CRM - October 2008 - (Page 30)

THE NEW CRM CONSULTANT firm in the world. Accenture’s clients include 94 of the ForPROCESS FIRST tune Global 100 and more than two-thirds of the Fortune “Business process” seems to be a popular catchphrase Global 500. As CRM director, Driggs sees his role in the true among vendors and analysts these days. But Jodi Cicci, who sense of the word “consult”: He advises companies about started her own consulting firm in South Riding, Va., in Occreating and maintaining profitable customer relationships tober of last year, says there’s a reason why. Cicci formed Top and building superior brand value to foster greater customer Step Consulting after extensive work with OpenAir prodsatisfaction and loyalty. For Driggs and his fellow consultucts. Although skilled at implementation and development, ants at Accenture, the professional serCicci says a different need was visible in vices industry is not a matter of the marketplace. “I saw a lot of people “When the [SaaS] on-demand or on-premises segmentawanting to get business consulting on tion—it’s about keeping customers. The the best way to use [a given] tool in [a consultant leaves, the main distinction, according to Driggs, is given] business model.” With her expeend client has the SaaS rience as an OpenAir user, Cicci saw between companies pursuing emerging markets and those dealing with existing that many users didn’t know how to use product with features customers. He says the ultimate underthe offerings to the extent that she did. lying message for consultants to impart, While Cicci anticipates Top Step will turned on—[but] with no matter the company type, is to be broaden its horizons to include other no real process or more customer-centric. CRM and project management pro“The competition for customers is viders within the next few years, for the adoption practices.” huge,” Driggs says. “The need to be moment she consults solely on Openmore customer-centric is there. At the Air implementations. The twosame time, customer-satisfaction ratings are not improvpronged approach to how Top Step essentially “gets gigs,” ing and companies are struggling to keep pace.” As satisshe says, is that OpenAir either recommends her services faction wanes, the economy weakens, and customers jump to its clients, or else customers seek Cicci out, now that she ship, a company’s needs change. Driggs says a CRM conhas an established reputation in the niche field. She exsultant’s focus has to shift from technology to more of a plains that, before she even digs into a new client’s techtop-down operational evaluation. nology, she spends a good day or two sitting down with “Whether it’s SaaS or a niche application or a large [enthe organization’s executives, inquiring about what the terprise resource planning] module, you have to figure out daily grind looks like for the employees. “I say, ‘Tell me how that fits into your current technology environment— about how you run your business. I don’t want to know into current data, into the overall process and operating about OpenAir yet.’ I look at their system, and say, ‘Is it model environment,” Driggs offers. “The key message is configured the way you need it to be configured?’ [Then that when you’re implementing these technologies, you’ve I] come back with a recommendation list of what [the got to think about all three of those pieces.” company] should be doing, and say, ‘This is the type of training you should give your employees.’” Matthew Goldman, a vice president at Gartner, says that he sees a noticeable reorientation within consultant services. With SaaS solutions on the rise, the need for systems integrators has significantly declined. Consultants now spend less time technically configuring an actual implementation and more time on consulting. “I think where a buyer used to look at consulting to understand the technology and make it fit, now [consulting provides the] buyer an understanding of how it fits,” Goldman says. 30 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | OCTOBER 2008 www.destinationCRM.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - October 2008

CRM - October 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality�Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Sprinting Toward Disaster? SAP�Retains Market-Share Lead in�CRM A�Week of Strong Customer�Service CRM�on Twitter Build a Good Event and They Will Come Required Reading There's No Place Like Home The New Breed of CRM�Consultant The Price is Right...You Hope How Much Marketing is Too�Much? The�Sweet Smell of High-Quality�Service The Next Act! For An Acquisition Some Stories Never Get Old CRM�Eases the Pressure For WIKA�Instruments Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.