If you or someone on your team has ever wondered, “Why is CRM adoption important?” Here we offer the reasons we think it is. From data integrity to increased efficiencies, customer relationship management (CRM) software may provide many benefits. However, implementing CRM software is just an initial step in the process. It also is critical to promote CRM user adoption.
Why Is CRM Adoption Important?
Among CRM’s many benefits, six stand out regardless of industry or department:
- CRM can create a single view of the customer for cross-functional insight and reporting.
- CRM dashboards can show data in action to help you meet your goals.
- CRM software can provide customer-centric automation.
- CRM can enable proactive customer service.
- CRM can increase efficiencies.
- CRM can streamline collaboration across departments and teams.
However, without users inputting fresh data into CRM, data quality deteriorates. If users can’t use CRM data, motivation to use the software dwindles. Business transformation through technology can’t happen if this occurs. CRM adoption is imperative if you want to achieve the benefits mentioned above.
Five Tips to Help Increase CRM User Adoption
Based on our certified experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce CRM services, below are five tips to help increase CRM user adoption.
- Involve CRM users early.
Change isn’t easy, so communicating with your CRM users during the planning process is helpful to gain their feedback about various CRM platform capabilities. During the implementation and operational phases, engagement is imperative if you want the transformation to last. Share with users how CRM can support your overall business strategy. Describe how CRM can create efficiencies that can help advance users’ individual performance. - Choose a CRM administrator.
A CRM administrator is responsible for helping ensure that data is up to date and accurate. This person champions adoption, data quality, and productivity. In addition to these six key CRM roles, choose a CRM administrator who can motivate your CRM users as well as manage some of the technical aspects of CRM. - Customize CRM to fit your needs.
Setting up your CRM software to help your business run smoother is crucial. Design your CRM workflows to mirror your business processes instead of trying to change your business processes to match out-of-the-box CRM platform capabilities. It’s important that your users feel comfortable using CRM. Work with your CRM consulting partner or administrator to specify CRM implementation requirements. - Create a CRM training program.
Develop a training plan focused on supporting your CRM users. Lay out standard operating procedures to capture FAQs, best practices, and approved techniques.Then determine a schedule for onboarding new CRM users, training users about product or system updates, and providing refresher sessions. Users should understand how to use your CRM and how it can benefit their daily workflow and productivity. After each training session, evaluate key adoption metrics.
For example, reviewing login rates can set a benchmark for usage. Analyzing closed opportunities monthly can help you assess if your desired level of data quality is being met (are critical fields being filled out). Also, you can track business performance trends by looking at the types of activities or level of engagement leading to sales conversions (which activities are being captured in CRM).
Use such metrics to hold users accountable and offer assistance as needed.
Keep the momentum going.
After all that work migrating data, integrating systems, and documenting processes, keep moving forward.Here are a few ways to keep the momentum going:
- Continually encourage (and reward) your CRM users
- Always be evolving by thinking about next phases and updates
- Stay current with product releases and updates (Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce release product updates regularly)
- Promote ongoing user engagement with lunch and learns, system enhancements, and educational conferences, webinars, and online resources
CRM user adoption is important because up-to-date CRM data can lead to a better understanding of your customers. This enables more personalized messaging and outreach, much of which can be done with automation, which can help you offer more effective customer service. Further, collaboration can be streamlined, which can help reduce department siloes. When each team can see a holistic view of the customer, offers can be tailored to address the customer’s needs. This can lead to improved sales conversion and customer satisfaction metrics.
Discover more ways to support your sales and marketing efforts with CRM. The Technology Consulting practice at FORVIS stands ready to support your needs. If you have questions or want to book a CRM demo, reach out to a professional at FORVIS or use the Contact Us form below.