Its no secret that around 30 to 60% of CRM implementations fail. Its not a good place to be so I wanted to put some tips together to ensure you’re not one of those statistics.
Lack of clear objectives and poor data etc. play their part. But a lack of buy in from staff across the business, from the executive team to managers and end users prevents lift off. Getting buy in shouldn’t start 
once the system is live, it needs to be weaved in as soon as you start the CRM conversation.
13 Ideas to help get buy in
- Decide why you want CRM – Questions should include: What strategy does it meet, what smart (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Time Specific) outcomes do you expect, what processes will you build in and whos affected. What reports will you need. At this stage you’ll also want to talk to customers. What are there barriers to getting a great service.
- Get execs involved in the purchase of the system – This helps give them ownership of the system and a good understanding about what it can do.
- Create a great plan – use the ‘why you want crm’ to develop your plan. Involve as many people as possible so that you have buy in and cover all the key points, including a go live date.
- Put together the right project team – include people from the initial team who’ll go live and any teams who’ll influence the process/development.
- Get an exec to oversee the implementation – this will help continue the buy in from the top and help keep them in the loop.
- Great Comms – continually get the message out there, pencil in regular, targeted, comms to the project team, managers, wider groups of users. This helps keep crm on everyone’s mind and ensures no one walks into a new system they knew nothing about
- Be clear about what you’ll deliver – this should be laid out in the plan and added to your comms. It also helps keep the team focused and prevent the project getting so big that nothing happens.
- Get a demo, training area set up – let people see it early.
- Add crm related targets into staff 121’s
- Use the project team to train – they’ll understand the new system and how the team works
- Lots of support at go live and afterwards – put together a go live support plan to help new users get the help they need
- Tweak quickly after go live – identify themes in user feedback and then make minor tweaks to improve the user experience. Bigger pieces of work should be added to your roadmap
- Create a roadmap for future delivery – this helps build the crm momentum as you develop the product for new departments across the business. It also helps you understand how the system will be used and how it could be linked to the customer journey.
Go again and keep pushing the road map. When you get CRM right it can transform your business and provide powerful data that can shape how you work
Need help? Here’s how I can support your Dynamics 365 journey:
- Provide you with FREE Dynamics 365 modules that users love (Once you’ve registered) – #D365forhousing has already delivered several great modules including complaints, lettings and ASB
- Support your implementation of Dynamics 365 or help jump start an existing one – Deliver an application that’s adopted, delivers a return on your investment and doesn’t break the bank. My focus is Outcome, not Income.*
- Provide ongoing support – I’ve teamed up with a Microsoft partner to deliver a great service as your system grows.
If this sounds good, or you’re not sure where to start please get in touch.
*20% of my profit will be donated to Shelter
3 comments / Add your comment below