CRM Implementation – the Numbers

Get the lowdown on what CRM projects cost, how long they take and what benefits they deliver.

In this study, Nucleus Research discovered that the ROI on CRM projects is:

$5.60 for every $1 spent

which equates to

£3.58 for every £1 spent

But what’s the cost of implementation, how long should it take and what are the benefits?

CRM Implementation Costs

This will depend on many factors but now that the Cloud has removed the need for capital investment in in-house systems, a good online CRM system should cost around:

• £0 for micro businesses that have up to 2 users.
• £20 per user/month for small/medium businesses that don’t need all the advanced functionality.
• £40 per user/month for larger businesses that need more.

CRM implementations often cost more than the total annual license fee, but it’s worth the initial upfront cost because:

a) The on-going license fees are very reasonable for Cloud based CRM systems.

b) The business benefit you get from the system usually means that you’ll easily make your money back within the first year.

It’s important to know that with larger vendors, such as Microsoft and Salesforce, buyers are sometimes restricted to using certain third parties for implementation. These companies may be more expensive than doing it yourself or using a smaller vendor – and they may not provide such a tailored service.

CRM Implementation Timescales

Big or small, every business will need to go through the same steps. How long it takes depends on:

• The size of your company.
• The quality of your data.
• Commitment to the project from key decision-makers.
• Whether you’re having customisations or going for out-of-the-box solutions.
• Whether you are able to do some implementation work yourselves or whether you would prefer to use the vendor or another third party.

But the thinking is for businesses of 10-50 people it’s anywhere from 3-9 months.

Get a headstart with this guide to creating a CRM implementation project plan.

CRM Implementation Benefits

Business success today relies on delivering excellent customer experiences and the right CRM can help you do just that.

You’ll benefit from:

• Time and money saved as a result of automation and streamlined business processes (for example, Sales can spend more time selling and less time doing admin).
• Tools that enable you to better cross-sell/up-sell to existing clients.
• Delivering better customer support, and also sending automatic renewal reminders, which will increase customer retention.
• The ability to better segment your data for more targeted marketing. Twenty more leads a month may result in 10 more sales a month. If you multiply that by 12, then you’ve made your money back on your CRM implementation cost.

Thinkaboutcrm.com have also got some great statistics on the impact it has on your bottom line:

• Your existing customers are 120% more likely to buy from you than new ones.
• New customers cost 5 times more to sell to than existing ones.
• Email subscribers convert 75% better than other new prospects.
• Increasing customer retention by 2% is the equivalent of cutting costs by 10%.