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5 Common CRM Issues and Solutions

Check out how to encounter CRM problems as well as to solve them based on ‘Key CRM Issues Research’ survey.

Ivan Karp
Written by
Ivan Karp
Ivan Karp
Ivan Karp

Managing Director at SyncMatters, Europe

More from Ivan Karp

Published: Apr 05, 2024

| 15 mins read

The use of CRM is a great contribution in the future of business. The implementation of the CRM system is the final stage. But today many companies are facing CRM Issues, considering that automation of business processes does not take much time. In the future, it will pay for all the costs of integration.

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A successful CRM implementation is an interaction of the technology and people. However, there might be issues in the process that can cripple the platform’s effectiveness or ruin the effort altogether. So, because CRM is fundamental to the growth of the business as a whole, it is important knowing how to encounter the problems as well as to solve them. In this article, we will look at the most common CRM issues and the ways to solve them.

№1. Lack of Functionality

CRM-system is a software package with which several departments of the company work and it is important that the implementation goes smoothly on both the practical and the technical side. Every business has its own list of functional characteristics. This is concise descriptions of requirements in those areas that are related to the work of an employee, department, company. 

To avoid lack of functionality, when choosing a CRM, you should make sure that all the features that you would like to see in the process of work are present. So, if incoming calls are very important to you, you need to make sure that the selected CRM system supports integration with telephony. Working with clients, transactions and everything connected with them is the main scope of CRM systems. That’s why this functionality must be implemented at the highest level.

Not surprisingly, among the key criteria of CRM selection, 45% of our responders singled out the functionality and user-friendly interface. So, many businesses are struggling to find a solution that easily enables them to achieve all of their objectives. It became a problem within the industry because there are a number of systems on today’s market that offer only specific functions. That is why the company can suffer from lacking the important features, that may lead to:

Poor data quality. Among the main roots of dirty data, you may find incorrect information entry, various transpositions and typos, misspelling as well as deduplication of the records. As a result, the problems range from redundant mailing addresses to failed projects and bad corporate decisions based on the wrong info.

The Way Out: If you want to ensure that your existing information stays relevant, consider the following:

  • create the same set of rules and requirements of the data entering for all your employees
  • make sure your solution supports the deduplication option
  • use different filters or tags to monitor the sources of the coming information
  • audit data by asking your customers to verify their details regularly

Integration mishap. In order to satisfy the needs of the customers, the solution should be equipped with all main features that help to organize the whole business process from creating a lead to delivering a purchase. So, very often, to fully realize the value of the chosen platform you end up integrating with other applications that leads to additional costs.

The Way Out: So, you should examine the CRM market first and choose the platform that fits the needs of your organization in the most valuable means. Also, you can visit a CRM marketplace of applications and find a module that may be easily integrated with your system.

business

№2. Cost Matter

It is no secret that any high quality product is expensive. But everyone knows that the most expensive goods are cheap goods, because they are of poor quality, quickly fail and often have to be repaired. A lot of people say: “CRM is crazy expensive, but there is no benefit right now” but it’s not.
The number of automated processes is so great, that it will quickly pay off itself thanks to time saved, resources freed up and other factors.

One of the critical factors is the CRM price, so 35% users we polled agreed on that. Lately, many business owners prefer to switch to the different platform because their software became too expensive as the company expands to a certain number of sales, marketing, and customer service reps. Furthermore, because CRM can encompass so many parts of the business, it is easy to run up an unexpectedly large bill for setting up and optimizing a system.

Hence, with the variety of solutions on today’s market, there is no trouble to find the one that includes all the features your organization needs at the lower price. Furthermore, if a number of CRM users within your company is up to 10, you can easily save a lot of money by utilizing reasonably priced systems, such as Vtiger On-Premise, SuiteCRM, Zoho CRM or Bitrix24.

Your costs may be higher if the implementation is accompanied by a large number of corrections and improvements. To solve this CRM issue, you should think through everything in advance and discuss all the nuances with the developer company.
Remember – a miser pays twice.

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№3. Employee’s Resistance for a Change

For an organization to succeed at operational and organizational change, the team must share a common vision and articulate a clear destination. However, sometimes getting to grips with a new system, particularly when the old one has been in place for a long time, may lead to the low employee-adoption rates. So, when we asked our CRM users if their teams come short of managing high-quality customer information, 20% of responders answered that the companies require more profound knowledge of CRM data organization.

Naturally, many workers will resist such changes, they simply do not want any innovations. Employee’s resistance for a change lies in the fact that any innovation adds work to the employee and forces him to learn. It is necessary to prepare employees in advance and talk about future changes and their positive aspects. This can be difficult at first. Some employees are afraid of constant control from leadership.
To solve this CRM issue, you need to competently explain to your employees the value and necessity of working in CRM, and show how it will facilitate their daily work. Provide the training, shoot videos or write articles, take an exam. Employees of the company, who will try their best to work in the new CRM system, will be encouraged.
Remember that you have to think not only about the technology, but also about the people who use it.

Ultimately, in essence of helping your staff to meet a change and get out of their comfort zone, you should consider the following suggestions:

  • Rollout the software implementation gradually to avoid overwhelming with information
  • Demonstrate their commitment as a role model of change
  • Provide compelling justification for why new adjustments are happening
  • Communicate a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the change
  • Arrange sufficient resources, projects, and trainings
  • Conduct frequent audits to consistently assess their results against expectations

So, to reap the benefits of innovative technology, you should emphasize the users on how to establish throughout the organization a shared understanding of the switch importance.

conversation

№4. Choosing the Right CRM

There are many CRM systems on the market today. It’s hard to choose the right CRM that’s right for you. The selection of a CRM system begins with the formulation of the main goals of the company. To solve this CRM issue, you need to pay attention to:

  • functionality
  • ease of use
  • integration with other programs
  • technical support
  • CRM update
  • price

The system must ensure the safety and security of data. Each employee should have access to the information that he needs to work.  The right choice is different for everybody. One company can not do without big expenses with email marketing services, for another company, working with IP telephony is more important. Choose the system that gives you the features that matter most to you and that can later be modified for other tasks.

№5. Dealing with the Time and Cost of CRM Implementation

One of the CRM Issues is the lack of time and resources to plan a quality strategy and ensure a smooth transition to new software. Yes, the implementation of a CRM system requires considerable time. The cost of implementation and support of the system can scare away potential buyers. But the competent selection of a CRM-system will avoid unnecessary costs.

A CRM-system should be chosen primarily based on the needs of the company. And secondly – to consider the cost of CRM and its implementation. The price of a CRM depends on many factors: functionality, promotion of the program, and even on the country in which the developer is located.

By buying a CRM at a high cost, you can not only overpay for redundant functionality, but also complicate the life of the company by the unnecessary settings of the system.

If you think that you can fully implement CRM in a week, you are wrong. The larger the scale of the business, the number of settings, integrations with other systems, the longer the setting time will be. After implementing any CRM, be prepared that you will not see the result immediately. Employees need some time to get used to the program. This may take several months. To save time, you should break down implementations into phases that clearly describe which processes need to be configured. A CRM system, like any other business tool, requires examination and proper use, so you should understand exactly what you expect from its use. Finally, one of the main advantages of CRM systems is the improvement of the overall quality of customer service.

writing in a notebook

All in all, our survey helped us to research the main issues of CRM administration and organization as well as to provide you with the practical solutions for your business renovation. Lead management, social media integration, email marketing campaigns, ease of customization are the most important characteristics to build successful company-customer bridges.

So, each CRM is aimed at an individual approach to work. The CRM system allows you to work with each client and take into account its characteristics. Implementing a CRM system is a fairly complex process that requires careful preparation. Of course, we can talk about common CRM issues for a long time, but the fact remains that the world is evolving, and we have a duty to develop with it.

 For more information about CRM, please contact us.

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Ivan Karp

Managing Director at SyncMatters, Europe

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