 Scott Nelson Analyst Gartner Group melissa.hennessey@gartner.com |
Q. Is there such a thing as a CRM maturity profile model? Most enterprises do not know their state of readiness for CRM. A CRM maturity profiling model enables a firm to quickly assess its level of preparedness for the demands of CRM. When considering customer relationship management (CRM), many enterprises fall into the trap of believing that technology will solve all their problems. They fail to realize that technology is only an enabler, supporting the strategies, tactics and processes that are the result of CRM. As such, enterprises need to assess how ready they are to bring in CRM technology. Gartner recommends that enterprises evaluate themselves according to the CRM Maturity Profile - a process comprising three steps: Step 1: Evaluate the enterprise's business practices. Gartner's CRM Maturity Profile identifies six practices on which enterprises should evaluate themselves: aligning marketing strategy with customer value and expectations; managing customer information as a strategic asset; identifying customer expectations; measuring customer ongoing value; integrating across business units; and managing the customer experience. Step 2: Evaluate the enterprise's business practices based on maturity level. Five maturity levels are defined in the CRM Maturity Profile. Leading: The organization has differentiated itself based on customer-centric capabilities and simultaneously redefined those capabilities. Optimizing: The organization has developed customer-centric capabilities and actively integrates them into its daily operations. Practicing: The organization has implemented basic customer-centric capabilities. Developing: The organization has rudimentary, loosely woven customer-centric capabilities. Aware: The organization exhibits few customer-centric capabilities. Step 3: Determine what level the enterprise must reach to be successful. For example, an enterprise might believe it is "developing," but that the enterprises it is most concerned about are "optimizing." As such, the enterprise must identify the gap between these two states, start to develop a plan, determine the resources needed, and begin to estimate the impact on the enterprise in terms of people and resources. Bottom Line: Enterprises that fall into the trap of thinking they can accomplish CRM based only on technology will fail. Enterprises that succeed in CRM will be those that evaluate their processes in light of customer expectations, honestly assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and then rebuild them based on what the customer wants. Gartner's CRM Maturity Profile is designed to help enterprises succeed in this area. |