Led by CEOs and senior management, company-wide reorientation of CRM strategies and full compliance are imperative for effective implementation
FRANKFURT and LONDON, March 7, 2018 – CEO and senior management leadership are critical to the success of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies, according to the Executive Monitor Report released today by Boyden.
The report explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of a CRM strategy, addressing the following issues:
- CRM must be fully integrated into business processes at all corporate levels to ensure alignment and compliance
- Increasingly enlisting CRM software and tools to achieve short and long-term objectives and engage more deeply with customers
- Significant resources and human capital investment are necessary to appropriately elevate the initiative and encourage full engagement
Boyden's Executive Monitor report, The C-Suite: Evolving Client Relationship Management, highlights the progress of CRM across industries and sectors, emphasizing the critical role of executive leadership and endorsement. Though the entire company must align around CRM and engage with the tools, executives, particularly the CEO, CDO, CMO and CIO, must elevate and spearhead the initiative.
The report is supported by in-depth interviews with Boyden partners and executives including Alex Sabbag, Former Chief Marketing Officer of Swiss department store chain MANOR and Desmond Edwards, Former Group Vice President of Digital Innovation of Bloomin' Brands.
“CRM is not the responsibility of one person or one function. It is a transversal responsibility that starts with the CEO and touches sales and marketing, technology, and the company at large,” said Cornelia Tänzler, Managing Partner of Boyden Switzerland and Global Consumer & Retail Practice Leader.
“CRM interfaces now touch everyone every day. As these tools have expanded and become routine, CRM has transformed as a source of insight and knowledge for companies of all sizes, of all kinds, across the world,” added Richard Fudickar, Managing Partner of Boyden Germany, who heads the firm’s Automotive Practice.
The report also focuses on new opportunities and benefits to be gained from advancing CRM:
- CRM synthesizes data from various sources to paint a more detailed and accurate picture of customer needs and preferences
- Insights gleaned allow companies to tailor customer interactions, resulting in more efficient exchanges and elevated customer experiences
- CRM provides direction for more effective management of revenues, expenses, and product inventories
- With CRM tools, companies can ensure that promotions and campaigns reach and influence the appropriate target audience
“The C-suite plays a fundamental role in giving the appropriate weight to CRM across the business, thereby ensuring that it is executed appropriately across all layers of the business and all the way down to the customer,” explained Anders Lindholm, Managing Partner of Boyden Italy and EMEA Leader of the firm’s Social Impact Practice. “C-suite executives play a key role in putting CRM under the spotlight and encouraging total compliance with the strategy and the relevant measures and requirements.”
“Implementing a successful CRM system is contingent upon the involvement and coordination of the entire business, with the insights feeding down throughout the entire supply chain,” said Francesca d'Arcangeli, Managing Partner of Boyden United Kingdom.
Contact
For Boyden Germany:
Jan Böhler
T: +49 (69) 13388041
E: j.boehler@wbco.de
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