It has been a few days since my last post but I thought I would start off this week discussing a reoccuring theme that keeps coming back year after year.  The question revolves around the concept of deciding where the line is between CRM and other systems or departments.  Unfortunately, the real answer is that there are no lines.

When I recently attended a software publisher conference in Florida I saw a customer that I first implemented CRM for back in 2003.  The customer asked me if I had time to sit for a cup of coffee.  Anyone who knows me knows that I would never turn down a cup of joe.  So we started talking about the current state of his customer facing systems and how differently they look today than five years ago.

Paraphrasing the beginning of the conversation he began by saying, "Isn't this thing ever going to end?".  My rebuttal, "Yes!  As soon as you sell the company or close your doors."  This phrase was not new to him.  I actually spoke those words to his executive team back in 2003 prior to phase one.

The challenge when you start to look at CRM is that many times it's difficult to understand where you are going long term and almost impossible to keep from limiting yourself if you are myopic enough to concentrate on one team.  The other part of challenge relates to the consultants or implementers of technologies and their particular approach to your solution.

The best analogy that I can think of without going into some Tiger Woods example is to think of fixing up an old house.  So here it goes...

First, you need to assess the environment and decide which enhancements and modifications will add the most value to you.  Next, consider the needs of each department like you would the needs of any particular inhabitant of the house.  After you know what everyone wants decide if some of the desired capabilities or changes will impact the different people in the house.

If you find that some of the requests impact each other do like you would when working with an architect.  Sit in a room and hash it out.  Or, decide to disagree and table the changes until more important parts of the project can be completed.  Either way you should end up with a master plan and a method to your madness.

The funny thing about the feedback I received when discussing this project is the same thing I still tell people in meetings today.  I tell project leaders to be cautious, open minded, and willing to change according to what the market demands.  Customers are funny and they will always provide feedback to tell you how to do more business with them.

At the end of the day you will likely end up with more and more people on your CRM system and any lines between people and departments will slowly fade away.