5 Signs That It’s Time To Update Your CRM System
Has your business outgrown its current CRM system? This blog explores some of the key signs that might indicate that it’s time for your business to consider upgrading your CRM system.
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Often a critical technology solution for businesses, CRM systems store and organise all customer data that is commonly used by the sales, marketing and customer service departments. CRM systems help organisations build and nurture customer relationships, boost sales and deliver an enhanced customer experience. Further, according to LinkedIn’s state of sales study, 64% of businesses see CRM technology as having an effect or a very large impact.
Like any technology solution, CRM systems can age. For some businesses, the CRM system that was originally implemented was chosen to fit the business needs at the time and does not cater to the business processes now. Others may have chosen a CRM system without researching it fully or may have been limited by budget. There are many reasons why companies outgrow their CRM systems but often they are not aware of the key signs. Below we explore some of the signs that indicate that it may be time to upgrade your CRM system.
Unreliable Data & Reporting
CRM systems store all customer and client data in one place, and with data becoming a more valuable asset for businesses your CRM system must keep up. Is your current CRM system missing some helpful data input options? Is it hard for sales or marketing professionals to easily pull data, create buyer personas, forecast sales numbers or identify trends amongst buyers? If your business users struggle to unlock the value from CRM data, then it may be time to upgrade your system.
Doesn’t Fit Current Business Processes
If your organisation implemented a CRM system some time ago, it is possible that it does not match your current business processes. would new functionality help staff get more from customer data? Are team members making manual workarounds to get the system to work better for them? Does your CRM system support remote or hybrid work properly? If your business is questioning whether the current CRM system is hindering business processes rather than helping streamline them, then it may be time to consider an upgrade.
Lack Of Integration
While CRM systems are often critical business systems, they are often not the only systems that businesses rely on for the daily running of operations. In today's working world, many businesses opt to integrate all business systems. This helps keep a consistent data flow which can in turn reduce errors and boost productivity. Older CRM systems may not allow for easy integration with other systems which might be holding your business back.
Doesn’t Support Growth
A company’s technology systems should be able to support business growth. If your business is not confident in your CRM system's ability to support your business growth objectives then it may be time to consider an upgrade. Modern cloud-based CRM solutions have powerful scalability functionality to allow your business to scale up and down as required.
Limited Support or Expensive Maintenance
If your business is still working with an on-premise CRM system, you may encounter expensive maintenance and upgrades. Further, some older CRM systems vendors don’t provide vendors with sufficient support or have announced an end-of-life support stop date. With an ageing CRM system, the skills required to maintain or update the system may become harder to find and therefore more expensive with newer technical talent training in newer technologies.
If your organisation is interested in upgrading your CRM system, get in touch to speak to an expert. Alternatively, check out our case study with Rape Crisis Network Ireland who upgraded to Dynamics 365 to consolidate data, enhance reporting and future-proof operations.
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