Friday, November 12, 2010

The CRM Hammer

If we are going to think or talk about CRM as a tool, I think it begs the question: which tool would CRM be? In the wide world of tools, I think a lot of people would say that CRM is most like the hammer. It’s been around for a really long time. It can sometimes be big, clunky and even a bit unwieldy. It’s definitely not sexy. And if you don’t pay attention to how you swing it, you can certainly cause a lot of damage – and with CRM, it can be way worse than just smashing your thumb.

Additionally, since the dawn of the hammer, which is a pretty long time, there have been quite a few new electronic tools invented, like ERM, blogs and social media, to name only a few. So it makes sense to ask, with all this cool new stuff, do we really even still need the hammer?

Frankly, all of these shiny new tools are great problem solvers - until you are faced with a problem that looks like a nail. This is why none of these new tools have really 'replaced' the CRM hammer as a staple in any first-rate tool kit…

1 comment:

Capri A. Coffer said...

Great analogy! I also like to think of CRM as a wrench. We know that a wrench is a toll used to provide grip or loosen a hold and the wrench provides an advantage to start these turning. Like the wrench, CRM is a supplemental tool to use in conjunction with the other social media outlets. CRM provides traction to get things turning with a prospect or tighten up a relationship with a client and can provide a firm grip where those other tools aren't able to completely and firmly grasp!