Tips CRM Implementation
George Nolas-Dermentzoglou
![George Nolas-Dermentzoglou]()
George Nolas-Dermentzoglou
Marketing Director at Manager's Office Marketing & Management Services - Official Reformer of H2H Business Model
- Don't underestimate how much time it will take to migrate existing data - whether you use a spreadsheet, database, post-it notes, or a combination of all three, you are bound to have some data you want to move to your new CRM system. Now is a great time to go through and cleanse your data, remove duplicates, tidy up addresses/people that have left or just take stock of what you have.
- Make sure key staff are involved - your staff will be one of your most useful assets and have a wealth of information that can be pulled into the system, they will make your implementation a success or failure, and it's good to keep them in the loop as you design your new system.
- Use this as a chance to rethink how you do things - with a new CRM system you have the chance to think about how you work and streamline your processes. Do you do things that are long winded/cumbersome? Now is the time to fix them, but be aware of point 4 below.
- Try not to prescribe people's process - this ties in with point 2. Just because you need a management report that provides certain data, don't force staff into long winded processes/ways of doing things that make their job more difficult. 95% of the time, your staff will know how to do their jobs and be able to help you design ways of recording and storing information so that you all get the most benefits from the system without making their lives unnecessarily difficult.
- Training - schedule in time for training, and make sure people aren't being disturbed. A few minutes interruption during training can cost you hours or even days later on if they don't pick up some key ways of working with your new system.
- Transition / Migration - try and plan the migration of data and transition to the system at a quite period in your business. If this isn't possible try and make sure that you have some people available to help answer questions from within your organisation, or roll out the new system in a number of smaller, more manageable chunks.
- Accept there will be some resistance - there are always some people who don't like change, disagree with processes or the way things are happening