Tag Archive for: CRM Adoption

How to Choose the Right CRM for Your Business

Choosing the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for your business can be a daunting process.

Customer Relationships and Experience have always been and continue to be an essential element for a company’s success. And whether it’s the first or the tenth, impressions matter to create a sense of loyalty and repetitiveness with a business.

A good customer experience (CX) is still the largest opportunity in the hands of any business to increase its profits.

Capturing this opportunity requires some assistance, which is exactly what the right CRM for your business provides.

A CRM is customer management software with a plethora of features to forge stronger relationships with your existing and potential customers. It provides a 360-degree view of your customer’s requirements.

Most CRM’s have built in features like:

  • Lead Tracking
  • Workflow Automation
  • Employee tracking
  • Social Media management

And so much more…

With a vast array of CRM software available on the market, such as Salesforce, Hubspot CRM, and Zoho CRM, choosing the right one for your business can seem tricky. That’s why on average, companies spend 11 weeks to select a new CRM. After all, you are investing your time, energy, effort, and money – you don’t do it all to go in vain.

When picking up a new CRM for your business, there are certain aspects to bear in mind. Based on these, you can select the one that checks off all or most of the boxes for you.

Here are some important points to consider when you begin your search and finally choose the perfect CRM for your business:

Points to consider when choosing the right CRM:

Know Your Requirements, Don’t Assume

Choosing a CRM means first sitting down, considering your goals and needs, and writing down an answer to your ‘Why.’ Why do you need a CRM? Not because it’s good to have.

This will help you in narrowing down the primary solutions you are looking for and the goals you want to achieve from deploying a new CRM software.

So, these solutions could be –

  • Shortening the sales cycle.
  • Improving client communication, loyalty, and retention.
  • Proper performance review through clear reporting.

And there could be other solutions specific to your business. The goal could be to increase productivity.

This also includes examining your current processes – internal and external. Document the best practices. Identify what’s working and what’s not. Pick the new CRM which overcomes the shortfalls in the current process.

Analyzing from different viewpoints and building the what, why, and how behind each problem-solution narrative will help you in at least picking a selected few CRMs to compare from the whole lot available in the market.

Create a Plan for Deployment

Like other things, there are different ways you can deploy your new CRM system. You can build it, purchase it (on-premises) or outsource it (cloud hosted). Make sure you get a grasp of your requirements and weigh in factors like –

  • Your budget
  • The time frame
  • And the size of your organization

Whether it’s on-premises or the cloud, both have their set of pros and cons.

On-premisesCloud
High upfront costs, lesser over time and pays offMinimal upfront costs, accumulated costs are high over time
Slower implementationFaster implementation
Control over data and systems.No new servers needed. Data is stored externally.
Requires dedicated IT staffLess service costs

When deciding the deployment method, be sure to understand how you can migrate from one to the other and how your data will be impacted in the future if you ever plan to move from one system to the other.

Understand the Implementation Process

Any software that is not implemented correctly will not produce the desired outcome.

Though seemingly easy, implementing new CRMs can be tricky. With an array of features and functionalities, it is better to choose a consultant who specializes in CRM implementation, training, and more to do the job for you.

They have the specialized expertise and can:

  • Save you time during installation and in training your staff.
  • And help you optimize your CRM and get the most out of it.

Although it is advisable to hire an expert, if you have your team do it, keep in the time it will take to implement the system, train the others in the department, and fix any bugs that may arise.

Thus, take into account the costs associated with implementation as these are often ignored when selecting a CRM software and decide upfront how you plan to implement it.

Check Product Mobility and Versatility

Changing work scenarios and modernizing the workforce requires CRM software to adapt to these and go beyond traditional capabilities.

Make sure that your CRM is robust and can –

Be accessed from anywhere and from any device. With remote working teams and multiple channels of communication, you need a CRM that will integrate seamlessly with your different business channels. Additionally, it provides system users real-time updated information on multiple devices, such as mobiles, tablets, and laptops.

Integrate with third-party apps. One reason you want a CRM is to streamline your processes. You want it to be a solution that connects your whole business and achieves greater economies of scale. But your CRM may or may not have all the functions and features.

So, you need a CRM that integrates with apps for email, maintaining the calendar, form and survey apps, and other such required functions. And if you want to integrate it with your ERP Accounting and Operations software, you can always count on companies like Commercient SYNC.CRM software with mobility and versatility will help in achieving higher efficiencies…the ultimate goal.

Justify your Investment

Not all CRMs are created equal. Some may have tons of features justifying the hefty costs, but you might not need them at all. While others may be pricey but lack what you require.

Determining these and a multitude of factors is important as your CRM is a business investment that needs to produce the expected ROI (Return on Investment).

At the same time, you need to decide the budget: based on your current needs and realistically predict future ones.

You neither want to overspend nor underspend.  Decide accordingly. Because the expected ROI for every dollar spent on CRM software investment can go as high as $30.48.

Ask About Customization and Modifications

The cookie-cutter mold of working no longer exists. With unique business structures and set-ups arises the need for personalization.

So, when you are selecting a CRM for your company, make sure to pick a CRM that has the needed capability.

Ask the vendor:

Is it easy to modify?

Can you modify all the aspects?

Can you modify screens, fields, tables etc.?

Look for systems that provide some core and customizable options. Or the ones who provide for expanding system capabilities.

Go for a Test Drive

A very important thing to watch out for is if the CRM vendors you shortlisted are providing demos.

Demos, as we all know, are the only way you can dig into the product you intend to buy. So, ask for one.

During the demo or test trial period, look into the features and functionalities. Understand them in detail. Assess how easy it was for you to use. Does it checkmark your priority requirements or not?

In short, know the CRM’s weaknesses and strengths.

Don’t just take a demo as a step to tick off in your book while picking a new CRM for your business. Give it enough time and effort.

Choosing the right CRM

Selecting the new CRM for your organization can seem like a cumbersome process you want to get away with. But it seems easier once you begin and as you go.

A word of caution – don’t get trapped in the shiny syndrome – which makes you buy the CRM with fancy features and may or may not have high costs.

Look for CRM software that can grow and expand with you.

Talk to us today to know more about how you can bring ERP or Accounting information into your CRM.

Integration: Key to Increase CRM User Adoption

CRMs are designed to manage the most valuable asset of a company—the customers. As a customer management tool with customization options, pipeline tracking, and reporting and dashboard features it makes sense why company executives would want to maximize the user adoption of their CRM. Not to mention, a CRM can be a significant financial investment, so naturally, companies want to be sure that employees are using a CRM to its fullest potential. 

But all too often it seems, an organization purchases a shiny, new CRM and people are hesitant to use it. It’s like a 16-year-old who is given a brand-new Ferrari on his or her birthday with all of the bells and whistles who doesn’t want to jump in the driver’s seat to take it for a spin around the block. 

So, why are employees so hesitant to climb in the driver’s seat of this beautiful Ferrari and push the pedal to the metal? Often, this is because the CRM focus is Executive-driven instead of Sales Team driven. The Executive team provided a Ferrari with amazing executive-focused reports and dashboards, but the Sales Team’s focus is very different, and to keep going with the analogy, they wanted a Lamborghini. They need the bells and whistles that are directly related to their daily responsibilities, which are quite different from the information Executives are looking for.

Now the question becomes, what bells and whistles do the Sales Team need? While a CRM provides amazing pipeline features, something that is missing is the historical data of a customer’s past purchasing habits. Before a Sales Team representative gets ready to reach out to a client about their next order, they may want to ask themselves these questions: what did they buy last time? What price did they buy it for? How many did they buy? Do we have that in stock? Did they pay for it yet? In an Executive focused CRM, a lot of this data is siloed away in other systems, like the ERP. Therefore, Sales Team members need to look in multiple systems for the information they want, or they have the additional step of reaching out to the accounting team for more information. But what if there was a better way?

There is! Tailor your CRM to the Sales Team’s needs with integration between the ERP and CRM. Give the Sales Team the Lamborghini they deserve with increased visibility of the information they need at their fingertips to quickly and independently drive their sales. 

It’s really a very simple solution to this common problem… If you want to increase user adoption, you need to provide access to the information the users need, and that is made possible through data integration.

For a robust and reliable ERP and CRM data integration solution contact Commercient today!

Tips To Increase CRM Adoption Rates

One of the biggest challenges businesses face in implementing CRM is getting users to actually use the system. In fact, less than 40% of CRM projects have full scale end-user adoption, per CSO Insights. So, what can you do to ensure a higher end-user adoption rate for your next CRM project? Here are a few ways you can increase CRM adoption rates for successful implementation.

Make Sure It’s Easy To Use

If you want your users to embrace your CRM software, you must make sure it’s easy to use. According to Salesforce, about 72% of CRM users say they would trade functional complexity for a simple CRM that is easier to use. The truth is, a complex and confusing CRM system will steal valuable time from your salespeople and will only cause frustration. So, you should make every effort to choose a system that doesn’t have too much of a learning curve. In essence, your CRM system should be as easy to use as Commercient’s out-of-the-box SYNC Data Integration App; it’s so easy to use, your grandmother could do it.

Get Buy-In From User

Another way you can increase CRM adoption rates is get your users actively involved. You should get feedback from them to determine what features and functions they would like to see in your CRM system. By allowing your end-users to have a voice in the CRM implementation planning process, they will be more encouraged to invest time and extra effort in making your CRM a success.

Get Buy-In From Management

Not only should you get buy-in from your users, but you should ensure that you have 100% buy-in from your executive team. Senior level management should be engaged at every step of the process, making sure the project stays on course. Studies show that a lack of senior management support is one of the biggest reasons why CRM projects fail.

Integrate Your CRM

To increase CRM end-user adoption rates, you should also consider integrating your CRM system. You’ll be glad to know that CRM software works with all types of third-party solutions, so that all your data is streamlined throughout different areas of your business. It means that you don’t have to manually export or import data between, for instance, your CRM and ERP systems. Our SYNC data integration App allows you to integrate your ERP data with your CRM, and helps your business become more efficient. By integrating your CRM system, you will save time that you would have spent performing repetitive tasks.

Train Your Employees

According to Todd Wickens, engagement manager at SWC Technology Partners, an IT consulting firm, “Employees will be more inclined to adopt this system if they are eased into it.” If you want your customer relationship management project to be successful, and you want a higher rate of end-user CRM adoption, you should provide adequate training so that all your team is up to speed before they use the system. You should provide ongoing training to new employees, or those who may need a refresher course, as well as to introduce new features.

Want to know more about our SYNC App and how you can integrate your CRM to increase end-user adoption rates? Check out our Commercient SYNC page.

5 formas efectivas de incrementar la adopción de CRM

Uno de los más grandes retos que enfrenta cualquier negocio en la implementación de un CRM es lograr que todos los usuarios adopten el nuevo sistema. De hecho, menos del 40% de proyectos de de CRM culminan en la adopción por parte de los usuarios, según CSO Insights. Entonces, ¿qué puedes hacer para asegurar un alto nivel de adopción de CRM por parte de los usuarios? Aquí hay algunas maneras de ayudar a que el proceso sea exitoso:

Asegúrate de que sea fácil de usar

Si quieres que los usuarios de tu empresa adopten el software CRM, debes asegurarte de que sea fácil de usar. Salesforce estima que el 72% de usuarios CRM preferirían cambiar la complejidad funcional por un software que sea sencillo, fácil de usar. La verdad es que un sistema CRM demasiado complejo y hasta confuso quitará tiempo valioso a tu equipo de ventas, y sólo causará frustración. Así que deberías hacer todo el esfuerzo posible para elegir un sistema con una curva de aprendizaje baja y que brinde las funcionalidades que tu empresa necesita. Un ejemplo es Commercient SYNC app, que es fácil de instalar, usar y te permite sincronizar únicamente la información que tu equipo necesita para realizar su trabajo.  

Obtén apoyo de los usuarios

Otra forma en que puedes incrementar el nivel de adopción del sistema CRM es involucrar a los usuarios. Esfuérzate por obtener retroalimentación de su parte para determinar qué características y funciones quisieran ver en el CRM. Al darles voz a los usuarios en el proceso de planificación e implementación, eso los motivará a invertir tiempo y esfuerzo extra en el éxito del sistema CRM dentro de tu empresa.

Obtén apoyo de los directivos y gerentes

No basta con el apoyo de los usuarios, sino que necesitas también el de tu equipo ejecutivo. De hecho, la falta de involucramiento de los mandos altos y medios de una organización puede contribuir en gran medida al fracaso de proyectos de toda índole, no solo de implementación de nuevos sistemas. Los directivos y gerentes deberían estar involucrados en cada parte del proceso, ayudando a que el proyecto se mantenga dentro de lo acordado y con las necesidades de la empresa en mente.   

Integra tu sistema CRM

Para incrementar la adopción y uso del sistema CRM, deberías considerar integrarlo con otros sistemas de tu organización (por ejemplo, tu sistema contable o ERP). Te alegrará saber que hay formas de integrar tu CRM con otros sistemas a través de apps y soluciones elaboradas por terceros, de modo que todos tus datos se puedan acceder desde diferentes áreas de tu empresa. Con ello, no tienes que perder tiempo valioso ingresando manualmente la información de un sistema a otro. La aplicación de integración de datos SYNC te ayuda precisamente con eso: permite integrar la información almacenada en tu sistema contable o ERP con tu CRM en tiempo real, lo que ahorra tiempo y ayuda a tu empresa a ser más eficiente.

Entrena a tus empleados

Según la empresa consultora SWC Technology Partners, “los empleados se sentirán más motivados a adoptar este sistema si se les facilita el camino para ello”. Si quieres que tu proyecto de CRM tenga éxito, y quieres un nivel mayor de aceptación de esta nueva herramienta, entrena adecuadamente a tu equipo. Sea que hayan entrado recientemente a tu empresa, o tengan más tiempo trabajando para ti, no olvides prepararlos para el uso de ese sistema y todas las funciones que necesitarán conocer y dominar.

¿Quieres saber más acerca de SYNC y cómo puedes usar esta aplicación para integrar tu CRM con tu ERP? Contáctanos ahora con tus preguntas.