What does a CRM Implementation cost?

As a CRM consultant, I often get asked the question of what a CRM implementation costs? I typically respond with the standard consultant speak of “it depends” and enumerate some of the factors that can influence the pricing of a CRM implementation. From a client perspective, I understand that it can be frustrating not to get a solid number or even a narrow range estimate. The problem is that a CRM project is kind of like building a house and depends on dozens of factors. Below is a list of some of the items that can influence the price of a CRM project:

• Business Functions – This is essentially a scope question. Are you trying to solve a specific need with your CRM or are you looking to turn your CRM system into a quasi-ERP system to run all of your internal data needs? The more scope, the more it will cost.
• Business Process Re-engineering – Is your organization fairly confident in existing business processes or are you looking to make some big changes? A CRM consultant can aid in this process, however, this tends to consume a lot of hours and raise costs.
• Iteration Cycles – Most Salesforce implementers will prototype an application. Each round of revisions on the prototype is often referred to as an “iteration”. Limiting the number of iterations can help to manage costs. One of the key ways to do this is to ensure that all stakeholders participate in the review process and that coordinated feedback is sent back to the CRM consultant.
• Training & Documentation Needs – For larger organizations, using a “train the trainer” model can save significant implementation costs. Also, be careful to only get as much documentation as you can maintain. If you are not able to maintain hundreds of pages of documentation, do not request it from your CRM consultant. Static documentation tends to become outdated very quickly on CRM systems.
• 3rd Party Applications – Does your CRM project need 3rd party applications? Sometimes this can help to lower implementation cost (could be at the expense of ongoing cost). However, some 3rd Party apps may require setup or configuration which can add to the implementation cost.
• Consultant – Like in any marketplace there are different types of consultants in the CRM Marketplace. Some thrive on transactional models were they execute a large number of projects and are able to charge lower rates. This is great for organizations that have limited budgets and fairly straightforward needs. Other consultants get deep into an organization and may re-engineer processes in addition to technology. This approach is great for organizations with complex business problems and more flexible budgets.
• Custom Code – If your business requirements cannot be met within the constructs of the CRM platform you are using, then your consultant may need to custom code. In Salesforce this means adding Apex, VisualForce, and S-Control code to your system. Custom code can quickly increase both your implementation costs and your long term maintenance costs.
• Systems Integration – Does your data need to be in synch with other databases or applications with your IT infrastructure? What type of synchronization (manual, bi-directional, uni-directional)? Systems integration can easily increase implementation costs.
• Web Integration – This one is a little more complex because there are some things that are very easy to integrate with a website (Web2Lead, Web2Case). Other items such as building a multi-page application form with save and return functions could be more complex and costly.
• Data Migration – This is the single area that we have seen the highest variance of cost. We will probably need an entire blog article to describe how data migration can influence costs. One thing that you can really do to help keep costs down here is to clean up your data. Remove duplicate records, correct spelling mistakes, and get paper data into electronic form. If you have 100 Excel files, see if you can condense that down to 20 or fewer files. This is one area were doing some prep work can save you substantial CRM implementation costs.
• Reporting Requirements – This is another area where there tends to be high variance among organizations. Some organizations have enormous and complex reporting requirements, while others can survive on basic data reports. A consultant will need to review your reporting requirements to get a sense of where you land on the spectrum. Reporting can get particularly expensive when there are complex business rules and formatting rules for report generation.
• DIY – One way for an organization to lower CRM implementation costs is to take on more of the work themselves. For example, if your organization needs to have 100 reports and 30 dashboards built, have your consultants build out the most complex ones and do the rest yourself. You will save money and also increase your system skills at the same time.

The above list is not everything that goes into CRM implementation costs; however, it does reflect some fairly important items. Also, consider the following when thinking about CRM implementation costs. If you decide to do a lot of the work in house, you are not really lowering the CRM implementation costs. You are just displacing them from an external resource to an internal one. Depending on how your org’s budget is structured, it may be easier to use internal resources. Also, be careful not to take on too many ongoing costs (3rd party apps and services) to lower implementation costs.

If you are a CRM consultant or have done a CRM project for your organization, please shout out some of the other major cost factors you have faced in the implementation process.