Less than 40% of businesses have a CRM adoption rate over 90%. What is the point of having a CRM software if you’re not going to use it? Even with CRM’s array of tools and automated processes, businesses still struggle to get their employees on board. So, how can you effectively promote CRM user adoption? Keep these five quick tips in mind to maximize your CRM user adoption rates.
1. Do Follow-Up Training
Nothing stays the same forever. Businesses and software are changing constantly. CRM is no different. CRM is growing and changing rapidly to maintain the best user experience, but the rate of change can often leave previously trained teams lost when it comes to the newer software features. Periodic follow-up training helps sidestep these frustrations and keep up with the ever-changing CRM capabilities. By having periodic training, both new and old employees get up-to-speed on the newest features available, so they can use their system at its max potential.
A recent article on user adoption summed up the importance of follow-up training: “3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months after training, have follow-up or review sessions to see what questions come up, what users want to know more about or are struggling to understand, etc. Don’t forget your new hires. Oftentimes when a company launches CRM the entire team gets trained, then new people come on board but get the abbreviated version. Ongoing training will not only help your experienced users but ensure your new users are not left to fend for themselves.”
Have you ever tried figuring out a software after getting a two-minute tutorial? It’s not an easy task to maneuver. Sure, the two-minute tutorial helps, but you won’t understand all the features you truly have available. This happens to too often with new hires. Employees who have been using the same software for multiple years give a shortened tutorial, leaving new hires lost. Consistent training gets new hires on the same level as existing users faster, and positions both camps for better alignment on processes and data strategies.
2. Make the CRM Your Single Source of Truth
Easter egg hunts are fun, but no one wants to hunt for data. When information is scattered among multiple systems, it leads to inaccurate information that can result in major issues. Make your CRM your single source of truth: one system, combining insights from multiple areas, storing data elements exactly once to prevent duplicate data and incorrect analysis. It just makes sense! The simpler the system is, the quicker it is to find information. A CRM is should be your centralized place for everything you need. This increases user adoption by removing old workarounds that would give users an ulterior entry point for data analysis. Maintaining the CRM as a single source of truth is the hard part. The master data in the CRM must be complete, clean, and duplicate-free. This goes together with the concept of continued training. Teach employees a process of data entry and require certain parameters be met when entering data into the CRM. Reinforcing these strategies through periodic follow-up training increases the likelihood that team members will adopt the practices. Repetition, repetition, repetition!
Another key to creating a single source of truth is to make sure your systems are compatible for a CRM integration. One great feature about CRM is that you can integrate it with a plethora of systems. Integrating ERP and marketing systems with the CRM builds the data bridge necessary for a true single source of truth. Integrations are highly recommended because they foster consistent data through all channels.
3. Set the Example
If you’re in the business world, meetings are inevitable. CRMs help you prepare for those dreaded Monday morning meetings with the ability to generate comprehensive charts and reports for sales, marketing, and services.
Show fellow employees how you leveraged the CRM data to build the charts, and how they can keep important charts in their CRM dashboard for quick reference. Setting the example is especially important if you’re a member of upper management. It shows your commitment to the new system and encourages your team to adopt the system alongside you.
4. Make Mobile a Priority
Smart phones have changed the game by giving people the ability to access information from anywhere. A mobile CRM is basically a portable office without the desk.
It keeps you team engaged with the system despite their location. Users can plug in correct data in real-time as opposed to waiting until they regain a connection or return to a computer. Mobile CRM makes the process of data entry convenient, which increases the likelihood that users will enter the data in the first place. A study done by Innoppl Technologies showed that 65% of sales rep with mobile CRM met their sales quotas, while only 22% of non-mobile users reached the same targets. Access to a mobile application boosts adoption rates and increases overall productivity by about 15%, making it an invaluable piece to the user adoption puzzle. If your current CRM offers mobile access, take five minutes right now to install the app!
5. Personalize It
Most CRM providers let you customize your dashboards and workflows. Personalizing the CRM lets users craft their experience for how they work, which in turn enhances the user’s involvement with the product. Customizations and personalized dashboards make the CRM more natural for the user by catering to what’s important to them.
Ask your CRM partner about automated functions for commonly used workflows. The more in-line your CRM is with your current business processes, the higher the likelihood that users will recognize its value. Personalizing the CRM and automating processes reduces manual work and speeds up the completion of tasks.
Use these five tips as a starting point for better CRM user adoption. Implement your CRM with a bigger plan in mind— know how you need the system to work and adjust its uses for your business processes. The CRM should fit your business, not completely change it. Reinforce training, lead by example, and take every opportunity to engage your users where they work to maximize your CRM user adoption success. For help with your CRM user adoption, contact us at sales@techadv.com.