DECEMBER - 2022MARTECHOUTLOOK.COM8By Rami Sarabi, Sr. Operations Manager, Campbell Soup CompanyYou are tired of the CRM tool you and your team are using. You have the green light from the C-Suite to get a new tool(s), now what? Change is difficult and no matter what potential providers will tell you, it will be an enormous amount of effort. However, the payoff of improving your customers' satisfaction, empowering your team, and gaining and sharing insights with the entire organization is well worth it.I found the below points helpful streamlining the process1- Understand why you want to make that change The prospect of having a new tool is exciting. However, you need to make sure that you certainly need to change your current provider. Define precisely what you and your team are trying to accomplish. The best way to go about this task is to conduct Gap analysis. Conduct roundtable meetings with your team member, and with stake holders from other departments.During these meeting, you need to evaluate the existing solutions. You would be surprised how often existing solutions will meet the needs of the organization if they were configured properly. Draft a wish list of tasks, processes, automations, and omni-channel goals you want to have. Don't limit your imagination, go for it. Think big and bold, trimming the scope of what can be done will come at a later point and will be part of the final decision-making process. 2- Get people involved earlyThe last thing you want to do is to surprise stakeholders with your big project. You should communicate your intent during cross-functional meetings early on. This will help you get the buy-in from different departments when you need them, and you will need every bit of collaboration when the time comes to implement the new solution(s)Checking with your finance team and determining your current spending and the budget you need/have will be essential. Engage with finance immediately as this will give you an idea on who to consider as a providerWorking with your IT team is essential, you need to understand what kind of infrastructure your company uses. This will have an impact on what providers you may want to consider. 3- Write a comprehensive RFP Writing an RFP can be a daunting, yet it saves you a lot of time when vetting potential vendors. Even though this solution is oriented towards your department, it is critical to have stakeholders review the RFP as it will touch the infrastructure of your organization. Marketing, Operations, and IT should have at least a look at the RFP before sending it out to selected vendors. The RFP should encompass your vision. Security concerns need to be listed regarding your customers' PII and GDPR compliance if you are operating internationally. A specific CHANGING CRM-CS TOOL? YOUR 5-STEPGUIDE TO A SMOOTH TRANSITIONRami SarabiIN MY OPINION
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