Is your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy and support tool helping you stay connected with your customers? Does your business struggle with organizing and managing customers and customer data? 

If so, it may be time to update your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy and evaluate whether your current CRM tools are capable of helping you achieve your goals. CRM strategies and technologies enable companies to establish relationships with customers, track current and future customer interactions, store data centrally, and provide valuable customer insight to departments throughout the organization.

Determining the CRM Strategy and technology that is the best fit for your organization can be a challenge if you do not have the proper evaluation tools and processes. The following sections provide critical guidance for your assessment and implementation journey.

 

I. What should you expect?

Step 1: CRM Strategy – Choosing the right CRM solution starts with defining your CRM Strategy. Assessing the existing CRM processes and your technology's ability to meet sales growth targets and provide excellent customer service is critical in identifying inefficiencies in the overall process. A CRM strategy is the initial step that is foundational to making sure any automated improvements move you closer to achieving your goals.  
 

Step 2: CRM Tools – Automation can be a key differentiator in achieving your CRM Strategy. Modern CRM tools update in real-time, are configurable to meet different business needs, scalable to grow with your business, and adaptable to workflows and processes. The benefits of implementing a CRM solution aligned with your organization’s strategic goals include:

• More sales leads
• Increased sales
• Improved customer retention
• Better customer service
• Enhanced data analytics

 

If you are hunting for a new CRM tool the checklist below can be used to define items you should look for in a CRM tool. If you currently have a CRM tool, you can use the scorecard below to assess whether your CRM tool possesses the functionality to optimize your customer relationships.  

 

II. Scorecard – Rate your CRM tools

When it comes to selecting an effective CRM tool, several capabilities should be considered. The table below outlines the key functionality of CRM Tools. Read each of the core functionality statements and rate your current situation to determine if your CRM tool is providing you, your employees, and your customers with the critical information you need.

CRM Ratings Scale:

• 2 – Meets the stated functionality and aligns with organizational strategy
• 1 – Partially meets functionality or functionality is available but not fully utilized
• 0 – Does not meet functionality or is unavailable

Functionality	Points
Campaign Management – Manages marketing campaigns across multiple channels (e.g., email, direct mail, social media), integrates with third-party platforms (e.g., email), tracks success, and handles audience segmentation
Lead Management – Captures lead details from multiple channels, scores the likelihood of conversion to a customer, and tracks actions taken
Quotes/Proposal Management – Creates, manages, and sends quotes and proposals to customers
Pipeline Management – Tracks the sales process throughout the lifecycle of the deal
Contact Management – Provides a 360-degree review of the customer available to all functions and users
Sales Staff Management – Sets and tracks sales targets, lead or call targets, and sales activities to allow leadership to measure the success of the sales team
Sales Forecasting – Generates future sales projections and performs what-if scenario analysis to build data-driven sales forecasts
Workflow Automation – Creates automated communications to prospects and clients, generates follow-up tasks and reminders based on user-defined triggers, and supports customer service
Document Management – Stores documents in a customer record or library
Reporting and Analytics – Supports analysis of marketing, customer, and sales data using metrics, reports, and dashboards

How did your current CRM tool score?

• 15 to 20 points –Congratulations you have a successful CRM tool. Be sure to take this valuable data and utilize it to better anticipate and serve your customers’ needs.
• 8 to 14 points – There is an opportunity to enhance your CRM tools.
• 0 to 7 points – Get started by following the steps below to ensure success in selecting an effective CRM too

III. Getting Started

If your score falls between 0 and 15, then your company may not be managing customers and customer data as efficiently as possible and could benefit from a review of your current CRM strategy and tools.

Follow the high-level steps below in evaluating and implementing a new CRM solution to ensure overall success.

1. CRM Strategy

• CRM 101: Evaluate what business issues will be resolved through more effective use of CRM within your organization
• Define the CRM strategy and key objectives
• Assess the current CRM tool to determine whether it can be upgraded or enhanced to meet the defined strategy or if a new solution is required

2. Vendor Selection

• Use a fact-based evaluation and selection process and obtain guidance on an implementation timeline:
  • Business Requirements Definition
  • RFP Development, Distribution, and Evaluation
  • Vendor Demonstrations
  • Selection and Contract Management

3. Implementation

• Take the critical steps to make the implementation come to life, keeping in mind internal business cycles and key implementation challenges previously identified. Consider each of these workstreams when implementing software tools:
• Data Migration Strategy and Execution
• Detailed Process Design and Development
• Technical Infrastructure Assessment
• Training Strategy and Rollout
• Implementation Planning and Direction
• Communication and Change Management

Keeping these key items in mind when assessing or beginning a CRM tool evaluation will help you stay focused on the functionality that impacts your organization's success.

Please contact RubinBrown if you need help assessing your CRM tools or choosing and implementing a new CRM solution.

Published: 2/23/2023

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