Researching your next CRM system?

Here’s 10 top tips for Sales & Marketing leaders, drawn from your peers’ experiences

1 - Test drive the user interface

We asked people “What qualities would put you off from working with a CRM provider?” and used the same list as things that put people off change in its entirety. The top negative quality was “Technology that is complicated to use” (77%).

There is no way around this, you need to receive a demonstration and maybe also test drive the CRM from a user and administrator perspective before making a choice. One survey contributor said, “let the team kick the tires and have a voice”.

2 - Consider different functions and the future

Make sure you invest in CRM software that will work both now and in the future. One respondent in the tech sector (USA) rightly commented “Invest in system infrastructure early and with processes built for scale”.

We wholeheartedly agree with this. Ask yourself “what will I need in five years” as well as “what do I need now” and ensure the infrastructure, data framework and software can cope.

But don’t overdo it – many of the best-known CRM brands are often built for enterprise organizations. If you’ve opted to work with this kind of provider, you may find yourself paying for functionality that you don’t need alongside complex features and intimidating user interfaces.

There are very powerful CRM options out there specifically built for midsize or smaller organizations, only go near these if your ambitions stretch this far.

3 - Consider future integration with other software

Many survey respondents appreciate the ability to integrate their CRM with other tools such as LinkedIn, Mailchimp, and even Lusha. One respondent (energy sector, UK) commented “we have used for years and know what we need from it, run other software alongside”. The message here is to consider these integrations in advance, when choosing your future system.

4 - Check your support levels

The second biggest put off was “Poor set up support” (62%) and there was also negativity about “a third-party consultant (not the CRM provider) carrying out your implementation” with 23% voting for this.

These sadly are both likely symptoms of picking software which is so large that it outsources integration to consultants who charge at every stage, and there is limited aftersales support. Research this carefully and factor into decision making.

CRM overspends are usually down to a CRM provider not taking the time to understand their client. Make sure you get consultancy before you sign the contract, this way you’ll get a roadmap for your project and predicted costs so there are no surprises.

5 - Carefully cost up your options

Reinforcing the above point, cost wasn’t considered the most significant factor in making a change, but a word of warning - a majority (52%) overspent, with a third citing this was on integration and added functionality, and 18% saying it was during implementation.

Similarly, “Capped functionality for which you have to pay more” was the third most cited turn off with choosing suppliers (54% voted for this). So, ensure you tread with care here.

It is important to note that some providers offer different implementation options and packages to fit limited budgets. Check out more affordable providers and payment schedules in your research.

Ideally get as much scoping and evidence of suitability before parting with any money at all – many providers who don’t use third parties for implementation will willingly offer this.

6 - Bear in mind lead generation functionality as well as lead management

Those using CRM software scored significantly higher when rating the effectiveness of their lead generation and management than those that don’t have one.

Lead management:

4/10

for CRM non-users vs. 6/10 for CRM users.

7 - Factor in automation

The lowest scoring sales and marketing process in the earlier graph for those with and without CRM systems is automated data entry. That said, it also had the biggest difference in scores:

Those with CRM:

5/10

Those with no CRM:

3/10

Automation is a potential massive win in terms of team productivity and marketing effectiveness. There are CRM solutions out there with varying automation features – make sure they’re included in your package to start saving time and ensure the support offered covers this.

A personalised, consultative approach to implementation by a single-party vendor will help ensure you get everything you need from a CRM.

8 - Diversify how you generate leads

Given those taking part had both sales and marketing teams at their disposal but:

• Only 20% generated leads mainly through marketing

• 35% generated leads mainly through sales prospecting – this latter camp was disproportionately from those without a CRM or unhappy with a CRM.

A well-used CRM can offer substantial opportunities for campaign targeting by relationship (e.g. cold contact vs. customer and by industry or geography) as well as the tools to create mailing lists or direct customer contact.

Always scope out the marketing functionality and data management compliance of the platforms you are considering.

You should look for tools that easily filter contacts and prepare targeted lists, and ideally also support personalized communications that don’t look like junk – but a mass version of the sort of sales prospecting emails that work.

9 - Customize your system

Several comments highlight the importance of having a CRM system that can be tailored to specific business and industry needs.

This is absolutely an ingredient for success. Any quality system will allow this, and implementation support teams will support you.

Example comments included these:

'We created the system tailored to suit our specific requirements' - Construction & Real Estate, UK

'Track every step of the process for pipeline viability' - Services: Advertising & Marketing, USA

10 - Automatically update data quality

Comments stress that data quality is mission critical. Both sales and marketing teams not only have a role to play in keeping the data about clients and their history accurate, they also will only trust the platform if others do so too. This can lead to either a vicious or virtuous cycle.

As respondents added “The data is only as good as the person who is supplying it” -

Manufacturing & Engineering, USA

“Still needs discipline and keeping maintenance and activity as a high priority - CRM itself is not a silver bullet” -

Professional services, UK