This question was posted by Sri who needs advice on “how to transition careers to customer relationship management (CRM) business analysis.”
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Here is Sri’s Question on Becoming A Domain Business Analyst
Hi Kingsley,
The reason I wanted to move into CRM is that it being an evergreen field, thats what I feel from my understanding that for any business to be successful it must be customer centric.
And how else can a business be successful without serving its customers better through their processes which revolve around customer and thus automating those processes in order to manage their relationships with customers in an efficient manner.
Also since recession has hit an all time high thus companies have a better role to play in order to retain their existing customers by integrating Customer Relationship Management tools in their organization and realizing the benefits of it.
I wanted to do a SAP-CRM but dont know how to go about it since SAP industry doesnt take in freshers for such domains without a life cycle implementation experience.
So I would like you to advise how I can go ahead with my CRM career with or without SAP or what others tools knowlege is better in order to get into BA-CRM role.
Thanks and Regards,
Sri
How To Become A CRM Business Analyst
Recent reports suggest that the world-wide CRM market will double in a short time driven by CRM projects in every industry including Healthcare and Life sciences.
For example, the consulting firm KensingtonHouse estimates that the percentage of companies deploying, upgrading, or actively considering a CRM purchase stands at 38 percent.
Against this background, Gartner recently predicted that “25 percent of CRM projects will be postponed or canceled because of the CRM skill shortage in consultants and systems integrators.”
So, you are right in saying that there are good opportunities in the CRM Industry for business analysts.
I would like to offer you a surprise, free coaching session on “How You Can Transition To A CRM Business Analyst Career”.
Here is what your customized coaching plan will cover:
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Hands-On Domain Experience: how to get CRM business analysis hands-on domain experience without first getting a full-time job
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Resume Makeover: how to customize your resume with the relevant CRM experience
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CRM Skills: how to figure out which CRM tools or CRM processes you should learn based on a SWOT analysis
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Career Marketing: how to market your customized CRM resume or skills directly to hiring managers or clients!
I will be contacting or corresponding with you directly on the details of your “CRM Businesss Analysis Coaching plan“.
Here is some additional information for you to consider before we start your customized CRM career coaching session
What Is The State of The CRM Job Market?
The CRM Job market is divided into a demand for business analysts and system integrators who work on improving or implementing CRM packages and CRM Developers who work on customizing CRM existing packages or creating CRM software solutions from scratch.
Which CRM Tools Should I Learn?
You need to evaluate both the popularity of a CRM tool in as well as the cost of learning the tool.
Because some CRM software packages require extensive investments of time and money to learn. Other are much more affordable for the client who’s adopting it and for the Business Analyst who’s learning it.
Regardless of the CRM package you choose to learn, you need to get a clear understanding of specific CRM processes like Sales Force Automation (SFA) which can be implemented in any tool.
After learning one or more CRM Software Packages, apply for CRM business analyst jobs by emphasizing your knowledge of CRM processes over the tools except when you have strong first hand knowledge of the CRM tool mentioned in the Job opening.
Here are a few CRM business analyst career paths for you to consider:
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Microsoft Dynamics CRM Business Analyst
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Salesforce.com CRM Business Analyst
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Oracle (PeopleSoft CRM / Siebel CRM) Business Analyst
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Sugar CRM Business Analyst Business Analyst
How To Become A CRM Domain Business Analyst
Have you considered going beyond the traditional CRM business analyst career path by consulting or freelancing on CRM issues. .. this is an example of a question you need to evaluate for our custom business analysis coaching session!
You also have to ignore using a traditional job search! Prepare a marketing plan that defines who your target market is amongst other things and how you would market your resume (advertising, networking, cold calling, speaking, etc.) to them.
If you want to consider a non-traditional CRM business analyst consulting path, you should prepare a business plan that addresses questions like:
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Are you going to provide CRM consulting services by yourself or
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Hire employees, consultants or contractors to provide CRM services to clients through your business
Finally, consider using the power of the web, internet and social media to market your services.
This post answers a question on how to transition careers to CRM business analysis.
If you have a question or a challenge about your career, post it as a comment and I will answer it for you!
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