The 'WHAT NOT TO DO' series

Neglect your CRM

Some of the main reasons why Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems fail to be beneficial can be put down to lack of user adoption, unclear processes or absence of accountability.

The benefits of getting your CRM usage right include;

• A better understanding of your customers wants and needs
• Improved customer service and therefore likely improved customer loyalty
• Ability to deliver the right products and services to customers
• Great competence around closing sales and opening relationships
• Give you a real opportunity to reduce churn

This article will cover just 5 areas that will help you get the most from your CRM system.

1. Choosing the right CRM solution for your business

In a recent study, G2.com stated that there are some 379 CRM systems listed with them – so there is plenty of choices out there. But be mindful that not all have really good ratings, so it’s important to do some research. Buy cheap buy twice.

With the Salesforce Tower now the tallest building in San Francisco it’s not hard to guess who one of the leaders is. But of course, the good ones cost good money, so it is imperative that you fully recognise why you are buying a CRM system and what you hope to get from it. Before you jump in and blow your budget, ensure that you understand what your business needs are.

Ask yourself;

• What features does my business need right now i.e. the must-haves, and what long term features are available for when we grow?
• What does the upgrade path look like/cost when we need more features?
• Pipeline analysis and sales conversation, customer support and ticketing or both?
• How much inhouse expertise will we need for running the CRM day-to-day?
• Will our other business systems (maybe propriety), integrate well with the CRM?
• Will we able to play with the data for BI reports and CSAT scores etc.?
• Can we get started straight out of the box or does it require complex training?
• What will the user licence cost look like as we expand the business?

If you are new to CRM systems, probably best that you try and keep it simple and only buy into features that you really need. Many organisations go big with the accessories but end up only using a fraction of what is available.

A key reason for implementing CRM in the first place is to help improve processes and customer experience and keep things lean. Overcomplicating things and having too many steps could be counterproductive.

2. Ensure you have a clear set of user guidelines in place

There are few things more frustrating than implementing a CRM system that nobody uses – properly or at all. This can be down to having an overly complicated set of rules or…no rules at all. But even if you have the flow nailed, you must ensure consistency and accountability across all users and teams.

Key areas of focus to remember should include;

• Have guidelines as part of an induction training programme for new starters
• Have guidelines easily accessible and updated so they are a constant reference point
• What do you want your CRM to achieve? Having a clear vision of where your company should be after successful implementation, will give you a clear guide to follow.
• Implementing a CRM system is a multi-stage process and you should try and avoid too many on the fly changes, which can cause disruption and frustration
• Design your CRM around the needs of the people who will use it most
• Go through user testing, and engage those that will be using the system day-to-day

Throughout the planning, implementation and roll-out phases, you also need to ensure that you track successes and fix failures along the way and adopt a Plan Do Check Act set of processes. Many users, when asked, will encounter issues that cause problems but do not get addressed. This can lead to poor data and misuse.

3. Make sure that it is user-friendly

Sales teams, especially, will always look for the path of least resistance. If you introduce steps to their day that are cumbersome and time-consuming, they will do everything to avoid them. But for Customer Success teams, who are perhaps more adept at following processes, if too many steps cause slowness in customer response times, it could be counterproductive and lead to negative customer experiences.

A few areas that are worth exploring include;

• Many businesses will continue using Outlook for daily communication with clients, fine, but having a plug-in that allows those communications to feed into your CRM is useful. People leave, so it is great to have instant access to the conversations they had with the client. Prevents the client needing to repeat everything.
• As mentioned as part of guidelines above, go through user testing, and specifically engage those that will be using the system day-to-day
• For relevant teams, ensure that your CRM can work via all devices i.e. mobile and tablet, so users are not constrained by accessing only in the office
• LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator for Salesforce will create a seamless sales prospecting experience for your teams and partnering with services like Cognism will help you go a step further with a native app customised for the Salesforce environment.

When you find that employees are not fully engaged with using the CRM, it can be partly down to training but moreover, it is due to un-user-friendly or cumbersome processes that have been put in place.

4. Garbage in, garbage out

Even the best CRM systems are only as good as the information that is put into it. This should be a key part of your guidelines, training and perhaps built into KPI objectives you set for your team.

Here are just a few common errors seen in CRM systems;

• No correct account owner listed – if it’s you – put you (needed for portfolio tracking)
• No parent company listed to help establish any group hierarchy
• No flag for a VIP client
• No primary contacts flagged
• No role titles for the contacts you have
• No correct billing address or contact points for chasing invoice payments
• No activities or events saved (calls, emails, and reminders, etc.)
• No notes (notes from a call or meeting, or thoughts and ideas)
• Poor opportunity naming conventions

But public enemy No1 and my personal bugbear is lack of contacts and/or incorrect contacts!

Collecting and updating data can be time-consuming, especially if individuals manage large portfolios. But there must be a focus on it and consistency else the system is pretty much worthless. There should be a KPI objective that focuses purely on contact upkeep.

All users should be collecting mobile and office phone numbers and email addresses for multiple touchpoints within an organisation.

At least the following;

• Primary, day-to-day contact (and it should be flagged as such in the system)
• If possible, the contact that has authority to sign off (it is often not your primary contact)
• Finance, to help with chasing invoices but they may also be helpful for sign off
• Project and tech people i.e. those that might be responsible for integrating your service
• CEO or other C-suite execs – it is always great to build some level of rapport at that level to help build a long-term relationship. Often great for your own CEO to message the client CEO and say, ‘thanks and welcome’.

You should also actively seek to connect via LinkedIn. Why?

• It provides another contact point. If you find that the door is always closed...try another door! Unlike Outlook, you can actually see when your contact is active. They may have hundreds of emails and calls and may just be more responsive on LinkedIn.
• You can see what they’re ‘liking’ and ‘commenting’ on and spot conversation starters or ways to build common ground. Likewise, follow the company itself. They might be launching something, winning an award or attending an event.
• You can see if your contact leaves! So many people scratch their heads and wonder why their contact is not responding on email but haven’t done a simple check to see if they are still actually there!! If you see they’ve left, two opportunities arise;

1. You can follow them to their new company and see if they need the same service. If they see you as a trusted advisor, they may be keen to pick things up there.

2. It gives you an opportunity to congratulate whoever has stepped in to replace and build a new relationship.

In a recent survey carried out by Square Oranges, 67% of respondents said they managed less than 50 customers in their portfolio. The other 33% said they managed greater than 50 customers but overwhelmingly these were CSMs in larger businesses (above 100 staff).

If you are managing less than 50, there really should be nothing stopping you from being firmly on top of your accounts and having account pans in a place where you know everything from contact hierarchy to long term growth plans.

5. Lack of support

In an ideal world, your CRM project would have a “champion” on staff to act as a software guru, cheerleader, and point person. If you don’t have a CRM champion, however, it’s absolutely vital to get a high level of support from your CRM vendor. Your team will always have questions about the system, and your software will inevitably need revisions and tweaks as your business grows and changes.

But it’s not just vendor support that’s needed. You also need buy-in from both executives and users. In order for your CRM system to have its best success, everyone involved with the process needs to be on board. It’s not enough for the C-Suite planners to acquiesce trying out a CRM, they need to be 100% behind it. The better their understanding of the value the CRM brings to the company, the more invested they will become in its long-term success.

A thank you to Jennifer Karpus-Romain, whom I stole some inspiration from for this article (and in fact all of number 5 :-))

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Finally, a few stats found at https://learn.g2.com/crm-statistics that are worth sharing;

• 47% of CRM users said that their CRM had a significant impact on customer retention
• 40% of salespeople still use informal methods like spreadsheets and email programs to store customer data
• 40% of companies say that getting a response from prospects is more difficult now than 2–3 years ago
• 74% of CRM software users said that their CRM system gave them improved access to customer data

If you want to discuss how I might be able to help your organisation please feel free to get in touch.