By Guest Blogger:

Marc Thevenin

International Business Development Manager at EUDONET

One of the most common mistakes I have been encountering for the past 25 years working with membership organisations on CRM projects is the inclination of certain managers to underestimate the crucial step of building a clear requirements list. Although this needs to be dealt with the greatest attention and seriousness, too many membership organisations rush into the selection of the provider part without spending enough time revising the systems in place and drawing the full scope of the project. The number of different providers and the complexity of the different services they offer therefore makes it hard to remain focused on the essential: what does my future CRM software help me achieve? People tend to forget that a CRM’s goal is to drive membership value and growth, and therefore to be efficient, should focus on features that will bring a real added value to your team, your organisation, and your members.

The objectives of the realisation of a requirements list are straightforward:

– Identifying your legacy system’s flaws and drawbacks, and defining the project’s major challenges and expected benefits

– Expressing your needs to the chosen provider in order to benefit from a complete and adapted solution

– Identifying the potential risks of the project (availability of key resources, quality of data, change management reluctance, etc.) and being able to put together actions to prevent and tackle those challenges

To build this exhaustive requirements list, membership organisations should bear in mind at all time the following seven pillars:

Build the project’s scope: Allocate a project team and establish a realistic scope, both technical and financial, to remain on track and stick to your objectives. This part of the work will give you the opportunity to build an overview of the organisation, the existing solution and highlight its main issues. Think about the number of users you are going to be needing and have clear visibility on each of their roles and responsibilities.

Be data driven: The level and quality of the information of your future database will be crucial to build and define your processes. Your legacy system has weaknesses, don’t replicate them! By identifying clearly those flaws during the project scope step, you will be able to focus on high added value information that will give your organisation the edge and increase member engagement.

Concentrate on the essentials: It is possible to find hundreds of features for your organisation, but it is extremely important to focus on the 10 main issues faced by your organisation. A CRM system must optimise your processes and become a time gainer. If it is not the case, your teams will not be engaged to use it.

Be user focused: At all time, think about the everyday user. Preference should be given to easy and intuitive solutions that will become compulsory for your teams instead of getting overwhelmed by additional and heavy processes and features. The simpler and the more result driven the CRM will be, the more the users will be engaged into using it properly.

Be member focused: Bear in mind that your members will be the first beneficiaries of your new solution. Question the added value of each of the features you are willing to implement, and make sure they will positively impact your members.

See beyond Technology: Don’t focus only on the technical aspect of the software, but make sure you find the right mix between Technology, People and Processes. A powerful and unified solution without strong support and expertise in the membership sector is useless. Look for a partner who will understand your challenges and bring you the consulting you need. The project will gain in efficiency, simplicity and quality.

Beware of hidden costs: An offer can often seem attractive on paper, leave no stones unturned! Make sure you have full visibility on the actual capacity of the provider you are reviewing to answer all the compulsory needs you have initially established. Privilege off the shelf, ready to use solutions requiring customisation over development. Bear in mind that development is the reason why so many CRM projects get out of hand, both financially and quality wise.

Marc Thevenin has 25 years’ experience in generating, selling, setting up and operating CRM and XRM solutions for membership organisations of all sizes (customer end, editor, integrator) in an international environment. Eudonet is a MemberWise Recognised Supplier. Find out more here