Software like this should be phased in by functionality, geography, division, or a combination of those factors. That way, implementation becomes a series of small experiments or incremental iterations. These should start as soon—and occur as rapidly—as possible. The extended phase-one analysis period has established a poor precedent. If there is going to be a phase two, Barry Golding should start by presenting users with some live software whose value will be easy to see.
A project like this can go spectacularly wrong when all the involved parties consider it theirs to do with as they please. The business unit managers therefore need to understand that they will not get everything they want, that they will not be allowed to have input on all the issues that directly affect them, and that they will not be able to choose the most convenient adoption schedule.
None of the business needs identified in the case, alone or in combination, justifies a large investment and a long project. Has the company explored alternatives to CRM? Similarly, a quick experiment in one region can test whether catalog mailings do in fact drive store traffic. And physical audits and data extracts from the existing POS system can establish whether catalogs offer the same merchandise as stores.
Why then is Barry so enthusiastic about this effort? The story hints that his motive is to impress his boss or build an IT empire. The best policy of all would be for Barry to investigate how to wind the project down gracefully and to salvage his reputation in the eyes of his peers and his CEO.
Barry J. Gilway is the executive vice president of Zurich North America Services, a part of Zurich North America, the second largest commercial property-casualty insurer in North America. He is based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It ordered an assessment of the needs of every key function and division. It exposed the relevant managers to the vendor, and it brought those managers into the decision-making process.
Underneath the technology strategy there must be a business strategy. Where, however, is the root-cause analysis of the problems the CRM system is supposed to fix? Has anyone looked into why store sales have been leveling off? Ted Antonelli wants to spend the CRM money on personnel and store display—both short-term fixes. Does he know they will work?
Unless the company understands how and where things have gone wrong, it will have a hard time coming up with a plan to fix them. Every proposal of this scale must have a sponsor who will benefit directly from its results and who therefore believes in it intensely. Each new initiative starts a fight for the resources that have already been allocated. To balance competing claims, we have at Zurich North America what we call a prioritization committee.
Its members are respected figures who come from the business units, the service units, and IT. Early bottom-line benefits are especially helpful in those situations.
Such an approach is always preferable to promising everyone everything at some indefinite point in the future. The modest ones also present less risk to the company. One of my predecessors as CEO developed, in conjunction with a major vendor, the idea for a new processing rate, quote, and issue platform. It was doomed, however, because those two were the only people in the company who believed in the system, having made no attempt to convince the rest of the company to buy in.
The businesses believed they could have obtained far more functionality from their legacy systems or by increasing staff. It represents a major strategic shift. Barry Golding is off to a rocky start, but a few pragmatic actions by him and others could help smooth the way.
In our experience, high-performing CRM companies do four basic things. They collect the best available data; they mine the data; they use the data to identify the most promising sales prospects, whom they reach through the most suitable channels; and they arrange their structures, incentives, and metrics to place the customer at the center of their CRM efforts.
But these four pillars cannot be built overnight. Accumulating and scrubbing data can take years. Analytical models get better with age, as response data refine them. And breaking away from a single-minded focus on products and functions is more easily espoused than accomplished. Then Howard needs to fund the concept. Otherwise, the senior leaders will have little incentive to pay attention. The CEO should give this person a budget, a team, and the authority to work with the functional and business leaders so that the segment can grow its share of closet.
The team should construct an integrated view of its customers and prospects from all catalog, online, and store transactions and meld the data with marketing profiles derived from external sources. As it uses new transaction data to refine its models, the team can build on its success by diversifying its offers and extending the test to additional segments.
Barry should also think about whether building those capabilities internally is the right way to obtain them. Doing that would allow the company to focus its resources on promoting organizational change and developing new marketing campaigns. You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access.
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