ten steps to selecting the right crm solution...10 steps to selecting the right crm solution 11 step...

1Chapter 7

The Definitive Guide to Healthcare CRM

A practical guide for successful CRM selection, implementa-tion, and value creation EXCERPT FROM:

The Definitive Guide to CRM: A Practical Guide for Successful

CRM Selection, Implementation, and Value Creation

Ten Steps to Selecting the Right CRM Solution

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In this chapter, we’ll answer your questions about:

• How do I ensure the healthcare CRM vendor I select best

suits my organization’s needs?

• What are my goals and requirements to reach them? Who

will choose and manage the solution?

• Is and RFP necessary?

• At what point do I look at product demos? What kind of

partnership do I need from my vendor?

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 3

Now that you know your organization is ready to implement CRM, it’s time to shortlist and evaluate potential vendors against your scenarios. You’re sure to choose the vendor and CRM solution that best suits your needs if you follow these ten steps.

10 steps to selecting the right CRM solution


STEP ONE

Write down your goals

To get where you want to go, write it down. Statistically, you increase your likelihood

for success simply by putting your CRM goals on paper. In a few short sentences,

write down what you want your CRM initiative to achieve. You may add to this vision

statement once you learn more about what’s possible with the specific technology

you choose, but it’s important to get a vision statement and clear objectives out-

lined up front to guide you in the selection process.


STEP TWO

Assemble a team to choose and manage the solution

Make sure you cover your bases by getting sign-off from all stakeholders on

goals, requirements, and potential scenarios — including IT and Finance, since your

revenue impact reporting won’t mean anything unless your CFO buys into how

ROI and contribution margin is calculated. Just make sure you avoid selection by

committee. Typically, a voting approach doesn’t create the best decision process.

While all stakeholders must accept your choice, marketing and the primary users

of the solution should drive the decision.

Common CRM Features

Advanced CRM Features


STEP THREE

Familiarize the team with common and advanced CRM features

CRM software offers myriad features to help organizations efficiently manage consumer

marketing and relationships. Before you fully define requirements, it’s important for all the

team members involved in the decision to have a basic understanding of what they should

expect to see in a basic, as well as a more advanced, Healthcare CRM.


STEP FOUR

Identify your requirements

While you absolutely don’t want to deal with unnecessary complexity, it’s crucial

that you make sure you won’t quickly outgrow your CRM solution either. Going too

small or cheap — without aligning to your future requirements — is a clear path to

failure. Think about how embarrassing it might be to select a CRM solution, only to

have to replace it a year later. It happens!

But it won’t happen to you if you choose a vendor that is powerful enough to solve

your real-world challenges now and as you move up the consumer experience

maturity curve. Ideally, your solution will let you unleash more power when you

need it, but that power won't result in complexity that gets in the way when you

just need to get something simple done and out the door.

Turn the requirements into “use cases.” Describe real-world marketing programs you want to be able to run initially and consumer experience touch-points you want to enable down the road.

Prepare a functionality checklist. Verify you’ll get what you need today — and what you’ll want in the future.

What level of integration do you need for your CRM? What other technologies do you have that the system will need to work with?

Isolate requirements beyond technology. Who will use the system? How import-ant is ease of use? What level of additional services, training, and support will you need?


STEP FIVE

Assess the vendor landscape and (possibly) issue an RFP

To start your search, you can either conduct online research and phone calls to

evaluate vendors against your identified requirements, or you can issue an RFP

that outlines your criteria to help you further evaluate each vendor’s fit and

narrow your list from there. Healthgrades provides a Sample CRM RFP that can

help kickstart your efforts.

Internet research Phone calls RFP Decision


STEP SIX

Conduct demos and on-site presentations

Invite each vendor that successfully answered your initial round of questions to

demonstrate how they would achieve your specific use cases and scenarios using

their technology. Check all boxes to cover your administrative, integration, and

technical needs. Ask the vendors to show you that they have what they say they

have in terms of functionality.

Healthgrades CRM


STEP SEVEN

Look beyond the technology

Keep in mind that your organization isn’t just investing

in a technology, but in a strategic partnership that

should help you achieve your goals. Evaluate each

vendor’s ability to make you successful through access

to best practices, community, consulting, support, and

training. Focus on the process and business needs you

identified previously and avoid becoming dazzled by

features that look cool but don’t deliver value based on

your criteria. This expert advice and guidance are the

strong roots that will help you succeed and grow your

CRM strategy over time. Yes, it’s okay to update your

goals as you learn about what’s possible. Just make

sure the business reasons are compelling enough!

VisibleFeature Set

PartnershipFoundation


STEP EIGHT

Assemble a team to choose and manage the solution

The right vendor won’t be afraid to answer questions, and while they won’t be

able to say yes to everything you ask, they also won’t have anything to hide.

Here is a list of some of the more revealing questionsyou should consider asking potential vendors:

How powerful are your CRM’s audience segmentation capabilities?

What is your average implementation timeline?

What references canyou provide?

What predictive modeling capabilities does it incorporate?

If we need help, what type of customer service do you offer?

What features are available to help us with managing offline and online campaigns, leads, and measuring our marketing funnel?

Is strategic consulting included in the price, or priced separately?

What is the total annual cost of your software?Are there any setup oradditional fees?

What type of security features does your CRM system have in place to protect our data? What happens if there is an outage? How is my data backed up in the cloud, and can I access it immediately?

Do you offer a CDP platform if we want to extend the customer source of truth across our enterprise?


Here are some key questions to consider when interviewing customer references:

How well did the CRM project go in terms of meeting time frame, budget, and measurable objectives?

What’s the single best thing about this solution? What’s the worst?

How easy is this CRM system to use?

What role does the vendor play in developing your CRM strategy and tactical plan?

How responsive has the vendor been to requests for help ortechnical support?

How well did the CRM implementation go in terms of integration with existing systems and legacy applications?

What use cases has the CRM supported for your organization?

What types of analytical capabilities does the CRM offer, and how well does it enable improved decision making?

Would you choose this CRM solution again — why or why not?

STEP NINE

Talk to actual customers

One of the smartest things you can do before finalizing your CRM decision is to speak

with customer references. In addition to helping you gauge how effective the CRM is at

driving business results, it’s also a good way to pick up some best practices and lessons

learned for your CRM implementation. Call the references provided by the vendor, but

it’s also a good idea to scour your professional network for other clients, and talk to

them too.


STEP TEN

Decide

The time has come. Choose the vendor that can best make you successful in line

with the goals you created at the beginning of this process. While this does involve

comparing subscription costs and contract terms, the revenue benefits you’ll enjoy

when you achieve your goals are usually much more significant — so it’s best to

choose the solution that will help you be the most successful versus the one with the

lowest price. Remember, this is a balance between features and the right strategic fit

with a vendor partner!

There you have it…

everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about healthcare CRM. Whether your organization is a first-time CRM buyer or looking to replace an existing healthcare CRM with a contemporary solution designed for the digi-tal era, now you understand why CRM is the technology that will propel your organization into the new era of relationship-based marketing and consumer experience enablement with quantifiable results.

Undoubtedly, healthcare CRM is constantly evolving. We’ll continue to stay on the forefront of CRM trends and keep you up-to-date with our website, blog, and CRM resources at https://partners.healthgrades.com/systems/healthcare-crm.

CONCLUSION

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