Building meaningful relationships with customers is no easy feat. It is both an art and a science. While many businesses fancy the idea of adopting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to get a holistic view of customer interactions, they are not told beforehand that deploying a CRM system entails significant risk. I know it sounds demoralizing but my responsibility is to help you look at the bigger picture.
Why do I say that adopting a CRM system entails significant risk? Due to the simple fact that business owners jump onto the bandwagon without any proper planning in advance. They don’t do proper research on top CRM platforms such as SugarCRM and Salesforce.
Here, I am going to list the four most common reasons why CRM systems fail to yield the desired results. You can avoid these pitfalls in order to maximize your ROI from CRM implementation.
Unclear Goals
What do you intend to achieve by deploying a CRM system is the key question that businesses fail to ask themselves before delving into the world of CRM technology. CRM is not a standalone software. Every department, be it sales, marketing, IT, accounts, or customer support, needs to work in harmony to extract the maximum benefit out of it. No business can achieve everything at once. Hence, be crystal clear in your mind about the specific targets you want to meet once the CRM system is up and running
Tip: Make a list of short-term as well as long-term goals and try to express them in quantifiable terms.
Too Many Features
While it is true that an out-of-the-box CRM system cannot accomplish all the tasks that are required and hence its functionality needs to be extended with CRM Customization, getting too many features customized or apps integrated initially can make the system unnecessarily complicated and difficult to use for the employees, which is why it is important to proceed with proper CRM consultation.
Tip: You should make a detailed list of the primary features that you would like to have in your CRM which would serve your particular business needs. As your customer base grows, you can easily scale your CRM.
Not getting employees on board
Ultimately it’s the employees who are going to use the CRM system and play a key role in determining its success or failure. No matter how awesome your CRM is, it will be of little value if employees do not welcome it with an open heart. Initially, there will be fear in their hearts of learning new software or losing their jobs, which often happens when new technology is introduced in any organization.
Tip: Address all the concerns of your employees by creating awareness as to how CRM would make their lives easier and more rewarding. Also, make sure that all the essential CRM training is provided to them and they are fully equipped to make the most of the new system.
Price
Having a plethora of options can be confusing. Every CRM has its strengths and weaknesses. You cannot try out every product to see if it is worth your money. Vendors will allure and entice you with their offering but you should not make any hasty decisions. This is a mistake that many businesses make since they lack adequate knowledge about the CRM industry. CRM implementation can, therefore, be quite expensive if the required homework is not done.
Tip: If you are just starting out, it’s best that you try a CRM which is either free or comes at a low price and has all the basic features. As your operations expand and the customer base grows, you can switch to a more advanced CRM.
Rolustech is a Salesforce and SugarCRM Certified Developer & Partner Firm. We have helped more than 600 firms with various SugarCRM integrations and customization. Get in touch today for your FREE Business Analysis. We will be happy to assist you.
