This is part 3 in a series on Cloud CRM vs On-Premises CRM

Any implementation of either cloud CRM or on-premises has a ripple effect throughout your organisation. This CRM ripple effect can either be very positive or dangerously negative, depending on the level of strategic thinking that drives your decision to purchase a CRM solution.

Cloud Based, Browser CRM Tends To Be Disposable

The typical use of a browser (app) is that somebody will open it, they’ll make an enquiry of the browser app and they’ll get the information and – without thought – click close. And then when they need it again they open it up again.

Now an (desktop) application it generally has log-ins and it gets to start screen and there’s generally anywhere from 25 seconds to a minute before you get to your log in screen.

Now if you think about the mechanics of somebody who is working on their database all day long and they are regularly going “click – close – I’m done” and then they’re going back to get their phone number and they realised they’ve closed the browser. How many times are they going to do that before they get miffed?

Users just want ready access, so a desktop application style access works because it tends to be something they own. It’s like ‘It’s my app, I use that in order to run that part of my business.” Whereas a cloud-based browser application tends to be something that they have to do for someone else, something more disposable, less serious.

Now that may sound unfair – there are a number of very significant deployments that are web-based apps – but they haven’t cost you anything. You’ve only got an investment in the form of “that’s where your mail arrives” but you didn’t really have to think about buying it therefore you don’t have to think about getting your ROI.

So you optionally use it or not, whereas when you are using an application that you went to some effort to get and where there is considered thought invested into what it is and how it’s going to be used, then there is an intent for return on investment.

The CRM Ripple Effect

From that comes a ripple effect. Owners, who are ultimately paying the money, are going “I’m spending this because I expect this outcome.” And this gets pushed down to the sales managers – “This is going to give you these capabilities therefore we expect that you are going to perform better and it also means that some of these mistakes that we have are going to stop. And the information about the customer that we currently lose every time an employee leaves is now going to stay in-house”.

There tends to be more of a considered approach to what is the intent for CRM is. So rather than just going “Oh I’ve just installed this software” or “Hey I have just signed up for this browser app, it’s really cool.” “Oh how much does it cost? Nothing? Well, great!”

But then who’s deciding how you should use it? Are your employees, the users on the ground, deciding corporate policy now? Who’s deciding what the communication standards should be? Who is deciding what you are going to do when you have certain business events?

If the users are just making those decisions merrily, what control does the actual owner or the shareholder have? None.

So any CRM – hosted or not – has a ripple effect. A cloud CRM is good in that it enables you to go “Yeah that’s good enough”, but there are inherent dangers in just making a flippant decision on something that important.

This is Part 3 in a 4 part series. Read the next entry. Read the First entry

Brett Cruickshank, MIMC
Managing Director, CRM Strategy
Mobile: 0419 631 375
Email: brettc@crmstrategy.com.au