An interview with Gary Lemke, CRMAdvocate Founder
I’ll be the first to tell anyone that CRM is not easy for everyone. But if you believe that half of the CRM implementations fail, it means that half of the implementations are successful. And an interesting fact has emerged - CRM's value is clear once it is installed. A survey of 225 CIOs found only 22% were up and running with CRM as of December 2001. However, 92% of those that had implemented it were somewhat or highly satisfied. So the bottom line is CRM done right is worth the effort and we feel that is a story that needs to be told.
Why does the CRMAdvocate program focus on references? Simply stated: References via case studies and success stories are the “gold standard” in credibility and confidence. They always have been but in today’s world of CFOs asking for quantifiable ROI and cautious business managers not always willing to buy into vendor claims, independent verification of CRM success is more important that ever. I used to work for a software company and I can tell you that the most often asked question by prospects, research analysts, press, partners and even the financial analysts is “who is using your product” and “can I talk to them?” Everyone is looking for the “secret sauce” recipe to successful CRM.
Why is CRMAdvocate a collaborative effort? While the CRM industry can easily identify a leader among the vendors in terms of market share, I believe our industry lacks leadership. What is the state of CRM and where is it going? CRM is at an inflection point and business as usual will do nothing to change the state of the industry. No organization has the ability to singularly make such significant change in market perception. It can’t be seen as one organization trying to push agendas. To achieve the lofty goal of maturing and growing the market requires a collaborative effort of market leaders.
Initiatives must be pervasive, sustainable, and easily understood. That is what CRMAdvocate is all about.
How did you get CRMAdvocate started? The CRMAdvocate program is coming to life because so many organizations have a stake in the ultimate success of CRM as an industry. Those of us that have chosen to be in this market want it to be the best it can be. That means learning from our mistakes and building on our successes. We have shared the concept with industry leaders and they get it. They understand the power of education through prior success and they understand the power of collaboration. The momentum has been created and now the users have one place to go to learn what others have done to be successful.
Why did you add the webcasts directory to CRMAdvocate? While documenting prior success through case studies and the like is extremely important, we also recognized the vast amount of education being offered through various webcasts. Webcasts can teach us what other companies are doing and how they are doing it. Today, each webcast is independently advertised and we find the primary reason people don’t attend a webcast is because they don’t know about it. Think of the efficiencies when all webcast broadcasters can list their programming in one place and all prospective listeners can learn what is out there from one independent source. It’s a natural for CRMAdvocate program.
Where do you see CRMAdvocate 12 months from now? CRMAdvocate will become a “lightening rod” for positive CRM energy. We are starting with over 500 case studies and I believe that the number will triple. CRMAdvocate will become the industry’s preferred Buyer’s Guide by creating a quick “short list” of solutions that can prove their worth within specific applications, vertical industries and geographies. I also believe CRMAdvocate will become the major “learning center” for our industry providing independent and verifiable proof that CRM is definitely worth the investment.