Four Ways to Get More Value From Your CRM
According to a research report by BuyerZone,
91% of companies with more than 11 employees use a CRM software. All teams have great initial intentions for getting the most value out of the software, yet after utilizing it for the first few months, usage wanes.
Using a CRM software will either help or hinder your business. A good system helps you get better acquainted with your customers and prospects, as well as gain a deeper understanding of their preferences and behaviors. It can provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team and its the perfect tool for maintaining a stronger relationship with your customers and prospects. You may have a system in place but not everyone in the company is using it cohesively. Most companies struggle with this software for a variety of reasons but this can be avoided. Getting the most out of your CRM is going to take time, support from the entire team, and a few other things.
Choosing the Right One
There are a ton of platform options to choose from. Some more well-known ones include HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho. For the most part, they all generally have similar features with the same type of functions. A CRM is most simply put,
"A technology for managing all your company's relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers."
The features and subscription options are endless and can seem overwhelming. It's important to do research on each one to determine which is best for you. Think long-term. You may not think you need the option of a sales pipeline but two years from now, you may.
Look into the details of the various restrictions in regards to contracts and subscriptions. Some platforms have additional charges based on the number of contacts you have in the system. You may think you can add all 10,000 of your contacts but there may be an additional charge after the first 2,500 or 5,000. It's wise to take your time with this decision and seek the opinion of others. We have experience with a number of these systems and would be happy to go through the various options with you.
Utilize the Right Modules
A module is a set of standardized parts or independent units that can be used to construct a more complex structure. Modules within a CRM include Contacts, Leads, and Analytics (to name a few). As well as more complex functions such as those associated with social media and email marketing. Not all of these are included or may not be needed at first. A good software will allow you to hide what’s not needed and the ability to turn them on when your business is ready to implement those operations within this software.
When setting up a recent clients new system, we hid what wasn't needed so their teams weren't overwhelmed or confused. The software usually comes with ALL options turned on and a lot of companies aren't aware that you can turn these off and on as your business sees fit. Our client's platform came standard with 27 modules and we scaled it back to 3. They can still use the hidden modules such as calls, tasks, and invoices if and when they're ready but currently, its main function is a contact database with the ability to grow over time without losing valuable customer data. You may even have the ability to adjust the names of the basic modules to better fit your business. For example, if you recognize a new sale as a "Deal" but your CRM calls them "Opportunities" or you're more comfortable with the term "Companies" rather than "Accounts", change it.
Make the software fit your needs and preferences, not the other way around.
Customize All Fields
Fields are the aspects within each module. For example, First Name, Email, and Industry are common fields within most Contact modules. Fields may contain different types of data. For instance, there are multi-select pick lists which enables selecting multiple values while creating or editing a field. Or a lookup field which links two different modules. For example, if one of your contacts refers a new lead to you and you want to track that, create a lookup field titled Referred By in your Leads module, which lets you browse for and choose the correct contact.
Adjust the labeling of each field to your understanding. Hide what isn't needed and arrange the fields to what's optimal for you. If you don’t want to store the address of the individual contacts, only the company, store that information within the Companies or Accounts module. Doing so ensures the Contacts module doesn't have blank or mislabeled fields and your information is stored in the correct area (this is helpful when building reports). Make it to a goal that every field is filled in, if there's a blank field that's never used simply hide it, it can always be restored if you want to track that down the road.
Create Structured and Well-Defined User-Profiles and Workflows
Executing a new platform is one thing but you must ensure everyone within your organization understands the value of the tool as well as how to use it correctly.
Do you want everyone to be able to export leads and contacts or restrict those options?
Do you want your team to have the ability to delete contacts or activities or only create and edit them?
You should set up your user profile and settings before adding any users. Most systems come with standard user settings and one of those being an administer profile that comes equipped with the ability to do and see anything. It's wise to start with the more restrictions and scale back as needed. Having multiple departments in this system, and everyone should not have (or needs) the same access and abilities. You should have the ability to create your own profile settings so you could create one for your sales team, one for marketing and one for the executive team; all with different views, access, and permissions.
A common mistake in the setup phase is not standardizing things. For example; in the state field should be standardized, either spelling out the full name or using the abbreviation. If one person uses "California" and another " CA"; this will skew your results when you go to look at how many contacts you have in the state of California.
As you can see there are many things to consider when choosing and executing a new CRM, and this is all just the tip of the iceberg. You may already have one in place but the system is unorganized and you're not seeing the full value from it.
CRM applications can help increase sales by up to 29%, sales productivity by up to 34% and sales forecast accuracy by 42%. (source: Salesforce) With statistics like that, you have to at least consider how a CRM could help improve your sales productivity and more importantly revenue.
According to G2 users, the average ROI for implementing a CRM software is 13 months. (source: G2’s CRM Grid) however if you begin with a clean system that’s customized to your business, you can start seeing the ROI much sooner. Our team has vast experience with multiple systems, team sizes, and industries.
We can help you no matter which step of the process you're on. From choosing the right CRM for you to optimizing your current systems, we're here to help.