Ever wonder why most businesses fail at customer relationships?
It’s not because they don’t care about their customers. It’s because they approach CRM wrong. Most business owners think buying Microsoft Dynamics CRM software is the finish line.
It’s actually the starting line.
And getting CRM wrong is costing businesses BIG money. Research reveals 68% of customers churn because they feel businesses do not care about them. That’s not a product flaw. That’s a CRM failure.
The good news? Armed with the right Microsoft Dynamics CRM strategy, business owners can course correct quickly.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Most Businesses Screw Up CRM
- Customer Relationship Management: The Real Meaning
- How Dynamics 365 Applications Help Businesses Avoid Mistakes
- 5 Common CRM Mistakes (+How To Avoid Them)
- How To Build A CRM Strategy That Works
Why Most Businesses Fail At CRM
Here’s the thing…
The average business owner approaches CRM like it’s a digital Rolodex. They buy the software, dump customer contacts into the platform and cross their fingers. But CRM isn’t just a contact database rolled up into neat software. It’s a business strategy that integrates sales, marketing, and customer service into one cohesive workflow.
The issue is business owners focus too much on the CRM tool and neglect the overall CRM strategy. Applications like microsoft dynamics 365 have wonderful tools and features that cover sales automation, customer insights, marketing, and customer service teams. But without a solid CRM strategy in place, those Microsoft Dynamics 365 tools aren’t going to help your business.
Here’s an analogy
Think of CRM like a gym membership. Paying for membership isn’t going to magically make you more muscular or healthier. But having a workout routine and logging into the gym frequently will. CRM strategy is the same way.
Customer Relationship Management: The Real Meaning
At it’s core customer relationship management is about strengthening connections with your existing customers. Business relationships with customers should never be transactional.
Developing a well-oiled CRM strategy allows businesses to:
- Track every customer interaction across multiple channels
- Personalize communications with real customer data
- Identify churn risks before it’s too late
- Streamline your sales funnels for higher conversion rates
- Service customers faster with better response times
When leveraged correctly, CRM is a game changer. Businesses who use CRM software effectively see an average $8.71 return for every dollar spent. That’s huge! No other software solution offers that kind of bang for your buck.
But here’s the problem…
Many businesses don’t experience that ROI because they mess up the strategy.
5 Common CRM Mistakes Business Owners Make
These 5 critical mistakes can derail your CRM strategy before it even has a chance to grow. Nip these CRM mistakes in the bud and watch your CRM thrive.
Lack Of Strategy Before Implementation
Entering into a CRM platform without a game plan is like jumping into a relationship without communicating. Nothing good comes from that.
Business owners need to have a strategy firmly in place before diving into the CRM pool. They need to understand what they want the CRM tool to accomplish for their business first.
Here are some questions to consider:
- What kind of customer data should we collect?
- Which departments will need access to the CRM daily?
- What metrics will we measure to know if the CRM is successful?
- What should we achieve in the first 6 months?
If you can’t answer these questions. Stop. Go back to the drawing board.
User Adoption Is Poor
If you bought everyone on your team a new computer but no one learned how to use it. Would those computers be effective?
Of course not. People are the lifeblood of any CRM system. No system, no matter how robust is perfect.
The teams who use CRM poorly is the number 1 reason CRM fails. Sales teams stick with Excel because “that’s how they’ve always done it.” Support teams make do with email tickets. And the marketing department is usually no better…
Solution?
Train your employees on how CRM benefits their day-to-day. Get buy-in from upper management. Once your team understands the CRM workflow and how it helps them do their jobs better, usage will skyrocket.
Dirty Customer Data
Garbage in garbage out. If you’re putting duplicate data, incomplete data, and outdated data into your CRM, then how can you expect great information back?
Make data hygiene a top priority. Regularly scheduling clean up’s and data validations are mandatory if you want to have clean CRM data.
Business Owners Fail To Use Automation Tools
Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications are chocked full of automation goodies. Sales automation, lead scoring, customer journey planning, automated follow-ups, you name it. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 team builds their CRM platform with automation in mind.
Here’s the reality:
Business owners who don’t automate duplicate work manually. If you’re reading through emails to find follow-up opportunities, you’re wasting your time.
They Don’t Track Success Metrics
What gets measured gets managed. Far too many businesses implement a CRM then never look at the dashboard again. Sure your sales team might be inputting contacts into the system. But are those sales converting into paying customers?
Tracking customer retention rates, leads to sales conversion time, and NPS scores are critical to measuring your CRM’s success.
How To Build A CRM Strategy That Works
It’s no secret that businesses who succeed with CRM follow some type of process. That process doesn’t have to be complex though. Keep it simple, keep it fun. Here’s a fool-proof formula for CRM success:
- Map out your goals: Before you do anything else, know what you want the CRM platform to achieve for your business. Is it easier lead management? Automation of repetitive tasks? Increased sales? Know the answers to these questions before you start.
- Clean customer data: Take stock of the customer data you have. Where does it live? Is it duplicated all over sales, marketing, and customer service departments? Clean up this data before you import it into the CRM.
- Educate your employees: Train every employee who will be using the CRM system on how to use it. Don’t just conduct a one-off training. Schedule regular training sessions to ensure your employees get the most out of the platform.
- Automate everything: Take advantage of those lovely automation features the Microsoft Dynamics 365 crew builds into their software. Automatically assign follow-ups, send personalized emails to leads based on custom actions, and connect data from your CRM to other applications.
- Review the analytics: Want to know if your CRM strategy is working? Take a look at the metrics you laid out in Step 1. If you’re not where you want to be by now, adjust course and try new tactics.
This strategy works for Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and other CRM platforms. It’s not the tools your business uses. It’s how you use them.
Wrapping Up
At the end of the day, CRM really isn’t about technology. It’s about treating your customers like humans.
Here’s a quick recap:
- CRM isn’t a piece of software. It’s a strategy.
- Plan your strategy first.
- Make sure your employees are on board.
- Train your employees and ensure CRM software is used properly.
- Use automation tools to make employees jobs easier.
- Track your metrics and improve.
It takes hard work to get CRM right. But the benefits your business reaps from building strong customer relationships are worth it.
