ATLANTA (January 2012) – During the January TAG CRM Society meeting, the group assembled an expert panel to share their insights on the State for the CRM Industry in 2012. Panelists, including Jabian Consulting Senior Manager, Adam Herndon, discussed challenges and wins from 2011, and emerging trends in the space this year.
Discussion amongst the panel ranged from lessons learned on rolling out a CRM strategy to multiple business divisions, to understanding how best to use social media. Mr. Herndon shared his thoughts on common CRM challenges. “I see that the same challenges presenting themselves year after year. One of the most complex, is solution adoption. Too much focus is placed on acceptance by senior level executives and not enough time is spent engaging the end users”. Mr. Herndon believes that a “good adoption strategy includes consistent engagement of all levels in an organization, to ensure that each user knows how the CRM will impact and benefit them.”
In articulating trends in 2012, Mr. Herndon commented on how end users will drive CRM strategies in the next year. “We are seeing an increase in the rise of relationship savvy customers. These customers have expectations about what companies should know about them.” He continues, “This is quite different than five years ago. Customers are now dictating how their data should be utilized and how they prefer to interact with companies.”