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Mobile CRM: Seven Steps for Success
July 31, 2008
By Angie Hirata
Real-time mobile CRM has amazing potential to reduce sales downtime and build customer intimacy. But you'll never be able to realize the full benefits of mobile CRM without a comprehensive game plan. The following steps will ensure that your field sales reps, and other mobile professionals, are motivated and empowered to use the system to improve their productivity and performance.
1. Create a Mobility Team
First, start by creating a mobility team comprised of representative users from sales, service, management and other professionals in the field. Watch how they perform their job, find out how much time they spend on administrative tasks inside the CRM system (whether during work hours, evenings or weekends) when they could be spending more time meeting with clients or prospects.
2. Determine the Key Information
Don’t try to simply replicate the entire desktop or Web CRM application on the handheld device so it's everything to everyone. Ask what information each team/rep needs to access while they're in the field—answers to customer questions, past order information, schedules, etc. Based on watching and asking, identify the critical CRM system information (e.g., accounts, leads, schedules, opportunities, maps/directions, e-mails) that would benefit them.
3. Set Measurement Criteria
During this stage of planning, identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you to monitor the success or failure of the mobility initiative. Some sales KPIs to consider measuring before and after the implementation include:
• Lead follow-up response time
• Customer face-time spent per week
• Time to quotation
• Deal close cycle time
• Data completeness and accuracy (phone, e-mail, meeting notes) in CRM system
• Sales forecast accuracy
4. Standardize on a Mobile Platform
Your mobile CRM implementation should be based on a standard platform to minimize device and data costs, administration resources and reduce the need for application development redundancy. There are three key components that make up the platform for any mobile CRM solution:
• The Application: Several software vendors create mobile versions of their applications for different devices. Make sure the device you choose is compatible with an existing application from your CRM vendor or vendors you may be reviewing. Take a look at the features and functionality of the application and map it to the processes and the requirements that the mobility team has identified.
• The Device: To narrow down your device selection, find out which devices and platforms provide the functionality that your staff requires—e.g. BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, etc. Also consider whether your sales reps travel the world. If so, choose a device that supports global networks and roams seamlessly. To standardize on a device platform and stop rogue use of other devices, open a dialogue with heavy mobile users in your company that may already be using devices. Involve them in the discussion of what devices they have purchased, why they like or dislike them, what the best combination of device and application will be and put that forward as a corporate standard. Employees will be more inclined to adopt the corporate standard if they are part of the discussion process.
• The Network: Data and voice packages from various telecommunications providers can differ substantially. Your decision must take into consideration the devices supported, usage patterns and packaged offerings, and geographical/roaming coverage for staff—nationwide or even worldwide.
5. Mobilize With a Pilot
Before you roll out mobile CRM across your entire organization, test your plan by choosing a small set of staff from which to gather feedback and identify issues presented by the new system (this group should be different than the initial mobile team). Provide the device and training required, and ensure they use the system for one full month before you evaluate the results and roll it out to the rest of the group.
In addition to an overall pilot for your mobile initiative, also consider a phased approach to the deployment of features within the devices. There are two reasons to take a phased approach to deploying features:
1. It gives people a chance to learn how to work with the new system and does not overwhelm them. Whet their appetite by giving them the basics and benefits to get comfortable with the device and application.
2. The processing power, storage capabilities and display graphics of mobile devices are growing by leaps and bounds. Companies can take advantage of new functionality over time as software vendors take advantage of device improvements to provide a richer user experience.
During the planning phase, your mobility team will define what they would like to access on their devices as a baseline (such as e-mail, contacts, notes, maps and calendars). Start with that, then add more functionality and information (sales opportunities, cases, documents, etc.) as benefits are clear and buy-in is gained.
6. Don't Neglect Training
No amount of money invested in new devices and applications alone will result in the success of your mobility initiatives. Ongoing training ensures organization adoption and user satisfaction. For your mobile CRM initiative to be a success, training should begin in advance of the launch and then delivered on an ongoing basis as features are added. The training requirements will not be as time consuming as with desktop or Web-based CRM systems, as mobile applications are slimmer in feature set by nature and mobile smartphones are built to work intuitively.
7. Perform an Evaluation
Bring the members of the pilot together to discuss their experience and learn about their successes and failures. During the planning phase, your mobility team will define KPIs to measure the success of the project and take benchmark measurements from each member of the pilot program. After a month, measure them again. Identify which have improved and which have not, and set a course to make adjustments as necessary.
Successful Implementation
Establishing a well-planned roadmap for your mobile CRM initiative and setting benchmarks throughout the process gives your organization a competitive edge over those that don't. In the end, if you want your sales and service professionals in the field equipped with efficient tools and up-to-date information, actively involving users from the very beginning is key to ensuring success.
Editor's Note: Is mobile CRM for you? Read Part I, "CRM Goes Mobile" of this two-part series to find out.
Angie Hirata is worldwide director marketing and business development of Maximizer Software Inc., a leading provider of simple customer relationship management (CRM) solutions for desktop, web, and mobile devices. Contact her at ahirata@maximizer.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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