CRM project: Top 5 mistakes to avoid
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CRM project: Top 5 mistakes to avoid

Summary:

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solution is a huge, often very crucial project. However, the outcomes are frequently disappointing. In this article we will describe the absolute red flags to secure and ensure the success for your company. A CRM solution, when properly implemented, offers a business a significant competitive edge.

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A CRM allows the firm to optimize its work procedures and ensure that customer data is both centralized and accessible. All for the purpose of enhancing client relationship quality in one fell swoop. Many studies showed that a CRM success rate varies between 20 to 80% of the time. I’ll try to highlight the most prevalent blunders.

#1: Make sure you have a project manager.

When everyone is responsible for a task, no one really owns it. This might result in failure of the project. A CRM Project Manager needs to be familiar with all things sales-related and with your customers’ expectations in order to ensure that the system meets users’ expectations.

#2: Failing to describe the CRM project objectives.

There are several advantages to adopting a CRM system. However, there may be too many to consider them all. To be effective, you must first define your expectations. They will act as safeguards to promote successful implementation.

Make sure you stay true to your goals as you set them, and never stop defining new ones. Here are typical CRM project goals:

  • Centralize current and potential customer information
  • Unify and standardize internal processes
  • History of all your contacts’ interactions with you.
  • Personalize customer communication
  • Ensure that your salespeople are tracking the activities of their team.
  • Automate administrative tasks
  • Analyze customer data
  • Accompany the progress of your marketing and sales plan.

If you try to reach them all since they’re all excellent and vital, it’s probably not going to work. It’s critical to pick out some items over others.

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#3: Starting a CRM project without first assessing your Customer Relationship Management approach is unwise.

A CRM software is a critical component of your organization’s architecture and, as such, is closely linked to customer strategy. For this reason, it is important to take assess your current situation: existing tools, business needs, market evolutions, etc.

Because the tool was put in place before a clear strategy was established, many CRM projects fail to achieve their intended goal. Is it about lowering costs associated with processing client demands? Getting new clients? Retaining existing ones?

Is it about selling more products or selling products with higher added value? These inquiries may all be used as the basis for developing a Customer Relationship Management plan., the foundation needed for any CRM project.

Same as the objectives, those aspects can contradict themselves on the field and have a direct impact on the outcomes.

#4: Involving users in the early stages of project planning is not a good idea.

Organizations expose themselves to a lack of user adoption 7 times out of 10. The primary users of that software are those who interact with clients and prospects on a regular basis: Your customers’ organizational needs must be taken into account when developing your CRM system.

Your challenge? To ensure they adopt this new tool. What better way to achieve this than to involve them from the start. If they don’t buy-in, they will be unwilling to participate and support.

#5: Underestimating Change Management.

Implementing a new software tool can cause discomfort. You are changing habits.

The traditional barriers to change management:

  • Active sponsorship from management.
  • Misalignment resulted from a lack of effective communication..
  • Lack of support for new ideas made it difficult to move forward.
  • Lack of understanding and resources for change management.
  • A change-resistant culture.

The appropriate and efficient use of the CRM software by your sales teams will help them improve their performance which btw leads to a proper definition of what is considered a good performance but this is another topic for another time.

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