Lipstick On A Pig
Interesting phrase - lipstick on a pig - it evokes some pretty interesting imagery. Mostly I think of the Muppets plus also my freshman year roommate in college who was a farmer and told me stuff about pig raising that you don’t want to hear.
Then, of course, it is a phrase with some legs lately in American politics, or it least a phrase with some lips. But, it is probably better not to go down that path. That governor up in Alaska looks fine without lipstick, anyway.
Using cosmetics ineffectively to hide unpleasant features is something that happens in the CRM industry as well. Giving handhelds to folks in the field as a way of making the CRM system more acceptable is a great example. Thinking that the gadget will make a poorly designed CRM system work better is the perfect example of lipstick on a pig. The handheld may be a really good idea, but without some key process changes and usability fixes, the use of the smaller device will be just as poor as the laptop-based adoption.
Lately there has also been a lot of talk about the use of social networking within the CRM context. Again, it is a great idea, but one that needs to be amended to a healthy CRM program. If the customer facing portion of the CRM system is plagued with a terrible UI, the use of social networking options will be compromised. Getting the fundamentals right is the key.
Perhaps the lipstick wearing poster child of CRM is the analytics package being heaped on top of the troubled CRM program. This is like burning money if existing data issues are not resolved first. There is no better example of garbage in – garbage out than this.
This is not to say that mobility, social networking and BI are bad ideas. They are fantastic capabilities that can and will take CRM programs to the next level if utilized correctly. It is the “if utilized correctly’ clause that is the hitch. Adding more capability to a troubled CRM system just causes more trouble.
To keep the lipstick off the pig, it is best to address the pig either first or as a component of a larger program plan that includes the introduction of the new capability.
For all of you lovers of our bovine friends please don’t be offended. It is, after all, just a saying. Perhaps we should change the metaphor and say something like, “paint on a leaky boat”.
