3 Tips for Consulting Firms to Increase CRM Adoption
When consulting firms invest in CRM, it’s typically with the hope of finally having a central location to manage client relationships and keep track of the numerous projects happening concurrently across multiple people. However, the reality is that most CRM initiatives fail at staggeringly high rates. So we’re left wondering why? Why aren’t consulting firms getting the promise of CRM, and how can you prevent your firm from being another statistic?
All too often technology decisions are made with only executive goals in mind of gaining greater visibility with little consideration for how it impacts the day-to-day operations of the team. In consulting and other service-based industries, the people that are entering information into the CRM are the same people that deliver client service. Therefore, any time spent working in a CRM or trying to figure out how it fits into their workflow is time taken away from managing client projects. So, does that mean CRM doesn’t work for consulting firms? Not at all.
Here are three tips for helping your firm realize the true value of consulting CRM.
- Involve the team from the start.
It’s human nature to resist change regardless of how big or small. It’s a little easier when you’re actively involved in that change. By involving the people who will actually be using the software early, your team can better understand the benefits of CRM first-hand.
- Select a CRM that’s truly easy to use.
Knowing that time spent working in the CRM is time taken away from clients, it’s incredibly important to consider systems that are actually easy to use, and can fit into your firm’s workflow. Ease of use is not just an intuitive user interface either. Look for features like automatic data capture or other time-saving capabilities that passively collect information as to not disrupt your workflow, and stores it in your CRM while you’re going through your usual day-to-day.
- Be positive and reward employees.
It can be discouraging when you don’t see immediate benefits from your CRM investment, but stay positive. Sometimes it just takes a little time and encouragement. Find out who’s been actively using the CRM and reward that person with praise or something else. With a little time, you too can get real value out of your CRM software.