eCentric Media Best Practice White Paper               Critical CRM Decisions - Choosing Your CRM Systems Integration Specialist   Also Available In PDF                                                                                            Print-Friendly Version                                                                        [Page Three]

Systems Integration Specialist Selection: Common Pitfalls continued

 4. Niche Recruitment Agencies Parading As Consultancies

 One of the prime reasons for choosing an integration specialist is undoubtedly to gain a supply of resources
 capable of implementing and integrating your CRM solution. However, resource placement should only be
 one role of the consultancy. A good systems integration specialist will be able to advise, guide and manage
 the implementation and integration phase of your programme. Indeed, unless you have in house staff
 experienced in CRM implementation, that knowledge is crucial to the success of your programme.

 There is a danger that some consultancies, in the rush to place their staff, become little more than a
 recruitment agency targeted at a particular niche market.

 Simply put, consultancies charge a premium for their skill. This is because they provide a shared vision and
 a consistency of training. Their employees enjoy a proven intra-relationship. In contrast, a recruitment
 agency will seek independent contractors to fill your positions with no first hand knowledge of their skill,
 training, and ability to work with the other members of the team.

 A true integration specialist can deliver highly focused, well-trained, experienced teams with a track record
 of working with one another.



 5. Consultancies Who Are Too Small (Or Too Large)

 It goes without saying that a consultancy should be the right size for the task. A company that is too
 small is likely to lack the resource, experience and expertise to meet your challenge. One that is too large
 may simply not be able to give you the more intimate relationship that your project requires.

 Typically, your project will rely on more than one systems integration specialist. Look at the scope of each
 of the main integration areas and base your decisions upon supporting the whole. The CRM integration
 market is highly specialised and fragmented.

 Certain roles may be suited to small focused consultancies - at least you will have the reassurance that your
 project matters to the consultancies own bottom line. That can be a great motivator!



 6. Consultancies Who Do Not Share A Holistic Vision

 CRM is about enabling your company to improve its customer service. It’s about empowering your customers
 and tuning your business to be customer centric. The technical challenges of this vision stretch far beyond
 the chosen tool.

 One report⁹ states , “No single vendor provides more than 51% of the CRM horizontal suite functionality".
 Not one! Your systems integration specialist must be able to take a view beyond the main CRM tool.

 Let’s look at some of the key technical factors your CRM project will likely face:

 -Customisation: Your CRM tool may be a close fit but will probably not have been purpose built for your
   business and is unlikely to be a perfect fit.

 -Integration:  Your CRM tool will need to integrate with your back office systems. Typically you will require
   ERP and finance system interaction. You may need CTI, email and web integration. A phased
   implementation of your CRM vision may mean many of your existing legacy systems remain but need
   incorporating in one form or another.

 -Data Manipulation: It’s not uncommon to have to manage and cleanse legacy data to be fit for purpose
   for use by any new system.

 So look carefully at how an integration specialist promotes their expertise. Do they have experience in all
 the product areas you are going to require? Or is their only stated knowledge the main tool? Too many
 systems integration specialists have strong ties to the main CRM tool but none at all to everything they are
 meant to be integrating with.



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