CRM Implementation: Tips and Common Mistakes to Avoid
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2024 10:38 am
According to Gartner, the global CRM market grew by 12.6% in 2020. However, as early as 2017, Harvard Business Review reported that around a third of new CRM implementation projects fail. These failures can have a variety of causes, including budget, data integrity, or technological limitations. But when customers who implemented these solutions were asked whether their CRM was mint phone number data helping their organization grow, the “no” was almost unanimous.
The mistake is in how they are used. If the CRM system is used for inspection tasks (viewing progress reports, improving forecast accuracy, increasing visibility, predicting project delivery, business intelligence, etc.) rather than directly improving the sales process, then it is not fulfilling its function.
How can you ensure that your CRM software is implemented in a way that brings value to your business? Here are the do’s and don’ts for successfully integrating it into your organization.
DON’T: Use your CRM as a one-stop shop
If your CRM takes direction from everyone—top executives, technology specialists, marketing, finance, and sales—its functions will become very diluted. If it has too many different objectives, it will be very difficult for one CRM system to meet them all.
If you want your company's CRM to serve to boost your revenue, its sole purpose should be to help your sales team increase sales. And nothing else.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: Start thinking of your CRM as a tool to increase revenue, period.
There's no point in investing in a CRM system just to have the latest technology or to complete administrative reports. A CRM system should serve to empower your sales team, giving them access to support resources during sales cycles and helping them manage their territory.
As a manager, you should ensure that your teams use CRM as a tool to jointly design strategies and to advise them throughout the sales process to make the most of the different opportunities that arise along the way.
The mistake is in how they are used. If the CRM system is used for inspection tasks (viewing progress reports, improving forecast accuracy, increasing visibility, predicting project delivery, business intelligence, etc.) rather than directly improving the sales process, then it is not fulfilling its function.
How can you ensure that your CRM software is implemented in a way that brings value to your business? Here are the do’s and don’ts for successfully integrating it into your organization.
DON’T: Use your CRM as a one-stop shop
If your CRM takes direction from everyone—top executives, technology specialists, marketing, finance, and sales—its functions will become very diluted. If it has too many different objectives, it will be very difficult for one CRM system to meet them all.
If you want your company's CRM to serve to boost your revenue, its sole purpose should be to help your sales team increase sales. And nothing else.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: Start thinking of your CRM as a tool to increase revenue, period.
There's no point in investing in a CRM system just to have the latest technology or to complete administrative reports. A CRM system should serve to empower your sales team, giving them access to support resources during sales cycles and helping them manage their territory.
As a manager, you should ensure that your teams use CRM as a tool to jointly design strategies and to advise them throughout the sales process to make the most of the different opportunities that arise along the way.