Understanding Strategy, Implementation and Execution of CRM (Video)

Read Time: 3 minutes

Your CRM strategy, implementation, and execution need to be perfect to succeed in your CRM journey. 

Before we start discussing the strategy, implementation and execution of CRM, we need to understand these three terms. Surprisingly, most people are confused about these terms. 

Most people think of it as thinking and doing or planning and producing or deciding and acting. These three things are involved in all three of strategy, implementation and execution. 

Here is an HBR article on this topic

1. Strategy: A plan to achieve something. 
2. Implementation: Decisions and activities to turn strategy into reality. 
3. Execution: Turning implemented strategy into commercial/practical success. 

To get results (or success), we need to execute the implemented strategy. 

A strategy is as great as its implementation and execution. 

Why is it confusing?

If the result of the CRM journey over the years is a failure, it is not easy to determine what went wrong – Strategy, implementation or execution. 

A poor strategy can never be well implemented and executed. The outcomes will always be wrong. 

However, a good strategy is of no guarantee that poor implementation and execution can save it. Even in that case also, the results will be wrong. 

So to succeed, we need to be good at all three levels. 

Now let us see an example of the same. 

Example of Aadhar Card in India:

1. Government deciding that we need a central database of all the citizens and various other connected systems is a strategy. 
2. Creating a software framework, rules, regulations and appointing or formulating teams can be termed as implementation. Once we have the software, infrastructure in place, we can say that the strategy is implemented. 
3. Now the government has to get all the citizens to enrol in the Aadhar database, make sure that all the connected systems work together, and get the desired result in the expected time frame. This is execution. 

So, in the above example, if even after having all the infrastructure ready, (i.e. strategy being implemented), if people don’t turn up for aadhar registration or if the systems don’t work as per plan, then there is no execution. As a result, we will not have any effects. 

Strategy, implementation and execution in the context of CRM

1. Top management decided that the sales or service teams need a proper digitized framework called strategy. The strategy might include goals to be achieved and challenges to be resolved. 
2. Then comes placing the order for CRM by the company, Configuring and customizing the CRM by the software company, providing training to the employees can be called implementing CRM. 
3. Now the management has to set timelines and goals and make their teams use the system properly. Regular monitoring is required to make sure that the goal is reached. This is the execution of CRM. 

Who is responsible for the execution of CRM?

Primarily, the management of the organization is responsible for the successful execution of the CRM systems. But unfortunately, most people think that once the CRM implementation is done, their role is finished. 

Whereas the truth is, management’s role has just begun once the implementation of CRM is done.