6 tips to successfully implant a CRM system

In the beginning, you can use Excel to keep track of all customer information but as the customer base grows, it might be wiser to switch to a customer management system. Such an implementation of a CRM system requires an investment of time and money therefore proper preparation is vital. To make implementing the software successful, you can go through some steps beforehand in preparation. To make it easier for you, we have listed 6 tips below that will help you implement the CRM.

  1. Research your challenges

Map out where things are currently going wrong in your organisation and why you might want to switch to a customer management software. Some examples of problems that can occur: difficulty in retrieving data, data being lost, a lot of wasted time, no overview of how sales are going and of prior conversations and colleagues not having access to the right information. Of course, it is also possible that other things are going wrong in your organisation. It is just important to identify for yourself what is going wrong so that you know what can be improved.

  1. Set goals

Every business has different wants and needs. So it is important to clearly define what you want to achieve with customer management. Formulate clear objectives by asking yourself the following questions what does your company want to achieve, what data do you all want to process and what do you want to improve.

  1. Numbers tell the tale

Now that you know what goals you want to achieve, you also need to examine how you will monitor whether these goals are achieved. It is important to know which data to monitor to see if results are achieved. These can then also be improved or adjusted if the results are not to your liking.

  1. Subdividing relations

Make a distinction of the different relationships you want to map out. For example, you can divide them into big customers, new customers, small customers, regular customers... You can create these categories yourself and in time, this will also be easy to see which relationships you want to focus on.

  1. The proper software

After mapping out what goals you want to achieve and how you want to analyse them, it is time to choose the right software. This is not always an easy task as there are many programmes on the market. So take enough time to find the right solution for your business. Besides the functionalities, it is also important to pay attention to the ease of use. This will also benefit later on during the training of your employees.

  1. Convince employees

The intention, of course, is that the software will be used by all employees. Therefore, spend enough time in informing the employees. Discuss the benefits and strategy with them and provide training so that everyone can get to grips with the programme. Some colleagues will be up to speed faster than others but be sure to give everyone enough time.