Customer Relationship Management II: The challenge to implement

CRM can improve business processes in many ways, whether used for simple calendar reminders or as an enterprise management tool. Kim Ross, a 12-year veteran of the Communications, Marketing and Sales Industry who helps clients choose and implement CRM, says the information you retrieve from your CRM can only be as good as what you put in. Though it can be valuable, the ROI of your CRM only comes with dedication to regular data entry and company buy-in.

CP: What are some of the most challenging aspects of adopting CRM?

Usability. Engaging all the capabilities of your software can be a challenge, so when you choose your CRM, it is wise to find one that comes with support; support can be found online or through a company that represents a certain software. Without support, you might only be taking advantage of 5% of the software’s capability; like buying Microsoft Office for your computer and only using Word.

Lack of buy-in. Fail rates for CRM are high due to, among other factors, a lack of buy-in. If you have a leadership team, ensure that all members are supportive, fully-understand the software and the time commitment involved. Deliver a clear message to staff that can answer the “what’s in this for me?” questions.

Lack of business process evaluation. It is really important to discuss and evaluate how you currently do work, and how you can do it better. If you are automating the way you send out a quote, CRM might change how you currently do that. What do you like and dislike about your current processes? To begin, think about your business’ A to B process; where are the approval steps? And can they be better? Sometimes it takes time to recognize how the new tool can make processes better.

Under-utilization. If you do not understand the full functionality of the software, you might be headed for frustration. Also, not exercising all capabilities of the software can also sell your business short.

Data Entry & Clean Up: Who? When? What? How Often? These are critical conversations to have, and can be covered as part of the evaluation of business process. A third party can provide support with cleaning up any current address/contact databases you may have, as well as transfer the newly cleaned data to your CRM. (It is valuable to consider doing a major “cleaning” of your database every two years.) In a larger business, the marketing/communications department is usually in charge of the CRM upkeep. If that department doesn’t exist, one person per group or department usually takes ownership of the CRM.

CP: Buy-in can be difficult because you have to convince employees to give up what is familiar to adopt a new method of working. What can a business owner or manager do to encourage CRM use?

K: There are many ways to motivate employees and it really depends on the culture of the organization; however, business owners and managers generally use one of two methods for buy-in: The Stick or the Carrot.

The Stick is basically a mandate: “Use this, or else.” The “or else” usually amounts to a report of activity that can be pulled from the CRM software. No activity, No job. It’s not pretty, but for national companies, especially sales-force driven, there is no negotiation. It is simply a job requirement.

The Carrot Method is highly effective when all managers/leaders understand the benefits, and are completely bought in. The passion they have for the software translates to their team. The most successful implementations come from companies who start from the top with adoption. Get buy-in from your leadership team and take the time to make them “experts.”

CP: An employee’s argument might be, I have my excel spreadsheet, why should I adopt this new system? Can you sell me CRM versus continuing to use my spreadsheet?

K: Where a spreadsheet has to be manually opened, CRM can be linked to email, phone, and other electronic mediums, and can send you reminders of what you are doing that day and where. It frees employees and supervisors from the constant attention and head space required to maintain client relationships. Second, employees can make a plan of what they want to achieve that year, for example, their sales projections. Most of all, CRM software is valuable for management: it can tell a business owner or manager how effective their staff is at maintaining relationships.

Whether you choose to use CRM for sales lead follow up, quote generation, product information storage or to examine employee performance, it takes time and dedication. The pay off? CRM can make your business more predictable. Results collected on sales leads, employee performance, or what products sell when and where can give you a glimpse of what your business will look like in two to three years. You can answer questions such as “Will I need more staff?” with more certainty.

Determine whether you need to create a schedule or allot calendar time for CRM maintenance? Reward compliance? Successful CRM means getting everyone on your team to speak the same language. To make CRM a success, determine what needs to be done so that there is buy-in and dedicated upkeep.