Getting Started

Starting a CRM from scratch can time consuming, expensive and challenging, at the same time it can be well worth it. For CRM to be operated effectively, an organization’s staff must be convinced that change is good and that CRM will be beneficial. Business processes must be analyzed to decide what needs to be reengineered and how best to go about it. One must conclude what sort of customer information is relevant and how it will be used. A team of carefully selected executives should choose the correct technology to make proper automations. The process, depending upon the size of the company and the amount of data, can take anywhere from a two weeks to a year or more. Though some firms are using Web-based CRM technologies for only hundreds of dollars per month per user, large companies may spends millions to purchase, install, and customize the technology required to support its CRM initiative.