Never underestimate the complexity or CRM implementation. Have a well thought out plan and stick to it, but make sure that it is the right plan. If vendors are pushy and try to force you into an off-the-shelf package that is not right for you, you should look elsewhere. The new CRM needs to work for you, not vice-versa.
Make sure that it fits with your current processes, build in a sufficiently long period of training and ensure that top-down buy-in is in place. It is purely a tool, albeit an incredibly powerful one, but if not used correctly, it will fail. Users need to be engaged, knowledgeable and aware of its many benefits. By taking heed of our five steps shown above, adoption will be boosted, training adequately taken care of and major hurdles avoided.
You also need to make sure that data in the system is clean and that the new CRM system integrates fully and easily with your current systems. Think email, sharing of documents, marketing software, sales automation etc. All of these need to be incorporated, not only to give a successful migration but to avoid the expense and wasted time of having to replace software that is already doing a good job. If you are combining data or sources of data, do make sure to remove duplicates, incorrect or incomplete entries.
By only putting clean and valuable data in, you will get the best quality out. You should also remember that whilst CRM implementation can be problematic, choosing the right software for your company is just one way of eradicating failure. Exclusive guest blog from Freshsales discussing change management strategies during CRM implement Free white paper.
Featured white papers. Sign up to our newsletter Sign up. Thank You! Your first CRM newsletter should arrive in your inbox soon. Four things to include in your CRM change management plan Exclusive guest blog from Freshsales discussing change management strategies during CRM implement The reason why changing from an organisationally-centred or product-centred approach to one where the customer is truly at the heart of your business is so difficult is because you have to turn your business model " Outside-In ".
Somehow, " outside-in " sounds much more of a stretch target than " customer-centric ", and has been written about by others since Ranjay Gulati, such as George Day. In order to keep the project top of mind, you need some committed individuals to sponsor the project and be champions in each of the business units.
This is a major business change and the CEO should step up to the plate for the best results. Lack of sponsorship and commitment is a guarantee of any project failure and not just a reason why CRMs fail. Salesforce Hub. Here are some statistics on CRM failures over the last 13 years.
For instance, Forrester mentions these four factors as key contributors in why CRM projects fail: Lack of a coherent CRM strategy Lack of attention to process Focussing on technology, rather than people Failure to adopt, once implemented. Causes cited by other sources include: Lack of executive commitment Poor data quality Lack of alignment with the existing IT architecture In fairness it must also be pointed out that most of the points above can also be applied to any IT software project.
Now that we have identified the critical success factor for CRM implementation, namely that it is actually about moving to a new paradigm where customer experience defines your business, we can address those key failure factors. Develop your Strategy and Vision. This has to be a company-wide initiative, not something that starts and ends in the C-Suite. By including the workforce, all of whom are going to be affected by the change if done correctly , you will keep them informed and involved.
The people who actually capture customer data, provide customer support and run marketing campaigns know all the customer pain points as well as their own frustrations with the current processes and systems. Give them a voice to suggest what the future should be. This will resolve the problem of poor adoption once the application is live. Thinking that a new CRM is a technology project is wrong, and a key failure factor; it's about the customer and your employees.
Appoint Sponsors and Champions. While we are discussing commitment, make sure that the CIO is bought in too. Align your Processes with the Customer Journey. While you may have a comprehensive catalog of mapped business processes that support your product-focused business, these will have to change to support the customer experience.
This is both fairly simple and very effective; since much of your legacy process will fall away, and you will discover obsolete business rules and roadblocks while focussing on activities that relate to the customer journey, rather than selling product.
The overall result will be leaner process, lowered costs, and improved revenues. Start with a Proof of Concept. Taking on large, complex projects almost always risks failure. Inadequate post-implementation operation. CRM implementation is an ongoing event that must be managed carefully to achieve a successful rollout. Even after initial success, failure is highly possible if the implementation and integration process is not nurtured.
It is up to the senior management and stakeholders to track the progress of the implementation and make changes whenever needed. The company has to commit to integrating upgrades to keep up with technology, a process that needs careful management. Lack of change management. CRM initiatives impact the daily running of organizations and the staff routine in general making them unpopular at the beginning of the implementation process.
Organizational politics and conflicts are the norms at the beginning of a CRM initiative and without careful preparation, the staff can become hostile to the new changes.
For implementing a CRM initiative, preparing staff and departments for change should feature in the plans and be provided for in the budget in terms of training. You need all of your users to support and use your system in order for it to succeed. When user adoption fails, so does your CRM solution. Worst CRM fails of all time 1. In , the company was facing stiff competition and an eroding market share causing it to implement a CRM. The company was also marred by suits from thousands of doctors who alleged delayed and rejected payments.
The system was cumbersome and too complex for its production line and caused a huge dive in delivery between distributors and retailers, even though inventory was plentiful.
The worst thing was the timing of the CRM implementation, which was around Halloween. This CRM failure could have been prevented with an incremental approach to its implementation, making it easier to manage. The CRM was aimed at integrating claims processing where a customer would get one bill, there would be faster medical claims processing and customer representatives would have a single unified view of each member.
The CRM experienced lots of failures. In one of their key accounts, employees lost coverage. Member ID cards also had incorrect numbers. Blackberry Blackberry used to be among the market leaders in the mobile phone sphere. Due to its bad CRM implementation, the company lost its popularity in a year. Users experienced a collapse with their email services and blackberry messenger.
Consumers jammed social media networks seeking communication and a resolve to their problems. Instead of using their CRM tool to send out a clear response, the company decided to use Facebook, limiting its coverage.
Furthermore, there was a hour delay in their response, which piled up pressure from the consumers. This marked the beginning of the end for Blackberry and the company eventually collapsed.
Their CRM failure? Inadequate planning and scope setting. CRM collects personal consumer data telephone number and email addresses , which was the best pipeline for communication At that moment of crisis. Personalized engagement with its clients would have helped the company retain its consumers. General Motors Acceptance Corps Commercial Mortgage Focusing on internal priorities rather than consumers is one of the reasons that most companies fail at CRM implementation.
Upon its activation, the company discovered that 99 percent of its loan consumers were zeroing out to a customer service operator. The company was marred by multiple complaints and loan officers were losing business. Their rivals were using this mishap to lure their consumers away. This failure could have been prevented by focusing on customer priorities and realizing that customers are not willing to spend time punching in numbers and navigating through the voice automated system.
Instead, the company could have stuck with customer care representatives to deal with inquiries.
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