Insist on Adoption
CRM projects that fail often end up this way due to poor system adoption. If
you’ve planned your project well, implemented processes that are easy to
follow and involved your staff then you should be off to a good start. However, here are
my suggestions of some do’s and don’ts. Your entire system can be undermined
by one person if you do not take a firm stand on adoption particularly at
the start. For example, how useful will your sales forecast be with one
of your sales person’s figures missing or completely out of date?Do encourage senior management to set a
good example. Make it known that they are users and that they rely on the system
too.
Don’t let anyone get away with an excuse for not using the
system, if they missed the original training get them trained on another
date insist on it!
Do recognise good use of the system, make a point to highlight situations
where correct use of the system has saved your company money/improved your
reputation etc.
Don’t leave the old systems in place, make and enforce strong rules about
this. For example, remove card boxes and uninstall or make old applications
read only. If only a few people continue to work the old way,
confidence in the content of your system can be quickly undermined.
Your systems reputation will be diminished if staff looking
for information are not sure it will be there!
Do be prepared to discipline staff if the system is not used in
accordance with your business policies. Don’t accept the fact that your best
sales person made his numbers anyway. They should be your best example and
if they can get away with it, others will think so too. You have to take the
long term view on this, even if in the short term it may be painful to
implement.
Do monitor the systems general usage as well as your business KPIs, review reports of
activity, know what normal and what's not. You will find that you can
actually feel the pulse of your system and your business!
Don’t let things slip. Keep your rules and make sure that your managers
are doing this too.
You may think that this is all rather draconian but it takes very little
to undermine confidence in an information system. The natural level of adoption
of CRM systems varies and depends on the type of department using the system
and the activity that it is being used to support.
In many pressured sales
and service environments it is often possible to interact with a customer without
making the necessary record of the event. When the priority is getting the
job done, recording it can seem an overhead. You must ensure that everyone
understands the value of an accurate and adequate client history.
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