Cheaper, but at what cost? Tattoos vs. CRM

Cheaper, but at what cost? Tattoos vs. CRM

I saw the picture on the right on LinkedIn and I Instantly identified with it. Those of you who know me will definitely understand why! I have a number of tattoos :) Some really awesome pieces of work and some, well, not so awesome pieces of work. I'd also like to point out that most of my work reflects who I am, my personality and my very odd sense of humour. Most of my tats are rather interesting and unique in most forms, however, some of them really are generic and boring.

 

I think one of my favourite pieces of work is my minion 'Dave' from the movie Despicable Me. Dave is tattooed just above my ankle, not the most pleasant spot to get inked... I assure you. Dave represents me in the morning. Minions are generally lunatics, however Dave is just not a morning minion. I feel this a true depiction of who and what I am. Please note the quality of Dave. A lot of time was spent selecting him, his design was thought out, he was measured to the correct size, the right colours were chosen, the execution by John, my artist, was brilliant and he was well looked after when the process was complete because John told me exactly what I needed to do to maintain quality. Dave is a great tattoo, even though he hurt a bit, and he cost me a bit of cash, I love the result.

 

My worst tattoo is really something I'm not totally proud of, even though its part of me. I chose a terribly generic tribal design that I knew wouldn't really suite me. I chose it in a rush, I put very little thought into it, I got it done originally by a really bad artist that shall not be named and I barely looked after it once it was done. If you have a look at the design on the right, you can see the proof of an ill made decision. Not my proudest moment at all. I spent literally nothing on this piece of work and I really got what I paid for. However, later on the fixes ended up costing me loads more than the tattoo is worth.

The funny thing is I tried to fix it so many times after I got it. I have had 5 artists work on it, but because its such a mess, It will be pretty much impossible to fix it. John actually said that he could take the arm if I wanted. It looks sort of presentable at the moment. What I actually need is a clean slate here to start again and really get a tattoo that I know I want and that makes sense to me.

So you are all probably asking yourselves what on earth I am yammering on about. All this tattoo talk and no CRM talk. WELL, its really simple actually. My absurd logic will shortly make sense.

 

I spoke a bit about my favourite tattoo, Dave. I also have proof of how awesome he really is. If you read what I have said about him, it actually is very similar to a great CRM implementation that both the implementing partner and the customer can be proud of. I say this for the following reasons:

 

1. I said that Dave was tattooed in a very difficult spot. This is much like most CRM implementations. They are often soft spots within a business and not easy to implement as it falls directly in the middle of both business and IT.

 

2. I mentioned that Dave reflects me. A good CRM solution should represent and reflect the relevant information, rules and processes that have been described by the customer and are relevant to their business.

 

3. A lot of time was spent selecting my tattoo. Selecting the correct CRM solution is imperative to the success of the project. A solution that is not Dynamic may cause the failure of a project.

 

4. My tattoos design was thought out. A great CRM implementation has a well thought out design. A well thought out design will result in a CRM solution that functions according to the users major needs.

 

5. The execution by John was brilliant. When Dynamics CRM is implemented by the right partner that understands the customer, the product and all that is associated to it, inevitably, the project will be a success.

 

6. My tattoo was well looked after when the process was complete because my artist told me what I needed to do to maintain the quality. A great CRM implementation will have proper training, a solid handover to the right people and detailed information or contracts to help maintain the solution.

 

7. My tattoo cost a fair bit. No great quality CRM solution is going to be cheap. You are definitely paying for quality. Sure, you can cut down on scope to make the solution more palatable, however, this is not always the case.

 

If you take a look at the second tattoo, there are MANY components that I have mentioned that are similar to a terrible CRM solution.

 

1. Generic Choice. A CRM solution should be tailored for your business. Generic CRM installations make great platforms, but need to fit your business.

 

2. I knew the tattoo wouldn't suite me. The CRM solution you select must make sense for your business. It is pointless implementing a solution that is not going to make sense to the people that are going to be using it.

 

3. I chose that tattoo in a rush and put very little thought into it. The selection of your CRM solution should never be rushed. It should also be planned carefully. If it is not this will result in exactly the same scenario as my tattoo being redone so many times over.

 

4. My tattoo was not done by a credible artist. Customers should select their CRM partner correctly. Do all the research and make sure that the partner is reliable and credible.

 

5. I did not look after my tattoo. After completion of any CRM solution there should be hand holding with the customer and potentially a maintenance agreement that helps the customer maintain the solution in the correct manner.

 

6. Initially, I spent literally nothing on this tattoo. On the initial implementation of certain CRM solutions, the cost may be nothing, however later on, this cost will drastically increase, as so many things will need to be redone and fixed.

 

As you have read above I have made some interesting correlations between some of my strange tattoos and CRM implementation principles (Didn't think it was possible, did you?). As we all know, cost always comes into the equation, but cost isn't everything. What is important is to make sure that your focus is rather on the quality of the implementation. Rather get a small amount of really great quality work than loads of weak / mediocre quality work. Its unlikely I can get a clean slate for my terrible arm tattoo....At least with a CRM implementation, you still have a chance.

Does your business fit the product, or does the product fit your business?

Does your business fit the product, or does the product fit your business?

Often I hear complaints from businesses owners and managers regarding solutions that they have purchased. Its normally the same type of complaints; "Its too complicated to use", "Its not flexible enough", "It doesn't fit our business needs any longer". Regardless of the fact of your current position, I'm sure that these sound very familiar.

In this day and age businesses are considered entities of constant change. Strong businesses are always exploring new methods and ways of working. I mentioned in a previous blog post that the growth is perpendicular to change.

A number of years ago you only really had 2 options as far as determining which was the correct product for your business. You either went off to a custom development house and got a bespoke application written that would directly cater for your needs, or, you purchased an "off the shelf" product that partially solved the main pain points that you and your businesses were experiencing.

Ultimately every business is looking for a product that is totally Dynamic, flexible and that can grow as the business grows. Coming from a development background, I have seen businesses go through pain and agony trying to make bespoke products fit their business processes. Projects that start of by focusing on remedying basic pain points end up costing an arm and a leg because they spiral out of control. Thank heavens I decided to leave the development to the really smart people :)

I have also seen businesses use "off the shelf" products and hammer their business processes into them. In my experience I have witnessed entire capture forms being used for data capture that is completely irrelevant to the specified form. I have seen reports with columns that have had the names scratched out and a new column name has been manually written in. Its completely crazy the lengths businesses IT departments will go to in order to gratify a user and save money.

Wouldn't it be AWESOME if there were products out there that acted as containers for business rules, business process and business relationships. It would be fantastic if these products were pretty much rule, process and relationship agnostic. Mr business owner / manager should be able to determine their own processes and rules, and these should be articulated from a functional point of view within a software package.

Welcome to the world of the configurable framework or customizable platform. Platforms and frameworks that contain the capacity and functionality that allow for the very mentioned rules, processes and relationships that your businesses rely on and cherish, to be translated to a reliable, accurate, functional, managed (that's a lot of adjectives) process within a software product. Business Driven Process Generation rather than IT driven process generation!

Moving from a world of custom code, tables, referential integrity, primary keys and "do you have a field in the table that will cater for the edit box (Delphi Lingo) in the UI?" to a world of front end configuration has been an absolute dream for me. I don't need to go into SQL any more and mess around with the backend! the only queries I write now days are related to fairly complicated SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) reports.

These platforms have enabled and empowered people that understand processes, rules and relationships, from a business perspective, to generate all of these from a functional perspective and lay the foundations for the developers to fill in the gaps.

In my experience, a prime example of a Dynamic framework that is both extensive and simple, at the same time, is Dynamics CRM. It is no longer considered just CRM (Customer Relationship Management) but XRM, which means Extended Relationship Management. The focus is no longer just on the customer, but on any sort of relationship you can think of. The relationship between a driver and a vehicle, a facility and a building, an asset and a component, and so much more, can be created and managed using the XRM functionality.

The product, Dynamics CRM (XRM), is always difficult to explain to people as it is just so diverse. It has been used in many different businesses to resolve many different issues. I have come up with a short blurb that helps me explain, in short, what CRM (XRM) is. Here you go : "Dynamics CRM is a fully integrated customer relationship management suite that consists of 3 major modules; Sales, Services and Marketing. The product is governed by user roles and permissions, and automated by workflow, business process flows and business rules. The Dynamics CRM framework can be fully extended using the XRM functionality that is provided with the out the box product."

To all members of any type of business out there. Please, never forget to ask the question posed in the title of this article... Does your business fit the product? or does the product fit your business? You are a dynamic entity that is full of growth and aspirations. Make sure the product you select to support this growth fits the rules and processes you have put in place to facilitate this growth!