An Example of a Consumer Goods Company Implementing CRM Processes

Here is an example of a Consumer Goods Company, which underscores the impact of implementing new CRM processes on an organization’s operations.

In 2007, one of our  global consumer goods customers  embarked upon a CRM initiative that included the creation and automation of a “key account” management process, yet the company encountered problems right out of the gate. Rather than mapping an appropriate key account management process, the organization decided to look for a CRM software vendor who incorporated a key account management process within its software, and the firm found a vendor who offered a generic key account management capability. The consumer goods company purchased the software and trained its personnel on how to use the software’s key account management process.

During the software training, however, those users became increasingly uncomfortable with the depth and value of the software’s key account management capabilities. The users-in-training felt the software’s key account management process failed to address key internal issues, such as the criteria for choosing a key account, guidelines for determining which personnel join a key account management team, and policies for customizing service level agreements for each key account. After much debate, the organization put the CRM initiative on hold, created its own key account management process internally—with full backing from potential users—and produced a revised RFP based on the internally generated process specification. 

This organization discovered that the following steps were needed to maximize the effectiveness of customer-facing processes: Rely first on internally generated processes (preferably with customer participation), document and train on new or modified processes, and then look into CRM software tools to help make the customer-facing processes work more efficiently.

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