|
|
10 Tips To Choose The Right Vendor In China
Advisor Of G-CEM Replies To Member's Question
Mr. Sampson Lee
President of G-CEM
www.g-cem.org
What Is the Current Status Of The Demand Of China Enterprises On CRM?
1. Me too - you have I have, i.e. in certain industries, being told some competitors adopt a vertical CRM solutions from some vendors, then rush into it without being think clear whether she is well prepared or not.
2. Foreign HQ implemented, now have to do it in China branch.
3. Want to use CRM to improve company performance, but don't know what CRM really is. Only think buy a software could solve all the problems they're having now.
In general, most of them not equip the mind-set, strategy, people and process to implement CRM. Besides, even the customer data are so incomplete that make CRM almost impossible.
How To Fit Yourself With The Vendor?
1. Redefine "supplier", not only restricted to software, implementation, SI vendors, but also training vendor, pre-implementation consulting vendor.
2. Is how they accompany with your company, or the needs, problems, business process, CRM objectives of your company, but not how your company fit your vendors.
3. Get yourself knowledged of how a success CRM implementation needed, than equipped yourself, and ask for your vendors to have same or higher standard that you. Devoted you top management support on the implementation.
10 Tips To Choose The Right Vendor In China:
1. They should know your business/industry
- including industry knowledge, characteristics of field people and customers, business process, competitive environment, what the customers value the most, etc. Only when they have people to know your industry and business, they could provide something that could serve your customers (both internal and external) better, retain them, and maximize the profitability.
2. They should have good PM (Project Management) Team
- software is just a piece of software. It's the PM team from the vendor (of course you also have to form an internal project team) who really execute the whole project. Don't just be pleased by their great sales directors, talk and interview with the team that would serve you if they got your deal. Remember, besides all other concerns, you also have to believe on your feeling - chemistry is important for human being to work together. Find someone (or team) that make you and your colleagues feel comfortable to work with.
3. Call the reference clients (and also non-reference clients directly)
- don't just listen and see what your vendors tell you and on written. Pick up your phone and call their reference clients (if possible, non-reference clients too). Ask them how the ROI they get, how they feel after implementation, how the post implementation service and follow up, etc. You'll be surprised how much more you earned during those calls.
4. Visit the vendor and see how the customer management relationship works in their own organization
- it's irony but it's true. A lot of CRM vendors do very bad in CRM themselves. I am not talking about software, but about the CRM as a business strategy, also on people and process. Take a look at their office, observe their internal and external process, talk to their employees and customers, then you'd more or less grasp a picture on how good they do they are preaching.
5. Make sure the financial healthiness of the vendor
- if the vendor brokes, you will have a very hard time to have anyone to continue the implementation, or provide the after-sales support. You know, it's much more painful to swap the vendor in the middle road. Even vendors not broke, but significantly cut their supporting staff, would affect a lot to the service level they provided to you.
6. Don't squeeze the price too much
- Please remember it, and price shouldn't be the primary concern. The vendor who cut below costs or with a thin margin won't serve you well. Allow some profit room and you'd be amazed for the tremendous rewards you get in return. Instead of squeezing the price, define how and when to pay to your advantage.
7. Implement by phase and payment by phase, also pay upon the value delivered (not only technical)
- don't implement full force. Do it phase by phase. Or department by department. You can't stand a comprehensive implementation. Technology is changing so fast that some becomes out-dated after even 3 months. Keep the implementation time short (and you have to ask vendor to guarantee), payment upon values delivered.
8. All vendors' deals are very flexible now, don't stick to what vendors told you
- nowadays is buyer market, especially in CRM software. I am now asking you to squeeze the price to unreasonable level. What I mean is to allow more flexibility, on payment, on the definition of a product/service delivered. To protect yourself, and to ensure you really pay for value delivered, but not software delivered.
9. Ensure the team who serves you will last for long
- capable implementation people with good industry knowledge are always being hunted by competitors. Be careful not to have the whole team swap during the implementation period. Put it into contract. Believe, "people" is always (if not often) more important than software, same apply to vendor's side.
10. Let your users to try on the software, to decide the user-friendliness and practicality
- all vendors do great demo, be aware to ask your front-line users to try on themselves. Believe what they told you, they are the guys who finally use the system and deliver to customers. They know which functions are redundant and which functions are lacking.
I also recommend to download a free report on "Assess The Real ROI On Siebel". You may not use Siebel, but there are some common lessons we could learn from it.
In short, I think most of the companies in Mainland China are not ready to buy or implement any CRM software. They could still proceed but the failure rate, I could predict, should be much higher that the West, 70%. Instead of thinking paying money to buy software to fix the problems, they should introduce the real CRM concept into the organization before everything, starting from the top layer, i.e. the senior management. This is the only hope that could get sufficient support from the management in implementing CRM company-wide. Start to do this, and don't think about software until then.
|
About the Author
Mr. Sampson Lee the founder of G-CEM, has invented three U.S. patent-pending Customer Experience Management Methods. He applies modern psychology and human behavior disciplines to business practices to create effective customer experiences for today's business organizations. Lee and his International Partner team deliver the Global CEM Certification Program in Amsterdam, Dubai, London, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. He provides training and consulting to Fortune 500 companies and local conglomerates and deploys X-VOC customer experience research in developing Multiple Touch-points Experience Process model and Total Customer Experience Evaluation (TCE). Lee is the visiting Ass. Professor of the University of Hong Kong teaches the CRM module of the Master of e-Commerce and Internet Computing since 2004. He also sits on the Advisory Council of CustomerThink.com - the world's largest customer management community serving 300,000+ members.
|
|
Email to Friends |
Print
|
|
|
|
| Top |
|
|
