Tendenze Digitali: Post-CRM, App-ificazione, Liberare i dati

• Methodological advice on project planning: the advice to divide the year into two semesters and dedicate the first one starting in September to launch projects and the second one from March to August to consolidate them. The advice is to divide projects according to purpose, such as GN we propose the distinction between structural, strategic and value-added projects.
• The distinction between Technology and Trend and the Gartner-generated model of the Hype Cycle to understand where technology adoption is in the enterprise
• The three trends we have identified and summarized for the Fall/Winter 2020 semester (AW 2020): Post-CRM, App-ification, Data Liberation.

• Post CRM: CRM as a companion that delivers information and requires little data entry (CRM more read-only and less write-only)
• App-ification: enabling and mature technology of PWAs (WebApps) to build portals (b2b and b2c) and specific tools (bidder, email chatbot etc..) specifically designed for the phone
• Freeing up data: unlimited space and computing power are the enabling factors to free up data and thus to work remotely, to interconnect and exchange data automatically, and to automate

Temporal scope of digital trends: six-month planning and different types of projects

It is necessary to put a focus on the time frame of trends because they do not have perpetual value and are ripe today, according to Paolo Torricelli.

We also recommend using a semester calendar, a bit like school or fashion; in fact, it is no coincidence that Labor Day in the United States is celebrated on the first Monday of September, because this month brings with it the desire to begin again and is a time that should be seized to start new projects.

September is the right time for the design phase, followed by about a couple of months for developments and launch of the pilot project by Christmas. December represents an important watershed and we advise against organizing training and/or major releases at this time, better to postpone them to January and February.

The year, therefore, can be divided into two very important phases:

• The first semester, which runs from September to February, right after the summer vacation, is the best time to make new plans.
• The second semester, from March to August, on the other hand, is the best time to consolidate projects

Another important thing to keep in mind is the purpose of projects, because they often start with the acquisition of new technology, and this is not always correct. Technology is an enabler but it should not be our goal. For this reason, we have divided the projects into 3 types.

Summary model for classifying projects

• Structural projects: aim to support the essential operations of the company through certain information technologies, e.g., e-mail, management, switchboard etc.
• Strategic projects: the acquisition of technology is aimed at making the company different from its competitors. Strategic, in fact, does not mean “secret” or “priority,” but long-term, and in business a strategic plan of action means diversification from competitors (citing Michael Porter).
• Value-added projects: these are projects that use technologies to increase the value offered to their customers or integrate the product or service that gains value for the customer through an information technology (e.g., an app developed especially for them).

The distinctions are blurred: a project that improves my final product is actually strategic because it makes me different, however, the purpose of the design is completely different, if I want to enrich my product I have to think about how to do it, if I want to differentiate it I can think about intervening in the operation by improving for example logistics.

Hype Cycle Model

At the release of a new highly innovative technology there is a peak of expectation, everyone tries to try it but then the adoption of the technology is not easy and this phase is followed by a phase of disappointment. During the early stages, however, more awareness is gained and for this new technology there starts to be more productivity, i.e., it starts to bring results(return on investment, increased turnover, reduced costs...) and starts to meet the initial initiatives.

This is why it is important to differentiate trends from technologies. Trends, unlike technologies, do not follow the hype cycle but a business purpose, which is why you should plan following a trend, i.e., following a specific business purpose and not a technology “fad.” The trends presented here are proposals, each company may have other needs and other business goals, the important thing is to identify these goals and plan the IT investment accordingly. We talk about trends in CRM, how to manage customer relationships with the help of digital tools.

#DigitalTrends: How to Enter the Post-CRM Era

The first trend is Post-CRM, as GN recommends a self-assessment of the state of CRM in the enterprise through Critical Thinking, a model that proposes to question objectively without taking too many things for granted. The literal Italian translation of the model is “critical thinking,” which can have a negative connotation such as “argumentative thinking.” In reality, the model is meant to suggest a rational analysis, allowing us to isolate ourselves from fads and actually see the state of our CRM project, evaluating it with a hype cycle logic.

Critical thinking, then, is a methodological tool for self-assessment of the state of CRM based on objective data.

The metrics for understanding the state of CRM

• Adoption level: Adoption level is a very important indicator. You may have done a great CRM project but your colleagues are not using it, and this may not be caused by the technology but be of another nature. Technology often influences the use of tools, if it is poorly implemented it is poorly used, but also the purpose of the project can be the cause of low adoption level. This is why we recommend doing internal questionnaires, that is, asking your colleagues what they would like from CRM, which procedures are the most burdensome for them and which they tend to use less or more occasionally. You can use tools such as Digital Surveys or outsource the analysis to a third party to try to get a more honest answer. Probably with a critical thinking model you yourself are already able to assess what critical issues you are experiencing to date.
• CRM functions: Another system is to evaluate the functions: which functions are the most burdensome for the user? Are there automations that relieve users' tasks or not? The problem of adoption may be due to the absence of automatisms or to features that are too complex and time-consuming for the user.
• Data: Ultimately, CRM should develop data and processes and thus offer quality data. If the level of adoption is low, the quality of data is probably low as well.
• Processes: Another nontrivial consideration concerns processes. Many companies compete on a process logic. I use processes to produce a good so I win in the market with these processes. We observe at clients that management has a number of shortcomings and therefore many processes are re-implemented at the CRM level. In our analysis we go to evaluate what the processes are and how much these are in CRM logic versus management logic. An easy mechanism for evaluating the two logics is to think that CRM means relationship so it should have processes that support the customer relationship. If, on the other hand, it has processes that support, for example, logistics, that is purely management logic, and should not be left on CRM.
• Value: How much is your CRM project worth? You have an established CRM project that you have been using for years, how much is it actually worth? How much are the data within the system and the specific processes you have implemented worth? The key question is: If I deleted the data tomorrow morning, what would I really lose? What would happen if I lost the CRM data? Let's try to analyze our CRM according to the hype cycle, which should also be viewed from an internal corporate perspective : if you have been enthusiastic about a well-established technology, it does not mean that you are ready to adopt it fully, because you must like all companies learn and make room for these new technologies.

What stage of the hype cycle is my company in?

1. Initial
2. Maturation
3. Disappointment : this is a good time to review a number of things, in particular the lockdown has taught us several things.

As GNs we consider traditional sales technology as offline and use the term online CRM for all that are digital interchanges. If we have the distinction between offline and online, it is clear that lockdown has a significant impact on offline sales. Have you observed a relationship breakdown because of a distance issue? How do we drive change? For example, if salespeople have been equipped with the technology to do remote meets, was this dictated by random factors or was it centralized and driven with a set of policies implemented within your CRM?

This is why both at the hype cycle level and because of the context in which we find ourselves, it is important to start thinking about a Post-CRM, i.e., a subsequent CRM project that must, however, be useful to the sales force and that reflects the “less but better” logic: less functionality but better implemented, more efficient and more adopted. So let us think about a CRM that is convenient and fast not only technologically speaking. A very simple piece of advice, for example, is to avoid too much mandatory data or too complex operations, because then users fail to use it, regardless of the excellent technological framework on which the CRM is based.

Another important thing is to think about where the data sources are, because a CRM should be increasingly automatic and connected. Imagine Facebook rather than Google: these systems are not run by people who have queried us, it is us who have interacted with them and therefore automatically profiled us. Today there are technologies and mechanisms whereby we can capture the data and make it already available to our sales.

Key question: is your company already in a Post-CRM logic or is it still within the first phase of the hype cycle?
The answer helps to understand what stages are ahead and then we can prepare to manage them in what way.

Bunker economy model

This model allows us to better understand the new normal we live in caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have done a couple of articles on this, especially there is one called “During Covid-19 traditional CRM systems failed” which does a dissection of what is precisely the system designed for an offline/traditional sale during a lockdown logic and how it supported companies this system in a logic where we are inside a bunker, a closed space from which we cannot get out to market products. In a bunker economy logic we have to have systems that allow us to support remote sales because it could become a competitive factor, we have to manage this change and have a system that is fast, convenient, available with new methodologies maybe even with new technologies. We have to ask for a human contribution that is balanced against the data so a system that is less onerous than in the past and above all more active also to support a change from physical to virtual visits with customers self-profiling.
We need to move from “I have to record the visit” to “the visit is scheduled for me automatically.”
In a bunker economy phase, it is the right time to apply critical thinking and enter a Post-CRM logic.

An operational tip: measure, draw and change

• Measure, it is the most objective tool we have
• Draw at this point an ideal change scenario, which must be both from the perspective of perspectives, i.e., what I would like the system to do, drawn however on people, i.e., what my colleagues demand that the system do
• Change, evaluating the context and trying to avoid tradition. The advice is to start by changing and assessing the internal context, look for the quick win: make a small quick change that can be done right away.