Prepare Your Business For CRM Adoption
CRM systems help to improve customer service, maintaining accurate records, augmenting sales forecasts and taking your marketing to a new level. But, there is that uncertainty when predetermining the process that lies ahead. The success of any CRM project is dependent on user acceptance; here are four ways to prepare your business for CRM adoption.
Announce it and ask questions
You want your staff to be aware that your managers and senior personnel are completely on board with using new program. You can do this by making frequent references to it in any and all meetings prior to implementation. Your staff is waiting to see if you can walk your talk. They want to know how serious you are about it, or if it is just another passing fad to die out in a month. Using it regularly and discuss it consistently conveys your dedication to its success.
You also want members of your team involved and engaged. Ask them questions such as what isn’t working and issues that seem to cause difficulty in the sales process. What are some methods for making things easier and more efficient? Even though you might know your company’s processes, it is the sales, service and marketing staff who know the ins and outs of everyday operations. When you have the insight on how employees go about doing their jobs, you can ensure that your new CRM software will help them increase productivity.
Customize it
What makes a CRM system even more useful is personalization. This can include fields you need for your business such as, “Name,” “Business Name,” “Email,” “Twitter Username,” “LinkedIn Username,” “Size of Business” and more. This helps your sales team as they go about the sales process with minimal change and interruption.
Don’t forget the training
This might seem obvious but it is critical to the success of CRM user adoption. And, don’t just train a few individuals; invest in training every employee who will be interacting with the system. CRM isn’t just for your sales team or account managers; is for everyone. Yes, it will take time to thoroughly train everyone to use your CRM properly, but it will be worth it when you see their confidence explode in using the system.
Consider providing extra training to 1 or 2 members of each business unit to serve as internal CRM resources for the rest of their team members. You might even want to start user training model before the CRM software is installed in an ‘out of box’ environment. Next, you should set up times designated for Q&A, in addition to creating “refresher” courses for any of your staff who need in-depth explanation and assistance.
It’s only natural for CRM adoption to come with a few obstacles along the way. It’s critical to keep in mind that the benefits certainly outweigh any issues that prevent 100 percent user adoption. But, by taking the right actions, ahead of time and consistently, it won’t be long before your entire staff starts singing the praises of your decision.