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  CRM is a Four Letter Word
 
As someone who's been working with both buyers and sellers of CRM technology for more than a decade, I can tell you that at no time in the history of this industry has its credibility been lower. It's fair to say that if you take the old joke "I'm from the government and I'm here to help", and swapped in 'CRM Industry' for 'government', most people would find it even funnier. For many buyers, CRM really is a four-letter word.

But there is a glimmer of hope - because the underlying fundamentals that drove this industry in the first place are still very much in place. My trip to last week's DCI CRM conference in Chicago only reinforced the fact that if companies can find technology that truly helps them enhance their customer relationships, they will buy it. And if they can find technology that helps them substantially lower their costs of sales and service, they'll buy that too.

If the 'CRM industry' can't provide these solutions, who can? I believe it's up to each of us - separately and in aggregate - to rebuild this industry's credibility. That means vendors, users, analysts and consultants. CRM will not die (although the acronym certainly can - with our blessings) - but many of us in the industry will if we don't collectively get our act together.

So what's it going to take?

1. Buyers need to think first, implement later
For those of you expecting another 'slam the vendors' piece, that is a far too simplistic (although common) way to analyze what's wrong with this industry. Ultimately it's up to customers to set the direction by realizing that none of this technology will work if they haven't first done the business analysis necessary to deploy it intelligently. For all that we hear about 'CRM failure' (more on that in a bit) it usually has more to do with companies 'buying blind' than any vendor failures.

2. Vendors need to stop overpromising and underdelivering
But we certainly can't let the vendors totally off the hook either. Yes, vendors do exaggerate and outright lie - but rather than telling them to stop (which will never work) I'm going to make a simpler suggestion - change the selling model. Microsoft has it right - keep the product simple, say what it doesn't do as much as what it does, and use the local, trusted business partners to deliver. Companies that insist on continuing to sell CRM the way they have been - even though it's worked up to now - will lose.

3. Analysts and consultants need to stop trying to convince people that CRM is 'hard' and peddling pessimistic hype.
There is probably no area of technology where the value proposition is more straightforward, yet the industry has done itself a huge disservice by spending time convincing the buyer that this technology is complex and difficult. There are probably some business issues where you really need a team of Silicon Valley PhD's and an army of Big Five (or is Four these days?) consultants - but 'providing better customer service' isn't among them.

4. We need to accept consolidation as inevitable - and positive
Competition is good, but having 200+ CRM vendors doesn't do anyone any good. For most buyers, a vendor 'short list' 3-5 is plenty. Customers like leaders (as Microsoft has proven many times - and is about to prove yet again). Consolidation means stability - and these days stability is good. The investment community - where the current reputation of CRM is lower than whale poop - knows this as well. Consolidation has already begun, but we ain't seen nothing yet.

5. We need to deliver real financial value
Ah - the basics. I keep hearing that the 'bad economy' is responsible for so many CRM deployments these days being deferred - but it's not the economy, it's the CFO. Quite simply, we're in 'show me the money' mode and we should be there. Running around yelling 'ROI' won't get it done. Don't tell your customers that you'll deliver ROI - show them.

This is the biggest upshot of today's skeptical market. Nobody wants to hear about all the great things your CRM tools can do for them - but if you demonstrate real value, they're all eyes and ears. The many companies I spoke with last week are crystal clear on this fact - they're just waiting for this industry to finally prove it can stand - and deliver.

Now get to work - we've got an industry to rebuild!