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CRM Consulting Firm vs. CRM Resellers: Choosing the Right Partner

A CRM vendoru2019s reseller (also called a VAR or OEM partner) has very different incentives and expertise than an independent CRM consulting firm. Understanding these differences is critical for businesses aiming for ROI and user adoption.<br>Need more information and support? Reach us: https://www.thinkcapadvisors.com/crm-consulting<br>

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CRM Consulting Firm vs. CRM Resellers: Choosing the Right Partner

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  1. CRM CONSULTING FIRM VS. CRM RESELLERS: CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNER

  2. INTRODUCTION Enterprise CRM projectscarryhighstakes. Industryanalystswarnthatalargeshareof CRM initiativesfailorunder-deliver. HBR citesfailureratesbetween18%and69%,withmanyexperts notingthatupto90%ofimplementationsdon’tdriveexpectedbusinessgrowthhbr.org. The stakesarehigh:abad CRM roll-outmeanswastedbudget,frustratedusers,andlostcustomers. Onereasoniswhoyouhire. A CRM vendor’sreseller(alsocalleda VAR or OEM partner)hasverydifferentincentivesand expertisethananindependent CRM consultingfirm. Understandingthesedifferencesiscritical forbusinessesaimingfor ROI anduseradoption. Keydifferencesinclude: Focus& Incentives: Resellersearncommissionsonsoftwaresales,sotheytendtoemphasize productfeatures,demos,andlicensingdeals. Bycontrast,independentconsultantsarepaid tosolveproblems–they’revendoragnosticandfocusonbusinessvalueoversales.

  3. KEY DIFFERENCES Replacevs. Optimize: Resellersoftenpushreplacinganold CRM (moreproducttosell)and willhighlightanyflawsorintegrationgapsinthelegacysystem. Consultantstypicallystartby auditingandimprovingyourcurrentsystem(userfeedback,processtweaks)andonly recommendareplacementifabsolutelynecessary. Breadthof Expertise: A resellerusuallyspecializesinone CRM platform. A consultingfirm bringsbroadmulti-vendorexperienceacrossindustriessotheycanmatchthebestsolutionto yourusecase,budget,andindustry. Objective Evaluation: Resellersmayhighlightthestrengthsoftheirfavouredproduct. Consultantsdriveafairevaluationprocess,puttingeveryvendorthroughthesamescrutiny. Thisensuresyoucomparesystemsonyourrealrequirements,notonsalespitches.

  4. KEY DIFFERENCES Long-Term Adoption& ROI: Consultantsmeasuresuccessinuseradoptionand ROI. They stayinvolvedaftergo-live–providingextratraining,trackingusage,andevenhelpingrecruit anin-house CRM manager. Whereasresellersoftenstepbackafterinitialimplementation. High-performingconsultantsexplicitlybuildadoptionintotheplan. Thismatters:studiesshow thatpooruseradoptionisaleadingcauseof CRM failure–fewerthan40%ofprojectsever achieve90%+useradoptionnomalys.com–sofocusingonuseradoptioncandramatically improveyour CRM’s ROI.

  5. CRM RESELLERS: SALES-DRIVEN AND PRODUCT-FOCUSED CRM resellers(VARsor OEM partners)areessentiallypartofavendor’schannel. Theyareusually certifiedtosellandimplementonespecific CRM product,andtheirbusinessmodelistiedto softwaresales. SalesProcess360notesthatmany CRM channelpartnersare“closelyaffiliatedwith amajor CRM company”andaregivenaninstalledbaseofclientstoservicesalesprocess360.com. Inpractice,thismeanstheiradvicetendstorevolvearoundthatproduct’sfeaturesetand upgradepath. Theywillcomparepricingtiersandpitchnewmodulesoradd-onsthatearnthem commissions,evenwhenasmallconfigurationchangecouldfixtheissue. Inotherwords,the reseller’sgoalissellingsoftware. Resellersoftenhighlighteveryshortcomingofalegacysystem(“It’sold,itdoesn’tintegrateeasily, it’smissingthismodernfeature!”)becauseafullreplacementmeansanewsale(andmore commission). Theyareexpertsonthatvendor’s CRM,buttheymaynotthoroughlyexplore whetheracheaperfix—say,trainingusersonanunderutilisedmoduleorinstallingaminoradd- on—couldsolvetheproblem.

  6. CRM RESELLERS: SALES-DRIVEN AND PRODUCT-FOCUSED Bycontrast,aCRM consultingservicesfirmwon’tearncommissiononanewsale,sotheir conversationstartsdifferently. Theyask,“Whatproblemsareyoutryingtosolve?”and“What’snot workingforyourusers?”onlythendotheydemonstratesolutions. Theirpitchisaboutbusiness outcomes,notproductfeatures. CRM CONSULTANTS: STRATEGIC, VENDOR-NEUTRAL ADVISORS CRM Consultantsbeginwithathoroughdiscoveryandfeasibilityprocess. Theyconducta business-caseanalysistoseeifandhow CRM shouldbeused. Thisofteninvolvesdocumenting painpoints,re-engineeringprocesses,anddefiningclearsuccessmetrics. Inshort,theyjustify whya CRM shouldbeimplemented(ornot),thentailorwhichfeaturesaretrulyrequired. You won’thearthemselling100featuresjustbecausethesoftwareoffersthem. Becausetheyworkacrossmanyclientsandproducts, CRM consultantsbringabroadperspective. A boutiqueresellermightonlyknow Salesforceor Dynamicsindepth,butaconsultingfirmis connectedtoanetworkofimplementationpartnersacrossproducts.

  7. REFINE OR REPLACE? THE CONSULTANT’S APPROACH Oneofthestarkestcontrastsisinattitudetowardexistingsystems. Resellersoftenoffer“replace”. Sincetheyearnonnewlicenses. Consultantstendtoaskfirst,“Canwemakethisworkbetter”. Inpractice,aconsultantwillaudityourcurrentsystembeforerecommendinganewone. Armaninorecommendsexactlythis:don’trushtoupgrade,butfirstevaluatetheexisting CRM thoroughlytounderstandwhat’swrongandhowtofixitarmanino.com. Ifyour CRM stillmeets mostneeds,theconsultantmightstreamlineworkflows,improvedatahygiene,oraddtargeted modules–oftenatfarlowercostthanawholenewsystem. Onlyiftheauditshowsfundamental limitations(forexample,inabilitytore-configureorexorbitantcustomizationcosts)willthey suggestafreshimplementation.

  8. BROAD SCOPE AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Beyond CRM specifics,consultingfirmsoftenleadbroaderdigital-transformationinitiatives. They see CRM asonepieceofthetechpuzzle. Forinstance,at ThinkCap Advisors,weadvise,conductingafit-gapassessmentacross ERP, CRM, Payrollandothersystemstoensureallpartsofthebusinessarealigned. A consultingfirmcan coordinatesuchcross-functionalintegrationbecauseitunderstandstheinter-dependencies:how customerdatashouldflowfrombillingtosupport,orhowsalesforecaststietoproduct installation. A CRM-onlyresellertypicallylacksthatecosystemview. Theyfocusontheirproduct’sroadmap, notonhowitplugsintoyourfinanceormarketingsystems. Ifyouneedyour CRM totalktoyour ERP ormarketingstack,a CRM consultantwillarchitectthatsolution. Theymightdrawon ERP consultantsordatateamstocraftanend-to-endplan,whereasasingle-productpartnerusually stopsatthe CRM borders. Theresult:consultantscandriveatruetransformationofcustomer- facingandback-officeprocesses,notjusta CRM projectinisolation.

  9. OBJECTIVE VENDOR EVALUATION CRM platformsarecomplexandever-evolving,therefore,choosingtherightoneisnon-trivial. Businessleaderscaneasilybeswayedbybigbrandnamesorflashydemos. A CRM consultant’s advantageisthat,theyleadarigorous&unbiasedselectionprocess. Withoutthisexternalcritique, acompanyrisk’spickingapopular CRM andlaterdiscoveringittobeexpensive,ordifficultto adopt. ADOPTION, TRAINING, AND ONGOING ROI Perhapsthesinglebiggestadvantageofhiringa CRM consultantisfocusonusers,notjust technology. Resellerstypicallywrapuptheirjobafterinstallandbasictraining. Consultantsstayon todriverealusageandmeasuresuccess. Theyknowthatevenagreatsystemfailsifpeopledon’t useit. Researchconfirmsthis:onlyabout22%of CRM projectproblemsweretechnical–therest werehumanorprocessissues(poortraining,changeresistance,etc.)nomalys.com. Consultantstacklethathead-on. Theybuildcomprehensivetraining,coachingandchange- managementintotheplan. Manyevenhelpclientshireordesignateanin-house CRM championto keepmomentum. Consultantsalsotrackusagemetrics(dashboards, KPIs)andperiodicallyrefine thesystemsoitcontinuesdeliveringvalue.

  10. GOALS: SELLING A PRODUCT VS. SOLVING A PROBLEM Attheendoftheday,a CRM reseller’sgoalistosellsoftware. Theirsuccessismeasuredbynew usersandadd-onsales. Theirdefaultrecommendationwilloftenbetobuymore—morelicenses, moremodules,moreintegrationswiththesamevendor. A CRM consultant’sgoalistosolveyourbusinessproblem. Theirsuccessismeasuredby outcomes:highersalesfrombetterpipelinevisibility,improvedcustomerservicethrough integrateddata,oranyothergoalyouset. Inpractice,thismeansaconsultantwillsaythingslike,“Basedonouranalysis,youonlyneed10 licenses”or“Let’sfocusonautomatingyourquotesprocessbecausethatadds$X invalue,”rather than,“Let’supsellyoutothe Enterprisepackage.

  11. CONCLUSION Ultimately,choosingavendorpartnervs.aconsultantboilsdowntopurpose. Ifyourpriorityis gettingthecheapestlicensedealorsettingupanew(basic) CRM rightnow,aresellercanoften checkthatbox. Butifyourpriorityislong-termvalue,adoptionand ROI,a CRM consultingfirm– withnoproducttopitch–isusuallythesaferbet. Disclaimer: Allreferencesinthisarticlehavebeensourcedfrompubliclyavailableinformation,withlinksprovidedtothe originalwebsites. Alllinkswereactiveandaccessibleatthetimeofpublication. Weacknowledgeandcreditall publishersandsourcescitedinthispost.

  12. HAVE QUESTIONS? SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION WITH OUR CRM EXPERTS. REACH OUT TO US AT: +918506860903 contact@thinkcapadvisors.com www.thinkcapadvisors.com

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