Probably! But be sure to ask yourself two questions before you start:
- When should I look?
- What should I look for?
The answer to the first question is probably fairly simple. It should be either before, or after deploying CRM in your organisation. It almost certainly should never be “at the same time as I deploy CRM.” Keep things simple!
Why does it matter whether you look to implement analytical CRM before or after your main CRM system? Because the purpose of the tool changes.
Applying analytical CRM before deploying a CRM system can help you with effective data cleansing, ensuring any information you import into your new CRM database is tidy and trustworthy. Applying analytical CRM to an existing CRM system is a way to uncover hidden information within your database and make informed decisions about your route to market.
As to what you should look for, youneed to make a decision about whether you want to implement a traditional business intelligence approach, that relies on hardware infrastructure and a large team dedicated to working with the tool; or if you want to implement an agile approach that leads to self-discovery of your data.
By understanding when you need to apply analysis to your data, and what kind of tool you require to do so, you’ll be in a good position to understand the tools available on the market.