Interview - John Paterson, CEO Really Simple Systems
24th January 2008
The challenges faced by small and medium sized business when implementing CRM, and how to avoid CRM failure
John has used, implemented and overseen more CRM systems than he would care to admit to, as a salesperson, sales manager, sales director, COO and CEO. It was when he was CEO of CRM vendor Oxygen Solutions it was reinforced that the key to successful CRM implementation was very little to do with technology, but all to do with getting the users to use it the system properly, and the key to getting people to use it properly was to make it as easy-to-use and fast as possible. It was off the back of these experiences that he saw the gap in the market for a simple, straightforward hosted CRM system that was aimed specifically at small and medium sized organisations.
Q. When selecting and deploying a CRM system, what benefits would you expect from an implementation partner that you could not reasonably achieve alone?
A. The main benefit is their experience of having done it many times before, and of having seen what works and what doesn't work, even if the customer thinks they really need that feature.
Q. What do you believe are the main or most common reasons for CRM failure?
A. By far the commonest cause of CRM failure is the sales people falling out of love with the system, and then the system falls into disuse, and then people blame the system and think that their problems will be solved by installing a new shiny CRM system, only to see the same cycle repeat itself four years later. Too many people wanting too many features that other users don't want is the usual cause. Close behind that is senior management not using the system themselves because they are too important or busy: it sends precisely the wrong message to the troops.
Q. Is it more important to get the pre-implementation strategy right or does it work to develop plans as you progress with your chosen application?
A. It's important to get the pre-implementation strategy right for you what you implement on day one, but don't try to implement and roll out the whole system in one go, let it evolve. That way you can start simple and then gently add new features as you grow. You may find that what everybody thought they couldn't live without on day one becomes less important as time goes on.
Q. When do you think CRM is not necessary in a business?
A. If the sales people can remember all their customers' names, and who they have to call today, you can survive without a CRM system. This can happen if the company is dealing with a few high value customers.
Q. What should you do if your CRM implementation is not going to plan?
A. Don't panic! There will always be minor problems rolling out a new system. But if you think that the system will never work, or never be adopted, then you have to think again. You could get consultants in, but first ask around your friends/customers/suppliers in similar sized companies if they have had the same problem, you may find the answer there.
Q. How will you know when you have finished?
A. You've never finished. CRM systems rot if they aren't periodically refreshed with new ideas, new uses and continual data cleansing and motivation of users.
About Really Simple Systems
Really Simple Systems Hosted CRM is aimed at small and medium sized organisations with between 5 and 200 people who want a straightforward hosted CRM sales, support and marketing system. The hosted model is particularly suitable for companies with multiple locations and people who work remotely or at home. Really Simple Systems is the largest United Kingdom provider of hosted CRM systems and has offices in the UK and Australia. Users include the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Library, Citicorp, Serco, Information Builders and the Department of Health as well as hundreds of small and medium sized companies.
This is great stuff. Now I WANT to make some phone calls!! Thank You.
By Michael on 29th November, 2008
Quite inspiring, Keep up the good work, Thanks for bringing this up
By Website Development in London on 18th December, 2009
The business terms push and pull originated in the marketing and advertising world, but are also applicable in the world of electronic content and supply chain management. The push/pull relationship is that between a product or piece of information and who is moving it. A customer pulls things towards themselves, while a producer pushes things toward customers.
By robert on 23rd December, 2009
First you must know as much as you can about people's needs, human culture, Internet culture. You must know what they want and what they want to hear. But do not do the same mistake that most people do. Some have the charisma but are not honest. Others are honest but do not have the charisma. So you must inspire confidence.
By daneil on 23rd December, 2009
Where else "Push Marketing" uses method to motivate their sales team or channel to deliver the result - e.g. trade promotion, sales incentive and many other aggressive performance driven marketing activities.
By Online Tax Preparation on 02nd January, 2010