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Many-to-One Model: In a many-to-one model, there are multiple individuals, such as sales, marketing and service professionals, interacting with a single job role at a company.

For example, the growth of Bob's business has resulted in the development of new products and services. In this example, Jane has placed a call into a service representative with a related question to a previous project. The service representative sees alignment between Jane's question and the latest product release; therefore, Jane is invited to a webinar that showcases the new product.

By using a multi-module CRM solution, Bob's service professional can log the activity around Jane's account and leave detailed notes so other employees, such as marketing professionals or accountants, know how and when to follow-up with Jane.

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Many-to-Many Model: In a many-to-many model, there are multiple individuals interacting with multiple job roles at a company.

For example, marketing individuals or service individuals at an organization target their counterparts at other companies to sell into. Bob, whose work with Jane's boutique has catapulted his business into the spotlight, has filled out his own marketing staff and professional services offerings. These individuals on the marketing side target similar job roles at Jane's company. This coordinated effort requires a heightened sense of internal visibility; therefore, Bob has replaced his CM solution with an integrated CRM tool. Bob is now able to access customer service information, accounting and billing details, and marketing data through his CRM system.

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Recommended Actions

Organizations considering CM or CRM solutions must evaluate the sales model of their organization and implement the solution that aligns best with their business needs. If a company is primarily focused on taming information overload at the lowest cost and providing the greatest selling autonomy for their sales team, then a CM solution may be an ideal fit. On the other hand, if a company's only hope at providing a 360-degree view of the customer to all parties within the organization is to integrate the data that exists in disparate silos, such as a contact center, marketing database, or accounting profile, a CRM solution may fit their business needs. As is the case with any technology implementation, the organizational processes and performance metrics in place often provide a foundation for success.

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Once an organization makes the decision between a CM solution or a multi-module CRM, the following recommendations will allow organizations to maximize technology spending:

• Contact Management Users:
  • Formalize and document sales processes. According to Aberdeen data, only 39 percent of CM users, compared to 57 percent of CRM users, have formalized and documented sales processes in place. There is no doubt that technology enablers can help a company automate key sales tasks; however, the proper organizational foundation is necessary to ensure that companies maximize the effectiveness of technology. Companies must ensure that sales processes are well-aligned with the organization's sales goals.

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Formalize and document sales KPIs (key performance indicators). In order to determine the effect technology enablers have on performance, organizations must formalize and document sales KPIs to be used in ROI (return on investment) analysis and performance measurements. By identifying the metrics that an organization hopes to improve through technology implementation, organizations can understand what, if any, changes have occurred in performance and where to dedicate additional resources in the future. Currently, 28 percent of CM users, compared to 64 percent of CRM users, have key performance indicators and metrics that measure sales effectiveness. Furthermore, companies must measure sales performance regularly. Thirty-five percent of CM users measure sales effectiveness on a monthly or quarterly basis. Sales performance should be assessed on a real-time or daily basis to effectively manage forecasts.

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Model individual best practices and replicate through training. There is a wealth of valuable information that exists in the minds of an organization's top sellers. Rather than letting this knowledge walk out the door toward retirement or another job opportunity, savvy organizations are capturing these best practices for the purposes of knowledge management and training. Only 5 percent of CM users and 14 percent of CRM users currently use enterprise social networking tools to allow sales representatives to quickly find the thought leader or information they seek. Finally, 54 percent of CM users, compared to 68 percent of CRM users, have a sales training and employee education program in place. In order to effectively get new hires on board and utilize the collected best practices, organizations must have a program that educates sales representatives on internal processes and best practices, thereby allowing new reps to achieve quota at a quicker rate.

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Model individual best practices and replicate through training. There is a wealth of valuable information that exists in the minds of an organization's top sellers. Rather than letting this knowledge walk out the door toward retirement or another job opportunity, savvy organizations are capturing these best practices for the purposes of knowledge management and training. Only 5 percent of CM users and 14 percent of CRM users currently use enterprise social networking tools to allow sales representatives to quickly find the thought leader or information they seek. Finally, 54 percent of CM users, compared to 68 percent of CRM users, have a sales training and employee education program in place. In order to effectively get new hires on board and utilize the collected best practices, organizations must have a program that educates sales representatives on internal processes and best practices, thereby allowing new reps to achieve quota at a quicker rate.

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Evaluate solutions that meet both the current and future needs of the business. A problem that CM users often encounter, particularly those users who opt for a "freeware" solution, is the ability to grow the business and solution concordantly. As a business generates more and more sales opportunities and contacts, it is important for companies to keep an eye to the future and avoid the usage or contact caps synonymous with free CM solutions. Several solution providers, such as Sage Software with their ACT and SalesLogix products, provide different offerings that suit an organization's current and future needs. While 62 percent of CM users surveyed indicated that their solution will grow with the business, an additional 38 percent indicated that they have already outgrown the solution. Whether it be a CM or CRM solution, businesses must ensure that the solution they implement not only fits the current needs of the organization, but also has the scalability to grow with the company.

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Customer Relationship Management Users:

• Customize CRM to match unique business processes. Successful CRM adoption is ultimately about two things: obtaining a 360-degree view of the customer and allowing for increased visibility into internal processes. Companies must customize CRM solutions to match unique business processes and ensure that the organization has a solution that is best suited to its daily operations.

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Create a system of record for sales interactions. A key feature of a CM solution is the ability to keep detailed notes on conversations with prospects. This functionality is also included in CRM solutions, thereby allowing sales representatives to keep an accurate system of record for all sales interactions. By keeping these records, sales representatives can access information regarding a prospect's wants and needs months after the initial call and use this information in subsequent follow-up conversations. Fifty percent of CRM users indicated that improving sales representatives' knowledge of products and customer needs is a top strategic action. A system of record for sales interactions allows representatives to log first-hand information regarding a prospect's or customer's needs as they articulate them.