all types a phenomenon that has become known as social CRM. Business process professionals should follow Forresters seven steps for social CRM success: 1) initiate social CRM experiments immediately; 2) benchmark customer and prospect social readiness; 3) define your social customer objectives; 4) assess your social CRM capabilities; 5) understand the social CRM solutions landscape; 6) map out your social CRM capabilities-building plan; and 7) define your CRM metrics for success. See the January 26, 2010, Topic Overview: Social CRM Goes Mainstream report.



35

4 Forrester evaluated 18 leading customer relationship management (CRM) suite solutions against 516 criteria reflecting the requirements of large organizations. We found that heavyweight Leaders Oracle Siebel and SAP still offer the most complete solutions, with better usability and improved total cost of ownership (TCO) to persuade customers to upgrade. Other vendors in the Leader category, such as CDC Software, Microsoft, Oracle CRM On Demand, RightNow Technologies, and salesforce.com are gaining ground with flexible, quick-to-implement solutions. The Leaders are challenged by a pack of Strong Performers. Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) CRM and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM remain good options for enterprise resource planning (ERP) customers. Chordiant Software, Pegasystems, and Sword Ciboodle offer business process management (BPM) strengths to orchestrate complex customer-facing processes. Maximizer Software, NetSuite, SageCRM, Sage SalesLogix, and SugarCRM offer sound solutions but are best suited for midsized organizations. FrontRange Solutions, a Contender vendor, offers a solution to meet basic needs. See the June 16, 2010, Forrester Wave: CRM Suites For Large Organizations, Q2 2010 report.

5 How does your customer relationship management (CRM) project compare with those at other organizations? Forrester surveyed 99 organizations that are using one of 19 leading CRM suite solutions to understand their CRM solution purchase patterns, buying criteria, implementation practices, and satisfaction. See the August 26, 2010, Benchmarks For CRM Selection And Deployment report.

6 Locking in customer loyalty through deeper engagement and differentiated experiences will continue to be critical priorities for organizations in all sectors in the decade ahead, but navigating the complex customer relationship management (CRM) technology landscape remains challenging particularly in light of the rapid rise of Social Computing, the increasing adoption of software-as-a service (SaaS) solutions, and the need to provide mobile capabilities for front-line personnel. As our TechRadar evaluation of the extended CRM applications ecosystem shows, community platforms, customer forums, and enterprise feedback management solutions all of which enable new ways to connect more closely with customers have entered the CRM stage. However, selling, order-taking, and customer service remain the engines that power the income locomotive at most companies. Customer data management and business intelligence solutions are becoming much more robust, supporting deeper customer insights and better decision-making. See the July 9, 2009,

TechRadar For BP&A Professionals: The Extended CRM Application Ecosystem, Q3 2009 report.

7 The three primary determinants of success for CRM initiatives in the near term will be clear linkage to business value, phased implementation programs, and proactive measurement and optimization of actual business results. Defining a value-based CRM plan requires a tight partnership between IT and the business. While this is the case with any major IT initiative, it is even more imperative for CRM efforts because the underlying basis for CRM is understanding the customer and using that understanding to drive customer value, and ultimately, greater business effectiveness and profitability. See the January 29, 2003, Addressing The CRM Value Crisis: Planning For Value And Delivering It report.

8 Forresters FastForward best practices self-assessment for CRM is available as an online tool. Use this diagnostic tool to evaluate your capabilities against more than 150 CRM best practices. See the November 5, 2010, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self Assessment.

9 Forresters FastForward best practices self-assessment for CRM is available as an online tool. Use this diagnostic tool to evaluate your capabilities against more than150 CRM best practices. See the November 5, 2010, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self Assessment.

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