The value of CRM management power users
CRM management deployments frequently fail because of a lack of user adoption, so having champions among the application's users can help shepherd acceptance among employees. Here's how to identify your best prospects.
In Summary:
| • | Identify potential CRM management power users by their enthusiasm and penchant for asking questions. |
| • | Develop CRM management power users in each department that uses the application, including sales, marketing, call centers, and IT. |
| • | Ensure that that CRM management power users have a way to communicate concerns and change requests back to project leaders and other executives. |
There seem to be more stories about failures in the deployment of customer relationship management CRM management software than any others. Perhaps it is because—just as with enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications before it—CRM software demands a distinct change in a company's business processes. Yet sales and marketing practitioners might argue that there is more art than science in their work, and as a result, they should be unfettered in the performance of their magic, rather than chained to a software application.
But the fact remains that CRM management can offer both corporate success and greater individual efficiency through the collected insight of its users. Consultants increasingly recommend that companies identify one or more so-called "power users" among marketing, sales, and customer service departments. These power users become the champions of the project not only at its inception but throughout its deployment.
Why CRM management power users are important
 | If you don't have a power user, your CRM project is less likely to be successful. |  | | Jeremy Ward
Microsoft CRM Program Manager
Aspective | |
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If nothing else, designating power users within the company makes good practical sense. "As much as consultants like myself want to maintain the relationship with the customer, we are not going to be there on a regular basis," says Tim Andersen, national Microsoft CRM director for JourneyTeam, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. While having a consultant on call might seem like the easiest option, hourly rates for those services can add up quickly. Furthermore, in-house product champions can help reinforce the new way of working after the consultants leave.
Power users also play the vital role of helping users make the transition to the new system. "In any project you have to deal with change control and change management," says Scott Vinson, vice president of sales for Norcross, Georgia-based Ibis, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Frequently, after executives have approved the budget for a project, the project team focuses on the deadlines rather than the user community. "You can leverage a power user to act as trusted advisor to help [employees] better learn and use the system," he explains.
Finally, the power user can deliver feedback and suggestions from new users during the deployment. Jeremy Ward, Microsoft CRM program manager at Aspective, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Staines, England, puts it bluntly: "If you don't have a power user, your CRM project is less likely to be successful."
Identifying power users
So how do you identify these power users? Frequently, they are obvious. Vinson has been through enough CRM deployments to know that there are usually two kinds of top performers: the mavericks and the team players. For example, look for the person who focuses on the generation of leads from your Web site, as opposed to the one who has been successfully working the same geographical territory for 10 years. "The team players are open to sharing information and ideas. They have already adopted your current technologies, and they don't look at new ones as an additional burden," he says. "The mavericks stick to the way they have always done their job."
But being technologically savvy is just one characteristic. Ward insists that power users must understand the business processes that CRM will support in order to champion the product. "They have to understand the problem that needs to be solved," he says.
Most important, don't limit yourself in the quest for candidates. Look for a power user in each department using the application—sales, marketing, and so on—as well as in IT. "The whole point of CRM is to create synergy and teamwork, and that is hard to do if there's only one power user," Andersen adds. "A group of them spreads the excitement."
They may not do this, however, without some additional incentives. As noted in Creating a power-user culture, a mention in the company newsletter is nice, but financial incentives or other tangible benefits like extra vacation time might deliver better results and participation. On the other hand, the most valuable incentive is the long-term benefit power users can obtain for themselves and the company, Anderson says: "My goal during the sales cycle is find people who are willing to accept change and have a vision of what the software can do. If I can make their jobs easier and save time I usually get them to be power users."
The power user as communication conduit
The value of power users continues beyond the initial deployment. Ward recommends that they own the process of identifying change requests, because they're the most likely to see the potential of the application. "Power users act as a conduit for change requests, such as integration to other back-office systems," he says.
Just as important as the power users' ability to serve as a conduit for colleagues, however, is that executive sponsors listen and respond to their input. "They need to have proper communication channels back to the executive sponsors," says Vinson. They also have to have someone to whom they can suggest future enhancements. "If they feel they have access, it will keep them engaged in being a champion."
 | Silicon Valley-based freelancer Howard Baldwin writes regularly for the Microsoft Midsize Business Center. His work has also appeared on AllBusiness.com and in CIO. |
