Nine steps to ensuring ROI on CRM

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on April 3, 2002

A new white paper highlights the importance of developing a compelling business case for justifying CRM investments and ensuring programme success.

The paper, Creating the Business Case for CRM: An Approach that Works, from Akibia Consulting,  offers nine steps to ensuring quick, tangible returns. It is based on the experience gained by Akibia in 275 CRM projects.

According to the paper, achieving buy-in rests on ensuring that the development of a business case is a strategic corporate project of its own, with set timelines and deliverables, the right team, and clear benchmarks for success. According to Akibia's Roy Schuster, a focused approach like this gives the executives involved a higher level of credibility with the company's key decision makers, who become more confident about the project because they understand the costs, benefits and risks.

The nine steps
·  Determine the best approach for a business case, from ROI models to discussions of payback periods.
·  Define a hierarchy of benefits.
·  Establish rough costs.
·  Gather supporting data.
·  Quantify benefits & supplement concrete benefits with estimates.
·  Assemble final documentation.
·  Make a successful in-person presentation.
·  Define a follow-up process.
·  Institutionalise the "living" business case.

The guidelines also cover the ideal time period for case development, the best way to select a business case team, approaches to defining desired CRM outcomes, and how to avoid common errors that weaken a case.

For a copy of the white paper, contact Kate Cerasulo:

More Info: 

http://www.akibia.com