The Challenge

The team member taking leave was the only in-house marketing technology specialist; there was neither a member of the team with the requisite experience to run this project, nor was there time to train anyone to get them up to speed without significantly delaying the implementation timeline. The CMO needed to insert a resource that not only knew the CRM platform being implemented, but also how it would interact with the existing tools elsewhere in the marketing technology stack.

The Solution

We were brought on board to “parachute in” to the project, get caught up to speed on the firm’s requirements, and spend intensive time with the vendor to align resources internally and externally to ensure a platform rollout within twelve months.

Within the first three months of the project, our team identified features of the CRM that could be part of a “Phase 2” rollout, prioritizing configurations and data migrations that were needed within the initial twelve-month timeline.

The CMO was so pleased with our work that they extended the original scope of work to include the entirety of the implementation. We were able to smoothly onboard their martech specialist upon return from leave, and act as an additional subject matter expert when it came time to prepare for contact migration, configure the native ERM tool, and develop the pilot and rollout plan within the firm.

The Benefit

The CRM was rolled out within budget and with two weeks left to spare in the project plan. Among the wins for the CMO and their team:

• Cleaner data was introduced into the new CRM. The initial desire was to migrate all contact data into the new system, with a goal of cleaning data using embedded tools in the CRM. We proposed an interim step of evaluating contact data based on factors such as last time it was updated, last activity, and ownership. This resulted in almost 40% of the previous contact database being archived in the document management system in “cold storage” while the remaining 60+% was migrated to the new system.

• Latent coaching for the marketing technology specialist. Once the martech specialist returned from leave, they were able to spend regular time with the consultant. This exposure allowed them to learn important project management principles, data evaluation/cleanup techniques, and vendor management best practices. All tools they would use to the firm’s benefit in future projects.

• Better vendor-client relationship. A CRM implementation is fraught with opportunities for the vendor-client relationship to break down at the very earliest stages of their engagement. Our team was able to successfully operate between both sides to manage expectations, keep the project within scope, and mediate conflict. This contributed to a successful rollout and a stronger longer-term relationship between both parties.