Let’s put the cat on the table. All too often, organizations have a CRM system in place for managing customer relationships that isn’t functioning optimally. Either the system is set up in a way that doesn’t support practical operations, its development has been sorely neglected, or the system simply cannot meet the actual needs of the organization. In this article, we’ll go through the 20 most common signs that indicate it’s time to do something about your system.
CRM is an important tool for the whole organization
If you’re used to writing down notes with a ballpoint pen in a paper notebook, marking upcoming appointments by hand in a calendar, digging up client contact information from the internet, and juggling numbers in Excel spreadsheets, then a CRM system built for your needs will significantly ease your workload. It’s like swapping a rusting Lada for a brand-new Mercedes.
A CRM system should be an indispensable tool for your organization, assisting you in serving customers better, significantly boosting sales, and freeing up your employees’ valuable work time from tedious routines. At its best, a CRM system helps employees perform their jobs more effectively and enables leaders to manage based on data rather than gut feelings.
Using a CRM system doesn’t always feel fantastic or particularly enjoyable. If your CRM system can’t meet your expectations, it needs development or, in some cases, even a complete replacement.
How can you tell that your CRM system wasn’t built with you in mind and isn’t functioning as it should? We asked our most experienced CRM experts for the most common red flags.
20 indicators that your system isn’t working as it should
Here’s how you’ll recognize that your CRM system needs changes.
1. Your employees are not working more efficiently
A CRM system makes work smoother, faster, and more efficient. If your system isn’t helping your team perform better, it’s time for a change.
2. Utilization rate is low
It’s a disappointingly common scenario where an organization has a top-notch system in place, yet its utilization rate remains low. The most frequent reason for this is that the end-users, namely your employees, do not feel that they benefit from using the system. Of course, there could be many other reasons as well. With the right measures such as system development, user training, and change management, the utilization rate can be permanently increased.
3. Your organization is siloed, and different functions are unaware of each other’s activities
In many organizations, there’s a lot of struggling with internal cooperation. For instance, it’s not at all unusual for sales and marketing to operate in silos, disconnected from one another. Customer service might also exist as its own isolated island. A big chunk of these problems could vanish simply by giving these functions access to the same customer data. A functional system can be built with sensible IT architecture, where systems are made to communicate better with each other, or by strategically reducing the number of systems in use.
4. A CRM system can’t help you predict the future; it only allows you to examine the past
At its best, a CRM system acts like a crystal ball, allowing you to forecast the future with fairly high accuracy. With data, you can observe the present and predict the future based on historical data. The most advanced systems are also capable of utilizing artificial intelligence to predict future outcomes. For instance, the system can estimate, based on existing sales opportunities, how much business the company will likely reel in.
5. Using a CRM system creates extra work
You find yourself typing data into the system in frustration at the end of the day or week. All necessary information should gather in the system as an unobtrusive part of work routines. If you have to specifically set aside time in your calendar for entering data, then the system is being used inefficiently.
6. You can’t use your CRM on the fly
The client calls you just as you’re riding the metro home. During the call, you discuss important matters that you need to refer back to quickly. You’d love to log the details into your system right away, but you must wait until you’re at a computer. To fully leverage the CRM system, it should effortlessly travel with you everywhere and be accessible on all devices.
7. You’ll have to dig up the customer’s basic information from the internet
What was the customer’s phone number again? Who was in charge of equipment procurement at the client’s place? All basic information about customers should be available in the CRM system, so you don’t have to waste any extra time digging for it.
8. The system doesn’t accumulate data on a daily basis
Do you see activity in your system daily? Using a CRM system should be part of your daily routines, thereby continuously accumulating new data. If you find yourself desperately searching for any signs of life in the system, it’s a glaring indication that your employees aren’t using it.
9. You’ll need to tweak the processes for the system
Your organization surely has an array of different sales processes. If you find yourself adjusting your operations because of the system, alarm bells should be ringing in your ears. Your CRM system should bolster every one of your sales processes—not just the new sales funnel. A robust CRM system supports, for example, lead, sales opportunity, reselling, and key account processes, along with care models that each require their own unique approach.
10. The system cannot record all essential information
A CRM system should bend to your needs. If there’s no place to enter information, then it wasn’t built for you. For instance, if you want to view your annual plan for a key account within the system, but there’s no section for the annual plan that can even be updated, then, at the very least, your system needs a facelift.
11. Same data needs to be entered multiple times
You might be used to entering the same information over and over again. Either these details must be logged into multiple systems or multiple locations within a CRM system. This is a classic example of an inefficient system, as the information should update everywhere immediately after it has been entered just once.
12. You end up spending a lot of time on reporting
Are you dreading the end of the month or the close of the quarter, terrified because you know you’ll have to spend an outrageous amount of time compiling and constructing various reports? Your employees are just as reluctant about reporting. One significant advantage of a functioning CRM system is the ease and real-time nature of reporting.
13. You’ll need to ask your colleagues for information
A CRM system should serve as a knowledge bank where you can seamlessly extract up-to-date information about, for example, customer relationships, sales opportunities, and sales performance. If you find yourself having to ask colleagues or subordinates for information, then the system is not being utilized adequately.
14. New employees find it challenging to learn the system
You find yourself organizing time-consuming trainings for new employees on how to use the system, yet despite this, they might still struggle to use it smoothly alongside their work. Nowadays, people generally have a level of technological proficiency such that using a CRM system should be relatively easy for new employees. If using the system isn’t intuitive, it often signals that the system hasn’t been customized to meet the company’s needs or to support the daily work of various employees.
15. Employees are complaining about using the system
A CRM system is supposed to make work easier and help employees perform better. If the employees are complaining about the system, you’re facing a serious problem. There could be several reasons behind their dissatisfaction. Perhaps they find the system slow, they don’t see its benefits, or maybe the system simply doesn’t support their work properly. Whatever the case, it’s crucial to address the issue immediately.
16. Your email inbox is jam-packed
You’ve definitely cursed at your clogged email inbox at some point, haven’t you? With hundreds or even thousands of unread messages staring back at you. There could be a bunch of reasons for this mess, but often, it’s because you’re primarily using email for things that should effortlessly be managed through a CRM system. Examples of these are managing customer relationships or leading a sales team.
17. You’ve forgotten your password
The system should be used as part of daily routines. If you have trouble remembering your password or have forgotten it entirely, then your system is constantly running at reduced capacity. If your employees log into the system only now and then, the benefits your organization receives from the system will be minimal. Find out why the system is used so infrequently.
18. The most up-to-date information about customers can be found in people’s heads
Your company might have a group of salespeople, account managers, customer representatives, or other individuals who constantly interact with clients. Is the information about these customers only in their heads, or is it also captured in a system?
19. You feel like you’re not getting your money’s worth
According to some studies, every euro spent on CRM can bring back as much as 8.71 euros at its best. Estimates of the ROI, or return on investment, from CRM systems vary significantly, but either way, you should be seeing clear, monetary benefits from your system and its development. If you don’t feel like you’re achieving better results with your system, then the likely problem is with the system – not you.
20. You send each other Excel spreadsheets via email
A CRM system should act like an extinction wave, obliterating antiquated tools like Excel from your organization. If, despite having a system, you’re still spinning data in Excels and Google Sheets, or if, for instance, you’re only running through issues in sales meetings using PowerPoint slides, it’s time to reassess the role of your system.
Alarms started ringing – what should I do?
If you recognized one or more of the warning signs listed above, what should you do?
It’s essential to remember that an off-the-shelf CRM system isn’t designed specifically for you. The world is filled with a vast array of organizations, each with drastically different ways of operating. Every organization is unique. That’s why it’s crucial to tailor the most important tools to fit the specific needs of your organization.
Often, the reason for the underutilization of a CRM system or poor ROI is precisely that the system hasn’t been defined to support your company’s operations. Too many companies, for example, try to manage all their sales processes at once with a system that has only one sales process outlined – often just the new customer acquisition funnel.
The outcome can’t be very good if, for example, the salesperson responsible for key accounts is forcibly trying to use a system designed for acquiring new customers.
The first step in fixing any discrepancies is to identify them. For instance, if you notice that your employees aren’t using the system regularly, start by uncovering the underlying reasons for this underutilization. If it turns out that the issue is something like the system not having the correct sales processes logged, get in touch with us. We’ll sort it out.
Jos kaipaat muutenkin lisätietoja siitä, miten CRM-järjestelmästä voidaan repiä kaikki mahdollinen hyöty irti, niin otathan yhteyttä.