Enterprise performance metrics for CRM
According to an AMR Research study, many CRM projects fail to provide real, reportable business ROI due to the lack
of measurements (Preslan 2003). The inability to align the correct metrics across the business enterprise was a critical reason for
such failure. Traditional metrics that drive functional excellence often produce sub-optimizing performance. Kaplan (1992)
introduces the concept of the balanced scorecard that compliments financial measures with operational measures on customer
satisfaction, internal processes and organizational innovation. Khirallah (2000) points out that common measures of CRM today
are largely sub-optimal and default quickly to sales and marketing. It further proposes a CRM balanced scorecard to include
multiple variables in measurements. Lenskold (2004) in the discussion of marketing ROI emphasizes the importance of
customer-centric strategies and related measurements and analytics. It is further pointed out that customer contacts can no longer
be driven by products or business units. Therefore, true optimization of CRM performance can only occur at the enterprise level
driven by customer-centric goals taking multiple variables into consideration across different functional areas. Different metrics
in sales, marketing, customer service, and operations can be tied together to drive customer profitability, customer satisfaction
and market share. Optimization of the CRM value chain requires an integrated framework for performance metrics across
functional and organizational boundaries. The enterpirse model provides the framework for enterprise CRM performance metrics
to be defined, measured and tracked.