Research Highlights CRM Returns

The case for CRM implementation has gained strength with the release of a new study indicating some companies are experiencing ROI's in excess of 1,000%.

According to a recently completed ROI study from research company IDC entitled, "The Financial Impact of CRM", successful CRM implementations have yielded returns ranging from 16% to more than 1,000%. The study also found that technology-related savings account for only 7% of the average return, while benefits accrued from increased productivity and business process enhancements account for 51% and 42% of the return, respectively.

The report was based on more than 30 in-person interviews with organisations in North America and Europe that have implemented CRM applications in a bid to identify success factors, identify motivations and drivers for CRM, and calculate the financial impact of the implementation on the organisation. IDC's Mary Wardley said the net effect on an organisation can be subtle and distributed throughout the enterprise. "Cost savings and productivity enhancements can be evidenced in saving a sales person 20 minutes per week in writing activity reports or answering four times the volume of Web-based service requests in the same amount of time," she said.