If you’re reading this blog, you already know how powerful a CRM implementation can be to your business.  Not only acting as a simple database of contacts, it gives you the power to project future revenue, which can factor into all manner of things related to your business, including whether or not to grow the business – and in which direction.  However, as implementing a CRM can be such a comprehensive process, the stories are many where business owners were severely hampered by a CRM that didn’t turn out to be as adaptable as it seemed, or even more held up when a CRM actually decreased productivity because the staff didn’t know how to use the system or didn’t trust it.  

Sometimes, the CRM itself is indeed to blame for these problems, but more of the time, these failed implementations rest squarely on the shoulders of the deployment team (or lack thereof) doing the work. The solution to the problem, then, seems to be to make sure proper data is conveyed to that deployment team to make sure that a CRM implementation takes every known business situation into account…  But, how can you do that effectively?

Fortunately, at ZBrains, we’ve been down this road and heard this story many a time.  Based on our years of experience, this is what we recommend to make sure your system works just the way you expect it to and doesn’t end up hurting your business or going to waste.

Successful Zoho CRM Implementation: Key Factors:

The Right Fit

First off, ensure the solution is the right fit for your business. It’s important to verify that it has the capabilities to fit into and improve your current processes. Whether it be to match and improve your sales flow or to simplify your email marketing, your chosen solution should encompass all of your business needs. If the CRM implementation can adapt to your business, then your employees can more easily adapt to the implementation.

It Integrates With Your Daily Apps

Don’t divide your business up into different applications. Switching back and forth between tabs can be time-consuming. The business solution that you choose should integrate with your daily apps seamlessly. Being able to integrate with your chosen email client, accounting software, or marketing tools helps a good deal to avoid problems like duplicate or bad data. You can read more about the troubles bad data can cause here.

Training your Staff

Make sure that both you and your team understand how the new CRM implementation will work with your business. Without the team’s understanding, they will not be fully on board with the new solution, or won’t use it properly. When partnering with a consultant for your implementation, ensure that they will also take the time to train you and your staff – because you want your staff confident in the solution once the consultant is gone. Here at ZBrains, we take the time to train your team on the CRM or other Zoho apps, and even work with every level of management to prepare your team even better. Learn more about our CRM consulting services here!

Employee Buy-In

You want your team engaged before, during, and after the implementation process. It’s important to get an employee buy-in through proper training, but you can ease the buy-in process (and indeed we do this with upper management) through something like a Business Process Analysis (BPA), to ensure that everyone is onboard. With a BPA, we interview key personnel to get an idea of what a Zoho implementation will be able to fix and how you’d want to scale the system as you grow.  Then, we deliver the findings to you in a formal document called an Executive Summary.  Positioning Zoho as something that will make life easier always helps with employee buy-in, and the Executive Summary explains and reinforces exactly how that can be done.

When it comes to any new implementations, it is important that your company can adapt to those changes easily. By choosing the right partner and keeping these 4 things in mind, you will be on the road to a successful CRM implementation.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a member of the ZBrains team today! Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below to choose a time that works best for you!