Here’s our 5 useful tips to improve CRM user adoption within your business.
1: Plan the CRM Launch for employees
Prior to the CRM solution going live, it’s very important to plan a launch strategy. We suggest that this is organised by the employees that have been directly involved with the planning of the project. This will enable the business to showcase to all employees the benefits of the platform to all the departments and, most importantly for user adoption, the individual. Our suggestion would be to present the purpose and core functionality of the CRM platform in a 1 hour introductory workshop to each department. Our top tip – Introducing the CRM functionality in manageable bite-sized chunks will be most effective.
2: Collate an army of CRM Ambassadors
Alongside the team that is planning and implementing the CRM build, it’s important to recruit a CRM Ambassador from each department in the business to lead by example using the new platform. That person can be the ‘go to’ for other team members who have questions or require support in the initial stages and also help publicise the benefits of the platform on a regular basis. The army of CRM Ambassadors you appoint should be provided with a comprehensive training plan. Our top tip – Your CRM Ambassador in each department does not have to be a senior member of staff, choose your most enthusiastic employees.
3: Provide ongoing training and useful collateral
As part of your launch plan, you should schedule ongoing training for all staff at regular intervals to ensure there is maximum adoption. A 1 hour session each week is manageable and will enable your CRM team to hear feedback on pain points that may need refining in the platform. Our top tip – Some employees will benefit from a printed ‘how to guide’ whilst others will prefer live demonstrations where they can take notes. Make sure you accommodate all types of learning preferences within the business.
4: Platform personalisation
Prior to the launch of the CRM platform, you should ensure that users within each department are setup so they only see relevant functionality to their job role. In Dynamics 365, fields and functionality can easily be hidden to avoid information overload and minimise risk. eg. you might not want delivery teams having direct access to the billing functionality. Our top tip – Set up some test accounts and get your CRM Ambassadors to check they can only access relevant functionality and identify any missing elements before launch. This task will also assist with data security testing as user preferences can also be assigned and checked.
5: Data cleansing
Ensure data that is migrated to the new CRM system has been cleaned beforehand. If the data is duplicated or incorrect users may lose confidence in the CRM which will impact on adoption rates. Our top tip – Assign a data cleansing task to selected staff members prior to the CRM implementation which also includes a validation by data owners. This will ensure the data is clean and up to date. Effective CRM adoption requires careful thought, planning and investment of resource. However, by taking in to consideration the five tips above, businesses will quickly start to run more efficiently and reap the benefits of the CRM platform from the moment it is launched.
If you are considering implementing a CRM platform in your business or have recently implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 and require further customisation please get in touch. Infinity Group are a Microsoft Gold partner and provide CRM consultancy customisation and development services.
