What is CRM Transformation Vision?

It is important to have a long-term vision for the CRM transformation. The CRM transformation is complex, costly and cumbersome, yet the rewards of successful completion are many. So having a higher level vision of what CRM means to your enterprise, articulated in a short and pithy sentence or a paragraph will help diverse teams coalesce around a common cause. Hence, we can define the CRM Transformation Vision as the encapsulation of the rationale and the rewards of embarking on and successfully completing a CRM transformation journey.

There is always a confusion between what is a Vision Statement and what is a Mission Statement. One sets the company direction and another emphasizes why you exist. There are several great places to learn about the difference between vision and mission and it is outside the scope of this exercise. And what constitutes a compelling vision statement.

The CRM Transformation Vision statement leads to the CRM transformation strategy, the CRM Transformation Roadmap, and the CRM System Implementation Roadmap.

So how do you define a CRM Vision, particularly in light of the CRM transformation program on the horizon?

The key questions to ask your leadership and the team:

• What do customers and their relationships mean to the company?
• What is the feeling you want the prospects and customers to have when they interact and transact with your firm’s sales and service personnel? (Or any other employee, for that matter.)
• What is the experience – across the omnichannel – do you desire to offer?
• What are the philosophy, ethos, and principles of client interaction for your sales and service teams? How do they manifest the customer-first approach in every day?

Do’s and Don’ts of crafting a CRM Vision Statement:

• A CRM vision statement need not be highfalutin, but it must be aspirational.
• The CRM transformation vision must reflect the then realities of the target state, not necessarily constrained by the current encumbrances
• The CRM vision must resonate with the stakeholders and make them coalesce around the CRM transformation endeavor
• The CRM transformation vision must help clarify and amplify the core reason why you are implementing a CRM transformation program
• The CRM transformation vision statement must not be more than 100-words. A crisp, coherent and compelling vision statement impels users to action.

How do you define a CRM Transformation Vision Statement?

• Whiteboard Elicitation: A cross-functional team spanning leadership and associates can brainstorm the CRM vision. At times, this can become a very painful exercise, particularly if it involves identifying the vision and articulating it in a language that resonates. Expect to consume a lot of caffeine, flared tempers, frustration at the lack of progress, and the disappointment of not able to do such a seemingly small task. If it is not hard, you are not really trying.
• Example Driven: Another way to derive a CRM transformation vision is to borrow a few examples of good vision statements from across different industries as well as competitors, whether it is CRM related or something else, and use it as a starting point. A springboard such as a good set of examples can catapult the discussions to a higher level, and accelerate the time to completion of the CRM vision statement.
• Contest with a Context: An innovative way to get ideas and delegate the responsibility to the rank and file is to have a contest with a lot of context so that employees can compete and submit their entries. A lot of times this is possibly the best approach as the voice of the employees will be reflected in a profound manner.
• Consulting Help: A consultant also will be able to help in facilitation, acceleration, and synthesis. The key question is how much it will cost and whether the end product will justify the cost and effort?

You can try CIOPages.com CRM Transformation Vision – Free Template with some examples, and use it for generating ideas and creating a compelling CRM transformation vision statement. Good luck. You will need it – not just for the vision statement, but the actual CRM transformation journey.

CIOPages.com can also help in facilitating an example-led, template driven workshop to help your firm define a CRM vision Statement. Please contact our Advisory Services team. It is a low cost, light footprint, and value-added offering.

In addition, please check out CIOPages.com CRM transformation tools, templates, and deliverables.

• Build a business case for CRM Transformation
• Jumpstart your CRM Transformation Business Requirements
• Build your CRM transformation based on a stable set of CRM business capabilities
• Leverage and customize CIOPages.com CRM Transformation Framework
• Conduct a well-thought out CRM Vendor Evaluation
• Craft an accelerated project plan using CIOPages.com CRM Sample Project Plan