9 tips for implementing your CRM
By helloDarwin
August 30, 2017

9 Tips To Implement Your CRM Solution

As we established in a previous article, a CRM has numerous advantages for managing the information resulting from the communication between a company and its customers.
However, to take advantage of its many qualities, it is still necessary to know how to properly implement it within the existing structure of the company.

How to Successfully Implement Your CRM

1. Define the Needs of Your Company

At the very beginning of the CRM implementation process, keep in mind that it must be integrated into your marketing strategy, otherwise its positive effects will be barely noticeable. It is therefore essential to first understand this strategy to identify the best way to implement the CRM to pursue the company's long-term objectives. The needs can be diverse, focusing on improving a service or a sector, or on reducing response times to customer requests, for example.
Also, establishing priorities regarding the objectives to be achieved will help determine which will be the first areas of the company affected by the CRM implementation, assuming you choose to proceed department by department.

2. Shop for Your CRM

With a wide range of CRM options available, take the time to find the one that best meets your needs. If you skip this step, you will then have to pay an additional amount to make the necessary modifications to perfect your CRM in line with the objectives you are pursuing.

3. Link Your CRM to Other Software

As maintaining other software in addition to your CRM may be required by your company's needs, it is crucial to link everything together to avoid duplication of information. Take the time to make this connection; it will prevent an overabundance of information that hinders data organization.

4. Be Selective in Preserving Data

To efficiently reorganize the information contained in your CRM, it will be necessary to first perform a thorough cleanup. You will need to review everything to avoid preserving data that is not relevant to the ongoing cases. Therefore, there is no point in keeping outdated data; only the most recent information deserves a place in the CRM.

5. Conduct Follow-Up

Following the implementation of the CRM, you will need to perform the required tests to ensure that data conversion is done properly and that your employees have all the necessary information to work and follow up on the cases they are responsible for.

6. Opt for a Gradual Implementation of the CRM

Revisiting the idea briefly mentioned in the point concerning the definition of the company's needs, you could decide to change everything at once or opt for a so-called gradual implementation of the CRM. When initiating change in a company, the desire may arise to tear everything down and change everything in one step. The best advice on this would be to resist the temptation to do so.
In this regard, a too drastic upheaval would cause significant stress to your employees, who might struggle with the new direction taken by the company. By proceeding gradually, you give everyone a chance to adapt, and on the other hand, you will be able to make adjustments to the initial methods if they have caused difficulties for your employees.
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7. Train Your Employees in Using the CRM Software

Although all learning always requires some willingness, it is also imperative to provide employees with training tailored to the new features applicable to their sector. While it may be tempting to invest your entire budget in the CRM, know that not allocating a part of it to employee training will prevent your company from using the software to its full potential. This would be a saving that ends up being a long-term loss.

8. Identify Several Responsible Parties for Training

Having several people responsible for training your employees is key to allowing the implementation to follow a clear direction and not go off in all directions. Moreover, these individuals will serve as a reference for any questions that may arise along the way, making the adaptation much less painful than leaving everyone with their uncertainties.
Why several responsible parties and not just one? Because each sector of the company deserves representation. A spokesperson for each of these will better convey the needs of the employees, which will vary greatly depending on the tasks performed.

9. Benefit from Your Employees' Feedback

Once again, it is important to remember that change is often synonymous with resistance. Regardless of the field of expertise in which the company operates, reluctance and criticism will manifest. Far from taking this as an affront, it would be wise to take note of it to try to adapt the CRM implementation as much as possible to the needs of the employees. Being open in this regard will serve you well, as they will be more comfortable using the new system in place.
Related Tags
CRM
Management Software

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