CRM has aroused much interest in various business fields during the last decade and is of high importance in today’s businesses. Similarly has increased the demand for CRM system by many companies around the world. As our sponsors can not recognize this trend in Finland, the objective of the study was consequently to explore the weak demand of the CRM system on the Finnish market. Accordingly, the purpose was to provide a better insight in the until now unexplored Finnish CRM market and in particular in an interesting segment of our sponsor SAP, the existing customer base of companies with an ERP system. The aim was to examine medium sized ERP operating companies concerning their readiness for a CRM implementation. The conceptual framework is based on literature and various articles of avowed authors in the field of CRM and was divided according to the research questions. Overall this study is based on two parts, the theoretical part which strives to give the necessary background and an empirical part which applies to the findings and analysis of our research. Our research methodology was a quantitative one, as we used a self completion questionnaire to conduct our survey. The research was carried out in form of an online survey and was sent to 78 companies. As CRM is a strategic issue, we chose respondents from the upper management level, mostly managing directors. Only these persons were able to give qualitative and valid answers about the current situation in these companies. The findings showed that the respondents are aware of the topic CRM and that it is constituted as an important issue for these companies. All of the respondents see usefulness in the functions and the support of their business with a CRM system. Finally only 10 percent of all participants are not planning to implement any CRM system, while 55 percent have already and 35 percent will implement a CRM system in the future. The conclusion of the report showed that an obvious trend can be recognized in theses companies towards an implementation of a CRM system. More specific, 90 percent of the respondents are or will be ready in the next one to three years to take the final step, an implementation of a CRM system. As a recommendation to our sponsor we suggest to use the by us developed research path for further research, in order to get a total overview about the market. [...]
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 SPONSORSHIP
1.2 MARKET DEVELOPMENT
1.3 THE FINNISH MARKET
1.4 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.5 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
2 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
2.1 THE DEVELOPMENT TO A CUSTOMER CENTRIC STRATEGY
2.2 WHAT IS CRM
2.3 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF CRM
2.4 BENEFITS OF CRM
2.5 ELEMENTS OF CRM
2.6 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER CRM
3 THE CRM SYSTEM
3.1 FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES OF CRM
3.2 THE IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH
3.2.1 Hosted Solution vs. On Premise Solution
3.2.2 Isolated CRM system vs. Integrated CRM system
3.3 FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES OF A CRM SYSTEM
3.3.1 Operational CRM
3.3.2 Analytical CRM
3.3.3 Collaborative CRM
3.4 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER CRM SYSTEM
4 THE HINDERING FACTORS FOR AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A CRM SYSTEM
4.1 LEADERSHIP AS A HINDERING FACTOR
4.2 STRATEGY AS A HINDERING FACTOR
4.3 ORGANISATION AS A HINDERING FACTOR
5 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN
5.1 THE RESEARCH PROCESS
5.2 THE RESEARCH APPROACH
5.3 THE SAMPLE
5.4 DATA COLLECTION
5.5 RELIABILITY
5.6 VALIDITY
6 FINDING AND ANALYSIS
6.1 AWARENESS OF OUR RESPONDENTS FOR CRM
6.2 EVALUATION OF THE USEFULNESS OF A CRM SYSTEM (SAMPLE MYSAP CRM)
6.3 THE CURRENT SITUATION CONCERNING AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A CRM SYSTEM
7 CONLUSION
8 RECOMMENDATIONS
9 LIST OF SOURCES
10 APPENDICES
10.1 QUESTIONNAIRE TO CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (ENGLISH VERSION)
Research Objective and Scope
This bachelor thesis explores the current and future demand for CRM implementations within medium-sized Finnish companies that already utilize an ERP system. The central research question investigates why this specific market segment has shown weak demand for CRM, despite global trends, and identifies the key factors that may hinder the final decision to implement a CRM system.
- Analysis of general awareness and attitude towards CRM among Finnish management.
- Evaluation of the perceived usefulness of CRM functional categories (Operational, Analytical, Collaborative).
- Assessment of current implementation status within the target sample.
- Identification of organizational, strategic, and leadership-related hindering factors.
- Development of a research-based roadmap for CRM implementation and recommendations for sponsors.
Excerpt from the Book
The Element People
While technology and business processes are both critical to successful CRM initiatives, it is finally the individual employee who is building customer relationships (Chen and Popovich 2003, 684.) Since employees are the final users of the CRM application, they are determining the success of a CRM implementation. Thus, improving the customer orientation of the employees is indispensable.
The employees who have not properly understood the reasons of the change, the ones who do not participate in the formulation of the change or who do not get sufficiently trained on the requirements the change is causing, will often be adverse to that change (Goldenberg 2002, 13). Therefore people need to be recruited, managed, developed and motivated within a supporting company structure. When this is applied throughout the whole organisation and every employee in contact with the customer, it entails the creation of superior value. (Hajjat 2003, 93-94.)
Furthermore, the commitment from top level management is an elementary requirement to the success of CRM, as a customer centric management requires top management support and commitment to CRM. Moreover, CRM projects require full time attention of cross functional project teams, which should consist of representatives from sales, marketing, manufacturing, customer services, information technology, etc. (Chen and Popovich 2003, 684.)
Chapter Summaries
1 INTRODUCTION: Outlines the background of the study, the profile of the sponsoring companies, and the specific research problem regarding the Finnish CRM market.
2 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: Provides the theoretical background on CRM, its core concepts, objectives, benefits, and the three key elements: people, process, and technology.
3 THE CRM SYSTEM: Examines the technological aspects of CRM, focusing on the mySAP CRM solution, implementation approaches, and functional categories.
4 THE HINDERING FACTORS FOR AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A CRM SYSTEM: Analyzes potential obstacles to CRM implementation, categorized into leadership, strategy, and organizational factors.
5 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN: Details the quantitative research approach, the selection of the sample, and the design of the survey instrument.
6 FINDING AND ANALYSIS: Presents the empirical data collected from the survey, analyzing respondent awareness, perceived usefulness of functions, and current implementation status.
7 CONLUSION: Synthesizes the findings and answers the research questions regarding the current and future state of CRM adoption in Finnish medium-sized enterprises.
8 RECOMMENDATIONS: Offers strategic advice to the sponsors based on the research results for better market acquisition.
Keywords
Customer Relationship Management, CRM System, mySAP CRM, ERP, Finnish Market, Customer Orientation, Operational CRM, Analytical CRM, Collaborative CRM, Strategic Implementation, Sales Force Automation, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Retention, Business Strategy, IT Strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The thesis focuses on understanding why medium-sized Finnish companies that already use SAP/ERP systems are not readily adopting CRM solutions, and explores their readiness for future implementation.
What are the primary themes addressed?
The study covers the conceptual framework of CRM, technological functionalities, implementation strategies, organizational change management, and the specific market dynamics of the Finnish B2B sector.
What is the main objective of the research?
The primary objective is to gain a deep understanding of the Finnish CRM market, specifically identifying the hindering factors that prevent existing ERP users from taking the final step towards a full CRM implementation.
Which methodology was used?
The research employed a quantitative methodology, utilizing an online self-completion questionnaire sent to 78 companies, targeting managing directors and IT managers.
What does the main body discuss?
The main body covers the theoretical definition of CRM, detailed functional categories (operational, analytical, collaborative), and an empirical analysis of survey responses regarding company awareness and implementation barriers.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Customer Relationship Management, CRM System, mySAP CRM, ERP integration, Finnish market dynamics, and organizational hindering factors.
Why are leadership factors considered a major barrier?
The study identifies that the inclusion of CRM in the company's IT strategy—a decision driven by top management/managing directors—is the most crucial factor; without this leadership mandate, implementation is unlikely to proceed.
How does the ERP system impact CRM implementation?
While the study found that existing ERP problems are not the primary driver of non-implementation, there is an indirect "arrestive" impact due to the time and effort required for companies to stabilize their existing ERP environments before adding new systems.
- Quote paper
- Simon Rudolf (Author), Stefan Bihler (Author), 2006, The steps of Finnish medium sized SAP / EPR USERS towards an implementation of a CRM system , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/63957
