Comment from David Sims, CRMGuru writer:

CRM is one of those tricky things, like getting married. On the face of it, you know you're getting value, but you can't point to any number that accurately and completely reflects that value. Of course, if you're …

• Improving your customer satisfaction
• Getting more share of your customer's wallet
• Lowering customer churn

… then you are improving your company's business. And if it is your CRM initiative that is delivering this, great – but if you are doing by some other means, then don't stop doing that!

Typical metrics may include (claimed on SalesForce.com's website)

52% increase in leads
34% boost in revenues
23% decrease in service and support costs
30% improvement in customer retention

Your own ROI and metrics

Each business is different. If the nature of your business is such that you have low service and support costs, then you probably don't want to measure this.  If the CRM investment is low and you are likely to recoup the cost by employing less people (through efficiencies), then you probably don't need a complex set of ROI metrics.

If your CRM investment is likely to be large, then you need to seriously consider planning how you will measure ROI.  Paul Greenberg's book, CRM at the Speed of Light (3rd Edition) devotes the whole of chapter 22 to planning for and measuring ROI.

If you need to develop an ROI plan / metrics, call us to discuss an ROI Discovery Workshop with an expert facilitator.

Still in doubt that you need CRM in your business? Watch this video. Then watch it again, and consider what your customers think of you.

The Break Up by geertdesager