10 Common CRM Selection Mistakes

When it comes to choosing the right customer relationship management (CRM) software, it all comes down to getting your hands on the one that offers the best value for your money. Unfortunately, many companies end up selecting the wrong product, which risks causing a significant loss of customer trust. Luckily, we have come up with the most common CRM selection mistakes to help you pick the right product.

1. Not Getting the Requirements Right

When choosing a CRM solution, one of the biggest mistakes made by some enterprises is ignoring the needs of end users. IT teams are so focused on the technicalities of software implementation that they end up overlooking the problems faced by end users. They seek a system that will boost their productivity in their functional role. It is important to take such requirements into consideration upfront before finalizing the CRM product. Not doing so could mean a lot of rework later.

2. Choosing a System That Does Not Scale

Focusing only on present requirements while ignoring the future needs of your business is the biggest CRM selection mistake you could make. Pay special attention to your future business needs while looking for CRM software that fulfills your current requirements. Is the shortlisted CRM solution flexible and scalable to meet growing needs? Can the system scale with the growth of your business?

3. No integration with other systems

Companies that integrate email with CRM enjoy annual revenue gains of 22.7 percent compared to 13.4 percent for those that do not. The key to optimizing your CRM investment lies in integrating it with other systems. Not doing so could mean manually reentering data and thus slowing business processes. Integrating sales and service applications with finance and accounting systems could help reduce errors and make accurate forecasts.

4. Focusing Only on License Price

When you want to invest in the right product, it is wrong to focus on the license price alone. Most businesses think only in terms of the initial cost of the software, ignoring the total return on investment. If a CRM system saves you considerable time each month, then the saved time translates into better customer service and an improved bottom line. Apart from license cost, the overall cost includes the cost of:

  • Software/hardware upgrades
  • Maintenance
  • Implementation, including configuration, training, and data migration

Choose a system that is cost-effective and efficient and can add value to your business.

5. Ignoring Social Media As A Tool

Social media is everywhere. Ignoring social media as a CRM tool will not optimize your investment. It is critical to have customer relationship management software that includes interactions and active engagement with customers on social networks.

Social engagement can provide vital insights into customer expectations, thus helping improve customer experience and relationships and ultimately benefiting the bottom line.

6. Thinking Locally, not Globally

Investing in multiple systems is a common CRM selection mistake most businesses make. This can cause problems in quote planning and sales forecasting and hinder corporate visibility. In today’s challenging business environment, it’s critical to select a CRM system that seamlessly supports multiple currencies and is easy to customize to particular regional sales processes. The right customer relationship management software will create a clear picture of global sales performance.

7. Choosing a System Not Optimized for Mobility

It is important to have a CRM system with mobile capabilities. However, some companies use CRM software that doesn’t seamlessly synch with mobile devices.  Invest in a CRM solution whose mobile capabilities are tethered to the core, not to another system that needs to be bought, implemented, and configured separately.

8. Choosing the Wrong Storage Alternative

Some enterprises are not clear as to which storage option is the best for them. While some experiment with the cloud, others prefer to go with traditional hosting systems. Not analyzing your requirements clearly can create significant problems later.  The biggest security risk for data is from errors in internal processes, which means some people may get unauthorized access to data by mistake. Without a strong backup system and quick data recovery, you could end up suffering business losses. Does the service provider have a robust backup and data recovery system? Remember, it will be a pain to migrate the whole data elsewhere in the event of some breach.

9. Taking the Wrong Approach to Train

One of the most common CRM selection mistakes is choosing a system without analyzing its functionalities. It is important to buy an intuitive CRM software solution that does not require a great deal of training on the part of users. Choose a content relationship management solution that is simple to use and operate.  

If you end up choosing a system that requires end-to-end support from a vendor, it will be a costly mistake. However, some efficient systems do require staff training. Look for a CRM provider who is committed to your team and can work with you at every step of the way, ensuring your team knows how to use it.

10. Making CRM Purchases Without Assessment of Needs

Some businesses simply flow with the wind to purchase a CRM solution, without assessing their needs. It is critical to assess why you need a CRM system in the first place. Does your sales team need organizational help? Do you want to track the efforts of your sales team? You need a functional CRM system that efficiently meets your business needs.

If you are looking for the right solution for your business, contact the experienced ITQlick team today and learn how to avoid costly CRM selection mistakes. We will guide you through the CRM selection process.

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