Audit: How effective is your CRM system?

Audit: How effective is your CRM system?

How would you recommend auditing a fairly old CRM system to determine how effective it is? We are leaning toward an on-demand software implementation, but need the audit done to justify the new system.

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What's wrong with the old system? I am sure there are things that a newer on-demand system will do that your older system might not do or simply may not do as well. Whenever I run into a question like this, the first thing that pops into my head is the mission of the application. What is the mission and how has it changed over time?

If I was auditing your system I would ask the same questions you should ask and they would be along the lines of what your business needs are, how they are or are not being met today, and what metrics you will use to evaluate the situation. This is a good practice and remember to apply it both to the old system you want to take out and the new system you want to replace it with. Does the new system meet all of your requirements? If not, keep looking.

This was first published in June 2007