Answers To Five Frequently Asked Questions About CRM Projects

How does your customer relationship management (CRM) project compare with those at other organizations? Forrester surveyed 133 organizations that are using one of 24 leading enterprise or midmarket suite solutions to understand their CRM solution purchase patterns, buying criteria, implementation practices, and satisfaction. Here are the highlights: Sales force automation and customer service are the most commonly deployed capabilities for enterprises, while customer data management and sales are most common for mid-market organizations; "fit with business requirements" and "flexibility and adaptability of the solution" are the most important purchase criteria; enterprise-class organizations often take more than six months to deploy their CRM solutions, but many midmarket solutions are deployed in eight weeks or less; large enterprises can spend $1 million or more on a CRM project, while smaller companies typically spend less than $250,000; and 28% of enterprises and 47% of the midmarket organizations surveyed agreed that their expected business results were met or exceeded. Follow Forrester's 10 proven best practices to improve your odds of success.