So what is a CRM Consultant?

I had a phone call from a lady yesterday wanting to know what background/qualifications she needed to become a ‘CRM Consultant’. Before I could give her any advice I thought I’d better clarify with her the various definitions of the term CRM consultant, since it means very different things in practice, though to my mind there are three broad groups:

The first are consultants that are focused on the customer experience. They help organizations improve customer satisfaction levels. This might have a CRM technology dimension, but their work can be totally independent of it.

The second area where the term CRM consultant is used frequently is within firms selling and implementing CRM technology. Confusingly the title can be used by a variety of different functions within the organization from telemarketers, to salespeople, to developers, to project managers.

The third, and rather small group, are the independent CRM consultants. Independent CRM consultants help organizations implement CRM technology but are vendor neutral – they don’t sell technology.

The advice on how to become a CRM consultant depends on which of the three camps you want to be in. In terms of independent CRM consultants though there’s no easy route. We look for people who are extensive experience of implementing CRM technology, but also have an excellent understanding of how businesses work, and can apply that understanding to a wide range of vertical markets. Good independent CRM consultants are like hens teeth, which is why we’ll always be a niche consultancy. But then we like it like that!

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