tim | 
07 19th, 2009| 
In Part 3, I talked about how it is important to ensure that Customer Relationship Managment (CRM) software deployment is not driven from the top down; however the flip side to that is not having enough Senior Management contribution. It may seem obvious to say “It’s important that Senior Management be involved,” but all too often there is not enough feedback in the deployment process from Senior Management and may not have a clear understanding of the benefits and abilities. It’s not only important that everyone puts in input into what is essential for their departments, but that they understand how the CRM will fit with logistics and automation. The CRM provider < plug: iTeam 
> can help assist in this decision making process, but Senior Management is what deals with logistical issues in your business from day-to-day. Their input is valuable to help plan deployment stages: what is manditory for launch, and what can be delayed for later implementation.
CRMs can facilitate increased revenue, improved operational efficiences, and help provide outstanding customer service, but without input from senior management and their “signing up” to help meet numbers on ROI, deployment will not be as successful. At the end of the day, senior managers will be responsible for the successful deployment of your company’s CRM initiative. After all, once the CRM provider has implemented the system to meet your business’ requirements, it’s senior managements responsibility to make sure that your metrics are met and to provide feedback on where things can be improved for future enahancements and additions to your CRM system.
Not only is it important to ensure that your CRM is not deployed from the top-down, it’s equally important to ensure that Senior Managment are involved from start to finish!
