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Everything about Territory Management in CRM - Encaptechno

Everything about Territory Management in CRM

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Everything about Territory Management in CRM - Encaptechno
In case your business is spread across various regions and has many offices, departments, and numerous products/services, it is not a simple endeavor to assign customer accounts to the sales teams without detailed planning. In fact, quite often it can be complex to offer access to selective accounts for individuals from different teams who work together for a mutual sales objective.

A system in which the customer accounts can be grouped together based on well-defined criteria can be called territory management. With the use of territory management, different customer accounts can be shared with the sales team in an organization. This ensures suitable use of the credibility of the sales to increase business opportunities, offer excellent customer service, and expand the present customer relationships.

The significant benefits of territory management include the following:

1. No Complex Data Sharing


The organizations that have a difficult sales structure can pretty much use territories for sharing records with the users of different teams. It is relatively easy to group records based on the account’s characteristics rather than individual ownership.

2. Organized Work Environment

Organized Work Environment
The distribution of customer accounts by using territories helps in forming an organized work environment that ensures improved engagement by the sales force. This also increases the efficiency of the sales team by reducing the travel time and increasing the expertise of the industry.

3. Accurate Evaluation of Sales Performance


With the use of territory management in CRM, it becomes easy to generate sales reports. These reports are based on territories and they help in evaluating and measuring the efficiency of the sales team by territory. In addition, one can also get a detailed insight into the sales contribution of every territory.

4. Forecasting Sales for All Territories

Forecasting Sales
You can create separate forecast targets for every territory a user comes from. This helps in getting a clear picture of the goals that you have set for the different territories for users to stay entirely focused.

Understanding If your Organization Needs Territory Management


The territory management feature in Zoho CRM allows you to create territories and specify criteria that also define a territory. You can effectively build a hierarchy in addition to the role hierarchy in your account.

You can also access pre-defined reports on territories such as Star Performers across territories, Overall Sales Cycle Duration among territories and Revenue By Territories, etc. Finally, you can create custom reports on territories and set many forecast targets for users who belong to different territories.

Territory management doesn’t have to be a requirement for every organization. You must decide on the usage of territories for your organization’s sales structures and data-sharing model. Below, we will know more about territory management so that we can understand if that is a right option for your company.

Role and Territory Management


In the role and territory hierarchies, record ownership lies with just one owner. In role management, the record is accessible to the owner of the record, the users who are superior to the record owner in the role hierarchy, and the users who have access granted based on data sharing rules.

On the other hand, in territory management, the record is accessible to the owner of the record, users who are superior to the record owner, other users in the record’s territory, and users in the territories that are superior to the record’s territory.

In role hierarchies, the customer accounts can be segmented based on record ownership, and in territory hierarchies, the customer accounts can be segmented based on account characteristics. In role hierarchies, users can often be assigned to just one role and in territory hierarchies, users can be assigned to many territories.

Lastly, the users can have a single forecast target in role hierarchies, but the users can have multiple forecast targets in territory hierarchies.

Understanding This Better With an Example


Let’s take an example to understand the lead allocation in CRM much better. Assume that the workforce working in Development Inc. is made up of multiple teams all across the United States in different regions. In this kind of sales structure, you would not want the sales team from any region to access records of another region. There might also be some prospects that you would like to share with the senior representatives from different teams in different regions.

Now it can be difficult to achieve this with the use of roles and data sharing policies all alone. Alternatively, in different territories based on a well-defined set of criteria, it can be possible to extend the Zoho CRM data-sharing model in the Zoho CRM account while easily sharing records with various users. This makes sure that the teams are dedicated to a defined goal and can achieve sales targets set under different time zones.

Well before you set up Territory Management in a Zoho CRM account, there are a few topics that can be helpful in determining if territory management is suitable for your organization. These points are:

  • Sales Structure and Sharing Needs: There must be a CRM data sharing structure that requires individuals belonging to different territories to access multiple customer accounts.
  • Forecasting: There must be different forecasts based on territory hierarchy. There is a need to set forecast targets for each territory a user belongs to.
  • Administration: The territories must be managed as individual units so that burden can be reduced on the administrators.

Sales Structure and Sharing Needs


It is important to understand how your data is being shared with other users and if the role-based hierarchy, data sharing rules, groups, and assignment rules offer the best options to share accounts according to the sales structure. An organization may as well have a need to share records based on the products or services, industries, revenues, ZIP code/region, etc. When it comes to such a complex and collaborative sharing model, one needs territories that ensure effective grouping of customer accounts and sharing records with different sales teams.

If the sales structure in an organization requires a person to share customer accounts with many people from different teams then take this as an example. Let’s say that you have a ground sales representative who makes calls to the prospect and arranges a meeting. Let’s say you also have a field sales representative to visit the prospect for a product demo. In this case, how do you possibly share accounts with the sales representatives?

The sales structure of an organization might either be linear or a complex matrix of sorts where the data sharing is one too many people. Territory management can be right for your organization if the sharing needs of your company depend on account characteristics rather than individual ownership of records. In addition, it will be right for your organization if it has a matrix sales structure that requires individuals belonging to different territories to access customer accounts.

Forecasting

Forecasting
When you change to territory management in Zoho CRM, forecasts will also change to suit the territory requirements. When a user is a part of various territories, there might be a need to set different sales targets for users as different targets are set for each territory.

Just one forecast target for each user will not work in that case. When you split the monthly/quarterly targets based on territories and customer accounts, you will have a clear picture of the sales forecast and targets that can be achieved.

Administration

 

Administration
Your administrator can find it difficult to deal with sharing rules that should be monitored when there are changes in sales structure. If there is a complex data-sharing architecture, there are some common challenges that you must be aware of. Offering the same data to different users, managing permissions individually or on a role level for users, maintaining huge data volumes, creating multiple sharing rules, and frequent movement of sales reps are common challenges.

On the other hand, territories are simple to manage. The sales structure can be demarcated based on different regions. Let’s say that an executive who is responsible for handling customer inquiries from London is the best performer. In this case, you can choose to give this sales representative the additional responsibility of handling other customers from Germany. This is an example that helps us understand that this sales user can be added to the sales territory in London and Germany so that accessing customer records in both these countries becomes easy.

If the difficult data sharing rules and role hierarchy does not meet the rules then territories are an easy option to maintain as individual units that can reduce the burden on administrators. Thinking about your organization’s sales structure in a territorial hierarchy can be helpful if territory management is a valid option.

Why Use Territory Management?

 

1. Enhance Focused Sales


Using territory management in CRM can help in avoiding any uneven distribution of customer accounts to finally enhance focused sales and team responsibilities. Your sales representatives may either have heaps of work or little work and this is something that could potentially lead to wasted resources and lost revenue.

The workload must be evenly distributed so that the existing customers and prospects get the attention they need. If your customer account segmentation ranges from small businesses to large corporations and the opportunities are handled by salespeople based on the deal size then territories can be used to divide sales teams and complete lead allocation in CRM with business size over data visibility and sharing.

A group of sales representatives can handle deals with over 50 licenses and another group can be assigned to deal with more than 50 licenses. In this case of dynamic sales teams, having the right territories can help in facilitating the easy movement of sales representatives as they might need to switch between territories.

2. Flexibility Over Data Visibility and Sharing


Many times, the business and data-sharing model of organizations depends more on account characteristics and less on individual ownership. In this case, using territorial hierarchy comes off as a big benefit because territories offer great flexibility as compared to data visibility and sharing.

Let’s say that you sell electrical equipment in different districts. In this case, each sales group is responsible for taking care of sales in assigned districts. In each district, there can be different locations that would need electrical equipment. Based on the district and the quality of electrical equipment, you can assign the deal to your sales representatives.

In this case, the account characteristics of the account will be responsible for deciding the overall sales structure. Using the territories here can benefit you as it will offer you focus and will also simplify the process of record sharing among many individuals of different teams.

3. Geographical Territorial Segmentation


If your customers are spread across different geographical locations then reducing time and expenses for your sales team is important. The creation of territories based on geographical locations of the market and strategic placing of sales representatives within a country’s sales territory can be advantageous for the business.

As a result, there is a reduction in the time spent on travel because business opportunities become centered in one demarcated area. In addition, this helps the sales team to overcome any barriers that different territories might have. The sales representatives need comprehensive knowledge and expertise so that sales can be improved.

In the shoemaking and selling business, if you are a sales manager, you must be familiar with different shoes, pricing, features, and so on. Creating a territory that can include customer accounts who are interested in shoes can help. Belonging to this particular territory can offer enough experience and opportunities that develop your proficiency and negotiation skills.

4. Promoting Customer Retention and Revenue

Promoting Customer Retention and Revenue
If your business offers cross-selling opportunities then a flexible data sharing system that can help in cross-selling can be helpful in promoting customer retention and revenue growth.

Let’s think of a business that offers time management software to companies working in different sectors. Now this company might have a sales group focused on offering this software to each of these companies. In case a prospect is interested in the product then how will the representative share customer accounts with individuals from different teams who are involved in the sales cycle?

In this case, having a territorial hierarchy based on product lines and granting permission to sales representatives from various teams can be an effective way to manage this situation. It helps in collaborative cross-selling for a business.

Conclusion

Territory management is helpful if you have a complex sales structure with the need to change users to different sales teams or territories; if you need to segment various customer accounts based on their characteristics; if you want a simple way to maintain process for administrators and manage sharing of data; and if you require multiple forecast targets for users coming from different sales territories.

That said, it is important to ensure that you choose the correct data-sharing model for a smooth running of a business. You can know much more about territory management and if it suits your business needs by scheduling a CRM consultation partner like Encaptechno. 

 

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What is CRM - A Helpful Guide for Business Owners

What Is CRM? | A Helpful Guide For Business Owners

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CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management. In other words, a technology that is used to manage interactions with present and potential customers is called CRM. It is an online system that enables the organizations to create reliable customer relationships and streamline processes that can not only increase sales but also improve customer service and eventually, profitability.

What is CRM?

What is CRM - A Helpful Guide for Business Owners

The customer relationship system has been in the market back since the 1990s. However, the online CRM system has taken over and popularized itself over the last decade. CRM platforms are extremely powerful online systems that can connect all data from sales leads and customers in one place only. A CRM can be utilized for analyzing and recording all calls, meetings, improving sales, increasing revenue, and emails.

Other than this, CRM services enable one to get personal with customers and prospects with personalized messages. You can differentiate, slice, and track the data to make sales and marketing smarter, more effective, and efficient.

You can think of an online CRM system to be a literal depiction of serving and gaining the loyalty of customers. An online CRM system will not only enable you to stay focused on the relationships of your organization with people (customers, service users, suppliers or colleagues) but also allow you to embed sales, marketing, and HR processes in the business.

It is a single framework that is designed to enhance the entire business strategy while with an aim to bring your marketing, sales, and customer support activities together, streamline the processes, people, and policy in one platform.

Why does a CRM matter?

Why Does a CRM Matter

In case you want to make sure that your business lasts, you need to rely on a tangible business strategy for the upcoming future. You know that you already have targets for sales, profitability, and business objectives. However staying up to date along with implementing reliable information for the progress of your goals is something that can be tricky.

How can you translate the different data streams that come in from the sales team, marketers, social media teams, and customer service team into constructive business information? The answer to this question is the implementation of an online CRM system with the help of a CRM consulting partner. Using a CRM system has the capability to give you a clear overview of your customers.

You will be able to see and view all the important information at one place in a simple and customizable dashboard that will tell you about a customer’s previous history with you, the order status, outstanding customer service issues, and a lot more.

You can also decide to include important information from any public or social media activity, likes or dislikes, what people are saying and sharing, etc. Additionally, marketers can also use CRM for understanding the pipelines of sales or prospective work that might come in for making precise and effective forecasts. CRM services will give you clear visibility of every lead while showing you a clear path right from inquiry to sales.

Although CRM was traditionally used as a sales and marketing tool only, customer service teams are seeing exceptional benefits from the CRM systems. The customers of today might pick up an issue on one public platform while taking to a telephonic conversation for resolving the matter privately. A CRM platform is something that helps you in managing inquiry over all channels without losing any track.

What does an online CRM system do?

Enabling contact management on a large scale is the most important function of absolutely any customer information system, regardless of the fact if it is cloud-based CRM or just a CRM software on a server. The fundamental role of an online CRM system is to do the job of being a hub for organizing and making an absolute sense of important data and insights along with providing all tools needed to collect and manage information about people who are important for a business.

These functions can seem very different when they are worked out across multiple departments. For example; a CRM can assist in enabling the sales representatives to see past the interactions and purchases before anyone makes a phone call. It can also offer support teams of an organization with any credentials or contact details that might be required for offering better customer service. It can give marketers access to complete details that can help in targeting campaigns.

Understanding and organizing important data insights is an important responsibility for any company. However, just as the importance of audience information grows the number of details that a business needs grows as well. With so many online channels and ways of engagement, the data often gets looped in different tools while making it difficult to get a true picture of what the customers do or talk about.

Therefore, regardless of the size or the industry of business, turning to CRM tools can create a central hub for audience reports, gaining a better understanding of who the customers are, what they want, and build stronger relationships as they grow.

In fact, CRM is not just for the big businesses that make it to the list of Fortune companies. With the help of using statistics, one can improve customer relationships considerably and this has become an important feature of all kinds of organizations. In fact there the businesses that are just starting out have an even better chance because there is no better time for contact management as compared to the one in the beginning.

From the time one creates an online presence, the CRM services can help in gaining access to valuable information about the customers and potential customers. It can not only help in laying a strong foundation for building and updating the relationships with customers, collecting data, but it can also help in setting consistent automation and personalized touchpoints with time.

There is no need for CRM to be engaged in a full-time job. Regardless of whether it is about a small team, there is a solo entrepreneur, who relies on occasional marketing campaigns for selling the brand, CRM implementation done with the assistance of a CRM consultant can help in putting the data to work and save time. With its implementation, a person or a team can make valued decisions about where one should focus on reaching customers, which channel is preferable, and how to engage them for a long time.

Working of CRM:

More often than not, an online CRM system is just thought of as a technology. Whereas, the truth is that it is much more than that. Almost no technology, regardless of how sophisticated it might be can become successful without a good strategy for guiding implementation and use. It is important for the business strategy and technology to work together for bringing a customer-centric plan to life.

By understanding the work and the role played by CRM in customer-centric data management and automation, we will see how CRM is a world in itself.

– Making and Implementing Customer-Centric Strategy: The role of an online CRM system is to support a strategy that allows the customers to be the focus of everything. This customer-centric strategy should be such that it focuses clearly on the goals and visions of meaningful customer experience. Since valuable customer experience is significant, CRM implementation goes far in improving the customer experience.

Each time a customer gets in contact with a new organization or through a different channel, an opinion is likely to be formed. This opinion can either be good, indifferent, or bad. As time passes by, this set of customer experiences create a picture in the customer’s mind, which in turn plays a role in forming the brand image.

Any organization that is serious about CRM design and strives to form a quality experience because of understanding that poor customer experience can drive customers away is on the right path.

– Centralization of Customer Data: CRM software applications are responsible for combining all sales, customer service information, and marketing into one database. With so many businesses collecting data on customers and prospects, good access to data lying in the database means fewer problems in the organization, and better customer-centricity.

Customer information is a sum total of phone numbers, contacts, addresses, etc. Having a CRM partner to implement an online CRM system will lead to all that was discussed, the next follow update, the status of an open item, etc.

This is important information that can be used to measure, manage, and keep a track of sales, marketing, and the various customer service activities as they are all directly linked to the customers. Overall, this helps in building great customer loyalty and experience.

Since an online CRM system has the ability to centralize the entire customer-facing information, any unnecessary finger-pointing within an organization gets reduced substantially. The marketing team can no longer blame the sales team for not communicating and vice versa. No matter what department of the company is being talked about, they all have access to the same information.

– Automation of Business Processes: The companies that have streamlined business and customer-facing processes are the ones that make the business a lot more efficient. Different aspects such as budgeting and planning are an important part of customer-facing processes on which sales, marketing, and customer service rely. A good CRM strategy focused mostly on the customer-oriented processes helps in solving the needs of customers in a much better way.

In essence, the complete CRM process generally begins with a lead. In simple words, just the name of a person you can sell to. Mostly, a person is supposed to fill a web form that is provided with the contact information. Just after the lead is put in the system, the software takes one through the sales process.

An online CRM system reminds the salesperson to call at a mutually decided time. Each time one interacts with the prospects, it gets recorded in the CRM system and the same applies in case someone talks to the prospect. CRM keeps tracks of all the lead generation while bringing in more customers.

In addition to this, CRM works as a library of documents, emails, and phone calls that facilitate an effective interaction when a prospect is initiated.  The team gets a prompt and an automated trail of communication because all the information is kept in one place. Regardless of whether you are in marketing, customer support, or sales, a CRM system can help in automating business processes while automating each process as it works with the other. However, it must be understood that each business should be well defined for getting good results.

Benefits of an online CRM system:

Benefits of an Online CRM System

An online CRM system is available to marketing teams, salespeople, customer support specialists, and absolutely anyone who comes in contact with customers of large and small companies. However, we are going to list down the benefits in complete detail below:

1. Efficiently Organized Data: One of the biggest benefits of CRM is that it facilitates the effective organization of data. When you move to an online CRM system, you will be required to inculcate the practice of entering email addresses, phone numbers, and contact information. Just when the CRM system is up and running, users can follow and track information about every customer.

A CRM system is a central place for storing and managing all important information that makes working easy for everyone. Here, everyone is inclusive of customers who get better service and detailed attention just as you start to understand them a lot better.

2. Identify and Categorize the Leads: One of the most important benefits of an online CRM system is the fact it can enable you to identify and add new leads easily while categorizing them precisely. You can not only create customized pitch documents in less time, but you can also cut down the response time and enable the sales team to capitalize on the next opportunity.

With precise and completely held information about the clients and prospects, the sales staff can focus their complete attention and energy on the right clients while gaining a competitive advantage.

3. Better Sales Opportunities: Almost no one wants to stop after gaining a handful of customers or clients. However, sometimes, the problem lies in struggling with the idea generation that helps in increasing the customer base.

An important way is to learn more about creating better sales opportunities is by learning more about the people who are already customers. One way to learn more about the people who are customers already, an online CRM system can track the insights and patterns into the themes and trends.

This type of analytics can actually help in developing micro-targeted plans and different strategies for sales opportunities at particular times.

4. Tracking Sales Progress: In addition to the fact that CRM helps in managing the customer base, it also helps in tracking the progress of the sales for the entire organization. In case you are a one-person business, you can also get the assistance you need for tracking the leads and following up.

Additionally, if you have a large sales team, every new set of leads gets assigned to you as a sales rep and their journey gets tracked from that point onwards. Just as the journey progresses, the CRM platform offers a starting point for acting on the sales trends and close gaps. This is an easy way to track the performance of your sales team.

5. Effective Communication: Besides the fact that CRM can be an efficient use of sales resources, it can also allow your customers to benefit from the personalization features that many CRM tools offer. An important advantage of effective and personalized communication is that it improves the productivity and efficiency of an organization.

All of this can be used in the CRM database for building better customer relationships with the help of personalized communications. An effective way to do this is by addressing the customers with their first name in the emails or creating marketing campaigns based on different industries.

6. Increasing Referrals from Existing Customers: CRM services enable you to understand your customers better, create up-selling and cross-selling opportunities that can ultimately help in winning new business from existing customers.

Just after the CRM consultant helps you with the implementation, you can have access to better information that will eventually become the reason for keeping your customers happy. Since happy customers are more than likely to return more often and when they return they will spend more. Hence, this is an exceptional benefit.

7. Better Retention Rate: A way in which CRM can benefit the sales processes is the fact that it reveals all customers who generate the highest revenue or are the most engaged. You can find the most lucrative customers by gaining a much better understanding of who attends your online seminars, webinars, and open all your emails with the help of a CRM.

When you start reaching out to them to advocate your brand more, you can increase the retention rate of your customers. The ability of a CRM to understand customer behavior can ultimately help you come up with reliable solutions. A better insight into customer behavior will always help you develop a plan or a program that retains the customers who are on the verge of leaving.

8. Tracking Tasks: The CRM services further helps in the integration of a company’s typical workflow while saving more time spent on everyday tasks. Automation helps in boosting customer engagement and offering an added consistency.

The fact of the matter is that consistency is one of the best benefits of a CRM system. When all the important tasks are tracked in the right way, the overall productivity is increased a lot more.

9. Improved Products and Services: A very commonly overlooked benefit of the CRM software is the fact it gathers information from a wide range of sources across the business. This gives organizations an accurate and rather useful insight into how the customers think, feel and what do they say about an organization.

This improves the products and services of an organization because it actually ends up giving valuable insights for the improvement of what is offered, spotting problems, and identifying the gaps.

10. Reporting and Analytics: A business culture that is essentially driven with an analytics-driven working style can actually go a long way in transforming an organization from instinct-based to being data-driven.

Implementation of an online CRM system provides the necessary business intelligence that processes important data from multiple sources and works on significant insights. From the fundamental charts to the advanced analytics insights like looking for problems in the business with an inbuilt analytics engine embedded in the CRM can help the organizations gain an important business advantage.

Related Read: Why CRM Systems Fail?

CONCLUSION:

All the information that has been mentioned above sums up the meaning of CRM in the true sense. CRM services can enable a customer to leave all chaos out of the interactions that happen with the workforce and customers while letting you focus on your goal.

For someone who is just starting out, an online CRM system might come across as intimidating, but when you go further with using it, it is not complicated at all. In fact, it is pretty much like standard automated processes. When you get the hang of this software and learn to rely on it, you will discover that it takes a relatively lesser time to use as compared to your old search habits.

As a market leader in the implementation of CRM services, Encaptechno comes with years of experience that can help you begin your journey of online customer relationship management. Get in touch with us for assistance and allow us to become your partners in unprecedented growth with the help of the best online CRM system.

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Why CRM System Fail

Why CRM Systems Fail?

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CRM – A brief

CRM holds true potential to be a game-changer for many businesses. However, while selecting, be aware that most CRM system implementations may fall short of the desired objectives, and it could be argued that many fail in entirety.

SCOTT K. EDINGER, founder of Edinger Consulting Group, is recognized as an expert in helping organizations achieve measurable business results. Coauthor of The Inspiring Leader, he blogs for Harvard Business Review and Forbes. He has rightly quoted “In my work with clients, when I ask executives if their CRM system is helping their business grow, the failure rate is close to 90%.”

What is CRM?

 

What is CRM

According to Wikipedia, “Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers’ history with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.

One important aspect of the CRM approach is the systems of CRM that compile data from a range of different communication channels, including a company’s website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials and more recently, social media. Through the CRM approach and the systems used to facilitate it, businesses learn more about their target audiences and how to best care their needs”

Irrespective of your designation CRM’s today assist ranging from an executive in Sales, to Marketing, to HR, to the Customer Relations Department, to Operations Team, to the Productions Team, to the Accounts Department etc. and finally ranging to the Top Management and the IT Department.

If anyone who is using the CRM and not utilizing the data optimally, there is no incentive to keep up the data- the data quality deteriorates and becomes less reliable as time passes. For any company Sales is the center of revenue and Sales department must be happy and in total alignment with the CRM. If they are not, it is imminent that CRM failure is looming.

How do we avoid this disaster? Let us understand the common reasons why CRM project fail.

How CRM projects become a disaster?

 

Why CRM System Fail

 

1. Not knowing the goal from the very beginning 

Know Your Goals

There’s no rule that says CRM system objectives must include revenue improvements. However, by definition, if you can’t measure revenue impact, you can’t calculate CRM ROI. A successful software implementation, especially CRM, begins with understanding your desired business goals. What are the important success indicators or KPI’s for my business and sales teams? How do you wish to see your business to look like in the coming 12 to 24 months?  And 5 years from now & 10 years from now. You need a clear horizon.

Take your time to invest in your vision, and document it.

How do you foresee your success?

What are the targets you wish to achieve?  Make sure you are specific about them in planning which will reap great returns in your CRM implementation.

A few key pointers of CRM objectives that are easily related to improve the ROI are:

  • Increased customer acquisitions
  • Decreased customer acquisition cost
  • Shortened sales cycle
  • Increased revenue per customer

In addition, it is important that your CRM objectives align with and support the company’s business strategy. Your CRM strategy needs to show how strategy, people, processes and software are doctored to directly impact the business customers, team coordination, effort, performance and contribution of each employee in achieving revenue objectives. By setting quantifiable objectives and having a clear strategic vision of where your company should be after successful implementation, you will have a clear guide to follow.

2. Poor User adoption

Most of the times, it’s in a human tendency not to accept the change. We are so used to working in the style we have been working traditionally. At times the team members feel they are being spied, there performance is under continuous surveillance

A new CRM system brings new processes, automation, information, roles, responsibilities and control. Notably, a new CRM system oftentimes brings an actual or perceived loss of control. There might be a few people who feel they will lose their jobs and some staff may not understand why a CRM is needed in the first place.

Poor user adoption will create an unpleasant atmosphere where management drive adoption but CRM is resisted by the team members. Resistance to change is in human nature and it is a given situation in most CRM implementations, but it needs to be managed effectively.

When it fails to be quickly and properly addressed resistance will result in a less than 100% productive CRM. Wrong data entry is highly expected in these cases; a majority of the CRM failures happen due to wrong data entry.

3.Not Selecting the Right CRM Solution provider

Ensure your Solution Provider can train your teams on the tools he is offering and the ongoing support, he can offer if you need it. And chances are that you really will because after the switches are flipped, your teams need to be ready to go.

Your solution provider is well equipped to provide you with the support which is crucial when taking into consideration the plan for your CRM and your business goals. Have you selected the right software and the right solution partner?

It cannot be stressed enough: CRM implementation shouldn’t be considered a one-off project. Look for a partnership that aligns with the right Solution Provider enhances your business.

Know your internal champions and whether or not you have executive support for a CRM project is paramount to its success. In your planning phase, identify internal champions keeping in mind you may have more than one depending on the complexity of your business and the teams who will use your new CRM.

Additionally, executive support will be indispensable when it comes to your implementation. Strategy and execution – can make or break an implementation. And 50% of the CRMs fail due to signing a wrong choice of selecting the solution provider.

To implement a CRM system on a lower budget, and blinded by an attractive price point, businesses often make the mistake of not doing proper research on the vendor. In addition, businesses sometimes err on the other side and over-spec’ the CRM by paying for features that they don’t want or even need.

Key features one should look forward while designing the tools

  • What is the total years of experience of the solution provider?
  • Which other businesses like ours have you supplied with a similar CRM tool?
  • Does it need complex training?
  • How much help will you provide to us within the price?
  • How easily does it integrate with our existing tools?
  • Can we get started easily?
  • What is the support the solution provider extends after sales?

4. Unorganized Data

Organize data

In case your data is not well organized or largely incomplete, just because you put it into CRM doesn’t mean you’ll get great results. Knowing what data your business is tracking and why will help you understand the best way to organize it.

Knowing what you wish to reap out of a CRM tools will be an absolute impact of what needs to go in, both in terms of the implementation and the data you input in itself. CRM is often expected to be a single source of truth. This means that all of your resources must be on board within the standards of governance that should be deployed, and training is an essential part so that all of your teams be in sync of the data being entered, and how the data is intended to be used. It is rightly said Garbage in, garbage out. When you have data integrity, your CRM implementation and results will shine even greater and in case things are not organized nothing would help you.

Keep the CRM simple and only buy into features that you really need. There is a large temptation during the vendor selection process to deliver to the vendor an exhaustive list of features that covers a range of departments and functions at the business. Don’t make this mistake.

Define the business outcomes before you begin to meet with CRM solution providers.

Go for the most user-friendly and intuitive interface. Hitting your team with a new CRM tools, and with a difficult to use interface all in one go – much of which is not required – will only put them off.

5. Does your Solution provider really know what you wish to achieve? 

CRM Consulting Partner

Have you found the right vendor for your CRM implementation? Each industry be it construction, manufacturing, warehouse, suppliers or a retailer has a different parameter, and a different set of requirements to meet.

Does your solution provider understand and is the solution provider sensitive towards your language? They will use their time getting to understand your unique business needs even better. Here are some things to look for (and avoid) in a partner:

  • Avoid solutions providers who won’t take the time to meet and understand your standard operations procedures.
  • If planning isn’t a priority for them, buyer beware.
  • Be sure to ask your software solution providers for references from businesses in industries like yours. Contact them, take a feedback about their experience with the solution provider. Get the hang of the after sales services support of the solution provider from the past clients.
  • Select a partner who wants to celebrate your growth and successes. Going through your CRM solution provider selection process get your senior management involved. Don’t do it alone. Involve the various departments, users since it will be needed to drive the adoption across the various departments.

Conclusion

Implementing CRM system is a challenging task. Doing it without expert guidance can lead to a chaotic situation in the future. You need to plan the objectives and goals before you start CRM implementation. It is suggested to hire a trustworthy CRM consultant who can understand your goals and help you with best possible solutions.

Related Read – Why do you need to Hire a CRM Consultant?

Encaptechno is a recognized Salesforce and Zoho certified CRM consultant has globally delivered more than 500 solutions globally. Share your CRM requirements and let our team do the CRM Implementation for you.

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