July 2009 Archives

There are rumblings of a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for the Leeds school. We have a long history of CRM systems here, each utilized to varying levels of success. The new tack is for an Uber-System, one which like Frodo's ring, will bring a variety of independent, walled-off mini-CRMs into a larger unified tool.

Like Frodo, and his wizard protector, I have my concerns. But I freely admit there are many reasons for wanting the "One".

• The school is comprised of eight or nine diverse internal teams with a variety of goals and needs. They often are in contact with divergent constituent groups.
• Yet we do on occasion contact the same people, and it would be very helpful if we all knew who was contacting who, and when.
• Information could be captured once for all parties, instead of being squirreled away in one of the many smaller subsystems.
• Decision-makers would have a transparent view into the connections and community being formed throughout the various teams.

These make sense to me, and I'm sure they make sense to you. Yet there are many ways to address these concerns which I will explore in my next post.

How are you using your CRM? Do you wield the power of the One-Ring CRM, or allow the free reign of multiple CRMs? Or a blend of both?
 
Photo of the Ring: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kugelfisch/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Our blog will explore the dynamic and very much changing face of higher ed marketing and communications. As we are riding the waves of this new communications sea, we seek out the fresh breezes of new ideas and technologies, while continuing to leverage and reinvent the currents of traditional marketing.

We encourage you to join in the conversation and our journey into Leeds 2.0!

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/ / CC BY-NC 2.0