Group of CRM users
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Recently, USA Today released a list of the Best CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software of 2024. There were many good and familiar applications listed there.
For example, according to reviews, the best value is Zoho (full disclosure – my company sells and implements this product). Apptivo is highly customizable. Monday, Nimble, HubSpot, and Zendesk all made the list. And of course Salesforce.
None of that surprises me. All of these applications are great. And I believe any business would be better served by one of them. But unfortunately, these are not the best CRM applications. These are actually the worst CRM applications. No, it's not because it's a bad product, and it's not the vendor's fault.
These are the worst CRM applications considering how they are commonly implemented and used. Software is only as good as the people who run it. And over the past 20 years of selling CRM solutions, I've found that if companies don't take the right steps to implement these applications, the best applications can become the worst.
So what is this “right thing”? In fact, at the end of the day, the owner of the system and how he supports it will be the only thing that matters. To make these CRM systems the best they can be, they need owners. Unfortunately, many companies won't invest in this person. And they end up in the worst possible situation.
Every CRM system needs someone (or a small team) to own it. This person doesn't necessarily have to be an IT person, but he does need to be a power user. They should be connected to the group using the system (i.e. sales or customer service group) and take on a support role. The person has a good understanding of her CRM system and has been given all the resources management needs to make it successful, including training and access to outside experts and consultants. is needed.
A CRM system is just a database. The owner is responsible for the integrity of the data within its database. If something is out of date, incomplete, or incorrect, the owner must fix the problem and prevent it from happening again. Internal controls must be established. The field is locked down. A drop-down list created to force the user to select specific data. Further training applied. More checks and balances will be introduced.
There's a lot of talk about AI in the tech world, and most CRM systems can do everything from measuring sentiment and chatting with website visitors to monitoring and giving feedback to sales reps and automatically creating campaigns and landing pages. We're deploying amazing AI capabilities that can do things. It is the owner's job to know all this. To help your team get the most out of your system, you should be in regular contact with your CRM provider to ensure you are fully aware of all the AI and automation features available and upcoming. I can't think of a scenario where the best turns into the worst more than when a company pays thousands of dollars a month for his CRM system, but only uses his 20% of its functionality.
This requires the owner, or team, to meet frequently with vendors to determine what more can be done. Need better reporting? Want even better integration with other systems? Workflows? Alerts? Automation? All of this is the responsibility of the owner to implement either alone or with the help of a consultant.
One of the biggest challenges my clients face with CRM systems is getting people to use them. Over the years, I've had countless clients complain to me about how terrible their CRM systems are because no one uses them.
CRM systems are different from accounting and order entry systems, where financial transactions are essential to business operations. Owners also need to be at the center of this issue. You need to identify her 20% of advanced users and leave them alone. You need to pay attention to the 60 percent that requires a little consideration to use the system properly.
And the remaining 20% don't even know how to turn on a TV, let alone navigate cloud-based platforms. They are people who require special attention, training, supervision, and support. It's important to remember that just because your sales and service representatives aren't tech-savvy doesn't mean they aren't valuable to your company. However, a CRM system is a group database, and if someone in the group isn't entering data, everyone else is negatively affected.
Finally, the CRM system owner must be fully approved, supported, and encouraged by their superiors. Everyone in the group, whether it's the VP of Sales or her CMO, needs to be clear that the owner has the full authority of her manager to do whatever it takes to make the system work. Don't make excuses. Don't cry. No complaints. This is company data, it's a world of big data, and companies are investing heavily to help grow sales, provide better service, and increase their value.
Many of my clients don't have owners. why? Because it costs money. In some cases, the owner works for a company and is tasked with supporting the CRM system. You may also need to hire someone. Also, a typical owner of a 10-user system can expect him to spend 1-2 days a week supporting the system and its users.
All of this requires continued investment, and sometimes companies are not willing to invest. But one thing is for sure: without an owner, these “best” CRM systems quickly become the worst.
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