Recommended reports
Reducing Customer Struggle
The Reducing Customer Struggle report, published by Econsultancy in association with Tealeaf, looks in-depth at the extent to which companies understand the overall online customer experience and the approaches or types of technology they use to identify issues and remedy them. The study also looks at the relationship between online and offline areas of business.
Alternatively, see our Multichannel Customer Experience Report or JUMP Magazine: Issue two.
NA at NA
16 May 2001 13:01pm
Hello,
Having trawled through many white papers and sites I am finding it hard to find examples of where CRM has failed. I am not looking for failures of system integration or of delivery etc, but of CRM projects that alienate rather than engage customers.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Louisa
CEO at Econsultancy
23 May 2001 18:10pm
An interesting question indeed Louisa. As you say there is plenty of research evidence to support project failures, lack of return on investment etc. but less about CRM projects that failed *from the customers' perspective* which is ironic really given that customer-focus is what CRM is all about.
I imagine most of what you can find out will be anecdotal and from customers themselves. It is hardly the kind of information that companies are going to be keen to release! I have certainly had terrible CRM-related experiences in the following areas:
- nightmarish automated phone systems: you know where you go through several menus none of which give you exactly the options you want only to then repeat to the human you (might) get through to all the things you have just selected? Or where you hold for 30mins hearing 'As a valued customer, your call is important to us' repeated over and over between elevator versions of Greensleaves?
- so called 'personalised' e-mails and autoresponders: in my opinion most 'intelligent' auto-responders are very poor and do more harm than good. As for personalised e-mails, I received an e-mail the other day (ironically from a site that is about personalisation) which began as follows: "Dear [insert_username]" - most amusing...
I could rant on, but I'm not sure personal rants are what you are after. I do believe very much in CRM but it has to bring benefits to the user (and business) or it won't work. I think it is strongest where customers are empowered to look after themselves by being given personalised tools, content and services that they can configure, update and control. Give me a really good database of FAQs over 'intelligent' automated customer service autoresponders any day; allow me and other users to add questions to build the knowledge base over time etc.
I've certainly got nothing against systems and automation in priniciple (think of life without cash machines) because to be honest even when you do get through to a real human they can often be equally as impressively useless as some of those clever CRM systems...
Yours
eCRM consultant
On 13:01:07 16 May 2001 louisa wrote:
>Hello,
> Having trawled through many white papers and sites I am
>finding it hard to find examples of where CRM has failed.
>I am not looking for failures of system integration or of
>delivery etc, but of CRM projects that alienate rather
>than engage customers.
> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
>Louisa