How to Migrate to a new CRM
How to migrate data from a legacy CRM system, or existing Cloud CRM to a new Cloud CRM?
Getting overwhelmed in researching the best Cloud CRM, now to best migrate a CRM, integrate it with your favorite apps, rollout, and train users?
You are not alone.
25% of the cost of any new CRM system is in the initial phase, and 75% of the cost is the change management, upgrades, maintenance, etc. that goes into managing the changes in the business over time. You need the right software, plus the right implementation, plus a plan for the future, all in one.
Our research shows there has never been a time in history where more businesses are switching to Cloud CRM and other Cloud software solutions, migrating from legacy CRM systems and using a hybrid model of the legacy system, integrated with CRM plus integrated with everything.
The number of companies needing to change, and the complexity of change have led to many businesses stalling on their choice of a new CRM system, but also new ERP and HR systems.
Find them close them keep them for leads, through the quote to cash process, integrating with accounting and ERP, and custom-built back-end solutions on Microsoft Access, are what any company of any size can get today.
But you must choose wisely to find success.
Find them, hire them, keep them for employees, and contract workers, is a similar process, but with different data, goals, reports, and so on. But finding good employees that will stay long-term is not as easy as it sounds either.
Employees want to believe in the mission of the company, and that you are bringing on the right software solutions to make them better at what they do, with as much intelligence built in, to reduce the amount of clicking that needs to happen, and free them up to consistently serve their customers better, and grow the business.
You want the same thing, so what is the solution?
Below is a discussion of best practices when migrating from any legacy software system such as Microsoft Access applications, SAP, Oracle, or other legacy systems, such as a CRM system, an ERP system, an HR system, or any application you are using.
Let us take the example of migrating from a legacy contact management system to a new Cloud CRM system (the CRM).
Locate your data.
Identify applications that are storing the data and what type of database they are running on, the access to the database for running queries on the database and exporting data to .csv files, etc.
Clean your data.
Clean data to remove duplicates, update old contact information, add new contacts, add new data fields, and add new columns and rows in your import data sheet (or .csv file) so that you can import fresh, up-to-date, and accurate data into your new CRM.
Customize the CRM with custom fields, reports, dashboards, KPIs, workflow rules, email templates, text messages, etc so that the new CRM is capable of receiving the new clean data, with the relationships already built in the CRM, so you can get the best out of the new CRM system, and work out the bugs as you test it, make changes, repeat until ready to go live.
Keep multiple systems running side-by-side.
Plan to use two systems side-by-side for some time. While you are configuring and migrating data to your new CRM system, there will be an overlap in time, while the old systems are still being used, and the new system is also being used, until you are ready to shut down the old CRM and go live with the new CRM system. A phased rollout is always recommended, so you have a select group of people who will use the new CRM against the old one, and work out the bugs and differences between, and then you go live with more users, or all the users, in a phased approach. This way you can manage the change with proper training on the new system, with real-life knowledge of what the differences are.?
The length of time to use multiple applications, and phase in the new users is different for every situation. There is no one answer. Being quick and efficient in switching has its benefits and results from proper planning, experience in execution, and great training, from knowledgable experts who have done this many times. From a risk-management perspective, it doesn't hurt to keep the old applications running for an extended time. This way you have the old system to go back to, should anything go wrong with the new system.?
Don't assume this will be the last time you migrate CRM systems.
Many customers switch CRM systems many times until they find the right one. Mostly because of improper planning, execution, and training. The professional services to make your CRM successful are just as important, possibly more important than the CRM software you switch to.?
Synchronize data across multiple applications.
Migrating your data is one step, but then you need to integrate the new CRM with other databases, legacy apps, or any other software applications or SaaS services you use. This is not technically part of the migration process, but at the same time, it is because many new Cloud CRM implementations involve integrations with email, marketing apps, accounting systems, etc. It is important to keep this in mind when planning your migration.?
Choose your consultants early.
Sourcing consultants to help you through all the steps of your migration is critical to the success of any software implementation.
The problem, is most businesses don't have the IT capacity to research what is out there, to even decide what they want/need, let alone how to migrate to a new system. Cloud software has come a long way, so the choices can seem exhaustive.
It is recommended to create a short-term, medium-term, and long-term plan with your consultants, and implementation teams, both internal and external, to map out the wants, needs, and fears in each stage. Then you must execute that plan with the knowledge that even the best-laid plans often have hiccups that nobody could foretell.?
Choose consultants with the right experience, and with the right platforms.
Easier said than done. In today's world of business software, there is so much noise, that it is very difficult to sift through the clutter.?
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Cloud CRM lead the Cloud business software revolution and still does, with the success of Salesforce.com.?
For the most part, Enterprise software is made for large enterprise clients. These types of clients have huge IT teams to manage migrations.?SMBs and SMEs need more help in setup and training of their CRM systems due to the lack of dedicated resources.
So, what do the other 99.9% of SMBs, SMEs, and large organizations private and publicly traded left to do?
Be good at software implementation, and be the best at whatever it is you do, but you can't do both well.
It is tough to do both, so the solution is to pick a vendor that has the experience and knowledge and can help you now and in the future, with professional services like consulting, training, new software, new integrations, etc.?
Partner with your Software vendor
Leverage that vendor for their knowledge of what works and what doesn't, to look at the best apps to integrate with, how to best consolidate vendors, and how to do things faster, better, and with fewer problems.
This is what leads to success in migrating your CRM system.
With the right experience, however, after doing it a few thousand times, you get to see the patterns that develop when migrating data, customizing applications, integrating them, building new apps, etc. We build the middle-ware, as well as the integration platform, as well as the databases that synch the data. We set up and train our customers in-house.?
Partner with your CRM vendor to bring your unique system to life.
Most software, Cloud, and SaaS vendors leave the implementation, training, data migration, customizations, integrations, etc to the customer to figure out. That means you must assemble a team of data specialists, software specialists, data experts, migration consultants, and on and on and on.?
Most companies never can invest the time, energy, and money into this process because they are too busy (which is the reason they need the migration in the first place, which is a paradox in itself that leads to failure in implementation and results not making the changes required, for fear of failure, as this is a very complex process.)
You can't be a software company and be the best at what you do.
Let us help you be successful. We build customizations and integrations. We have been doing this for over 20 years and is a major differentiator in the success of our customers. We work with you, to ensure your success, with the tried and true process, knowledge, software tools, and experience.?
Then we stay with you, throughout the entire time you work with us, to manage the change that comes naturally in this new, exciting paradigm of integrated and synchronized databases.?
We build custom reports, dashboards, alerts, etc that span all applications, all departments, and all databases within the organization, to deliver true real-time updates of what is happening in the business. Most businesses only dream of this ability.?
Many say it is nearly impossible, due to the inevitable and constant change brought about by growth through the acquisition of IT companies.?
The truth is it takes a company with the foresight and fortitude to commit to this challenge for over 20 years, and dedicate our lives to building, the solutions we all need today, and in the future. We update our software quarterly, it is fully customizable, point-and-click, and integrates with all your favorite apps. The best part is we do all the heavy lifting, so you just plug into a system that works and has been repeated thousands of times across every industry, and with companies of all shapes and sizes.
You don't need to be a big company to take advantage of the proper setup, customization, and implementation of your new Cloud CRM solution. You just need the right partners, to make that happen for you.
Embrace a hybrid system.?
Most companies think linearly when looking to switch CRM vendors. Since the explosive growth of Cloud CRM, so has come the explosive growth of the companies that claim to be CRM vendors.?
One CRM vendor is not like the other, and never will be, so maybe a hybrid approach of integrating a few different vendors who are part of the Cloud CRM vendor sphere is the best solution for your business.?
By having some users using one system, and other users using another system, you might be able to get the best of both worlds, as long as the data is synched up. You can have certain features used by certain users, or reduce costs in your CRM spend, by migrating some users to another vendor and keeping some users on the current system. In today's world of easily customizable and easily integrated solutions, it is not like it was even a few years ago.?
The only constant is change.
The possibilities have opened up over the last few years, to the point that the sheer volume of choice is leaving businesses spending more time researching the best software systems, then investing time implementing them and testing them, only to find out they don't work, and repeat.?
This results in change management problems that lead to longer times deciding, and less time focusing on the customer. The solution is to understand that this rate of change will never get slower, only faster, so it is time to look at partnering with a vendor that can help you through the change and make change your friend.
Since there are so many advancements, and more to come means this is also never been a better time to get the right solution that brings out your unique offerings and competitive advantages, which is the secret sauce that got you here in the first place.
Now is the time to get your plan together, and get started to up the odds of a successful CRM migration.
Best of luck!