10 best practices for your CRM strategy

10 best practices for your CRM strategy If there are two acronyms you don’t see together often enough, it’s CRM and ROI Often the issue isn’t with software choices, but with the way they were implemented Management buy-in, employee training, company wide reluctance to change, or vendors who didn’t ‘get it’ all contribute to failed projects To help you achieve success, we outline 10 best practices you should use throughout your CRM strategy Your CRM strategy should empower your people By far the biggest issue in the success of CRM is the mindset of the people using it Some may be reluctant to change, so you must be prepared to show them how CRM will benefit CRM can help: Marketing to improve their targeting Sales to convert leads into sales IT to become strategic drivers Relieve your IT team by placing emphasis on Sales and Marketing Complex software projects frequently get dumped on IT’s shoulders, but if this team feels burdened then your CRM implementation is likely to fail CRM is supposed to empower Sales and Marketing Ensure that both teams are working collaboratively with IT and giving the data and information input that’s required Integrate multiple databases for a single view of the truth Integration is a difficult job but it’s critical to CRM success CRM strategies can only be successful when data can be accessed easily, precisely when someone needs it This data also needs to be error free, de-duplicated and easy to understand Integration provides a holistic, singular vision Use CRM to eliminate the silos between Sales and the wider business With social CRM, campaigning plug-ins, and even financial data capture, the CRM features that benefit Sales work equally well for Marketing, Finance, Management, and countless other vertical functions So if CRM is known only to a few insiders, try introducing its features to people outside the sales function If everyone at C-level has problems gathering accurate data, show them a dashboard If your Accounts people have trouble matching Purchase Orders to costs, demo some plug-in apps CRM can take a lot of the leg work away from Sales and empower other departments Use your CRM to act proactively, rather than reactively Social listening, e-CRM and a variety of online, dedicated, blogs means the world beyond your your office matters A good CRM system and strategy can empower your staff to listen to customers’ tweets, posts and reviews created when people talk about you, not to you - and take necessary, responsive, action Use your CRM to create opportunities There are many uses of CRM, but sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the administrative aspects, blinding themselves to what that dull-but-essential work enables It’s hard, but keep your data policy (or equivalent document) short and simple, so people aren’t turned off by entering the details of a new client accurately Create long-lasting relationships with your customers Ideally, each campaign or customer communication should be part of a “conversation over time” - with insights gleaned from how customers behaved last time Yet countless campaigns are launched treating long-term customers like fresh-found prospects Have a chat with your colleagues and see if they’re using CRM more as a list than a network Then show them the power of what it can really Achieve real business intelligence with your CRM Your CRM database isn’t a static list With a few thousand names and activities recorded, it becomes a useful tool for predicting and testing It can be as simple as: customers respond more when contacted on a weekly or monthly basis? It’s surprising how many companies don’t know these simple metrics If you’re in a position to share these findings, shout them from the rooftops Use it to streamline your business It’s supposed to replace things, not add to them CRM can extend into many areas of your business, but it should streamline aspects by replacing them - rather than adding to them So if you’re doing a feasibility study, see where CRM could simplify and replace other systems, driving costs out of the whole business, especially legacy apps that are costing too much to support Maximise your businesses efficiencies A final note: CRM should improve your business, not hamper your people For every task and requirement on the list, you should see whether the CRM rollout you’re planning will make the tasks easier CRM should make the day to day running of your projects easier and less time consuming To sum up, make sure everyone who matters thinks of CRM as an enabler, not a technology Your job may - just - get easier because of it Takeaways: Following best practice guidelines for CRM strategies will improve chances of success CRM will enable your business, so you must ensure each department know how they will benefit Streamlining your processes is a big benefit of CRM and will improve overall performance CRM partner Redspire has many more ideas for making CRM work for you Take the next step by downloading: The ultimate guide to: why slow user adoption affects 49% of CRM projects www.redspire.co.uk The Ultimate Guide to: why slow user adoption affects 49% of CRM projects Low adoption rates and general indifference can kill your CRM project – here’s how to combat that problem Download Now ULTIM ATE SE R 01 IES [...]... easier because of it Takeaways: Following best practice guidelines for CRM strategies will improve chances of success CRM will enable your business, so you must ensure each department know how they will benefit Streamlining your processes is a big benefit of CRM and will improve overall performance CRM partner Redspire has many more ideas for making CRM work for you Take the next step by downloading:... efficiencies A final note: CRM should improve your business, not hamper your people For every task and requirement on the list, you should see whether the CRM rollout you’re planning will make the tasks easier CRM should make the day to day running of your projects easier and less time consuming To sum up, make sure everyone who matters thinks of CRM as an enabler, not a technology Your job may - just -... streamline your business It’s supposed to replace things, not add to them CRM can extend into many areas of your business, but it should streamline aspects by replacing them - rather than adding to them So if you’re doing a feasibility study, see where CRM could simplify and replace other systems, driving costs out of the whole business, especially legacy apps that are costing too much to support Maximise your. .. making CRM work for you Take the next step by downloading: The ultimate guide to: why slow user adoption affects 49% of CRM projects www.redspire.co.uk The Ultimate Guide to: why slow user adoption affects 49% of CRM projects Low adoption rates and general indifference can kill your CRM project – here’s how to combat that problem Download Now ULTIM ATE SE R 01 IES ... success, we outline 10 best practices you should use throughout your CRM strategy Your CRM strategy should empower your people By far the biggest issue in the success of CRM is the mindset of... chat with your colleagues and see if they’re using CRM more as a list than a network Then show them the power of what it can really Achieve real business intelligence with your CRM Your CRM database... note: CRM should improve your business, not hamper your people For every task and requirement on the list, you should see whether the CRM rollout you’re planning will make the tasks easier CRM