Organisations should standardise on one platform when deploying mobile CRM systems
Budget limitations stall mobile CRM strategies
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05 Jul 2009, Rosalie Marshall , V3
Many businesses have yet to deploy mobile customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, mainly because of the associated costs and security challenges.
A recent Forrester Research survey of over 1,000 global IT and business leaders involved in CRM purchase decisions found that 22 per cent had deployed a CRM system, and 52 per cent were planning a rollout in the next 12 to 18 months.
Forrester analyst William Band claimed that most companies he had spoken to were waiting for the economy to recover before launching a CRM strategy. The research also showed that 51 per cent of firms already deploying mobile CRM solutions were worried about the associated costs.
One particular problem raised by the respondents was the price involved in supporting many different devices.
"What firms are really struggling with is user choice," said Band. "Some do not mind using a BlackBerry, while others want their CRM system on their Android."
Band advised organisations to standardise on one platform, even though they will be asked by their workforce to provide more flexibility.
Kris McKenzie, head of CRM at SAP, explained that his company had not initially paired up with mobile providers other than Research In Motion because it would not be cost-effective for customers.
"A customer's business case is not going to stack up if they have a lot of devices to support, because it will just be too expensive," he said, although he did not rule out pairing up with other mobile providers in the future.
McKenzie's comments follow an announcement in May by SAP and Research In Motion of an integrated solution that provides customers with the SAP CRM application on their BlackBerry smartphones.
Around 73 per cent of respondents to the Forrester survey said that mobilising CRM had made their business more productive, but 27 per cent felt tha t the strategy had been unsuccessful.
Band suggested that securing mobile CRM products was another major barrier to implementation, and that customers had been asking Forrester numerous questions about the capabilities of mobile device management platforms.
Companies face a lack of expertise to guide them in mobile CRM rollouts, according to Forrester, which advised businesses to consider using third-party expertise if they are not completely sure that they have the necessary skills.
The research also showed that nearly half of companies that deploy a successful mobile CRM solution use a combination of external consultants and contractors, along with in-house resources to execute the rollout.
McKenzie added that mobile CRM is now one of the top three initiatives that SAP's CRM customers are interested in buying, adding that users are demanding " smarter devices and business applications".
The Forrester survey showed that companies spend around $13bn (£7.95bn) a year on mobile CRM strategies globally, mainly with SAP, Oracle and Salesforce.com.
© Incisive Media Investments Limited 2010, Published by Incisive Financial Publishing Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, are companies registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 04252091 & 04252093
Do you agree?
Is not budget but myopia
Accepted wisdom is that when times are tough organisations that pay more attention to their established customers, whilst boosting marketing activity to bring in new name business, will be in better shape during an upturn than competitors who just batten down the hatches.
Cutting back on marketing is a short-term solution that does long-term damage through loss of hard-earned brand recognition, which may have taken years to establish.
At Maximizer I have personally seen an organisation that deployed Maximizer Mobile CRM on BlackBerrys to managers and this enabled them to reduce their admin head count by 20. This not only funded the deployment AND provided massive savings, but is boosting the long term productivity of the entire company. In addition, some or even all of the costs of mobilising CRM can be offset by getting a better deal from the very competitive communications market that are available at the moment.
Nearly three quarters of respondents said that mobilising CRM had made their businesses more productive. Perhaps those who are waiting for the economy to recover should look at how savings in associated costs could be put towards funding deployment of a mobile CRM system. Otherwise they could well miss the boat.
Mark Carter, Maximizer Software
www.max.co.uk
Posted by Mark Carter, 07 Jul 2009
mobile silliness
Funny how some of these companies already know they prefer their CRM on Android when the mainstream mobile products are not widely available.
This article is either pure speculation, a marketing jam by future Android providers, or a spray of analyst crapola from a seemingly reputable firm. Frankly I believe they are eating each other's garbage.
It makes it difficult to believe any of the numbers behind this when they make nonsensical statements about customer selections that cannot be the case.
Learn about what you are getting into before diving headlong into mobile. And make sure you have advisors that have been through the trenches. As with any IT project in an area involving new technology, proceed with educated caution.
Posted by mobileguy, 08 Jul 2009