It’s no secret that adopting any enterprise application is a risk, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems are no exception. In fact, more than a decade of research by multiple analysts shows that 30-60% of CRM projects fail (tweet this). Those statistics put fear in the hearts of anyone in charge of CRM system success. Not only would a failed project mean wasted time and money, it could even cost you your job. While that’s a pretty bleak outlook, you can take comfort in knowing that many companies have avoided the pitfalls of adoption and come out on the other side with an efficient and useful CRM solution. Knowing the risks will help you avoid making mistakes in your own project, and we’ve highlighted the 5 most common reasons CRM projects fail:

1. @skuidify
Top5
ReasonsCRM
ProjectsFail

2. @skuidify
30-60%ofCRMprojectsfail
*Basedon13yearsofresearchbyGartner,Forrester,AMRResearch,Economist
IntelligenceUnit,NucleusResearch,DMNewsandSuccessAccelerators

3. CRMFailureRates 2001
2002
2005
2006
2007
2009
2012
2013
2014
0% 18.75% 37.5% 56.25% 75%
GartnerGroup
ButlerGroup
69%
AMRResearch
56%
ForresterResearch
NucleusResearch
69%
SuccessAccelerators
SellingPower
70%
50%
EconomistIntelligenceUnit
47%
DMNews
30%
31%
38%
@skuidify

4. @skuidify
Knowingtheriskswillhelp
youavoidmakingmistakes
inyourownCRMproject.

5. @skuidify
Lackof
ClearGoals
1.

6. @skuidify
“Ifyoudon’t
knowwhere
youaregoing,
you’llendup
someplace
else.”
—YogiBerra

7. @skuidify
Beforespendinga
dimeonCRM,
makesureyouhave
therighttargetsin
yoursights.

8. @skuidify
Askyourself… “Whatproblemare
wetryingtosolve
withthissystem?”

9. @skuidify
Useyour
answersto
establishboth
short-termand
long-termgoals.

10. @skuidify
Failingto
Involve
EndUsers
2.

11. @skuidify
Disengagedor
resentfulusers
canputyour
CRMrolloutin
jeopardy.

12. @skuidify
Lackofuseradoptionisresponsiblefor
70%
offailed
CRM
projects.
Source:ForresterResearch

13. @skuidify
Involveend
usersearlyto
promoteasense
ofownership
andachieve
userbuy-in.

14. @skuidify
Absenceof
anExecutive
Sponsor
3.

15. @skuidify
Executivesponsorsshouldhaveavisionforwhatthe
companycanachievebyeffectivelyadoptingaCRM.

16. @skuidify
“Ifsponsorshipisabsent,the
riskoffailureincreases
significantly.”
—WilliamBandinareport
forForresterResearch
Source:ForresterResearchReport“BestPracticesforCRMDeployment”

17. @skuidify
DirtyData4.

18. @skuidify
TheaverageU.S.company believes
25%
oftheir
datais
inaccurate
Source:ExperianDataQualityWhitePaper

19. @skuidify
Theterm“dirtydata”refersto
recordsthatare:
• Incomplete
• Duplicated
• Inaccurate
• Missingentirely

20. @skuidify
Dirtydatacanleadto:
• Ill-informedcustomerservice
• Inaccuraterevenueforecasting
• Misinformedstrategicdecisions
• MistrustfortheCRMsystem
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?

21. @skuidify
DisregardforIT
Implications
5.

22. @skuidify
75%
ofallSaaS-buying
decisionsaremade
bybusinessunit
managersinstead
ofITmanagers
Source:PCWorldarticle“WebAppBuyersBypassIT,GartnerSays

23. @skuidify
ConsiderITimplications,including:
• Integrationwithexistingsystems
• Customizationrequirements
• CRMsupportneeds

24. @skuidify
Howdoyouknow
ifyou’veachieved
success?

25. @skuidify
WhenCRMbecomesthe
firstandlastapplicationyour
userscheckeveryday

26. WanttoupgradeyourCRM’s
userexperience?
ClickheretogetafreetrialofourSalesforceapp
tostartcreatingabetterUXtoday.