Challenges when implementing CRM solutions

Are you implementing a CRM in your company to promote a more agile customer relationship management system? Congratulations! You’re making an excellent decision. This indicates that your focus is set on improving the customer experience and building a stronger, long-term relationship with your customers.

However, if your company is new to CRM or decides to migrate to more advanced software, it is normal to face some challenges. Among them, the resistance to change, the complexity of the system, and the integration of tools. Even the adaptation of the sales team and the employees of other departments linked to the system can present challenges.

Perhaps some or all of the concerns we will address in this article are going through your head. Read on, and you will learn how to resolve these concerns.

Resistance to change is very common when implementing a CRM

When implementing a CRM in very traditional companies or companies with a low level of digitization, reactions are usually diverse. Salespeople with more technical skills and a desire to increase their revenue will see the addition of a CRM as a positive thing. But not all employees react in the same way. Some will assimilate the change favorably, and others will not.

More conservative marketers may not understand why software should be an intermediary between them and customers. Traditional marketers may perceive CRM as a tool that dehumanizes the relationship. They may even be uncomfortable that this solution will allow colleagues from the same department and other areas to view all customer information and sales processes. Worse, they may think that their portfolio is no longer as valuable if anyone can make use of it. Other business professionals with less digital skills may feel that they are not up to the new technology and will likely be afraid.

It is certainly not easy to influence the thinking of those who resist change and want to stay in their comfort zone. Even so, it is advisable to carry out a favorable campaign among employees before incorporating CRM.

On the other hand, it is advisable to let the members of the business team and the sales team know that the solution automates the most routine tasks. This will allow more customers to be served in less time and will help the team to focus on other more productive tasks.

In fact, everyone will have more time to devise new strategies to increase sales and build customer loyalty. Therefore, CRM does not replace personal contact with the customer, but can make it more satisfying for the buyer — and more productive for the company!

Training and education

Although CRM solutions, such as Salesforce are very intuitive, it is always necessary to train the personnel who will have access to them. This will reduce the pressure on less digitized employees and create an environment of trust and proactivity. This also applies to migrations to similar client management suites. Proper training facilitates the process of getting rid of old procedures and acquiring new ones.

It’s important to note that the Salesforce platform offers its users training and adaptation programs through its community of volunteer “Trailblazers” worldwide. In addition, at Nuvolar, we are specialists in Salesforce customization and offer consulting and support after the implementation of the solution.

Data importing: an important concern when implementing any CRM

Undoubtedly, customer data is one of the most valuable assets of companies. When implementing a CRM for the first time, or upgrading to a more advanced solution, being concerned about the integrity of this data is inevitable. During the migration of information to the new tool, there is a risk of loss, disorganization, or duplication. Such incidents involve a lengthy and costly clean-up process.

To reduce user apprehension in this regard, the most prestigious CRMs on the market include effective data import tools with a wide range of accepted formats. Generally, these CRMs have a simple interface and make it easy to avoid or manage data duplication.

Do you have the integrations we need?

Another question that often worries users before implementing a CRM has to do with its compatibility and integration with other platforms. Will it be easy to integrate with my ERP? Will it be compatible with my data sources? Will I be able to connect to applications, such as Google Drive, Gmail, or Microsoft’s Outlook email? Can I access mass mailing platforms or the WordPress CMS that manages my website from the CRM?

Indeed, a CRM is enriched by interconnecting customer management with marketing and allowing access to various data sources, as well as facilitating communication between teams through collaborative tools. Mobility is also key. It’s well-known that there can be increases of up to 50% in the productivity of employees with the use of CRMs that are accessible through mobile devices.

Therefore, the challenge is to define the applications and data sources that your company requires to complement the functionalities of your CRM solution. From there, it is possible to choose, among the various customer management solutions, the one that best meets this condition.

Management questions, customized CRM, and technology partner selection

Most of the time, it is not the sales people or other departments that are resistant to change. A more complicated source of resistance to the implementation of a CRM or other technology can be the management team itself. Some of the arguments that managers may express range from the justification of the investment to the complexity of the process.

There is nothing better in these cases than to support the implementation proposal with convincing figures. For example, according to Forrester Research, CRM can improve sales by 87%. On the other hand, it can increase customer satisfaction by 74%. CRM platforms can even improve business process efficiency by 73%.

In relation to costs, it is important to clarify that, like cloud computing technology, CRM SaaS (software as a service) is scalable. In other words, it is possible to invest in an application with basic functionalities and capabilities at the beginning. As business dynamics demand, it is feasible to incorporate new elements.

Is it possible to implement a customized CRM?

Settling for a generic CRM with limited functionality is a thing of the past. Advanced solutions like Salesforce are customizable to the point of adapting to the characteristics and needs of your business model. In particular, your sales, marketing, and customer support strategies.

For this reason, it is essential to have a certified Salesforce partner with a high level of expertise. This technology partner will apply tools such as Visualforce or Apex for workflows, the proper functionalities, and customized applications that fit the needs of the business.

Choosing a responsible and expert technology partner

Your company has probably had bad experiences with some technology providers. For many companies, it is a challenge to find a professional company that will provide and customize a CRM solution flawlessly and on time.

As mentioned above, CRM tools streamline customer management and, consequently, sales. However, the incorrect and untimely implementation of a CRM can have a negative impact on the achievement of the company’s goals.

Nuvolar is the technology partner you need to implement Salesforce CRM

At Nuvolar, we are able to support you with implementing the best CRM solutions for your company. We are closely linked to SalesForce and have been developing our applications in this environment for more than ten years; in fact, we are a certified Salesforce partner!

We know this customer management solution so well that we can fully customize it to meet your business requirements. We have a multidisciplinary team of professional developers to help understand your needs and objectives and implement a solution on time.

Contact us and learn more about why we are your ideal technological partner to implement a CRM!