What you should consider when implementing CRM software
Every entrepreneur, whether young or old, knows how difficult, time-consuming and cost-intensive it is to acquire new customers and, above all, to retain them in the long term. Acquiring a new customer is five times as expensive as retaining an existing customer. That’s why customer care is so important.
Customer care should be the focus of the corporate philosophy, as it is the most cost-effective solution in the long term. This is why building long-term customer relationships is extremely important for a healthy company. The question for entrepreneurs here is how to retain customers in the long term. The majority of customer losses are due to a lack of interest in the customer, their needs or a lack of attention to the customer and not to high prices or production defects. The implementation of a CRM system is a prerequisite for building more intensive customer loyalty, keeping customers happy and satisfied in the long term and making faster and better decisions. Many companies encounter hurdles and stumbling blocks during the rollout (introduction of a CRM system) or the modernization of the system already introduced in the company, which can slow down and complicate the rollout. It is important to avoid these in order to enable smooth planning and implementation of a new CRM system.
What scope should the system cover?
If you want to introduce a CRM system, you should start by considering where the The focus of customer relationship management and which strategy you want to pursue in this regard (customer experience strategy), as this is the basis for customer relationship management. On the one hand, this depends on the corporate philosophy, and on the other hand, the size of the company also plays a decisive role. You should always ask yourself how and in what way you want to interact with customers in the future. This also determines which system functionalities add value for the company and its CRM system users. have. Every company works differently, has different customers, different products and sales processes, and the new CRM system should be customized accordingly. It should not just be a tool for customer acquisition, but a philosophy that guides you in customer acquisition and support. This often requires a change in your entire way of thinking. The introduction of a CRM system means that you have made the development and maintenance of a strong customer relationship your top priority and have consciously opted for a customer-oriented business model.
Before you start the implementation process, you should ask yourself the following three questions:
- How does the company envision future customer interactions and which industry-specific trends should be taken into account?
- What are the goals of customer interaction and what functionalities can the end user use to achieve them?
- How should sales management be covered in the new CRM system and what indicators should be used to measure success?
Answers to these questions make it possible to consider the way end users work during the implementation phase without losing sight of the corporate strategy.
It is recommended for smaller companies, focus initially on the operational benefits of the system. In concrete terms, this means that the CRM system should primarily support customer service and sales staff in their daily work. In small companies, a great deal can be achieved with small measures if the CRM system follows the corporate strategy.
The introduction and integration of a new CRM system is a complex and long-term undertaking, which is why it requires appropriate project management within the company. Control and, if necessary, initial project management tools should be defined before the project starts. The aim is to ensure a coordinated introduction with the methodology of the procedure as well as clearly defined roles and responsibilities and a common understanding among all team members. The motivation of all employees is the greatest prerequisite for successful implementation.
Choosing the right system
Different companies have different CRM strategies. There is an ever-increasing selection of manufacturers on the market who have adapted their CRM systems to a wide variety of customer needs with different functionalities. The task here is to find a system that is perfectly adapted or most adaptable to the company. In addition to technical aspects such as integration scopes and technologies (on-premise vs. cloud), define the requirements that are essential for your company, the “must haves”, such as the sales structures in wholesale and retail or the focus on B2C or B2B, and ask yourself what you want to achieve by implementing a CRM system in the company. In addition to the size of the company and the number of users, it is also crucial that the architectural hierarchy chosen by the company can also be mapped within the selected system. If this is not taken into account, it will lead to unnecessarily increased costs when installing the system.
Regardless of which CRM system you ultimately choose, select a CRM system that suits your own marketing and sales processes. But don’t make the biggest mistake at the beginning of the implementation and don’t simply transfer the old system world into the new system enriched with a few new functionalities. Use the opportunity and the implementation period to scrutinize, rethink and review the existing processes in your company and consider which ones really make sense and can take the company to a higher level in the area of customer relationship management.
Control of the implementation
It is crucial for a successful rollout to define the control and, if necessary, initial project management tools before the project starts. Clearly define both the methodology of the procedure and the roles of the individual employees responsible. This creates a cross-team understanding of innovations and changes. For a successful implementation, it is advisable to appoint a project manager internally. This person should coordinate the project plan with all those involved and communicate it well in order to convince all employees of the benefits of the implementation. If those involved recognize the benefits of the new CRM system, they will be more committed to the project. In small and medium-sized companies, there is rarely in-depth expertise in the area of CRM migration. This can quickly overwhelm the respective project manager when it comes to setting a schedule or budget. Therefore, when implementing CRM, it is worth cooperating with a partner who also carries out training in the company and is always available to answer questions.
Which stakeholders should be integrated, when and how?
At the start of the implementation project, you should carry out an analysis of customer needs and a targeted analysis of the current situation within the end user area. Divide your CRM project into clear sections. From project definition to detailed concept and implementation through to introduction. This gives the process a clear structure. Involve employees specifically in individual implementation steps, but don’t forget to communicate CRM terms with everyone involved, as a CRM project is new territory for some of those involved. In this way, you create clarity from the outset. The as-is analysis should be carried out on a small scale with one representative from each of the relevant areas and then continuously followed up and updated through an interactive process. The aim here is to understand the needs and working methods. In addition to the corporate strategy, both the needs of the customers and the working methods of the various employees should be taken into account when programming the new system. Involve your employees in the introduction. The CRM workflows should appear logical to the employees and make their day-to-day work easier. Regularly review your approach and coordinate your efforts. Coordination is particularly important here and guarantees the desired project success.
Involve the respective stakeholders successively, depending on the relevant area and functionality, and work on powerful use cases together. In this way, the system continues to develop in an evolutionary way and, after implementation, enables the desired user-friendliness and acceptance of the new system by all employees in the company.
Which KPIs are used to measure the success of the CRM system implementation?
And how do you measure the success of a rollout? The implementation of a new CRM system is a dynamic process. The biggest challenge in this process is the people. If your employees are not properly motivated and do not use the new system properly, even the best CRM system will not lead to a more customer-oriented company philosophy. In order to motivate employees and carry out a successful implementation, it is not enough to set rigid company targets or to view the success of the implementation only in quantitative terms, e.g. only according to the number of rollouts in different business areas. Such targets cannot be reconciled with the dynamics of a rollout. If the implementation is viewed in purely quantitative terms, this does not lead to sustainable and successful use of the system, but to unmotivated employees and sentences such as: “I told you that we have our own work system in our department and don’t need a CRM system.”
For this reason, the preliminary definition of KPIs (key performance indicators) and the involvement of employees in the individual implementation phases are extremely important for successful implementation. The focus should be on the qualitative, sustainable and successful use of the system. The KPIs should not lead to unrealistic scheduling of the rollout, but should focus on the quality of the system and its successful, sustainable use. In this way, customer relationships can be optimally maintained through efficient system use.
Often the benefits of an implementation cannot be quantified in figures alone. When considering ROI (return on investment), do not limit yourself to short-term turnover, but also take into account the long-term time savings, simplified working methods, the overview of activities, improved teamwork and other factors that are definitely worthwhile in the long term and also have an impact on turnover. With a long-term and qualitative use of the system, you can rely on the satisfaction of your end customers. View the long-term customer relationship as an investment whose ultimate goal is to fully exploit customer potential. Incorporate user and customer feedback as part of measuring the success of the CRM implementation.
The key performance indicators used to measure implementation success are often not set by project teams, but have been anchored in the company for years. As a result, these targets are usually rigid and less qualitative. Qualitative performance indicators should already be anchored as a goal at the top management level. It is therefore often necessary to fundamentally change the mindset in the company. To make the new performance indicators easier to understand, define them together at project level and establish them in the company. It is also advisable to make use of various change management measures that are adapted to your company.
1Tool helps you to implement the web-based 1Tool CRM software, with which you can make external and internal processes in your company much more efficient. This efficiency is ultimately reflected in your performance and automatically leads to an increase in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. We are also happy to advise you on individual solutions and respond to your needs.
