Getting customer information out of the virtual shoebox

Companies have built out information strategies that leveraged sprawling data repositories and sophisticated business intelligence reporting tools; these systems published very precise data, but they fell short in helping a distributed workforce apply knowledge to improve their business execution. As a result, numerous organisations are still recovering from their CRM hangovers.

Many organisations bought into the CRM party line of creating a one-stop shop for their sales and service organisations. The vendor promise was, you will increase top-line results and lower operating costs when you create a "360-degree view" of the customer. But the reality for many is that CRM systems have not in fact enabled a business strategy, but created a virtual shoebox of contacts, notes and customer interaction history.

In a day and age when organisations have access to more information than ever and the market is littered with vendor solutions, why do so many organisations fall short in successfully leveraging their collective knowledge to drive better business results? In practical terms, it comes down to the vast gulf between having loads of data versus having practical knowledge. For example, CRM systems do a good job of telling management and their staff "what to do next" as opposed to "how to do that next step." Organisations have the component pieces in place, but they need to tie it together in a different way to break out of the CRM shoebox.

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