6.1. The CRM Doldrums

In most cases a CRM initiative is defined by business sponsors who see both short-term and long-term value in the CRM vision. Short-term goals can be met with the initial project(s), such as those outlined in the stages of CRM evolution in Chapter 1. How you implement the system and adapt it to your changing business needs will ultimately lead to a successful initiative, or to an expensive personal information manager for a few die-hard supporters. Regardless of how successful your initial deployment is, if you have no plan on how to answer the question, "What's next?", you are already entering the doldrums, where a slow divergence of business processes and the CRM system weakens the energy of the initiative, and the value ...

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