Are you misusing your CRM?
How often do you find yourself frustrated as a manager of a CRM system that nobody
seems to use? Are you an end-user or admin constantly asked to enter data that seems
irrelevant to your business goals? CRM systems are valuable tools for managing
customer interaction, but when they’re misused or underutilized, they can be downright
dangerous.
But how can you misuse your CRM?
Most often, companies are guilty of harboring bad
and messy data. Some have challenges with implementing efficient processes and
neglect reporting on their CRM insights.
Bad Data, caused by rushed entry, lack of quality checks and a poor training process
can lead your business astray. Poor data quality shows an inaccurate view of your
customers. That’s not very effective. Pair bad data with adding excessive or irrelevant
information to your CRM, and this makes it challenging for accurate reporting.
Many CRM systems offer a wide array of features and functionalities beyond basic
contact management, however, users often omit these capabilities from their daily
processes. This underutilization may stem from a lack of awareness or training on the
system’s full potential. This results in missed opportunities to automate tasks, analyze
data, or work more efficiently. Smarter, not harder, right?
The goal of a CRM system is to provide valuable insights into customer behavior,
engagement levels, and sales trends. When businesses ignore these analytics, it can
result in missed opportunities for improving marketing strategies, sales approaches, or
customer service initiatives.
How do we combat these system faux pas?
First and foremost, find your CRM advocates! These are your champions to learn your
CRM system from the inside out.
These SMEs are responsible for data entry, maintenance, and regular updates, ensuring
that the information stored is accurate and easily accessible. If your team is really
savvy, they could be responsible for customizing the CRM to suit the specific needs of
your business and provide necessary training to users. Their oversight helps in
optimizing workflows and reporting actionable insights from customer data.
How can you ensure you’re optimizing your CRM? It is important for your CRM
advocates to stress:
● Accurate data entry
● Efficient utilization of system features, extensions and applications
● Proper data management practices
● Leveraging insights derived from CRM analytics - Why else do we have one?!
Most importantly, investing time in training employees, implementing data cleaning
practices and quality checks is key to keeping your system strong. Encourage a culture
of utilizing CRM insights to enhance the effectiveness of your system. Let’s use it, not
lose it.
