Customer relationship management (CRM) software can transform a company’s sales, marketing, and customer service operations for the better. Especially for small and mid-sized businesses, CRM tools offer ways to do more faster through automation and to streamline sales and marketing efforts. But CRM doesn’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to ease of use—or even return on investment. In fact, research found that one in four SMBs replaced their CRM systems in 2022.
Replacing a system that is often heavily integrated with business processes costs a significant amount of time and money. It’s imperative for SMBs to maximize their use of their CRM tools so they can avoid the costs and inefficiencies associated with a technology that either falls by the wayside or isn’t fully adopted across an organization. Here, we dive into a few ways you can be sure to successfully adopt CRM in your SMB and maximize your use of this important technology.
Implement CRM Using an Expert Partner
It’s tempting to think you can do it yourself, especially as many CRM solutions advertise a DIY benefit. But going it alone with CRM implementation can do more damage than good in the long run. Not only do you risk implementing it incorrectly, there’s a high probability your teams won’t know how to maximize its features or truly use the solution to the best of its capabilities.
A technology partner consults with your business to help you select the right CRM, customize it to fit your business needs, and train your team to use it properly. They ensure your data is imported and entered correctly. They can also minimize the disruption your business feels during this onboarding process while helping ensure you see ROI and squeeze every benefit out of your investment.
Set Goals for CRM Use
Setting short- and long-term goals for what you want to achieve with CRM will help set the stage for measuring its success and encouraging its adoption in your business. For example, if a goal is to expedite your sales process—and you set metrics for doing so—your sales team can focus on utilizing the features of the CRM solution that aid in this endeavor.
Solicit Employee Feedback from the Outset of Implementation
Asking employees for feedback on how they’re using the tool, what they’re having issues with, what could be better, and how it’s helping them is essential for encouraging widespread adoption of CRM. This feedback will allow you to tweak how your teams use the solution and discover ways to get more use out of it.
Set up Consistent Training Sessions
Your CRM may receive updates, in which case your teams will need to know about new tools and features. Your technology partner can help you consistently keep employees trained on upgrades—ensuring your CRM solution remains useful.
Look for a CRM Solution that Integrates with Other Tools
A big barrier to adoption is a CRM solution that stands alone. While you have your pick of CRM tools on the market today, be sure to look for one that will integrate with your existing technologies so you don’t bloat your technology stack. Integration will also ease adoption in your work environment as employees will be rest assured they can keep using tools they’re familiar with all while taking advantage of the new power of CRM.
Discover What CRM Can Do for Your SMB with Point Alliance
Point Alliance has deep experience and expertise leading SMBs through their CRM adoption journeys to ensure teams are trained and proficient in this important technology. If you’re curious about how to improve CRM adoption in your environment, get in touch with us today.
