New Study by Caribou Lake, CRMGuru and Mangen Research 'Rewrites the Book' on CRM.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2002

Findings of exhaustive study dispel many common CRM myths & mantras.

According to a just-released study correlating CRM (customer relationship management) implementation methods to ROI, companies contemplating CRM should disregard much of what they've heard about it--whether from vendors, consultants or even the media. The new CRMGuru.com study, titled The Blueprint for CRM Success, analyzes implementation approaches and financial returns for 448 completed CRM implementations, providing the first statistically valid definition of what works and what doesn't in this increasingly controversial field. The study also compares statistical findings to many of the claims coming from various sources about CRM--and dispels a number of common misperceptions as a result.

The key findings of the new study--jointly conducted by Minneapolis-based consulting firm Caribou Lake Customer-1, San Francisco-based Internet publisher CRMGuru.com and Minneapolis-based Mangen Research Associates--will likely alter how CRM is viewed by the business community and even by the CRM industry itself.

-- Adopting customer-centric business strategies is the leading predictor of positive ROI.

-- Companies lacking customer-focused strategies rarely succeed.

-- Using customer satisfaction research and customer attrition data in developing customer-centric strategies is key to success.

-- Cutting front-office head count is not a significant ROI contributor.

-- 45% of CRM implementations are producing payback--with only 35% likely failures--half the 70% failure rate claimed by some analysts.

-- The concept that companies can accomplish "low risk, high ROI" CRM by limiting implementation scope to tactical issues such as work process automation is a myth.

-- The brand of CRM software selected is statistically irrelevant to financial performance.

Study partner and CRMGuru.com President, Bob Thompson, characterizes much of the study's findings as "a blinding flash of the obvious--that most CRM failures result from companies not wanting to become customer-centric, not from something inherently wrong with CRM."

According to Caribou Lake Customer-1 practice leader Dick Lee, "The findings are not only an implementation compass for companies, but an ethical compass for vendors and consultants in the habit of pushing companies without a customer-centric bone in their bodies to 'hurry up and do CRM.'"

While some findings may prove controversial, according to study research partner David Mangen, PhD, "The findings are data, not perceptions, and it's hard to frame a cogent argument based on anecdotal experience or opinion polls against this volume of empirical evidence."

The Blueprint for CRM Success is published by HYM Press. The report sells for $195.00 at CRMGuru.com's online bookstore (www.crmguru.com) and the HYM Press e-store (www.h-ym.com). For further information and a copy of the executive summary or full study, please contact study co-author Dick Lee at 651-483-2067.