Choosing the right customer relationship management (CRM) solution is important. Then, setting up the software to help your business run smoothly is critical. Asking the time-tested questions outlined below can help your team specify CRM implementation requirements. With answers in hand, your CRM can be customized to help streamline business processes and promote productivity.
Before you start to input data, add fields, or create workflows, it’s imperative to assess your organization’s CRM implementation requirements. To start, make a list of your current processes. Document the ways your team:
- Stores customer and lead information
- Manages marketing campaigns
- Tracks sales and marketing activity
- Identifies sales opportunities
- Displays customer relationships
- Addresses and records customer service issues
Then, identify pain points.
Review these seven questions with your team to determine your CRM implementation requirements:
- What processes or steps take too much time to complete?
Specify requirements around which processes need to move faster through your sales cycle. How can CRM help to shorten or simplify these steps? - Which steps do users complain about or skip?
Why are people skipping these? Is it a technical malfunction that can be resolved with CRM, or how can the process be improved within CRM to promote user adoption? Define how you anticipate this working in CRM to help drive user adoption. - Which processes do not add value?
Are there some processes that you don’t need to add to CRM? If you stopped doing certain steps, would any workflows be negatively impacted? A good practice is to keep CRM clean and lean. Unnecessary fields, data, and reports can lead to confusion and errors. During implementation, start simple, then scale as needed. - Which processes seem inefficient or too manual?
Don’t be afraid to rewrite some of your processes now that your new CRM solution is being introduced. CRM software was developed to create efficiencies. Specify requirements around processes you want to run faster. - Which processes are too complex?
Evaluate which processes can be shortened with your new CRM solution. If current techniques require multiple systems or redundant steps, consider how the process can be simplified in CRM. Whether it’s converting leads or automating personalized emails, there’s likely a solution with CRM. - Which processes or steps don’t make sense?
Untangle messy processes, or eliminate them altogether, whatever is best for your organizational needs. Specify how you want complex processes to work in CRM. For example, if you need customer information input forms to be shorter, that can be addressed. If you need an email campaign to start when a sales opportunity is created, that can happen too in CRM. - Lastly, what steps and processes are most important?
Specify the essential processes your sales, marketing, and support teams need to do their jobs. Customers can’t be emailed or called if their information isn’t captured and stored. Revenue can’t be determined without certain sales information being documented. Upselling can be better tailored and personalized with marketing data. Customer service issues can be addressed when records are easily accessible.
CRM can be designed to fit your needs. But first, you need to specify CRM implementation requirements. Now that you know the questions to ask, your CRM implementation project can stay on track!
When you’re ready to discuss your CRM needs, we’ll be ready to listen. With certified experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce systems, the Business Technology Solutions team at FORVIS is here to assist—from CRM implementation to ad hoc support services.
Reach out to a professional at FORVIS to get started.