So you want to implement a new CRM system, part 2
Objectives, current systems & performance
👋🏾 Hi, this is Lloyd with a new issue of The CRM Chronicles. In every issue, I cover CRM developments, strategies and technology through the lens of sales and marketing managers, product owners and the C-Suite. Subscribe to get issues like this in your inbox every week.
Welcome back, CRM enthusiasts! Last week, we explored the importance of defining a CRM strategy and understanding your organisation's requirements. Today, we'll dive deeper into defining objectives, assessing current systems, and evaluating performance against those objectives.
Setting Commercial and Operational Objectives
When implementing a CRM system, it's crucial to define clear, actionable objectives that align with both commercial and operational goals. For instance, a hotel aiming to increase repeat stays from one-time guests should focus on enhancing the frequency, recency, and monetary value of visits.
Likewise, a shoe company may want to increase the number of purchases per year or cross-sell other products, such as bags or shoe repair and cleaning kits.
Operational objectives, on the other hand, should emphasise efficiency—streamline processes and enable teams to spend less time on data collection and more on actionable insights. Implementing a CRM system should decrease the burden on teams to execute.
A new CRM system should provide you and your team access to the necessary information to make informed decisions, build business cases, experiment and take action.
Assessing Current Systems
We mentioned last week that before transitioning to a new CRM system, it’s important to evaluate your current setup. Start by identifying how well your existing CRM helps you achieve your defined objectives. Are there gaps in data collection? Is your team spending too much time manually inputting data instead of analysing it? These pain points can highlight the areas where a new system can provide the most value.
Ask Sales and Marketing what their biggest pain points are with the current system.
Common issues with outdated (or poorly configured) CRM systems include:
Inefficient data management leading to incomplete customer profiles.
Limited integration with other tools or systems, causing data silos.
Cumbersome user interfaces that slow down user adoption and productivity.
Over Customisation: too often businesses decide to bend systems to their will instead of thinking whether it’s actually necessary, leading to technical debt. We’ll discuss this more in a future newsletter.
By pinpointing these issues, you can prioritise the features and functionalities needed in your next CRM system. And is this a fault of the system or how it’s been configured and being used. Being clear-eyed about what’s actually the core issue will help you choose the right system - or perhaps even realise you don’t need a new system at all.
Evaluating Performance Against Your Objectives
To determine if your CRM system is effective, you should evaluate its current performance against your set objectives. Begin by analysing key metrics such as customer retention rates, sales cycle length, and team productivity.
Ask yourself:
Is the CRM helping to increase customer engagement and satisfaction?
Are sales deals closing quickly and efficiently based on targets?
Does the CRM system contribute to data-driven decision making?
Then ask yourself whether the system is the problem or the CRM program or both. Do you have a strategic CRM program in place or are you hoping that a new system do that for you?
If you’re manually running A/B tests, querying data to create audience segments create personalised campaigns and running pilot programs, you’re probably on the right track. If all you’re focused on is the size of the email database, you should reconsider what you want for your CRM.
The right CRM should not only meet your commercial and operational objectives but also provide a platform for continuous improvement and growth.
These efforts will ensure that your new CRM system can be a powerful tool in achieving your business goals.
Stay tuned for more next week; we will touch on defining requirements and discuss the importance of knowing your team: can it handle a very complex system or the change, do you have the internal budget to add more people, etc.
Are you or your company looking to implement a CRM system? Have questions about breaking into the CRM field? Have ideas for future topics? I’d love to hear from you. Just reply directly to this email. Or, if you’re reading this on Substack, add a comment below.