Some of the popularly used automated CRMs are SAP, SIEBEL, BAAN, ORACLE, etc.
CRM is a way for an organization to survive and prosper. This is only possible with its vision and mission translated into a road map. The organization can achieve this through realistic, strategic and tactical planning to achieve its objective in the days to come. This requires proper study of the external and internal environment including the competitors in order to draw up its ethical and value system in the form of specialization through better CRM technology support. This will improve the product or service and give the organization edge over its competitors. Eventually, the organization should concentrate on its core content with the help of its Centre For Excellence. This is where the automated CRM can go a long way in clearly defining its process, build its infrastructure to the benefit of its customers, partners, suppliers/vendors, employees forming beneficial values, thus synergizing the efforts of each entity to each others benefits.
Similarly, according to the Three Pronged Approach, the functional strategy has to be drawn on the organization’s core competency that is transformed into the organization’s ethics and Centre for Excellence, where the organization concentrates on its core competencies in relation with the internal as well as its external customers.
The Strategic functions are taken care of by the middle management and this is where the strategic functional planning is formulated,
The Tactical or the executive level planning is done by the executives in sync with the strategy and they prepare themselves for the market and the competition too.
Project Vs. Program:
As mentioned above, projects are tactical plans while Programs are strategic plans. Projects are always at a micro level and are a defined set of activities that must be completed on time and within the allocated budget; but the program are always in the form of change management giving a holistic definition of a product or service to be provided to the customers with the optimum utilization of time and resources. It also encourages innovation while maintaining harmony with external as well as internal environment. This is where complete integration of automated CRM takes place.
Projects are an essential part of a programme. The sub modules delivery should be well defined and measurable.
| Program Management | Project MAnagement |
|---|---|
| Focus is on delivering benefits based on a business strategy at macro level | Focus on single objective usually tactical at micro level |
| An organizational and management framework (A vehicle) through which one or more projects are delivered | Focus is on delivering a single project |
| Focus is on delivering a single project, | Objectives are clearly defined at outset. |
| Can lead to organization level change management | Can lead to specific team related change management |
| Benefits are delivered incrementally by projects and other change vehicles during the life span of the program | Capabilities are delivered through a single undertaking and are generally delivered on completion |
| Main deliverable tend to be many | Main deliverables tend to be few |
| Strategic planning, considering external factors has larger time marginsStrategic planning, considering external factors has larger time margins | Time scale rigidly defined |
| A program is designed for scope changes | Scope changes are managed as exceptions (e.g. scope creep) |
| Programs may be inter-relatedPrograms | Sub projects are related to project outcomes and themselves. |
| Generally applicable to division level or at higher levels of an organization | Applicable to any level of the organization |
| A program can assist in prioritizing projects and activities | Projects can only prioritise activities within itself |
| Program support the concept of portfolio management | Time scale rigidly defined |
Programs are the realistic road maps of the business strategy and its sub-modules, the projects are the tactical plans of how to deliver the goods, service. CRM plays a vital role in laying out the road map and controlling the execution of the tactical plan. Therefore, the main objective of a plan is to align the organization’s internal environment with the external environment in order to appropriately deliver what the external clients deliver from the organization.
Project management is capability based and net benefit based. It focuses on delivery and not the process, which is the crux of quality, which highlights the focus on the quality of product or service delivered and the actual benefit provided. This means that, in terms of program, an organization endeavors to align its process to match the end users’ expectations with the help of innovation and change management.
According to Three Pronged Approach, The Management responsible for overall strategic planning and the executives responsible for translating the strategic planning to water tight tactical planning should share adequate market and competitor knowledge and past experience from the point of designing or revamping the product or service to the to meet the market demand to the pricing function so that they maintain the vision and mission of the organization well aligned with the changing market trends in order to create their market niche and also effectively respond to the market competition, The organization needs to realize, they are not the market, but they are for the market.
According to the table above, the Prong One states that Management and Executives need to align themselves and the market demand and for that, the role and responsibilities of each individual should be aligned with the changing market trends and the functional objective of the organization. For instance: To beat market competition, the organization may need to make some strategic functional change resulting in challenging delivery time of the product or service to establish ones credibility in the market/ For instance, Domino Pizza promising to home deliver pizza within record half an hour. This therefore is the management focus to see how the strategic change is working to the benefit of the organization, its customers as well as its employees.
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The above diagrams show the proper blend between the strategic and tactical planning in terms of market the external environment and the internal environment to tactically prepare the resources in order to effectively cater to the existing market demand and establish a positive customer relationship. Starting from the client to the executive catering to the client's needs to the organization planning both on the long and short run to keep pace with the changing market trends.
