Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Call the Siebel's rep.

That's what i would do!

Good Luck!

Are you really talking about usability - or usage?

A usability of 10% suggests the CRM system is 90% unusable. Is that what you meant? Or do you mean it just scores 10/100 on a benchmark rating against a 100% usable system?

If the system really is only 10% usable why was it selected in the first place? Hqave you got what you thought you were buying - or something different?

Or, were you shown and told about a system which has not been borne out in what Siebel has provided? If that is the case you should be talking to Siebel and maybe you should be talking to your lawyers! Sounds like what you have had installed is 90% unfit for purpose!

On the other hand, if you are really saying the USAGE is only 10%, you need to review the business case which supported the purchase and analyse what transactions were targeted to be transferred to the CRM system, and what has actually been transferred. Chances are, you have an implementation which has been badly handled - or not handled at all.

Out of interest - how much money has your compnay paid for this system?

Time and time again I hear people in large companies suggest that their lives will be transformed when they get a CRM system. Yet these people usually have no plans - or even any clear reasons - for the implementation. They seem instead to have a high expectation of something magical happening - and expect that it truly IS magical, and therefore needs no analysis, planning, performance measures, management, supervision, fine-tuning, etc.

I would urge any company thinking about buying one of these (usually very high-priced) systems to have a good, hard think about what they are intending to use it for, and how they expect to get an ROI out of it.

Sometimes companies don't have the expertise or spare resources internally to conduct that level of analysis and critical thinking and need to bring in an outside consultant to assist - if this is you, make sure you select someone who is not selling the CRM system!

My company (which does not sell CRM systems) can be contacted via my profile should any KHE user wish to discuss this type of issue off-line.

Hope this helps!

ChrisB

What do you mean by, "the usabiltiy is as low as 10%". Does that mean you are only using 10% of the features? Or, does that mean that only 10% of the folks are using the product?

If you are only using 10% of the features, that is not neccessarily a bad thing. It means that you have room for expanding functionality later on.

If only 10% of the folks are using it - that could be a problem. I used to sell CRM software some time ago, and recently had a good conversation with a Siebel rep. His words were that the software is designed to benefit the organization, not the sales team. (In fact, it is my opinion that most sales force automation and CRM software is very detrimental to the individuals on the sales team). Thus, if for some reason it is important to you to implement this software, you will need high level support in the organization. You will need to TELL the sales team, not ask them, to use the software. You should expect turnover, as sales folk are naturally suspicious, and since each has their own selling style which works for them.

(Despite my strong belief that this software dis-empowers (is that a word) the sales team, you should make a show of telling them the great benefits, etc...)

Why was the software purchased? What benefits were promised to the organization? Are those goals worth pursuing? Are they relevant to the key issues facing your organization? Suppose you upset the apple cart, and had 20% to 40% turnover in the sales team, would that be worth it? If so, go get the support of the key people in your organization, and "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead" and jam that software down the sales team's throat.

If the need for the software is not so dramatic that you must implement it at any and all cost - what is the main benefit you can receive from the software? If you need a central source of information, can the new software be integrated with existing systems, so that your team can continue to work as before, and you can have a central source of information?

p.s. What are the sales teams doing now? How is customer support handled now? Do you have the budget and resources to replace and integrate ALL of these functions?