Utilizing a new CRM system into your business processes is always exciting. You start expecting that the company will immediately gain more clients and grow at a blistering pace. For sure, after the hard work of solution implementation is behind, it might be tempting to put your feet up, kick back, and take a break. However, applying the new platform to your organization is only a halfway to expected results.
Forrester Research has shown that 49% of CRM projects fail not because of the technology, but due to the company culture. The main reasons for the ill-fated solutions are:
According to a survey provided by Forrester Research, “people” challenges are the biggest issue to the successful CRM implementation. These problems fall into 3 categories; that slow CRM user adoption is the most distinct obstacle. To be more specific, check out the following chart:
As it was mentioned above, many CRM failures happen when the companies place their focus on the time and budget delivery of the software instead of teaching and streamlining the learning curve of their staff in adapting to a new solution. To leverage your business investments properly, think about the common pain points of the user adoptions and be prepared to mitigate them effectively.
To avoid the resistance to change from the beginning, it is important to get your staff engaged and excited about new platform early. Provide them some authority for decision-making and project work during the implementation, so that they can feel their presence and importance in the process. Also, demonstrate the difference between the previous and future platforms to show the benefits the new system will deliver.
Remember: you purchased the solution to facilitate and make more productive work for your teams, so pay attention to their opinions. Be sure to listen to your colleagues’ feedback, as well as incorporate the advice when appropriate. These simple steps will reduce the uncertainty and clarify misunderstandings.
Of course, the advanced and, even excessive, functionality of CRM platform makes it tempting to try it all at once. Thus, the introduction of too many features initially might be overwhelming for your employees. Try to get the users acquaint with small portions of solution toolkit. Then, train them to get accustomed and proficient with these aspects. Step by step procedure is more beneficial.
The project team obtains the role of investigating and fixing the slow user adoption, so assembling the right crew is a must. People are prone to pay attention to what the leaders say or do. If the management is active in the CRM learning and training process, your team will follow.
Furthermore, you can appoint a person in your organization as an administrator for CRM. This individual can be responsible for creating the guidelines and workflows or ask the users if they have any questions. The manager may also facilitate the users to come up with new ideas and best practices, as well as document the results. Also, hiring an expert for staff onboarding can ease the process of implementation.
Training is the most critical stage of the user adoption process. To maximize the results of the CRM onboarding, you should teach the employees how to use every part of the platform separately. It is also suggested to educate the team regularly, highlighting new features and updates of the core functionality. Hold frequent and shorter trainings, as well as offer repeated sessions. When the basics will be in place, then it's a sign moving to more advanced processes.
Throughout the implementation, it is essential to maintain and update the documentation at all time. The information should be relevant and accessible to the employees that have the access rights and need these data in their work.
Risk management is the process of identifying and measuring the dangers, developing the strategies to manage them, and creating the ways to prevent the further ones. This can significantly reduce the chances of larger issues popping up, as well as assure the project will be completed on-time and on the budget.
As the technology is constantly evolving, new concepts and tools appear every day. So, keep your ear to the ground and monitor the fresh releases of your CRM platform. Many solutions provide regular updates throughout the year that can impact your processes,as well as provide new ideas and tactics for your team. Hang onto fresh functionality and keep your teams up to date to ensure they are interested and engaged in the platform upgrading.
Implementing an efficient CRM adoption strategy is a complex process that takes a lot of time and resources. By framing the mentioned-above tactics into your onboarding strategy, your employees receive the capabilities to use CRM to its full potential, and bring your company the desired success.
P.S. To discover the important aspects for the successful adoption of the new CRM, consider the white paper “Proven Reasons for CRM Implementation” for handy tips and tricks.
That explains the migration process
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