We live in the digital era, where every business aims to enter the online arena. As a result, competition is fierce, and the market is saturated with players leaving no stone unturned to outsmart each other. In an environment that is so cut-throat, businesses need to rely on tools and mechanisms to give them a competitive edge over others by making some tasks easier to handle. That is why Customer Relationship Management or CRM software has become the need of the hour.

If you, too, want a CRM for your business and are looking to hire CRM developers suited for the job, you must keep in mind that the development process is not all there is to CRM. There is another aspect of CRM that does not get paid much attention to. And that is its implementation. Oftentimes, the entire reason behind an unsuccessful CRM project is that the implementation became too much of a challenge.

But there are ways to mitigate implementation-related risks. In fact, we have provided below a brief yet informative guide that will help you overcome any CRM implementation hurdle you might encounter. But before we do that, let’s understand why CRM is useful for businesses.

Why Is CRM Important for a Business?

When it comes to managing customer needs and expectations, there is no other system more useful for a business than CRM. Customer Relationship Management or CRM software is vital for an organization to execute business processes. Functions such as organizing and managing customer interactions can be automated efficiently using CRM.

However, to think of CRM as just a technological tool is a half-baked understanding of CRM’s role. A more accurate way of looking at CRM would be to see it as an amalgamation of all the varied information and data a business accumulates.

A CRM effectively stores, organizes, and analyzes information like market trends tracking data, competitive research data, customer data, sales numbers, marketing metrics, etc., and generates insights. Based on these insights, a business can optimize operations to encourage customer loyalty and retention.

Hence, a successful CRM software implementation could be game-changing for a business. It strengthens the relationship between the business and its existing customers and can also help bring in new customers. Therefore, a business shouldn’t miss out on all the benefits CRM can offer just because the implementation got botched. Now that we know why CRM is important for a business, we should look at the problems and challenges a business faces while implementing CRM and how you can avoid or overcome those issues.

CRM Challenges and How to Overcome Them

1. Absence of clearly defined goals

Many businesses make this mistake. Instead of taking a hard look at what they set out to accomplish via a CRM, they keep shooting in the dark, hoping to hit the mark. You cannot just start developing a CRM if you have no clue what you will be using it for. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Hence, make sure you have set clear objectives and goals about what you want a CRM to accomplish for your business, both in the short and the long term. It will help you narrow down the features that would be required in the CRM. And when you do end up hiring a custom CRM software development company, you would be able to provide clear requirements. Having clear requirements, the development team will find it easier to suggest the right technologies, frameworks, processes, etc.

As a result, you will get an end product that will completely align with your current and future business needs. Most importantly, with a well-suited CRM, implementation won’t be that much of a challenge either.

2. Choosing the Wrong CRM Development Partner

The key to effective implementation is carefully selecting the custom CRM software development company. If possible, pick a collaborator who can assist you with pre-and post-implementation plans. And before you sign on the dotted line, it’s crucial that they lay out all the execution risks on the table and educate you on the potential risks involved.

3. Caring about Cost More than the Project

The funding, or absence thereof, is one of the main obstacles to the success of CRM. CRM can be very expensive, and the expenses associated with implementation can build up fast. Some businesses attempt to cut costs by economizing on implementation assistance, but this can backfire. It can make it very challenging to get the CRM up and functioning. Profits for the business are also reduced, largely because of the downtime required to finish training and become proficient with the new system.

You must spend the money to finance the implementation upfront to get the most out of your CRM. And don’t worry; it will pay off in the long run as the CRM increases revenue over time.

4. Missing the Integration Piece

Customer relationship management won’t work as intended if different business divisions are not connected before implementation. Most systems need to be customized to provide seamless customer relationship management. A professional CRM service provider would ensure that various functions are seamlessly integrated and work together to generate solutions that address problems specific to your business.

5. Keeping Different Data Sets Isolated

Even though CRM platforms keep and organize client data centrally, various departments frequently use distinct CRM programs. When sales agents move clients from the service department to the sales department or vice versa, isolated information blocks can become an issue. Customers might have to reiterate themselves if the support team doesn’t have access to the same information as the sales team.

6. Selecting the Wrong Deployment Type

Businesses that store a tonne of data typically favor an on-premise deployment with a private server. Even though it is the costlier option, some businesses prefer it because this way, they can keep their data secure.

However, not every business can make significant hardware investments. For those businesses, there is the option of going the cloud distribution route, where they can rent the servers of third-party vendors to host CRM data. It allows the business easy access to the system from any location using any smart device with an online link. One can simply sign in using passwords, which sync in real-time.

Often businesses make the wrong choice between these two. As a result, implementation becomes difficult. But you can avoid this mistake by understanding the pros and cons of both on-premise and cloud-based deployment. Discuss the advantages and drawbacks in detail with your team. It would help you determine the most appropriate choice for your CRM project.

7. Convincing Employees to Embrace CRM

If you think the biggest hurdle you will encounter during CRM implementation is probably technology-related, then you are mistaken. Humans are much harder to manage than a piece of technology. What does that mean? If you have senior employees, they will likely find it much harder to abandon their set ways of doing things and embrace new skills. Hence, getting them to adopt a new way of doing things using a CRM system will be challenging. They might feel anxious about learning how to use the new technology.

Even though the road to CRM transition might be full of bumps, you can still drive on it smoothly as long as you put the following things in motion:

Make sure you give proper instructions about the changes that are about to happen. The instructions should be clearly laid out so your employees can follow them. Having a clear direction to follow will remove your employees’ anxiety about using CRM.

Ensure your managerial staff motivates the employees to learn and appreciates their efforts when they follow through. It is very important to cultivate a learning culture within the enterprise to quickly embrace and adopt any change.

Employees across hierarchies should be encouraged to help each other out. They can try out new processes and functionalities, helping one another better understand the software while making the learning process fun.

Conclusion

If used wisely, CRM software can become your main competitive advantage.

CRM tools have great potential to improve a business’s client relationship management strategy. However, most businesses regrettably don’t make the most of this amazing tool.

It is not enough to just hire CRM developers and think that the project will be a success. The success of your project depends heavily on CRM software implementation. Depending on how properly the software is being executed and used, your business will be able to reap the rewards of higher ROIs. Always remember CRM is not just a tool for sales. If used correctly, CRM can help every aspect of a business, including marketing and finance.