Consultants predict double digit growth for CRM work

Sourceforconsulting.com research identifies why over a third of CRM projects under deliver.


Consultants predict double digit growth for CRM work

New research by Sourceforconsulting.com has found that consulting firms are bullish about the CRM market with more than half of firms surveyed expecting double digit growth over the next six months. The Source research also found that the financial services sector is showing the most demand for CRM consultancy at the moment.

Why over a third of CRM projects under deliver

Source found that the proportion of projects failing to deliver what’s expected of them averaged out at just over a third (40 per cent). Chief amongst the reasons for under-performing projects were the lack of a clear strategy, and inadequate definition of requirements.

Although sales departments within organisations are likely to be behind most CRM projects, Source findings show that they’re not necessarily where CRM will deliver most benefits. Consultants working in the area said that customer services and marketing were both functions more likely to benefit than sales. The main reasons people embark on CRM projects at the moment were identified as:
1. Improving customer experience
2. Increasing retention rates/reducing churn
3. Increasing customer profitability

Ed Haigh, Head of Content and Marketing at Sourceforconsulting.com commented: “More than anything else, CRM initiatives are still borne out of a desire to improve customer experience and to increase retention rates amongst existing customers. Consulting firms are already reporting considerable demand from organisations, particularly in financial services - anxious to reconnect with their customers as confidence returns post recession.”

CRM and thought leadership

Source also utilised its online subscription based resource White Space to evaluate CRM thought leadership, both by quantity and quality. It found that thought leadership on CRM and how organisations segment, engage with and retain customers – accounts for around a third of all marketing and selling-related thought leadership. The Source ranking by quantity and quality of thought leadership is as follows:

Quantity of thought leadership

Leading CRM consulting firms by quantity of thought leadership are:
1. McKinsey
2. Accenture
3. Bain
4. Boston Consulting Group
5. IBM

Quality of thought leadership

Leading CRM consulting firms by quality of thought leadership are:
1. Booz
2. IBM
3. McKinsey

Fiona Czerniawska, co-founder of Source and editor of White Space, concluded: “CRM, as a source of consulting income as much as a topic of thought leadership, has been comparatively unimportant in recent years, but the last few months of the recession has reversed that trend.”

The Sourceforconsulting.com briefing note provides clients with a comparison of consulting firms that provide CRM services, and the sectors that they have experience within.