3 Ways to avoid CRM implementation errors and 7 common challenges

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If you are facing challenges with your CRM, you’re not alone. In our 12 years of working with Dynamics 365, we’ve helped many businesses resolve some of the worst problems that come with subpar CRMs. Keep these three points top of mind during your implementation project:

#1 Understand your customer (have you collected data to understand who they are, their goals/ambitions, how you can help them take their business to the next level? Why do they do business with you in the first place?

#2 Set clear goals & timelines. It's important to know the difference between wants & needs, and how to prioritize. Starting small with an MVP, then having a process to integrate enhancements in a structured manner as you learn and grow into your system. Avoid "boiling the Ocean".

#3 Are you emotionally invested and committed to success? It takes discipline and daily effort to make your systems support your business. If you're not emotionally invested in your business, you're more likely to fail. Is your system really helping your business win? Are you committed long term or is it just something you tell yourself to feel better?

Here is a list of the most common problems we’ve seen businesses run into:

  1. You built it yourself!

    • Home-Brewed CRM systems are usually one step above an Access database.

  1. Maybe your Dynamics 365 partner has disappeared off the face of the earth or been gobbled up by another firm?

  2. Unexplained error messages pop up frequently?

  3. Crashes because of code written years ago that doesn’t work anymore?

  4. Significant staff turnover since Dynamics CRM 365 went live?

    • And have they been trained?

  1. Out of date versions of CRM with version numbers like 3.0, 4.0, 2011 or 2013?

  2. Lack of management buy-in and expectations?

  3. Sales workflows that don’t align with your changing business processes?

  4. Do your salespeople complain about CRM making their lives more difficult instead of easier?

  5. Employees who are “working around” Dynamics 365?

  6. Dashboards that fail to give you actionable data.

  7. Duplicate of bad data.

When your Dynamics 365 CRM doesn’t seem to be meeting your needs, you might think the best step is to scrap it entirely and start over. Before you look at other solutions, think about a CRM Rescue and Repair. You may only need a few tweaks to get your system where it needs to be.

DYNAMICS 365 RESCUE

A Dynamics 365 rescue is the more drastic process and should only be utilized if your CRM is delivering far below your expectations. Low User adoption is the biggest indicator of a failed CRM implementation. Another example is if your sales team is bypassing entering leads and opportunities, that is a problem! Solutions can range from gamification, further employee training, or integrating data from your website into CRM.

DYNAMICS 365 REPAIR

Repair is different than rescue in that your CRM is being actively used, but it just doesn’t seem as beneficial as it could be. Possibly you are not getting the information you need. Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is designed to provide you with valuable information to manage the productivity of your sales and marketing. To ensure a successful CRM deployment, it is important to first understand defining key success metrics, and refining business processes.

DOES YOUR CRM NEED A RESCUE?

Betach’s Rescue and Repair is a process to help CRM users get the most out of their existing Dynamics CRM and 365 system. Our process is straightforward:

  • We learn about your business, how you use Dynamics CRM or 365 today, and what you see as the shortfalls that need to be addressed.

  • We provide an understanding of what an out of the box or lightly customized CRM solution would look like. We have found that many times, CRM users may not know of the many improvements and features added to Dynamics 365 over the years. Seeing Dynamics 365 with the fresh eyes of a clean system usually triggers new ideas and new ways to bring processes into Dynamics 365.

  • After identifying the reasons for failure, our experienced team creates and documents a staged plan to rescue and repair your Dynamics 365 CRM.

  • Our goal is to get your Dynamics 365 CRM back on track with lightning speed and reasonable cost.

Contact us today to see how we can deliver a tactical rescue plan that help you get your CRM back on track.

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