As we noted in the first and second pieces of this three-part blog, all companies should look to digitize their front office, particularly in challenging times where discretionary spending is decreasing for many customers.

Over the years, all too often stories appear about failure with CRM systems. My position has been, and will remain so, that software doesn't fail to work but implementation projects fail to deliver.

A CRM evangelist working for one of our large business partners in North America, Basil Malik, has written previously about how some businesses tout their CRM as the “lifeline” or “backbone” with excellent ROI measures across numerous dimensions. Basil goes on talk about viewing CRM as an "operations tool"- encompassing sales, marketing, and customer service operations - and how business processes can be brought inside CRM, for additional insight & improvements.

Companies that invest the time & money - and focus on the digitization of processes across the whole business - achieve the values he speaks of in his article. Each organization will experience its own unique journey relating to CRM. Commit to the journey, and the benefits touted by the organizations that swear by its CRM can be obtained in time.