BUS188 Case Analysis B2BA-USA Considers Implementing a CRM System Firms discovering the benefits of the latest CRM tools are doing so for the purposes of better communicating with their existing client base, improving marketing services, building practice areas, or as a key component to overall firm growth. However, over 63% of CRM implementations fail.i The Technology Comes Lastii CRM systems are terrible when they are not implemented the right way. They are terrible when companies dont appreciate that all of these magical applications are nothing but databases and dont put the right processes in place to ensure that all interactions are entered into this database so that the data can be properly used for further sales, marketing and service interactions. They are terrible when companies dont assign strong administrators or cut corners on training or try to do too much at one time. They are terrible when senior managers dont pay the attention needed to make these systems successful and instead cave into the complaints made by employees who dont want to do the extra work. These applications are terrible when managers dont insist on the reports they should be using, dont enforce rules for entering new opportunities and dont commit to long-term, consistent and repetitive drip- marketing and communication campaigns using the information maintained by their CRM system to keep their prospects informed and their customers close. About the Companyiii Firm: B2BA USA / San Francisco Industry: B2B Accounting Services Size: Mid-Market Enterprise w/Approximately 3,000 people in the United States Objective: Improve Profitable Revenue Growth by growing the client base, improved outreach to the existing client base and taking a collaborative approach to doing so. Budget: Due to firm size, cost will likely be seven figures with consulting and licensing. Challenge: CRM had been on B2BA USA's roadmap for many years, but lack of understanding of what a consolidated CRM system could offer an accounting firm slowed the process. Most partners in the firm use some type of contact management system, ranging from simple contact cards to Excel files to ACT! and Goldmine. The SituationAs a midsized/large enterprise accounting firm, every year it is becoming harder to compete with the big multinational accounting firms like PWC and EY. The sales of their services are stagnating and it is hard to see exactly where the problems are. Having heard a lot about CRM Systems and the benefits, B2B-USA management decided they needed a corporate wide CRM system. Business Development and IT Team Up to Solve the Problem "I think what finally clicked for us was partners needed to be clear on the goals and strategy of the firm - implementing a CRM system; technology needs to be the last piece of the puzzle," said Erica Yesko, national business development director. "This new system will involve anyone who touches the sales process. This will be key to building momentum and adoption. We will probably spend the better part of a year before we even began the selection process." Having had experience with CRM implementations Revised: 03/31/2022 before Yesko added, "There is massive change management and business process improvement involved with something like this, and I can't underscore enough the importance of executive buy-in and partner involvement in decision-making that leads up to it." "Agreed. Once we set our objectives, it will be clear who needs to be involved," Jeff Clark, senior manager of IT commented. "The investment doesn't end with licensing and consulting costs; we need to have the right people to support the system effectively and a growing understanding and willingness to work with the system. This is a multi-year effort; we should plan for 24 to 36 months of effort realizing the full potential of this investment." Clark added, "If CRM is just another initiative brought to you by IT, it will fail miserably. CRM implementation have a high failure rate. Well investigate the major issues to make sure we dont make the same mistakes. Yesko agreed: No reason to reinvent the wheel... Then he added: Im thinking we should not change our basic systems in use today. We need to be sure the solution integrates with Microsoft Office including Outlook and is supported on both PCs and Macs as well as on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Clark: Absolutely. No need to introduce more changes to how people work. Well make sure the solution meets those requirements. Your Task In the corporate cafeteria, you overheard a conversation about the possibility of a CRM system being implemented. As a young college grad you recognized the opportunity to stand out from your peers and get ahead in the company. Luckily, you knew how to do research and write a Case Analysis. More importantly, you knew something about Salesforce. So, you quickly volunteered to become a team member. Both Yesko and Clark recognized your enthusiasm/capabilities and assigned you to answer the following questions: 1. List and briefly discuss the Major Benefits of CRM systems for a service business.* Note: The Benefits must be quantified. 2. What are The 5 Best CRM Systems that would be appropriate for a mid to large enterprise sized company that meet the end user requirement specifications (as articulated in the Case) Hint: You will want to use a comparison table. [Avoid Pro/Con this form of comparison is often biased, and are not one-to-one comparisons/hard to reconcile. 3. Identify and comment on The Five Major Reasons for CRM Implementation Failures and what will help mitigate those failures. Note: If you articulate a Risk, you must always show how to Mitigate it. [CRM implementations have been around and failing for decades. The causes and solutions are well known. Be sure to research them.] 4. Comment on Implementation is About People Not Technology. Focus on change management and business process improvement. Note: When you answer the questions in your case, use the exact phrases marked in Bold above as section headers. Important You are writing this task for C-Level Executives Use business voice and be careful how you say things. Review/use what we discussed in class about writing a Case Analysis.