How often do you come across such figures; our CRM saves 24 working hours per week; using XYZ CRM we increased our Sales efficiency by 50%; our CRM ROI is ever increasing since we implemented XYZ CRM. Using this CRM, my profitability went up by 120% in just seven months or, this CRM is a sure and only way to your Startup’s success.
All these figures may be true, and no one is claiming that you’re being duped by such figures out there. But did you really think that only spending bucks on a CRM will land you a magical position in the market where your profitability will hike and you will grow ever stronger?
Can we attribute all these conceited figures to just investing in a particular CRM, or is there a grey area involved which CRM vendors won’t tell you about?
Folks! The rule of thumb says; there’s always a grey area involved! Let’s explore!
Without doubt, CRM is one sure way to boost sales, drive engagement, hike profitability and give you a competitive edge over others. But, is only investing in a customer relationship management system sufficient?
Beware of these 3 pitfalls which can be decisive factors between success or failure of your CRM ROI, time and efforts.
Not Customizing Your CRM – Leads to Ever Stagnant ROI of CRM
Do you ever feel that you are unique and running your business in a different manner? Think that your competitors do not perceive things like you do? Think your business processes and workflows are one of a kind? If you feel that you are genuinely unique, then it should be reflected in your CRM.
Many CRM vendors out there brag about their personalized CRM systems. Trust me, none of them have taken into account your exact business model before designing their CRMs.
Therefore, unless you customize your CRM solution to the exact processes and information flows you want, it is likely that you will never reach the point where you forget about your CRM investment and feel proud of this decision of yours.
KEY TAKEAWAY # 1
An off the shelf solution doesn’t understand your business needs and will continue to be a source of friction in your business processes. You need to customize your CRM according to your exact business requirements and not the other way around.
Still using a non-customized CRM? Understand how Rolustech can be your best solution for CRM customization queries.
Automation Deficient CRM – A Sure Way to Ruin Your CRM ROI
Huh, what? Automation Deficient CRM? Let me explain!
One of the foremost pet peeves for your sales team is manual data entry.
“Over 20% of sales professionals cited manual data entry as their top CRM challenge” – HubSpot’s State of Inbound Sales Edition Report
After all, what is the point of all that CRM investment if the salespeople have to tire their own fingers doing menial tasks? They could be shaking the hand of a potential client or contacting their leads instead. Do I need to remind you of the ‘ABC RULE’ of Sales? ‘Always Be Closing’!
Now, if your guys keep on spending time on manual data entry, would they be finding any time to listen to what clients or potential leads have to say? Chances are, if your salespeople are not listening, somebody else out there is training their sales team to listen intently. ‘Not listening’ is going to cost you dearly.
What, then, is Automation Deficient CRM? It is one which does not let you automate several tasks at once. And trust me there are some out there which make tasks so difficult that your Sales Reps prefer doing things manually.
KEY TAKEAWAY # 2
CRM, among many other things, is most importantly a time saving device. Get a suitable CRM that automates your daily tasks and makes life easy. Such a CRM gives you the option to customize your workflows, provides several reports with a single click and lets you do all the work with minimal switching between windows. Remember, the time your salespeople save will be spent on actual selling.
Failure to Recognize the Difference Between CRM Systems and CRM Culture
Your problems are unlikely to vanish by simply investing in a CRM. It cannot be emphasized enough that CRM is not a magic wand, able to make your problems go away with one swing. Chances are that you’ve bought a CRM and are, now, waiting for it to work its magic and pave the way to your market success. Unfortunately, that will not work. Furthermore, there is a high probability that your staff will not whole-heartedly accept the new technology, hampering the CRM success that you aimed for.
How to Rectify This?
Bring a culture of CRM. Wondering how a company does that? Let us explain with a simple yet most potent tip! Ask your senior most management to adopt it first. It’s psychological; your salespeople can never be passionate about change unless it comes from the top. Furthermore, hold training sessions for the staff. Give them a sense of self development and personal growth that comes along with using better technology like the latest CRM systems.
KEY TAKEAWAY # 3
A CRM system in itself will not give you the ROI you expect. You will have to inculcate a culture of CRM in your organization. Passion for CRM will only flow from your senior most management all the way to the bottom. And once it’s done, it’s just a wait and watch game to ever improving CRM ROI.
Wait, there’s more (Surprise!)
Adopting CRM in a Specific Department
Ever wonder that every business revolves around that one key department? Don’t you always have that one department in your company which gets more privileges than others? This is also true in case of adopting technology first.
For example, you might be a marketing consultancy, a logistics company, in the healthcare provision sector or an online retailer. In each of these cases, there’ll be a department that is in direct contact with the existing or potential clients and this is exactly why it gets to have a CRM. But is this approach any good?
No! Instead, it is a sure way to sink your CRM investment. Consider this scenario; your company thinks that since only the salespeople interact with the clients, hence, only they can benefit from using a CRM solution. What needs to be understood is that the Sales Department does not work in isolation from other departments. It has to continuously intermingle with Accounts, Supply Chain, Production, and, most importantly, Marketing to give the clients the best sales experience.
What will occur if only the Sales Department adopts a CRM?
- Your Marketing and Sales Departments would be on different pages without a unified vision.
- Salespeople would not be able to benefit from the marketing plans, which is an absolute must.
- The input of your salespeople is mandatory to get required results from marketing campaigns.
- There can be a future tug-of-war between the two departments, Sales and Marketing, on what the customers want and how to provide that.
- Both departments may get completely different customer insights because of several customer touch points, which would have been united by a CRM.
KEY TAKEAWAY # 4
What needs to be understood is that a CRM should never be limited to a single department. This way, you are decreasing both the existing and potential benefits of adopting a CRM solution.
Thinking That a CRM Solution Will Lead to Customer Success
Do you know who gets the blame when companies find it hard to get results from their Sales or Marketing strategies? Their CRM solutions!
Yes! It is very convenient to blame the CRM solution which cannot plead its innocence in the whole process.
There might be instances in which it is the CRM, which lacks the necessary third-party application integrations or is not customized according to the exact needs of your business, which is why you don’t get the desired results. But, trust me, it is YOU who sinks your CRM investment by thinking that a CRM solution is all you need to give your clients the best client interaction possible.
Let us remind you that CRM stands for ‘Customer Relationship Management’, and is a much broader term than what meets the eye. The focus should, therefore, be on the customers rather than the CRM solution. So the next time you don’t see the desired results, reach out to your customers, talk to them, survey them, and ask them for their feedback on your services. This will help you give your clients the most incredible, individualized customer experience that you can.
After all, you can’t be a pro at CRM without knowing your customers.
KEY TAKEAWAY # 5
Investing in a CRM solution will not start harvesting results for you immediately. It’s you who drives the CRM. Therefore, start planning your CRM strategy now; which will be a mix of two elements, you and your CRM solution. You can amaze your clients only when you strike a balance between both. CRM software has the potential to completely revolutionize your business. For example, if you are using SugarCRM, you can utilize SugarCRM plugins such as RT SugarVoice to get your work done and stay organized with the power of voice.
Loved this post? Check out more tips and tricks to increase the ROI of your CRM. If you relate to any of these costly mistakes, get in touch for a FREE CRM Consultation Session. Rolustech is a SugarCRM Certified Partner & Developer Firm. We have rendered services to more than 700 satisfied clients globally and helped them with SugarCRM Integrations, Customization, Implementation, Maintenance and Support.
