CRM Software Reviews | Avoid Bad Practices

CRM Software Reviews and Tips to Avoid Bad Practices

Adoption of a CRM, when done thoughtfully and competently, can move a company significantly forward in efficiency, leading to greater sales and higher profits.? On the other hand, poor implementation can result in wasted time, staff frustration, and under-utilization.? Don’t let yourself make common mistakes that trip up many companies.? Here are four of the worst CRM practices.? Take care to avoid them!

Failure to define clear metrics.

You can’t measure your success – or failure – if you don’t have criteria by which to measure your results. ?Without solid metrics, you lose the opportunity to identify areas for improvement. ?It’s well worth taking the time up front to determine how you will track, evaluate, and address your results.

Failure to prepare your data.?

The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” is never truer when it comes to databases.? CRMs are no exception.? If you don’t take the time to thoroughly scrub your data before importing it into your new CRM, you’ll end up with blank or incomplete fields, fields populated with incorrect or outdated information, or sometimes just gibberish.? As your staff wastes valuable time correcting records, you’ll find them frustrated and even more reluctant to use the CRM.

Lack of staff preparation and buy-in.

Your staff will not use a new product if they don’t understand its purpose or what benefits it offers them. Lack of adequate training will only increase their reluctance.? Make sure your staff understands how your new CRM will help them do their job better and more efficiently.? Some experts even advise offering incentives to users, to further encourage CRM use.

Over customizing the product.

CRMs are highly customizable, which is a large part of what makes them useful.? But just because you can customize your CRM to the nth degree doesn’t mean you should.? Don’t forget that your CRM should serve your business processes and goals, not the other way around.

HubSpot’s unique solution, launched?just this spring to current customers, combines marketing automation and CRM in one package.? Sales Managers and Marketing Managers alike will want to pay attention to this new product bundle.? It’s the first time sales and marketing processes will be integrated:? marketing can continue to market to active leads while they’re converted to a qualified sales lead.? To see how other CRMs measure up, check out our CRM software reviews in our new “CRM Review eBook.”? Click the button below for a free download.