{"id":42203,"date":"2019-03-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/blog\/blog_prohoster\/kak-provalit-vnedrenie-crm-sistemy"},"modified":"2020-02-18T13:45:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T10:45:01","slug":"kak-provalit-vnedrenie-crm-sistemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/en\/blog\/administrirovanie\/kak-provalit-vnedrenie-crm-sistemy","title":{"rendered":"How to Fail at Implementing a CRM System?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my colleagues really wanted to have an iPhone 4S. At that time, it was simply the epitome of status. After receiving a bonus, she turned down a vacation and bought it \u2014 a white, pleasantly hefty device, the envy of the entire sales department. After a while, she started complaining that she didn't understand what everyone found in these iPhones; it was just a phone, and dropping it was scary, although the photos were decent. When we talked about apps, features, photo streams, updates, and so on, she said she had disabled Internet access because it was expensive and just a distraction. Thus, she turned a top smartphone of its time into a glorified brick. \"What a fool!\" we laughed; surely, some readers thought about the same thing.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/noindex>
\n<\/a><\/noindex>
\nI haven't thought about this for a long time \u2014 since I started working on corporate software implementation. Smoking Kazbek and saving on matches is practically the motto of small and medium businesses when it comes to IT. As a result: inefficiency, failed implementations, wasted money, instant hatred of all software, and disdain for successful projects. <\/p>\n

So, take note of ways to fail a CRM implementation, or any software for that matter \u2014 in the end, a smart person learns from others' mistakes. <\/p>\n

Statistics show that between 20% and 60% of CRM projects fail or do not meet expectations. Frankly, that\u2019s a strange statistic: first, it covers quite a broad range of values; second, what kind of CRM and in which field; third, vendor or partner? For our development team, RegionSoft CRM<\/a><\/noindex> it's clear what this is probably about and where such a wide range of figures comes from. Partial implementations (when the software is used for only a small part of its functions and doesn\u2019t please the company at all), and subjectively failed implementations (the company dislikes everything, but continues to use the system it paid for) surely ended up in that statistic, and so on. In reality, there can be several reasons for failures, and each business will frame them as unique, but fundamentally, we can highlight a large but finite list of reasons for unsuccessful and unsatisfactory CRM system implementations. Our team has gathered the most pertinent ones and is ready to share them with you. Don\u2019t bump into the same errors yourself \u2014 learn from others! <\/p>\n

\"How This is roughly what companies that bought a CRM and use it minimally or not at all look like.<\/i><\/p>\n

When in doubt, don\u2019t implement.<\/h3>\n

\nAmong other factors, perhaps the leading issue is the lack of focus on company goals. Companies often seek a CRM system not for the purpose of increasing sales, optimizing business processes, or improving service quality, but just to have one. This is inherently a recipe for failure: there is no understanding of how the tool will be used, which means it will remain underutilized. <\/p>\n

\"HowWhat should you do? <\/b>Define the company's goals and the objectives for implementing the CRM system. Ideally, these should align, in simpler terms, have points of intersection. The process is quite straightforward: take a sheet of paper, write down the company's goals (preferably by department or employee), take another one \u2014 write down the objectives for implementing the CRM. From this point, you can start forming requirements for the CRM system, which you can then begin to discuss with vendors. It's especially important to clarify these goals if your company operates in a specialized field: advertising, publishing, medical services, transportation, and others.<\/p>\n

A real-life example.<\/b> A company was involved in several activities and finally started looking for a CRM system. Since the company was based in Moscow, they quickly bought a CRM based on the principle of \"these are well-known.\" The vendor's partners gave an impressive presentation and cheerfully sold (signed a rental agreement on a SaaS model) 27 seats. It quickly became clear that the CRM was not suitable for their operations; moreover, it was lacking in email client capabilities, which was extremely critical for the company. After six months of struggles and exorbitant costs for modifications, the contract for the CRM system was terminated. The reason was simple: the company had not set any goals, and the vendor's partner never thought to ask them \u2014 why bother when you can just close the deal? <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A CRM is needed just for the sake of having one.<\/h3>\n

\nOver 12 years of implementations RegionSoft CRM<\/a><\/noindex> we have realized that it is extremely rare for an entire team to be collectively ready to adopt a CRM system and to facilitate the swiftest start of operations. This is a story from the realm of fantasy. Much more often, the implementation of a CRM system is imposed from above: a directive comes down, installation is done, training is conducted (in the best cases!), and work begins. That's it. No one was asked, no one's requests were taken into account, early adopters were not engaged, and later on, the majority were ignored.<\/p>\n

In such a situation, implementation can succeed due to the experience of top management and the efforts of the vendor, but the acceptance of the system and the start of its productive work is postponed indefinitely, as questions arise, quiet strikes begin, and even outright boycotts occur. Employees are psychologically unprepared to accept the innovation, fearing control and tightening within the company. Why is this happening? Because the CRM system was implemented just for show, not for actual use \u2013 for instance, so that the CIO or CTO could receive annual bonuses for automation. This is corporate lobbying at its finest.<\/p>\n

\"HowWhat should you do?<\/b> Of course, in corporate reality, directives from above are nothing new, and sometimes it is even impractical to avoid such decisions. But in the case of software implementation that will be used by everyone, the situation is different: if employees do not support the project, they will either derail it or complicate it for sure. Therefore, the implementation must be a collective decision, supported by justification, discussion, requirement gathering, and quality phased training. This does not exclude issues with the acceptance of the new program, but each department will have an understanding of who will use it and how. CRM system<\/a><\/noindex>.<\/p>\n

A real-life example. <\/b>The CIO of a small but wealthy company decided that they needed a CRM system. First, he approached SAP, then things didn't work out, and he found a very expensive, at that time little-known foreign CRM without representation in Russia. They came from Canada, gifted the top executives with presents (unseen gadgets for 2010), and implemented the CRM within a year with\u2026 an English interface. Everything would have been fine, but the average age of users was 38, and those poor salespeople, logisticians, document specialists, and support staff knew only \"Made in China\" from the English dictionary. Using the CRM was included in KPIs. Everyone began losing bonuses, as the training was very formal: \u201cclick here, click there, create a request.\u201d The CRM was abandoned, and employees were outraged. A year later, after firings and boycotts, the security service initiated an internal investigation, the CIO was fired without a \"golden parachute,\" but with a kick \u2013 facts of kickbacks were uncovered. By the way, in that company, the CRM was never implemented; everyone used another system, which remotely resembled a CRM. The company could not withstand the takeover.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lack of awareness and training<\/h3>\n

\nEven advanced users can get easily confused when they first encounter a new interface. What can be said about users who adapt more slowly \u2014 for example, a sales representative who has used 1C for invoicing and has never seen any other software suddenly faces a new interface that sometimes looks nothing like 1C. Basic psychology kicks in \u2014 active resistance to anything new. In such conditions, the worst thing you can do is to refuse vendor training or turn it into a formal lecture. An untrained employee left to their own devices or to the program's help documentation is highly likely to abandon this difficult task and return to 1C or Excel. It's simply more familiar and comfortable for them. CRM will lose all meaning.<\/p>\n

\"HowWhat should you do?<\/b> We have already talked<\/a><\/noindex> about how to implement a CRM system with good training, but let\u2019s repeat the most basic, simple rules that address most adaptation issues employees face with new software (not just CRM systems).<\/p>\n