November 5, 2010 Updated 2010: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM

Transcription

1 November, 00 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM by William Band for Business Process Professionals Making Leaders Successful Every Day

2 November, 00 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Use Our CRM FastForward Self-Assessment To Achieve Quick Wins by William Band with Connie Moore and Andrew Magarie Executive Summary In the time since we last published this report, we have witnessed severe economic upheaval and the emergence of a new phenomenon: the social customer. However, the fundamental business needs for effective and efficient customer management have not changed: acquiring new customers; building tighter bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing. Smart companies are selective about how and where they invest resources. How can you make sure your company gets the best return from its investment in CRM? Forrester developed a framework that includes more than 0 best practice CRM capabilities, organized into four categories: strategy, process, technology, and people. To help understand how your organization stacks up against these best practices and to identify where you can best achieve quick wins, we created Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM. Use the framework and the self-assessment tool to improve your current CRM initiative or to jump-start new projects. table of Contents CRM Initiatives Flounder Without Focus Four Key Elements Of A Successful CRM Strategy Assess Your CRM Capabilities Define Strategy 7 Redesign Processes Leverage Technology 0 Lead People Take Action Now recommendations Make The Most Out Of The Best Practices Framework For CRM Supplemental Material NOTES & RESOURCES Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM is based on a synthesis of findings from interviews with business and IT professionals at 0 organizations and evaluations of CRM vendor solutions. We have also incorporated our experiences from working with more than 0 clients during advisory projects. Related Research Documents Forrester s 00 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self Assessment November, 00 The Forrester Wave : CRM Suites For Large Organizations, Q 00 June 6, 00 Topic Overview: Social CRM Goes Mainstream January, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester, Technographics, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To purchase reprints of this document, please clientsupport@forrester.com. For additional information, go to

3 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM CRM initiatives flounder without focus Despite the recent economic turmoil since we last published this report, the fundamental business needs that drive the requirement for effective and efficient customer management remain unchanged: acquiring new customers; building tighter bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing. Forrester defines CRM as the set of business processes and supporting technologies used to acquire, retain, and enhance customer relationships. CRM encompasses the activities organizations use to understand, target, deliver, and respond to customers across marketing, sales, and service, as well as among external demand chain partners. The phenomenon of the social Web which Forrester calls Social Computing is forcing business process professionals to expand their thinking beyond the goal of optimizing a two-way relationship between an enterprise and customer to also include the simultaneous interactions that customers have among themselves. CRM is evolving from its traditional focus on optimizing customer-facing transactional processes to include the strategies and technologies to develop collaborative and social connections with customers, suppliers, and even competitors. Notwithstanding this emerging trend, one challenge remains constant. Organizations still struggle to define the right CRM strategies and effectively acquire and deploy the right CRM technology solutions that will meet their needs. In 00, when we surveyed business and IT executives at 99 organizations who are responsible for CRM initiatives, well under 0% fully agreed that the applications really improved the end user s productivity and business results anticipated from the implementation were met or exceeded. Complicating the situation, business process professionals are often confused about which customer management technology solutions have the strongest track record for delivering results. We have found that while social CRM is capturing the imagination of decision-makers at many organizations, it is the tried-and-true technologies that offer the most certain return on investment. 6 Disappointment with CRM is usually the result of poorly conceived strategies that lack a laser focus on improving a specific set of business capabilities to increase revenues or reduce costs. To avoid wasting your time and money on ill-conceived CRM programs, beware of the two most common pitfalls of CRM plans:. No strategic focus on business value. Many companies have a grand vision to become more customer-focused, but the implementation of this vision often lacks practical focus and recognition of the typical constraints (e.g., time, money, and politics) that must be taken into account to make the vision a reality. A CRM program should be tightly linked to business goals, focused on customer benefits, clearly identify the processes and constituencies that will be affected, and specify the associated information and functionality needs. 7 November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

4 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM. Lack of attention to business process and people issues. In some organizations, CRM initiatives have degenerated into technology-centric projects aimed at basic process automation. While automation projects may well lead to cost savings, the sheer complexity and size of these initiatives has led to a blurring of the target value. Complexity and a lack of clear objectives divert resources from the important tasks of redesigning underlying processes and architecting how employees will work effectively within these processes. The potential of CRM lies not in technology itself, but in the process of using technology alongside an in-depth understanding of the customer to drive unique, valuable customer interactions. The most successful CRM initiatives are framed in terms of their overall impact across the organization and the customer but are implemented in focused, incremental steps. Four Key Elements Of A successful CRM Strategy Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM defines the critical capabilities necessary for building high-quality customer relationships. The framework distills findings from our interviews with 0 user companies, analysis of CRM vendor solutions, and insight from discussions with 9 CRM professional services organizations. It also incorporates our recent experience in applying the framework to help more than 0 Forrester clients define their CRM strategies and establish a road map for the future. The framework includes sets of capabilities across four categories comprising more than 0 best practices, including social CRM capabilities (see Figure ).. Strategy. Your customer strategy identifies the customers the organization intends to serve and articulates the desired customer experience to be delivered.. Process. Business processes are comprised of the practices associated with major customerfacing business functions in the organization. For example, marketing, ecommerce, direct sales, partner sales, customer service, and field service.. Technology. Your technology environment plays an important role in enabling the CRM business processes and is comprised of customer analytics, customer data management, and technology infrastructure.. People. How people are organized and led has a large role in determining success with CRM. You must pay attention to the organization s corporate culture, leadership practices, collaboration methods, training programs, and performance measurement approaches. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

5 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Strategy Customer strategy Process Marketing ecommerce Direct sales Indirect sales Service Field service Technology Customer analytics Customer data management Technology infrastructure People People management Assess Your CRM Capabilities Firms must be selective about deploying their resources by carefully defining the best opportunities for quick gains and avoiding the temptation to do too much too quickly. Successful CRM initiatives have great discipline about the correct order of implementation of business process improvements for particular circumstances facing the organization. To a VP of sales, CRM may mean providing remote salespeople with access to customer information or automating the generation of a quote. To a VP of service, CRM may mean providing customers with options for self-service. And to a VP of marketing, CRM might mean access to a 60-degree customer view to more effectively target promotions. While CRM may incorporate all of these things, it is really an enabler that provides businesses with the tools necessary to effectively interact with customers. To win in the marketplace, first define what CRM means for your organization and then pinpoint the specific capabilities that must be strengthened. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

6 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM We developed Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM to help your business understand how it stacks up compared to best practices and identify where you should focus your attention for quick wins. Forrester s Best Practices Framework is also available as an online tool, Forrester s 00 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. You can use the latest version of this diagnostic tool, which has been updated to include social CRM criteria, to evaluate your capabilities against more than 0 CRM best practices. 8 Define Strategy Start your evaluation of CRM business practices by evaluating your company s ability to define a customer strategy and communicate the strategy widely throughout the organization. The customer strategy identifies the customers you will serve, articulates the desired customer experience to be delivered by the company, and is based on sound analyses of customer value and behaviors. Evaluate your capabilities compared with best practices for customer strategy (see Figure ): Customer management, vision, and strategy. Defining what is to be accomplished by the customer management strategy, communicating the strategy, and also defining the metrics by which success will be measured. Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting. Differentiating customers by needs and value and defining the appropriate customer experience for each target segment. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

7 6 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Customer management, vision, and strategy Average Very good Our business strategy is influenced by what we learn about our customers. We defined the specific goals and metrics to be achieved through our customer-facing strategies (e.g., gain new customers, retain existing customers, upsell/cross-sell, improve customer satisfaction, etc.). We have a solid understanding of which competitors we lose customers to and why. We have a strategy in place to deliver consistent customer experience across all locations and within all customer-facing channels. We have a Voice of the Customer program that regularly collects customer feedback from across customer interaction points, using a variety of techniques, to inform our business strategy. Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting Brand (product) managers know what customer data needs to be collected to more effectively devise go-to-market strategies. We segment our customers based on their value to our enterprise. We are able to differentiate our customers by their needs. We have a deep understanding of our customers use of, and participation in, social media channels and activities. We have in place the capabilities to monitor customer sentiment toward our brands as expressed in social media and in customer communities. We can segment customers based on their social influence in our markets. We are able to serve specific target groups of customers consistently across channels. Outstanding November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

8 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 7 Figure Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of customer strategy best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of customer strategy best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) Redesign Processes CRM business process management practices are typically associated with major customer-facing business functions, including marketing, ecommerce, direct sales, partner sales, customer service, and field service. Evaluate each of the functional areas pertinent to your business model. Marketing In the context of CRM, consider the relevant marketing capabilities that support managing marketing resources and developing and distributing marketing offers to specific target customer populations. These activities are most often associated with the practices of direct marketing (see Figure ): Marketing resource management. Effectively supporting marketing planning and management, allocating marketing resources, and collaborating within the marketing function and across the enterprise. Marketing campaign design. Designing marketing campaigns such as carrying out list management, establishing program step sequences, and setting rules for customer response management. Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns. Building customer lists that are appropriate for the receipt of a specific offer and having the ability to understand the explicit characteristics of different customer segments. Marketing campaign offer management. Assigning specialized offers to specific audiences, coding offers to segments, and linking offer content to the appropriate target groups. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

9 8 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Marketing campaign execution and tracking. Tracking and managing campaigns in execution channels and optimizing the marketing resources allocated to each channel. Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management. Managing inbound customer interactions across channels to facilitate the prioritization and delivery of offers in real time. Marketing support for lead management. Identifying, recording, nurturing, and assigning sales leads for further action. ecommerce In today s Internet age, it is critical that your online presence be compelling and effective so that customers can easily engage in commercial Web transactions with your company. As part of your CRM capabilities assessment, be sure to evaluate your ecommerce practices (see Figure ). emarketing. Managing and Web campaigns, including cross-selling and upselling. ecommerce quote and order management. Supporting quoting over the Web, facilitating orders online, and supporting returns and exchanges. Direct Sales Direct sales make up the business processes and activities used by organizations that sell directly to customers. You should evaluate your ability to manage contacts, sales opportunities, and track sales performance (see Figure ): Sales contact and activity management. Capturing customer contact information, assigning action to be taken against customer contacts and accounts, managing calendars, and administering communications. Sales opportunity management. Converting leads to opportunities and promoting opportunities for further action through the sales pipeline, supporting quotes, proposals, and sales forecasts. Sales performance management. Managing individual and team quotas and goals. Sales performance management also includes sales commission administration. Sales analysis. Analyzing historical and trending sales data, creating customized reports, and sharing sales data and reports within the organization. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

10 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 9 Figure Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Marketing resource management Average We are able to capture marketing goals, strategies, and metrics; ensure alignment of new programs with marketing goals; and do marketing planning across complex organizational structures. We have tools to help marketers make decisions about how to most effectively allocate their marketing budget. We are able to define, track, and trend marketing business metrics (e.g., cost per lead, response rate). We are effectively able to manage marketing suppliers and manage task assignment, costs, RFPs, bids, and invoices. We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, and materials for reuse. Marketing campaign design We are able to manage rented lists of prospect data. We can manage multistage communications programs. We are able to manage recurring communications programs. We can build complex business-rule- and workflow-driven communication sequences. Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns Very good We have tools that allow us to select customers across different entity levels and switch audience levels within a single selection. We are able to facilitate the deployment, enforcement, and measurement of local and global control groups. We have tools available for monitoring segmentation membership in a dashboard, time-series fashion. Outstanding 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

11 0 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Marketing campaign offer management Average We have flexibility in defining and assigning offers to campaign cells or individuals within a cell. We have tools to help manage and link to offer content. Very good We are able to analyze offer performance over time and can track offer performance down to an individual customer in a campaign while enabling offer analysis across a variety of dimensions. Outstanding Marketing campaign execution and tracking We can manage and track campaigns in execution channels, including direct mail, , Web/eCommerce, telemarketing, and inbound call center. We can effectively execute campaigns through emerging channels such as SMS, mobile, and social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, product review sites, etc. We are able to collaborate with or through channel partners. Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management We use interaction management tools that provide a single common solution that can span multiple inbound customer channels. We can easily manage real-time scoring of customers based on business goals and are able to prioritize offers delivered in a real-time context. Our interaction management tools are integrated with campaign and offer management. We have the capability to take into account analysis of unstructured social content like blogs, customer product reviews, and customer s. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

12 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) Marketing support for lead management We are able to validate and score leads. We are able to effectively route and assign leads. What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of marketing best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of marketing best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

13 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure ecommerce Capabilities Best Practice Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Poor Below average Average Very good Outstanding emarketing We are able to effectively manage and Web campaigns. We are able to cross-sell and upsell through our emarketing. We have the capabilities to undertake emarketing campaigns through social and viral media mechanisms, such as user-generated content. ecommerce quote and order management We have strong quoting capabilities. We can facilitate ordering online. We are able to facilitate returns and exchanges online. What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of ecommerce best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of ecommerce best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

14 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Direct Sales Capabilities Best Practice Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Sales contact and activity management We can search for contacts, accounts, or deals. Average We are able to effectively manage sales activities. We are able to effectively manage communications. We are able to effectively manage salesperson calendars. Very good We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, and materials for reuse. Outstanding Sales opportunity management We are able to convert sales leads to opportunities. We are able to track sales opportunities, including features like competitive information and win/loss reasons. We are able to forecast and manage the sales pipeline. We have social collaboration tools that allow reps to use historical sales data, product affinity analysis, and knowledge from their peers and community to identify which products to sell to which customers. We have social collaboration capabilities that allow reps to form virtual teams and connect reps within an organization with other people and knowledge that may be helpful to them. We can collaborate with individual customers during the sales cycles using Web portals and/or social media platforms. Sales performance management We are able to manage individual and team sales quotas. We are able to effectively manage individual and team sales goals. We are able to establish and effectively manage sales force compensation. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

15 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Direct Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) Sales analysis We have sales dashboard reporting capabilities We are able to create custom sales reports. We are able to analyze trending and historical sales data. Users can create widgets/gadgets for top accounts, top opportunities, and contacts. What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of direct sales best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of direct sales best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) Indirect Sales Brand owners who market and sell through indirect channels face special challenges. Their ability to drive sales is in the hands of outside partners and allies. Assess your strengths and weaknesses for driving sales through your indirect sales partners (see Figure 6). Partner recruiting and administration. Identifying and registering channel partners, establishing administrative interfaces such as partner portals, and providing partner help. Partner collateral management. Creating content that can be used by partners, enabling partners to find the right content, and pushing appropriate content to specific channel members. Partner management. Distributing leads to partners, profiling partners, and tracking and managing partner tiers. Partner program management. Managing preferred partner programs, managing marketing funds, supporting joint partner marketing, and supporting partner promotions. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

16 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Partner sales management. Tracking partner leads and deal registration. Also, cross-selling and upselling through partners, supporting tiered pricing structures, and managing discounting and approval requests. Partner training. Delivering service through partners, sharing best practices with partners, offering partner training, and tracking partner certifications. Partner analysis. Analyzing partner performance through ad hoc analyses or predefined reporting templates. Customer Service Customer service is the provision of labor and other resources for the purpose of increasing the value that buyers receive from their purchases and the processes leading up to these purchases. Customer service is most closely associated with support provided through phone contact centers but also includes the support available through other channels such as the phone, kiosk, and Webenabled customer self-service. When assessing your CRM capabilities, include an evaluation of customer service process strengths and weaknesses (see Figure 7): Customer service phone agent support. Supporting phone agents in creating customer incidents or cases with respect to a specific customer inquiry or request, routing the incidents, and handling the inquiry within the guidelines for a specific class of customer. Customer service call center infrastructure management. Managing, assessing, assigning, and matching calls and s to the caller s record. This also includes prioritizing customer needs and matching these needs to customer service agents based on agent skill and availability. Customer service knowledge base. Guiding an agent through unfamiliar business processes, generating and using frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists. Customer service self-service to live-service transition. Passing information to an agent when a session transitions from self-service to live-service and initiating agent-to-customer chat. Customer service response management. Managing and responding to a high volume of incoming , routing assignments, analyzing messages, and managing acknowledgements. Customer service forums. Supporting forums for sharing information with and among business customers or consumers, including participant registration and administration. Also includes the managing of knowledge bases and diagnostic tools. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

17 6 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 6 Indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Partner recruiting and administration We are able to register and add partners as well as capture partner attributes or other information. We have the ability to create partner portals. Average Very good We have partner-specific help available through our administrative interface. Outstanding Partner collateral management We effectively use tools to create sales collateral content for partners. Partners and our own organization can efficiently search for sales collateral. Partner management We are able to distribute leads to partners. We have the ability to track and manage partner tiers. Partner program management We are able to manage loyalty or preferred partner programs. We have support for joint partner marketing. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

18 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 7 Figure 6 Indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Partner sales management We are able to track partner leads. We have the capability to support partner deal registration. We are able to cross-sell and upsell through partners. Partner training We are able to track partner capability certifications. We have support for partner training. Partner analysis Below average Average We have sophisticated partner dashboard capabilities. We are able to create custom reports for partner analysis. We are able to do historical and trending partner analysis. Very good We are able to effectively manage partner discounting and approval requests. Outstanding What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of indirect sales best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of indirect sales best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

19 8 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Customer service phone agent support We are able to create incidents (agent, user, system alert, ) and then take group skills and queues into account when assigning and routing incidents to agents. Phone agents can quickly and easily review the products or services that the customer owns as well as the various histories while maintaining visibility into the customer s name/basic details. The service entitlements of a customer are clearly visible to phone agents. We have call scripting capabilities. Customer service call center infrastructure Average We have an integrated member account and profile that allows consumers to seamlessly travel between channels; (social) community profile and history is included as part of the customer record; community content is fully available for inclusion. We have the capability to interact and service our customer through emerging social media channels and platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and other private and public Web-based customer communities. We have time zone and language support for global agents. We are able to effectively manage, assess, assign, and match calls/ s to the caller s record. The agent can see call time/length during the session. Very good We have insight into call center and service issues, customer interaction patterns, and employee productivity. Outstanding November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

20 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 9 Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Customer service knowledge base Average Customer service self-service to live-service transition We can pass relevant information to the agent when a customer service session transitions from self-service to live-service. We have support for agent-to-customer chat facilities. Very good We have tools available to guide an agent through unfamiliar business processes during a call. We are able to automatically generate and rank frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists. We can segment viewing of knowledge base content by groups, both internally and externally. Our knowledge base answers include discussion threads from the (social) community; integrated search returns community discussions, blogs, or Q&As together with curated knowledge base answers. All interactions between an agent and the customer (e.g., page/push and sharing, form fill, remote control) are transcribed and stored. (Social) community discussions can be escalated into the formal incident workflow. Outstanding Customer service response management We are able to manage and respond to a high volume of incoming , and agents use a browser-based UI to access a single companywide customer information database. s are processed by a business process engine to ensure routing, assignments, message analysis, entitlement checking, language identification, parsing for junk s, and sending of acknowledgements; and the business process engine also tracks status of s for escalations and automatic response for status checks by customers. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

21 0 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) Customer service forums We have support for moderated forums of consumer or business customers. Customer forum content is well-integrated with the knowledge base and problem diagnostic tools. What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of customer service best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of customer service best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) Field Service Field service includes the repair and testing activities typically performed for a customer at its site, based on warranty or other contractual agreements. If your company supports customers in this way, include an evaluation of field service processes as part of your CRM capabilities assessment (see Figure 8): Core field service capabilities. Providing field dispatchers with visibility into service orders, handling third-party service providers, and managing invoicing. Field service scheduling. Managing field service personnel schedules based on decision rules such as availability, skills, distance, costs, and service-level agreements. Field service mobile capabilities. Providing mobile devices to support on-site communications, invoicing, and parts management. Field service spare parts management. Managing spare parts inventories, handling defectives, and processing excess parts returns. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

22 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Core field service capabilities Our field service dispatchers have good visibility into the service orders. We are able to effectively manage third-party service providers. We are able to effectively handle invoicing of customers for service calls. Field service scheduling Below average We are able to easily change the parameters for field service call scheduling rules. We have tools that leverage optimization formulas and have built-in rules to make effective field service call scheduling decisions. Field service mobile capabilities We have good mobile device support for field service activities. Our technicians can generate an invoice on-site using mobile devices. Our technicians have parts management capabilities available through mobile devices. Field service spare parts management Average We are able to effectively manage excess parts returns processes. Field service personnel have strong processes for spares planning, including a clear view of spares inventory. We are able to effectively manage spare parts defectives processes. Very good Outstanding 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

23 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of field service best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of field service best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) Leverage Technology Technology infrastructure and tools play an important role in enabling CRM business processes. The CRM self-assessment should include a review of your capabilities in the areas of customer analytics, customer data management, and technology infrastructure. Customer Analytics CRM analytics includes all information technologies that analyze data about an enterprise s customers and presents it effectively, allowing business decisions to be made quickly and efficiently. Assess strengths and weaknesses with respect to your firm s ability to analyze and use customer data (see Figure 9). Customer information analysis tools. Undertaking ad hoc query and OLAP analysis, using real-time analytics to support personalization and offer optimization, and using data visualization techniques. Customer information reporting and analysis. The technology and process requirements around built-in reports, report design tools, and report publishing methods. In your evaluation, consider the best practices for key performance indicator (KPI) tracking and dashboards for management decision-making. Customer information business activity monitoring tools. The tools that support event collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoring operations and alerting users to key exceptions in the business process. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

24 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 9 Customer Analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Customer information analysis tools We use prebuilt analytics applications that combine CRM data with relevant information across the enterprise (e.g., providing sales professionals with a customer s order status and receivables balance out of ERP systems). We use predictive analytics to support decision-making. We are able to do ad hoc query analysis. Average We have tools that use real-time analytics to support personalization and offer optimization. We can run advanced online-analytical-processing-style (OLAP) analysis of customer data. Customer information reporting and analysis We have full reporting capabilities for customer information, including custom and built-in reports, and personalized dashboards. We use tools with strong, flexible, and easy-to-use customer information report design capabilities. We have multiple delivery options for customer information reports. Very good Our customer analytics tools use built-in best practice customer management key performance indicators (KPIs). We are able to drill to the underlying action from any report element or KPI. We have the capability to undertake analysis of unstructured social content like blogs, community posts, customer product reviews, and customer s. Outstanding 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

25 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 9 Customer Analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Average Customer information business activity monitoring tools Very good We have tools that support event collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoring operations in real time and alerting users to key exceptions in the business process. We have predefined, process-focused dashboards for real-time monitoring of operations. Outstanding What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of customer analytics best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of customer analytics best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) Customer Data Management Customer data management includes the practices for administrating customer profile information, providing data to the appropriate individuals in the company when it is needed for decision-making, ensuring customer data is accurate, and adhering to appropriate customer data privacy guidelines (see Figure 0). Customer profile information. Collecting, associating, and organizing information about individual buyers and users or customer accounts. Defining the right information that should be aggregated about customers and how customer information should be integrated from across the organization. Customer data availability. Providing personnel with access to the appropriate customer-level information necessary to properly serve customer needs in a timely manner. November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

26 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Customer data accuracy. Ensuring that master information is consistent in all customer repositories and that processes exist to correct inaccurate data. Data privacy. Making customer data available only on the basis of well-defined privacy guidelines that are broadly communicated to employees and customers. Technology Infrastructure Managing applications, building a sound network infrastructure, maintaining systems availability and reliability, and using good program and project management practices are required to support CRM capabilities (see Figure ). Customer-facing applications. Selecting or building CRM applications that are intuitive and easy to use, are configurable and scalable, and incorporate workflow capability. Network infrastructure. Ensuring that hardware such as desktops and servers are adequate to support application functionalities, that the telecommunications infrastructure is consistent across service centers, and that mobile devices provide adequate support to frontline personnel. Systems availability/reliability. Using technology that is highly reliable and available and that has a sound disaster recovery plan; defining a method to ensure that customer insights are delivered to the right people in the organization. Technology program and project management. Ensuring that there is a clear fit between technology programs/projects and the organization s customer-centric goals which include program management structures for allocating resources and tracking progress toward objectives. 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

27 6 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure 0 Customer Data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Customer profile information We have clear definition of the customer information we need to collect and analyze to support our customer management strategy. We have a single view of the customer across all systems and platforms. We have a continuously updated customer knowledge base that provides all the critical business information about customer relationships. We have the capability to enrich customer profiles through appending information from third-party data. We have the ability to enrich account and customer contact profiles through appending data derived from social media, blogs, wikis, and customer communities. Customer data availability All of our customer information/data is available in real-time mode. Critical customer databases/data warehouses are configured to capture the information necessary to capture cross-channel, point of sale, and brand specific information. Customer data accuracy Below average We have a process to correct inaccurate data. Average Very good Personnel have appropriate access to customer information (information needed to properly service customer needs). Users of customer data consider it to be easy to find, accurate, and current. We have the capabilities to adequately maintain our customer data processes and infrastructure. Customer master information is consistent in all customer repositories. Outstanding November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

28 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 7 Figure 0 Customer Data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Customer data privacy Below average Average Very good Our customer data is accessible by relevant personnel, subject to applicable privacy guidelines. We have assessed the customer data legal issues that could affect how we manage our customer management programs in our diverse local markets. Outstanding What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of customer data management best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of customer data management best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00

29 8 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM Figure Technology Infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Customer-facing applications Our customer-facing applications have an intuitive look, feel, and navigation to minimize the need for training for both advanced and new users. Our customer-facing applications are highly configurable. Our customer-facing applications are single sign-on. Network infrastructure Below average Our network infrastructure is highly available and reliable. Our hardware is adequate to support application functionalities. Systems availability/reliability We have an up-to-date disaster recovery plan. Average Our customer-facing applications are highly scalable. Our customer-facing applications have strong workflow capability. Very good Our customer-facing applications support open technology standards and provide tools for integrating with other applications and third-party providers. Desktop devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel to sell and serve customers. Mobile devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel to sell and serve customers. We work with the most effective available technologies that put customer insights into all the right hands in our organization. Outstanding November, 00 00, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

30 Updated 00: Forrester s Best Practices Framework For CRM 9 Figure Technology Infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.) The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive. Poor Please score your company s performance relative to each of the capability statements according to the following scale. Below average Average Technology program and project management Very good Our program and project management structures establish appropriate priorities and builds consensus around the activities critical to realizing our CRM strategy. Our implementation protocols allow iterative and scalable solution deployment, allowing measurability at each stage. We have a formal program management process that tracks and evaluates progress toward our customer management goals. Outstanding What it means Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of success are low. Some use of technology infrastructure best practices. Improvement opportunities are evident in some areas. Strong capabilities and use of technology infrastructure best practices. Chances of success are high. Score Average of scale to ( = Poor to = Outstanding) , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited November, 00