CRM Best Practices Framework Forrester

November 5, 2010
Updated 2010: Forresters Best

Practices Framework For CRM
by William Band
for Business Process Professionals
Making Leaders Successful Every Day
For Business Process Professionals
November 5, 2010
Updated 2010: Forresters Best Practices Framework

For CRM
Use Our CRM FastForward Self-Assessment To Achieve Quick Wins
by William Band
with Connie Moore and Andrew Magarie
Execut i v e S umma ry
In the time since we last published this report, we have witnessed severe economic upheaval and the
emergence of a new phenomenon: the social customer. However, the fundamental business needs for
effective and efficient customer management have not changed: acquiring new customers; building tighter
bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing. Smart companies are selective
about how and where they invest resources. How can you make sure your company gets the best return
from its investment in CRM? Forrester developed a framework that includes more than 150 best practice
CRM capabilities, organized into four categories: strategy, process, technology, and people. To help
understand how your organization stacks up against these best practices and to identify where you can best
achieve quick wins, we created Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM. Use the framework and the
self-assessment tool to improve your current CRM initiative or to jump-start new projects.
tabl e o f Co n tents
2 CRM Initiatives Flounder Without Focus
3 Four Key Elements Of A Successful CRM
Strategy
4 Assess Your CRM Capabilities
5 Define Strategy
7 Redesign Processes
22 Leverage Technology
30 Lead People
33 Take Action Now
recommendations
33 Make The Most Out Of The Best Practices

Framework For CRM
34 Supplemental Material
N OT E S & RE S O U RCE S
Forresters Best Practices Framework For
CRM is based on a synthesis of findings from
interviews with business and IT professionals
at 101 organizations and evaluations of 33 CRM
vendor solutions. We have also incorporated our
experiences from working with more than 30
clients during advisory projects.
Related Research Documents

Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities
Best Practices Self Assessment
November 5, 2010
The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites For Large
Organizations, Q2 2010
June 16, 2010
Topic Overview: Social CRM Goes Mainstream
January 5, 2010
2010, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
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and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To
purchase reprints of this document, please email clientsupport@forrester.com. For additional information, go to www.forrester.com.
Updated 2010: Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM

CRM initiatives flounder without focus

Despite the recent economic turmoil since we last published this report, the fundamental business
needs that drive the requirement for effective and efficient customer management remain
unchanged: acquiring new customers; building tighter bonds of loyalty; and reducing the costs of
marketing, selling, and servicing.1
Forrester defines CRM as the set of business processes and supporting technologies used to acquire,
retain, and enhance customer relationships. CRM encompasses the activities organizations use to
understand, target, deliver, and respond to customers across marketing, sales, and service, as well
as among external demand chain partners.2 The phenomenon of the social Web which Forrester
calls Social Computing is forcing business process professionals to expand their thinking beyond
the goal of optimizing a two-way relationship between an enterprise and customer to also include
the simultaneous interactions that customers have among themselves. CRM is evolving from its
traditional focus on optimizing customer-facing transactional processes to include the strategies
and technologies to develop collaborative and social connections with customers, suppliers, and
even competitors.3
Notwithstanding this emerging trend, one challenge remains constant. Organizations still struggle
to define the right CRM strategies and effectively acquire and deploy the right CRM technology
solutions that will meet their needs.4 In 2010, when we surveyed business and IT executives
at 99 organizations who are responsible for CRM initiatives, well under 50% fully agreed that
the applications really improved the end users productivity and business results anticipated
from the implementation were met or exceeded.5 Complicating the situation, business process
professionals are often confused about which customer management technology solutions have the
strongest track record for delivering results. We have found that while social CRM is capturing the
imagination of decision-makers at many organizations, it is the tried-and-true technologies that
offer the most certain return on investment.6
Disappointment with CRM is usually the result of poorly conceived strategies that lack a laser focus
on improving a specific set of business capabilities to increase revenues or reduce costs.
To avoid wasting your time and money on ill-conceived CRM programs, beware of the two most
common pitfalls of CRM plans:
1. No strategic focus on business value. Many companies have a grand vision to become more
customer-focused, but the implementation of this vision often lacks practical focus and
recognition of the typical constraints (e.g., time, money, and politics) that must be taken into
account to make the vision a reality. A CRM program should be tightly linked to business goals,
focused on customer benefits, clearly identify the processes and constituencies that will be
affected, and specify the associated information and functionality needs.7
November 5, 2010
2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

2. Lack of attention to business process and people issues. In some organizations, CRM
initiatives have degenerated into technology-centric projects aimed at basic process automation.
While automation projects may well lead to cost savings, the sheer complexity and size of these
initiatives has led to a blurring of the target value. Complexity and a lack of clear objectives
divert resources from the important tasks of redesigning underlying processes and architecting
how employees will work effectively within these processes. The potential of CRM lies not in
technology itself, but in the process of using technology alongside an in-depth understanding of
the customer to drive unique, valuable customer interactions.
The most successful CRM initiatives are framed in terms of their overall impact across the
organization and the customer but are implemented in focused, incremental steps.
Four Key Elements Of A successful CRM Strategy
Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM defines the critical capabilities necessary for building
high-quality customer relationships. The framework distills findings from our interviews with
101 user companies, analysis of 33 CRM vendor solutions, and insight from discussions with 29
CRM professional services organizations. It also incorporates our recent experience in applying
the framework to help more than 30 Forrester clients define their CRM strategies and establish a
road map for the future. The framework includes 11 sets of capabilities across four categories
comprising more than 150 best practices, including social CRM capabilities (see Figure 1).
1. Strategy. Your customer strategy identifies the customers the organization intends to serve and
articulates the desired customer experience to be delivered.
2. Process. Business processes are comprised of the practices associated with major customerfacing business functions in the organization. For example, marketing, eCommerce, direct sales,
partner sales, customer service, and field service.
3. Technology. Your technology environment plays an important role in enabling the CRM
business processes and is comprised of customer analytics, customer data management, and
technology infrastructure.
4. People. How people are organized and led has a large role in determining success with
CRM. You must pay attention to the organizations corporate culture, leadership practices,
collaboration methods, training programs, and performance measurement approaches.
November 5, 2010

Figure 1 Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM

Strategy
Customer strategy
Process
Marketing
eCommerce
Direct sales
Indirect sales
Service
Field service
Technology
Customer analytics
Customer data management
Technology infrastructure
People
People management
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Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
Assess Your CRM Capabilities

Firms must be selective about deploying their resources by carefully defining the best opportunities
for quick gains and avoiding the temptation to do too much too quickly. Successful CRM initiatives
have great discipline about the correct order of implementation of business process improvements
for particular circumstances facing the organization.
To a VP of sales, CRM may mean providing remote salespeople with access to customer information
or automating the generation of a quote. To a VP of service, CRM may mean providing customers
with options for self-service. And to a VP of marketing, CRM might mean access to a 360-degree
customer view to more effectively target promotions. While CRM may incorporate all of these
things, it is really an enabler that provides businesses with the tools necessary to effectively interact
with customers. To win in the marketplace, first define what CRM means for your organization and
then pinpoint the specific capabilities that must be strengthened.
November 5, 2010

We developed Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM to help your business understand
how it stacks up compared to best practices and identify where you should focus your attention for
quick wins. Forresters Best Practices Framework is also available as an online tool, Forresters 2010
FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. You can use the latest version of this
diagnostic tool, which has been updated to include social CRM criteria, to evaluate your capabilities
against more than 150 CRM best practices.8
Define Strategy
Start your evaluation of CRM business practices by evaluating your companys ability to define a
customer strategy and communicate the strategy widely throughout the organization. The customer
strategy identifies the customers you will serve, articulates the desired customer experience to be
delivered by the company, and is based on sound analyses of customer value and behaviors. Evaluate
your capabilities compared with best practices for customer strategy (see Figure 2):
Customer management, vision, and strategy. Defining what is to be accomplished by the
customer management strategy, communicating the strategy, and also defining the metrics by
which success will be measured.
Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting. Differentiating customers by needs and

value and defining the appropriate customer experience for each target segment.
November 5, 2010

Figure 2 Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

The spreadsheet associated with this figure is interactive.
Please score your companys performance relative to each of the capability
statements according to the following scale.
1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer management, vision, and strategy

Our business strategy is influenced by what we learn about our customers.
We defined the specific goals and metrics to be achieved through our customer-facing
strategies (e.g., gain new customers, retain existing customers, upsell/cross-sell,
improve customer satisfaction, etc.).
We have a solid understanding of which competitors we lose customers to and why.
We have a strategy in place to deliver consistent customer experience across all locations
and within all customer-facing channels.
We have a Voice of the Customer program that regularly collects customer feedback
from across customer interaction points, using a variety of techniques, to inform our
business strategy.
Average score
Customer valuation, segmentation, and targeting
Brand (product) managers know what customer data needs to be collected to more
effectively devise go-to-market strategies.
We segment our customers based on their value to our enterprise.
We are able to differentiate our customers by their needs.
We have a deep understanding of our customers use of, and participation in, social
media channels and activities.
We have in place the capabilities to monitor customer sentiment toward our brands as
expressed in social media and in customer communities.
We can segment customers based on their social influence in our markets.
We are able to serve specific target groups of customers consistently across channels.
Average score
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November 5, 2010

Figure 2 Customer Strategy Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)
What it means
Score
Average of scale 1 to 5
(1 = Poor to 5 = Outstanding)
Little use of best practices is evident. Odds of

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of customer strategy best practices.

Improvement opportunities are evident in
some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of customer strategy

best practices. Chances of success are high.
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4-5
Redesign Processes
CRM business process management practices are typically associated with major customer-facing
business functions, including marketing, eCommerce, direct sales, partner sales, customer service,
and field service. Evaluate each of the functional areas pertinent to your business model.
Marketing
In the context of CRM, consider the relevant marketing capabilities that support managing marketing
resources and developing and distributing marketing offers to specific target customer populations.
These activities are most often associated with the practices of direct marketing (see Figure 3):
Marketing resource management. Effectively supporting marketing planning and management,

allocating marketing resources, and collaborating within the marketing function and across the
enterprise.
Marketing campaign design. Designing marketing campaigns such as carrying out list
management, establishing program step sequences, and setting rules for customer response
management.
Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns. Building customer lists that
are appropriate for the receipt of a specific offer and having the ability to understand the explicit
characteristics of different customer segments.
Marketing campaign offer management. Assigning specialized offers to specific audiences,

coding offers to segments, and linking offer content to the appropriate target groups.
November 5, 2010

Marketing campaign execution and tracking. Tracking and managing campaigns in execution
channels and optimizing the marketing resources allocated to each channel.
Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management. Managing inbound
customer interactions across channels to facilitate the prioritization and delivery of offers in real
time.
Marketing support for lead management. Identifying, recording, nurturing, and assigning
sales leads for further action.
eCommerce
In todays Internet age, it is critical that your online presence be compelling and effective so that
customers can easily engage in commercial Web transactions with your company. As part of your
CRM capabilities assessment, be sure to evaluate your eCommerce practices (see Figure 4).
eMarketing. Managing email and Web campaigns, including cross-selling and upselling.
eCommerce quote and order management. Supporting quoting over the Web, facilitating
orders online, and supporting returns and exchanges.
Direct Sales
Direct sales make up the business processes and activities used by organizations that sell directly to
customers. You should evaluate your ability to manage contacts, sales opportunities, and track sales
performance (see Figure 5):
Sales contact and activity management. Capturing customer contact information, assigning
action to be taken against customer contacts and accounts, managing calendars, and
administering email communications.
Sales opportunity management. Converting leads to opportunities and promoting
opportunities for further action through the sales pipeline, supporting quotes, proposals, and
sales forecasts.
Sales performance management. Managing individual and team quotas and goals. Sales
performance management also includes sales commission administration.
Sales analysis. Analyzing historical and trending sales data, creating customized reports, and
sharing sales data and reports within the organization.
November 5, 2010

Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Marketing resource management

We are able to capture marketing goals, strategies, and metrics; ensure alignment of new
programs with marketing goals; and do marketing planning across complex
organizational structures.
We have tools to help marketers make decisions about how to most effectively allocate
their marketing budget.
We are able to define, track, and trend marketing business metrics (e.g., cost per lead,
response rate).
We are effectively able to manage marketing suppliers and manage task assignment,
costs, RFPs, bids, and invoices.
We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, and
materials for reuse.
Average score
Marketing campaign design
We are able to manage rented lists of prospect data.
We can manage multistage communications programs.
We are able to manage recurring communications programs.
We can build complex business-rule- and workflow-driven communication sequences.
Average score
Customer selection and segmentation for marketing campaigns
We have tools that allow us to select customers across different entity levels and switch
audience levels within a single selection.
We are able to facilitate the deployment, enforcement, and measurement of local and
global control groups.
We have tools available for monitoring segmentation membership in a dashboard,
time-series fashion.
Average score
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November 5, 2010
10

Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Marketing campaign offer management

We have flexibility in defining and assigning offers to campaign cells or individuals
within a cell.
We have tools to help manage and link to offer content.
We are able to analyze offer performance over time and can track offer performance
down to an individual customer in a campaign while enabling offer analysis across a
variety of dimensions.
Average score
Marketing campaign execution and tracking
We can manage and track campaigns in execution channels, including direct mail, email,
Web/eCommerce, telemarketing, and inbound call center.
We can effectively execute campaigns through emerging channels such as SMS, mobile,
and social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, product review sites, etc.
We are able to collaborate with or through channel partners.
Average score
Outbound and inbound marketing customer interaction management
We use interaction management tools that provide a single common solution that can
span multiple inbound customer channels.
We can easily manage real-time scoring of customers based on business goals and are
able to prioritize offers delivered in a real-time context.
Our interaction management tools are integrated with campaign and offer management.
We have the capability to take into account analysis of unstructured social content like
blogs, customer product reviews, and customer emails.
Average score
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November 5, 2010

Figure 3 Marketing Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

Marketing support for lead management
We are able to validate and score leads.
We are able to effectively route and assign leads.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of marketing best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of marketing

4-5
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November 5, 2010
11
12

Figure 4 eCommerce Capabilities Best Practice Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
eMarketing
We are able to effectively manage email and Web campaigns.
We are able to cross-sell and upsell through our eMarketing.
We have the capabilities to undertake eMarketing campaigns through social and
viral media mechanisms, such as user-generated content.
Average score
eCommerce quote and order management
We have strong quoting capabilities.
We can facilitate ordering online.
We are able to facilitate returns and exchanges online.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of eCommerce best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of eCommerce

4-5
58002
November 5, 2010

Figure 5 Direct Sales Capabilities Best Practice Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Sales contact and activity management

We can search for contacts, accounts, or deals.
We are able to effectively manage sales activities.
We are able to effectively manage email communications.
We are able to effectively manage salesperson calendars.
We can capture and standardize methodology, best practices, processes, templates, and
materials for reuse.
Average score
Sales opportunity management
We are able to convert sales leads to opportunities.
We are able to track sales opportunities, including features like competitive information
and win/loss reasons.
We are able to forecast and manage the sales pipeline.
We have social collaboration tools that allow reps to use historical sales data, product
affinity analysis, and knowledge from their peers and community to identify which
products to sell to which customers.
We have social collaboration capabilities that allow reps to form virtual teams and
connect reps within an organization with other people and knowledge that may be
helpful to them.
We can collaborate with individual customers during the sales cycles using Web portals
and/or social media platforms.
Average score
Sales performance management
We are able to manage individual and team sales quotas.
We are able to effectively manage individual and team sales goals.
We are able to establish and effectively manage sales force compensation.
Average score
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November 5, 2010
13
14

Figure 5 Direct Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

Sales analysis
We have sales dashboard reporting capabilities
We are able to create custom sales reports.
We are able to analyze trending and historical sales data.
Users can create widgets/gadgets for top accounts, top opportunities, and contacts.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of direct sales best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of direct sales

4-5
58002
Indirect Sales
Brand owners who market and sell through indirect channels face special challenges. Their ability
to drive sales is in the hands of outside partners and allies. Assess your strengths and weaknesses for
driving sales through your indirect sales partners (see Figure 6).
Partner recruiting and administration. Identifying and registering channel partners,
establishing administrative interfaces such as partner portals, and providing partner help.
Partner collateral management. Creating content that can be used by partners, enabling
partners to find the right content, and pushing appropriate content to specific channel members.
Partner management. Distributing leads to partners, profiling partners, and tracking and
managing partner tiers.
Partner program management. Managing preferred partner programs, managing marketing

funds, supporting joint partner marketing, and supporting partner promotions.
November 5, 2010

Partner sales management. Tracking partner leads and deal registration. Also, cross-selling and
upselling through partners, supporting tiered pricing structures, and managing discounting and
approval requests.
Partner training. Delivering service through partners, sharing best practices with partners,
offering partner training, and tracking partner certifications.
Partner analysis. Analyzing partner performance through ad hoc analyses or predefined

reporting templates.
Customer Service
Customer service is the provision of labor and other resources for the purpose of increasing the
value that buyers receive from their purchases and the processes leading up to these purchases.
Customer service is most closely associated with support provided through phone contact centers
but also includes the support available through other channels such as the phone, kiosk, and Webenabled customer self-service. When assessing your CRM capabilities, include an evaluation of
customer service process strengths and weaknesses (see Figure 7):
Customer service phone agent support. Supporting phone agents in creating customer
incidents or cases with respect to a specific customer inquiry or request, routing the incidents,
and handling the inquiry within the guidelines for a specific class of customer.
Customer service call center infrastructure management. Managing, assessing, assigning, and
matching calls and emails to the callers record. This also includes prioritizing customer needs
and matching these needs to customer service agents based on agent skill and availability.
Customer service knowledge base. Guiding an agent through unfamiliar business processes,
generating and using frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists.
Customer service self-service to live-service transition. Passing information to an agent when

a session transitions from self-service to live-service and initiating agent-to-customer chat.
Customer service email response management. Managing and responding to a high volume of
incoming email, routing assignments, analyzing messages, and managing acknowledgements.
Customer service forums. Supporting forums for sharing information with and among
business customers or consumers, including participant registration and administration. Also

includes the managing of knowledge bases and diagnostic tools.
November 5, 2010
15
16

Figure 6 Indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Partner recruiting and administration

We are able to register and add partners as well as capture partner attributes or other
information.
We have the ability to create partner portals.
We have partner-specific help available through our administrative interface.
Average score
Partner collateral management

We effectively use tools to create sales collateral content for partners.
Partners and our own organization can efficiently search for sales collateral.
Average score
Partner management
We are able to distribute leads to partners.
We have the ability to track and manage partner tiers.
Average score
Partner program management
We are able to manage loyalty or preferred partner programs.
We have support for joint partner marketing.
Average score
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November 5, 2010

Figure 6 Indirect Sales Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Partner sales management

We are able to track partner leads.
We have the capability to support partner deal registration.
We are able to cross-sell and upsell through partners.
We are able to effectively manage partner discounting and approval requests.
Average score
Partner training
We are able to track partner capability certifications.
We have support for partner training.
Average score
Partner analysis
We have sophisticated partner dashboard capabilities.
We are able to create custom reports for partner analysis.
We are able to do historical and trending partner analysis.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of indirect sales best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of indirect sales

4-5
58002
November 5, 2010
17
18

Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer service phone agent support

We are able to create incidents (agent, user, system alert, email) and then take group
skills and queues into account when assigning and routing incidents to agents.
Phone agents can quickly and easily review the products or services that the customer
owns as well as the various histories while maintaining visibility into the customers
name/basic details.
The service entitlements of a customer are clearly visible to phone agents.
We have call scripting capabilities.
We have an integrated member account and profile that allows consumers to seamlessly
travel between channels; (social) community profile and history is included as part of
the customer record; community content is fully available for inclusion.
We have the capability to interact and service our customer through emerging social
media channels and platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and other private and public
Web-based customer communities.
Average score
Customer service call center infrastructure
We have time zone and language support for global agents.
We are able to effectively manage, assess, assign, and match calls/emails to the callers
record.
The agent can see call time/length during the session.
We have insight into call center and service issues, customer interaction patterns, and
employee productivity.
Average score
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November 5, 2010

Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer service knowledge base

We have tools available to guide an agent through unfamiliar business processes during
a call.
We are able to automatically generate and rank frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists.
We can segment viewing of knowledge base content by groups, both internally and
externally.
Our knowledge base answers include discussion threads from the (social) community;
integrated search returns community discussions, blogs, or Q&As together with curated
knowledge base answers.
Average score
Customer service self-service to live-service transition
We can pass relevant information to the agent when a customer service session
transitions from self-service to live-service.
We have support for agent-to-customer chat facilities.
All interactions between an agent and the customer (e.g., page/push and sharing, form
fill, remote control) are transcribed and stored.
(Social) community discussions can be escalated into the formal incident workflow.
Average score
Customer service email response management
We are able to manage and respond to a high volume of incoming email, and agents use
a browser-based UI to access a single companywide customer information database.
Emails are processed by a business process engine to ensure routing, assignments,
message analysis, entitlement checking, language identification, parsing for junk emails,
and sending of acknowledgements; and the email business process engine also tracks
status of emails for escalations and automatic response for status checks by customers.
Average score
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November 5, 2010
19
20

Figure 7 Customer Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

Customer service forums
We have support for moderated forums of consumer or business customers.
Customer forum content is well-integrated with the knowledge base and problem
diagnostic tools.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of customer service best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of customer service

4-5
58002
Field Service
Field service includes the repair and testing activities typically performed for a customer at its site,
based on warranty or other contractual agreements. If your company supports customers in this
way, include an evaluation of field service processes as part of your CRM capabilities assessment (see
Figure 8):
Core field service capabilities. Providing field dispatchers with visibility into service orders,
handling third-party service providers, and managing invoicing.
Field service scheduling. Managing field service personnel schedules based on decision rules
such as availability, skills, distance, costs, and service-level agreements.
Field service mobile capabilities. Providing mobile devices to support on-site communications,
invoicing, and parts management.
Field service spare parts management. Managing spare parts inventories, handling defectives,
and processing excess parts returns.
November 5, 2010

Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Core field service capabilities

Our field service dispatchers have good visibility into the service orders.
We are able to effectively manage third-party service providers.
We are able to effectively handle invoicing of customers for service calls.
Average score
Field service scheduling
We have tools that leverage optimization formulas and have built-in rules to make
effective field service call scheduling decisions.
We are able to easily change the parameters for field service call scheduling rules.
Average score
Field service mobile capabilities
We have good mobile device support for field service activities.
Our technicians can generate an invoice on-site using mobile devices.
Our technicians have parts management capabilities available through mobile devices.
Average score
Field service spare parts management
Field service personnel have strong processes for spares planning, including a clear view
of spares inventory.
We are able to effectively manage excess parts returns processes.
We are able to effectively manage spare parts defectives processes.
Average score
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November 5, 2010
21
22

Figure 8 Field Service Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of field service best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of field service

4-5
58002
Leverage Technology
Technology infrastructure and tools play an important role in enabling CRM business processes.
The CRM self-assessment should include a review of your capabilities in the areas of customer
analytics, customer data management, and technology infrastructure.
Customer Analytics
CRM analytics includes all information technologies that analyze data about an enterprises
customers and presents it effectively, allowing business decisions to be made quickly and efficiently.
Assess strengths and weaknesses with respect to your firms ability to analyze and use customer data
(see Figure 9).
Customer information analysis tools. Undertaking ad hoc query and OLAP analysis,
using real-time analytics to support personalization and offer optimization, and using data
visualization techniques.
Customer information reporting and analysis. The technology and process requirements
around built-in reports, report design tools, and report publishing methods. In your evaluation,
consider the best practices for key performance indicator (KPI) tracking and dashboards for
management decision-making.
Customer information business activity monitoring tools. The tools that support event
collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoring operations and alerting users to key
exceptions in the business process.
November 5, 2010

Figure 9 Customer Analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer information analysis tools

We use prebuilt analytics applications that combine CRM data with relevant information
across the enterprise (e.g., providing sales professionals with a customers order status
and receivables balance out of ERP systems).
We use predictive analytics to support decision-making.
We are able to do ad hoc query analysis.
We have tools that use real-time analytics to support personalization and offer
optimization.
We can run advanced online-analytical-processing-style (OLAP) analysis of customer data.
Average score
Customer information reporting and analysis
We have full reporting capabilities for customer information, including custom and
built-in reports, and personalized dashboards.
We use tools with strong, flexible, and easy-to-use customer information report design
capabilities.
We have multiple delivery options for customer information reports.
Our customer analytics tools use built-in best practice customer management key
performance indicators (KPIs).
We are able to drill to the underlying action from any report element or KPI.
We have the capability to undertake analysis of unstructured social content like blogs,
community posts, customer product reviews, and customer emails.
Average score
58002
November 5, 2010
23
24

Figure 9 Customer Analytics Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer information business activity monitoring tools

We have tools that support event collection, filtering, and transformation for monitoring
operations in real time and alerting users to key exceptions in the business process.
We have predefined, process-focused dashboards for real-time monitoring of operations.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of customer analytics best practices.

some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of customer analytics

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4-5
Customer Data Management

Customer data management includes the practices for administrating customer profile information,
providing data to the appropriate individuals in the company when it is needed for decision-making,
ensuring customer data is accurate, and adhering to appropriate customer data privacy guidelines
(see Figure 10).
Customer profile information. Collecting, associating, and organizing information about
individual buyers and users or customer accounts. Defining the right information that should
be aggregated about customers and how customer information should be integrated from across
the organization.
Customer data availability. Providing personnel with access to the appropriate customer-level
information necessary to properly serve customer needs in a timely manner.
November 5, 2010

Customer data accuracy. Ensuring that master information is consistent in all customer
repositories and that processes exist to correct inaccurate data.
Data privacy. Making customer data available only on the basis of well-defined privacy
guidelines that are broadly communicated to employees and customers.
Technology Infrastructure
Managing applications, building a sound network infrastructure, maintaining systems availability
and reliability, and using good program and project management practices are required to support
CRM capabilities (see Figure 11).
Customer-facing applications. Selecting or building CRM applications that are intuitive and
easy to use, are configurable and scalable, and incorporate workflow capability.
Network infrastructure. Ensuring that hardware such as desktops and servers are adequate to
support application functionalities, that the telecommunications infrastructure is consistent

across service centers, and that mobile devices provide adequate support to frontline personnel.
Systems availability/reliability. Using technology that is highly reliable and available and that
has a sound disaster recovery plan; defining a method to ensure that customer insights are
delivered to the right people in the organization.
Technology program and project management. Ensuring that there is a clear fit between
technology programs/projects and the organizations customer-centric goals which include

program management structures for allocating resources and tracking progress toward objectives.
November 5, 2010
25
26

Figure 10 Customer Data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer profile information

We have clear definition of the customer information we need to collect and analyze to
support our customer management strategy.
We have a single view of the customer across all systems and platforms.
We have a continuously updated customer knowledge base that provides all the critical
business information about customer relationships.
We have the capability to enrich customer profiles through appending information from
third-party data.
We have the ability to enrich account and customer contact profiles through appending
data derived from social media, blogs, wikis, and customer communities.
Average score
Customer data availability
All of our customer information/data is available in real-time mode.
Critical customer databases/data warehouses are configured to capture the information
necessary to capture cross-channel, point of sale, and brand specific information.
Personnel have appropriate access to customer information (information needed to
properly service customer needs).
Users of customer data consider it to be easy to find, accurate, and current.
We have the capabilities to adequately maintain our customer data processes and
infrastructure.
Average score
Customer data accuracy
Customer master information is consistent in all customer repositories.
We have a process to correct inaccurate data.
Average score
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November 5, 2010

Figure 10 Customer Data Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer data privacy

Our customer data is accessible by relevant personnel, subject to applicable privacy
guidelines.
We have assessed the customer data legal issues that could affect how we manage our
customer management programs in our diverse local markets.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of customer data management best

practices. Improvement opportunities are
evident in some areas.
3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of customer data

management best practices. Chances of success
are high.
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4-5
November 5, 2010
27
28

Figure 11 Technology Infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer-facing applications
Our customer-facing applications have an intuitive look, feel, and navigation to minimize
the need for training for both advanced and new users.
Our customer-facing applications are highly configurable.
Our customer-facing applications are single sign-on.
Our customer-facing applications are highly scalable.
Our customer-facing applications have strong workflow capability.
Our customer-facing applications support open technology standards and provide tools
for integrating with other applications and third-party providers.
Average score
Network infrastructure
Our network infrastructure is highly available and reliable.
Our hardware is adequate to support application functionalities.
Desktop devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel to
sell and serve customers.
Mobile devices are fully adequate to support requirements of frontline personnel to sell
and serve customers.
Average score
Systems availability/reliability
We have an up-to-date disaster recovery plan.
We work with the most effective available technologies that put customer insights into
all the right hands in our organization.
Average score
58002
November 5, 2010

Figure 11 Technology Infrastructure Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Technology program and project management

Our program and project management structures establish appropriate priorities and
builds consensus around the activities critical to realizing our CRM strategy.
Our implementation protocols allow iterative and scalable solution deployment,
allowing measurability at each stage.
We have a formal program management process that tracks and evaluates progress
toward our customer management goals.
Average score
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of technology infrastructure best

3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of technology

infrastructure best practices. Chances of success
are high.
58002
4-5
November 5, 2010
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30

Lead People
Supporting employee management and motivation is perhaps the most important, and often the
most overlooked, category of business practices that will turbo-charge or sink your CRM initiatives.
This means evaluating your corporate culture, leadership practices, collaboration methods, training
programs, and performance measurement approaches (see Figure 12).
Customer-oriented culture. Fostering an attitude among employees that customers are
important by incorporating customer care as part of the company philosophy and using
customer-oriented, not product-oriented, organizational structures.
Leadership. Demonstrating the commitment of top management to customer-facing
improvement initiatives, providing adequate resources, and communicating the customer

management strategy to all involved workgroups.
Inter- and intra-organizational collaboration. Working cooperatively across organizational

boundaries to serve customers.
Stakeholder support and management. Gaining the necessary support from both management
and end users for new CRM solutions and tools. Ensuring that business users are deeply
involved in the process of transforming customer-facing processes and adopting new tools.
Business-IT collaboration. Reducing the silos between IT and business managers by creating
organizational structures that integrate IT with the business, hosting regular meetings to
enhance collaboration, and offering technical support that provides rapid redress for issues.
Training. Supporting the development of skills that allow employees to effectively serve and
interact with customers. One way to do this is by creating a working environment with welldefined customer-facing processes and providing access to adequate training resources.
Performance measurement. Ensuring that the performance measurement process is closely

linked to improving customer relationships.
November 5, 2010

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Customer-oriented culture
Customer care is an integral part of our philosophy and culture.
Our organizational structure is customer-focused, not product-focused.
We encourage our employees to seek ways to engage with customers personally
through social media channels like blogs, monitoring Twitter feeds, and active
participation in customer communities.
Average score
Leadership
We have CxO-level commitment to ensure accountability, facilitate internal/external
communications, authorize funding, and align the organization to support our customer
management strategy.
We have full support across all levels of management for our customer relationship
management initiatives.
Adequate funding is available to support investment in improving our customer
management capabilities.
Average score
Inter- and intra-organizational collaboration
The relationships between the different groups within our organization are open and
collaborative, not adversarial.
Our business units and products effectively share relevant customer data.
Average score
Stakeholder support and management
Business users are intimately involved in the process of transforming customer-facing
processes and tools.
We consistently use metrics, rewards, and incentives to focus people on increasing
customer relevance and value.
Average score
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November 5, 2010
31
32

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)

1
Poor
2
Below average
3
Average
4
Very good
5
Outstanding
Business-IT collaboration
We have regular meetings that bring together business and IT personnel to enhance
collaborative processes.
Technical support for customer management technologies is available within the
organization, allowing rapid redress for issues.
Average score
Training
Our employees know their responsibilities with respect to servicing and interacting with
customers.
All of our staff receives formal training on the use of marketing, service, operations, and
sales technologies.
We have defined competency models and criteria for all key marketing, sales, service,
and operations employees.
Our staff is supported with easy-to-find, easy-to-use materials to enhance or refresh their
knowledge with respect to customer management processes and technologies.
Average score
Performance measurement
Our performance measurement process is linked closely to improving our customer
relationships.
Our staff receives quantitative and qualitative customer feedback on a regular basis.
Average score
58002
November 5, 2010

Figure 12 People Management Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment (Cont.)
What it means
Score

success are low.
1-2.9
Some use of people management best

3-3.9
Strong capabilities and use of people

management best practices. Chances of success
are high.
4-5
58002
Take Action NOw

Where should you start on your path to getting more value out of CRM? Use Forresters Best
Practices Framework For CRM to assess your current capabilities and identify opportunities
for improvement. Download Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices SelfAssessment. Distribute the spreadsheet to your team and score your company against CRM best
practices. Based on the results, identify the top 10 CRM capabilities most in need of improvement
during the next 12 months. Build an action plan to strengthen these capabilities and define the
metrics by which you will measure success.
R ec o mmen d a t i o ns
Make the Most out of THE Best PRactices Framework For CRM
Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM is a powerful tool for organizations embarking on
the path to assessing and improving their current CRM programs or for jump-starting programs
that are just getting started. Dont just peruse the FastForward best practices self-assessment; use
it as the basis for an active dialogue about CRM. How?
Take it. Everyone involved in customer relationship transformation efforts should take the
self-assessment and develop their personal view of the companys current location in its CRM
journey.
Compare it. Teams should share their individual results and identify any major differences.
Why is this valuable? Because if these differences of opinion arent identified early in the
process, they can cause alignment problems down the road.
Discuss it. Use the results, both similarities and differences, as the basis for an active
discussion about priorities. Where should the company focus its efforts?
November 5, 2010
33
34

Improve it. CRM represents a significant makeover for most firms, so it will take time
to achieve. Use Forresters CRM framework as a guide along the way, always asking the
question: Are we improving our CRM proficiency?
Supplemental MATERIAL
Online Resource
Forresters Best Practices Framework For CRM is also available as an online tool, Forresters 2010
FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self-Assessment. 9 You can use this diagnostic tool
to evaluate your capabilities against more than 150 CRM best practices, including social CRM
capabilities.
Endnotes
1
As the economy recovers, what are the key trends that will drive customer relationship management (CRM)
strategies and technology adoption in 2010? Business and IT professionals who support customer-facing
business processes must take into account 11 key trends: 1) companies return to investing in their most
important asset customers; 2) CRM evolves to become the extended CRM application ecosystem; 3) SaaS
CRM solutions become the default choice; 4) social CRM hype reaches a crescendo, but projects remain
in pilot mode; 5) customer service embraces real-time methods; 6) next-generation customer intelligence
solutions emerge; 7) the struggle to integrate customer data continues; 8) mobile CRM becomes a musthave capability; 9) price/value trumps functionality in purchase decisions; 10) scrutiny of business cases
remains intense; 11) best practices continue to separate the winners from losers. See the February 9, 2010,
Trends 2010: Customer Relationship Management report.
Customer relationship management (CRM) addresses how companies get new customers, keep existing
customers, and increase customer value. Forresters CRM research provides advice on how to plan, justify,
evaluate, implement, and manage critical customer-facing processes and technologies in areas like customer
analytics, marketing campaigns, sales force automation, customer service and support, customer selfservice and assisted service, and multichannel management. See the October 5, 2006, Topic Overview:
Customer Relationship Management report.
Forresters customer relationship management (CRM) research helps business process professionals
embrace best practices from process optimization to technology implementation to improve
customer interactions and drive top-line growth. Our research spans the business processes that
support sales, marketing, customer service, the related topics of customer business intelligence, and data
management. We are researching how the rise of the social Web affects the way customers buy from and
interact with organizations of all types a phenomenon that has become known as social CRM. Business
process professionals should follow Forresters seven steps for social CRM success: 1) initiate social CRM
experiments immediately; 2) benchmark customer and prospect social readiness; 3) define your social
customer objectives; 4) assess your social CRM capabilities; 5) understand the social CRM solutions
landscape; 6) map out your social CRM capabilities-building plan; and 7) define your CRM metrics for
success. See the January 26, 2010, Topic Overview: Social CRM Goes Mainstream report.
November 5, 2010

Forrester evaluated 18 leading customer relationship management (CRM) suite solutions against 516
criteria reflecting the requirements of large organizations. We found that heavyweight Leaders Oracle Siebel
and SAP still offer the most complete solutions, with better usability and improved total cost of ownership
(TCO) to persuade customers to upgrade. Other vendors in the Leader category, such as CDC Software,
Microsoft, Oracle CRM On Demand, RightNow Technologies, and salesforce.com are gaining ground with
flexible, quick-to-implement solutions. The Leaders are challenged by a pack of Strong Performers. Oracle
E-Business Suite (EBS) CRM and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM remain good options for enterprise
resource planning (ERP) customers. Chordiant Software, Pegasystems, and Sword Ciboodle offer business
process management (BPM) strengths to orchestrate complex customer-facing processes. Maximizer
Software, NetSuite, SageCRM, Sage SalesLogix, and SugarCRM offer sound solutions but are best suited for
midsized organizations. FrontRange Solutions, a Contender vendor, offers a solution to meet basic needs.
See the June 16, 2010, Forrester Wave: CRM Suites For Large Organizations, Q2 2010 report.
How does your customer relationship management (CRM) project compare with those at other
organizations? Forrester surveyed 99 organizations that are using one of 19 leading CRM suite solutions
to understand their CRM solution purchase patterns, buying criteria, implementation practices, and
satisfaction. See the August 26, 2010, Benchmarks For CRM Selection And Deployment report.
Locking in customer loyalty through deeper engagement and differentiated experiences will continue to be
critical priorities for organizations in all sectors in the decade ahead, but navigating the complex customer
relationship management (CRM) technology landscape remains challenging particularly in light of the
rapid rise of Social Computing, the increasing adoption of software-as-a service (SaaS) solutions, and the need
to provide mobile capabilities for front-line personnel. As our TechRadar evaluation of the extended CRM
applications ecosystem shows, community platforms, customer forums, and enterprise feedback management
solutions all of which enable new ways to connect more closely with customers have entered the CRM
stage. However, selling, order-taking, and customer service remain the engines that power the income
locomotive at most companies. Customer data management and business intelligence solutions are becoming
much more robust, supporting deeper customer insights and better decision-making. See the July 9, 2009,
TechRadar For BP&A Professionals: The Extended CRM Application Ecosystem, Q3 2009 report.
The three primary determinants of success for CRM initiatives in the near term will be clear linkage to
business value, phased implementation programs, and proactive measurement and optimization of actual
business results. Defining a value-based CRM plan requires a tight partnership between IT and the business.
While this is the case with any major IT initiative, it is even more imperative for CRM efforts because the
underlying basis for CRM is understanding the customer and using that understanding to drive customer
value, and ultimately, greater business effectiveness and profitability. See the January 29, 2003, Addressing
The CRM Value Crisis: Planning For Value And Delivering It report.
Forresters FastForward best practices self-assessment for CRM is available as an online tool. Use this
diagnostic tool to evaluate your capabilities against more than 150 CRM best practices. See the November 5,
2010, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self Assessment.
Forresters FastForward best practices self-assessment for CRM is available as an online tool. Use this
diagnostic tool to evaluate your capabilities against more than150 CRM best practices. See the November 5,
2010, Forresters 2010 FastForward CRM Capabilities Best Practices Self Assessment.
November 5, 2010
35
Making Leaders Successful Every Day

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