By: Annie Taylor
Fast-moving and ever-growing. In a nutshell, these words sum up today’s business world, which is simultaneously enriched and challenged by increasing competition and the growing expectations of consumers. In order to stay at the top of their fields, moving with the times is of the essence – especially in today’s age of digital transformation. Consulting experts on how to streamline and facilitate everyday business processes via customer relationship management (CRM) has become an essential step for many customer-centric companies in recent years. But while this digital solution has the potential to take businesses large and small to new, previously unattainable heights, the system is only as good as its implementation and user engagement. To ensure that your transition to CRM takes place without a hitch, check out these 5 implementation tips!
1. CRM is Company-Wide
If you think that CRM is only valuable to sales teams, think again. In order to increase both efficiency and transparency across the company, it’s important that each and every employee uses the system consistently. While this can pose a challenge in the beginning stages, following through yields company-wide benefits. By giving all teams a 360-degree overview of all relevant data, no information is lost – and your internal communication and customer service procedures are sure to improve accordingly!
2. Train Your Teams
When it comes to digital transformation, consulting industry experts about training – or having them conduct it for you – is often your best bet. While CRM is bursting with potential, you’ll only be able to realise it if all employees know how to use the platform. Whether you appoint an internal trainer or hire a change management consultant, ensure that all teams receive the necessary insights into the system through regular and frequent training sessions, informational reading material, and more. The training should begin well before the implementation is complete, and continue until employees are fully comfortable with CRM.
3. Consistency is Key
Along with offering general training sessions, establishing corporate guidelines for using the platform is a crucial step. From what contact information to include for customers to how frequently to update the system, all employees need to be on the same page to ensure a seamless digital transformation. Consulting – and sticking to – specific guidelines that have been distributed across the company goes a long way!
4. Lead By Example
To promote engagement and enthusiasm, getting your business’ managers excited about CRM is an absolute must. If they’re aware of the valuable new possibilities that the platform presents, chances are that they’ll further enforce its importance and spread enthusiasm among employees. The more people can rave about CRM’s benefits, the better!
5. Spread the Joy
While the word "stressful" is often used to describe digital transformation, consulting employees on how to make the transition as easy as possible makes all the difference. In addition to remaining open to feedback from beginning to end, why not get everyone to associate "fun" with CRM by planning a launch party? Free food, free drinks, and maybe free company gadgets – what’s not to love?
And there you have it: following these 5 simple steps is certain to start your implementation off on the right foot. Before you know it, all employees will be shouting the praises of CRM from the rooftops!
Annie Taylor is an experienced CRM consultant at Atlantic Technologies, a renowned international cloud consulting company and a platinum Salesforce partner. When it comes to digital transformation consulting Annie is an ideal first step, thanks to her years of expertise and her friendly, professional, and customer-centric approach.