Step-by-step to implement a CRM in your company
The main objective when working with CRM is to acquire a better customer experience with the brand. Therefore, when implementing a CRM in your company, it must be done in the right way. Allowing the platform to contribute to the generation of opportunities, customer retention and increase in profitability. For this, see how to implement a CRM in your company:
Step 1: Identify needs
To implement CRM, the first step is to carry out a survey to identify the need for CRM software.
This will allow you to identify the situation the company is in and compose the ideas that will be key in the planning stages. To do this, it will be important to structure and answer questions, such as:
- How is customer data being organized today?
- How much cash does the company have to invest in software like this?
- If the CRM implementation is carried out today, are the employees who will be responsible, able to handle the software?
- Are your marketing and sales team integrated and empowered to deal together?
Building this self-analysis allows for greater agility in the CRM planning and implementation phases.
Step 2: Choosing objectives
If the company is looking to cut trading time, that kind of thinking needs to be clear at this stage of planning.
This is because for the next phases, having the objectives set, as well as the goals that will help to be achieved.
- It will make it easier to choose the best tool.
- Passing the information on to your strategy team
- Follow up on indicators.
- Stimulate the processes to make a scheme of activities.
Here are three examples that can be put as goals coming from the objectives when working with CRM are:
- Increase customer retention by 20% in the next 3 months;
- Improve qualified lead generation by 15% in the next half year;
- Generate 20% more sales coming from up-selling and/or cross-selling in the quarter.
Step 3: presentation of the new culture and training
Indirectly or directly, it is possible that most of the company, at some level, will be impacted by CRM behaviors.
When talking about how to implement CRM in the company, it is necessary to pay attention to the training of the teams. Thus, invest in presenting the modification in the culture to all employees.
Don’t forget that the CRM order places the customer as the center of all actions. In other words, it will be different from the mindset that many organizations have, which is sales-centric.
Step 4: Choosing the right tool
There is a significant number of CRM platforms on the market. That said, situating a stage for choosing the best one that fits in with the reality of the business is very important.
This is because the objectives will dictate the type of tool you will need to decide, as some will be more limited than others in the aspect that is most significant to the business.
Research, evaluate and make budgets. If the company already has other tools for other purposes, remember to validate if there are integration options. After all,many actions that will be taken by your marketing and sales team will influence the customer’s path through the funnel, rather, the CRM actions.
Other than that, if you have a marketing team separate from your company.
Validate indications and reliability issues to choose a tool that really is strategic for both sides.
Step 5: plan and develop the processes
The next step here is to structure the processes and define the structure that will be driven by the platform.
For this, according to each task, identify which areas are connected, as well as who will be responsible for each request, deadlines, and the possibility of results.
This will help the organization, and that everyone understands how to implement CRM in the company.
It is important, involving employees in the processes in a new structure and subsequently help them in the system configuration stage in the best possible way.
Step 6: Configure and customize the tool
Although the platforms offer the indication of the fields to be organized, it is advisable to customize the tool according to the needs and the processes that were identified in the 1st and 5th steps.
In this way, the software is able to embrace the characteristics of the company and let the objectives be actually achieved.
It is at this stage that the level of responsibility of each employee in the management must be defined, as many tools usually request a level of accessibility for users, according to the demands of each one.
If the trainings have happened in the second stage, it is likely that when your employees are put back into this implementation moment, they will be more prepared.
Step 7: monitoring and follow-up
Despite being the last one around here, the “how to implement CRM” process lasts almost forever, if you think that the work doesn’t end.
I’m saying this because you need to maintain a routine frequency in monitoring and maintaining the software, as well as structure whether objectives are being achieved and when they will be, develop even more challenging ones.
The objective, in this way, will always be to improve strategies, eliminating failures and maintaining constant progress through monitoring and adjustments.
Main mistakes when implementing a CRM
Do not define a sales process before implementing the software
A mistake many companies make is thinking that CRM alone will increase sales and sales team productivity.
The resource is prestigious to organize information, automate processes and functions of the commercial routine. With it, it is possible to follow-up leads, segment clients, schedule tasks and appoint people responsible for carrying them out.
For all these things to be possible, there need to be processes established and aligned within the commercial team.
Therefore, before implementing CRM in the company, it is important to define the business processes together with the team. Only then will the software support the team’s needs and contribute to an increase in sales and productivity.
Planning unachievable
When those responsible are focused on implementing CRM in the company, it is common for them to put too much trust in managers when planning.
Obviously, software will help achieve better results, but the effort and digital marketing strategies still need to come from the managers and staff involved.
So put an end to unachievable planning and focus on realistic results.
They do not carry out a change management process
Implementing CRM requires a sequence of organizational changes, both in internal methods and in people’s working routines.
As in any transformation, the tendency is that there is a certain initial resistance in relation to the new system. After all, professionals will have to get used to a new connection, new tasks and new ways of doing things on a daily basis.
We can separate the change management process into three essential phases:
- Planning
Planning comprises identifying needs, defining the team that will use the tool, and implementation and usage targets.
- Implementation
During implementation, management structures the processes that will be impacted by the solution with the involvement of the team. It is in this phase that the training of professionals to use the system must take place.
- Use
It is in this last phase, when the tool is already in use, that the greatest difficulties and doubts usually appear. Appointing multipliers in the teams to disseminate knowledge and providing a support channel facilitates the learning process in this phase. By the way, it is essential to continuously capture feedbacks from end users. Only then will it be possible to assess any need for adjustment in the business process, or even if the CRM is solving the team’s needs efficiently.
The advantages of implementing CRM in the company:
- Avoid losing existing customers;
- Decrease the chances of losing the time of the sale;
- Understand how not to spend time on people who aren’t going to buy (in lieu of better qualifying prospects and leads);
- Do not miss important duties.
The indispensable thing is to gain a sense of urgency in the sales team. To do this, it is ideal to highlight what they lose by not using the CRM. Moreover, it is essential to show well products that directly affect their earnings.
