Keys to CRM Success for Small Businesses

Reasons why CRM implementation can fail

Companies deploy CRMs to centralize customer relationship management and improve business organization. However, when implementing a CRM, your best intentions can backfire for the following reasons: 

• Employees don’t use the CRM: Employees may avoid using the CRM because it doesn’t integrate well with your other crucial business software solutions or is too complicated.
• The CRM implementation process is faulty: You can’t install a CRM and expect everyone to start using it without modifying the solution to fit your company’s needs and processes. Proper CRM implementation is a long-term process. Your initial focus should be on customizing the system, followed by gradual employee adoption.
• CRM training is lacking: CRMs are incredibly complex; introducing a CRM to your team without proper training is like asking someone who doesn’t know how to swim to jump into a lake. Your team will avoid the platform if they haven’t been trained.
• Employee feedback isn’t considered: Most CRMs have robust customizability, allowing you to tailor them to your business’s needs. However, employee feedback and advice are crucial. After all, your team will use the software and can tell you precisely what they need it to do. If you don’t listen to your employees, the solution won’t suit their needs. They won’t use it to its fullest extent — or at all — and your CRM implementation will fail.
• Data transfer issues can cause problems: If you’re switching CRMs or migrating data from spreadsheet software, excellent data management is critical. However, if your company hasn’t cleaned and standardized the data before transferring it to the CRM, your team may struggle to find the information they need — potentially losing trust in the platform.
• You’ve chosen the wrong CRM software: A CRM well-suited to your business needs will likely enjoy employee buy-in. However, a CRM that isn’t a fit is destined to fail. Sandy Meier, head of marketing and operations at SEO and link-building firm Contentellect, experienced this firsthand. “We chose a system based on current size rather than on our growth trajectory,” Meier recalled. “We initially went with a rather, in retrospect, basic solution perfect for our initial small team, but that quickly hit its limitations as our writer network expanded globally, pretty quickly.” 

How to set up your CRM for success

Follow these steps and best practices to ensure a successful transition to your new CRM.

1. Consider the CRM features you need carefully.

All CRM solutions come with a specific feature set out of the box. Many allow you to customize your package with the features you need, or you may need to upgrade to a higher tier for crucial functionality.

When selecting the best CRM software for your business, consider the following popular CRM features and carefully evaluate the ones your business will need:

• Lead, contact and deal management: Most CRMs track leads and contacts throughout the sales funnel, but lead management should be intuitive. Your CRM should centralize customer information, including contact details, purchase histories and email campaign responses. You may also want to score leads based on interest and qualification standards. Tim Clemens, chief operating officer of enterprise mobility solution provider NUU for Business, chose a CRM for its ability to accelerate sales and deal flow. “Lead tracking might be critical, but a robust follow-up plan for existing customers could have an even greater impact on retention,” Clemens explained. 
• Marketing functionality: Many businesses need tools to manage their digital marketing strategies, including text and email marketing campaigns. “Consider your digital marketing strategies,” Clemens advised. “Does the CRM track campaigns effectively? If not, you might need additional tools for campaign management.”
• CRM reporting: CRMs amass vast amounts of data. You should be able to harness this data via detailed reports that are easy to access and generate. Consider the CRM reports you’ll need and ensure your platform has those capabilities. Examples include sales reports, campaign click-through rate reports, customer inquiry response time reports and customer satisfaction reports. 
• Revenue-tracking tools: Many CRMs can help businesses track sales, including lead sources and purchase channels. They can also monitor sales team performance, profitability and other revenue-tracking analytics. You may even want a CRM with advanced sales forecasting capabilities.
• Data customization features: All CRMs collect data, but some allow you to customize fields and add data points to create more targeted, personalized campaigns. John Capobianco, chief marketing officer advisor at accounts payable CRM app firm ExpandAP, emphasized the importance of choosing a CRM that helps you deliver a personalized customer experience. “Today’s CRM software, with the aid of agentic AI and workflow automations, can help marketers and salespeople meet [personalization] expectations and much more,” Capobianco explained.
• Interactive CRM dashboards: Consider the level of dashboard customizability your CRM provides. Many CRMs allow you to control user access and visibility. For example, your customer service team must view key support data and client interactions, while senior management needs high-level business overviews. “[A] CRM’s ability to track metrics that matter to a business’s profitability is an area that is evolving and stands out,” Capobianco explained.
• Individual dashboard personalization: Some systems allow team members and managers to customize dashboards with key business key performance indicators or gain quick access to specific functions. Personalized dashboards help employees achieve better results and make the CRM more intuitive.
• Automated workflows: Workflow automations help teams streamline essential but repetitive tasks. Automations can shorten the steps needed to close a sale and improve customer service management.
• Omnichannel communications: Ideally, your CRM should centralize all external communications. Do you need to contact customers by phone, email, text, social media or other channels? Your CRM should log all interactions across channels and update customer records with detailed histories. 
• Information-sharing features: Many CRMs include employee collaboration tools that allow smoother, more efficient workflows. Consider your collaboration needs. For example, do you want your sales and marketing teams to share campaign performance insights and access the same data? Do you want customer service reps to transfer customers seamlessly to a sales agent if they express interest in a new product?
• Mobile access: Some CRMs have mobile apps that facilitate customer interactions and data sharing on the go. Consider the level of mobile CRM access you’ll need. CRMs with mobile access ensure all staff members, wherever they are, can be effective and productive while working with the latest information.
• CRM integrations: CRMs have varying integration capabilities. Some integrate with hundreds of third-party applications, while others support only a few. Consider the third-party and built-in integrations you need carefully and select a CRM that can accommodate your requirements.
• AI integration: AI features are becoming more prevalent in today’s CRMs. Consider whether you need a CRM system with AI and machine learning capabilities that provide advanced data analytics. A CRM with AI functions can make suggestions on streamlining workflows for better efficiency, help with strategic investment decisions, provide in-call prompts and tips to your customer service teams and much more.
• Data security features: Many CRMs include data security safeguards to help businesses comply with laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If you’re concerned with protecting your business from a data breach and safeguarding customer data, ensure your CRM has robust data security features. 

2. Compare CRM options based on crucial factors. 

After determining the CRM features your business needs, consider additional factors that impact the quality and operation of any potential CRM. Some, all or none of these factors may apply to you, but they are important to evaluate:

• Can you turn off features? Many businesses want to be able to turn off features they don’t need to streamline the platform’s visual interface. If this is important to you, ensure your CRM has this option. 
• Is the CRM scalable? Scalability is critical when choosing a CRM. Ensure any CRM you choose can grow with your business — and that you won’t pay significantly more if you add team members. 
• Is the CRM system easy to use? User-friendliness is a top priority for most businesses. While you (or the CRM provider) will provide proper training, you should ensure your CRM has an intuitive user interface and is easy to work with.
• Is the CRM compliant with data regulations? Legislators worldwide continue to pass new and increasingly complex data security laws. Ask the vendor whether their platform complies with regulations like CCPA and GDPR, if they use encryption by default and whether they perform routine backups.
• Is the CRM affordable? CRMs range from free to high-end enterprise solutions. Your budget will ultimately determine your final choice. Consider whether the CRM locks you into a contract, allows tier upgrades or downgrades and if you can walk away from the platform if it’s not a fit. Capobianco warned against choosing a system based on a low price: “CRM pricing varies widely, and investing in a robust platform can seem cost-prohibitive for businesses just starting out,” Capobianco noted. “However, starting with the end in mind for companies looking for growth will eliminate a major headache later in their evolution.”

3. Take advantage of CRM free trials.

Many CRMs provide free trials that allow you to interact with the software, test-drive features and have your team weigh in about what they like and don’t like.

During your free trial, pay close attention to the features and tools that matter most to your team. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How is the workflow on everyday tasks? 
• Do I like the look and feel of the system? 
• Can I imagine working with this system every day for five years or more?
• Is this CRM flexible and adaptable to our business needs?

4. Get multiple points of view. 

As you and your team evaluate and test software, invite feedback from various departments. Determine how much customization is necessary to make the system operate optimally for your organization. 

The CRM decision-making process will vary depending on your organization’s size. You may be the sole decision-maker, or you may need to present various solutions to a board of directors. 

Chris Sorensen, CEO of power dialer firm PhoneBurner, emphasized the importance of getting feedback from multiple points of view. “Try to involve as many ‘high-level team members’ as possible [and have them] evaluate the ease of integration with your current tools and processes,” Sorensen advised. “This helped us identify what works and what doesn’t work much more efficiently than in the past.”

Clements shared that his company spent six months evaluating demos and preparing and planning before implementing a new CRM solution. “This allowed us to choose a system based on the best fit rather than just the best price,” Clements explained. “Careful preparation ensured the system aligned with our team workflows and long-term goals.”

5. Test the vendor’s customer service. 

When you’ve narrowed your options to two or three CRM platforms, work with a customer service rep to ensure the solution can be tailored to your needs. Your contact during the research and demo process will likely be a good indication of the type of support you’ll receive if you become a customer. 

Provide two or three scenarios your business may encounter and ask for a demonstration of how the CRM platform would handle them. Additionally, determine the level of customer support you’ll receive during implementation and inquire about customer support hours and channels.

Your relationship with the CRM’s customer service team will be much more important than your relationship with the sales rep, so determine whether the CRM’s customer support is a good fit before signing a contract.

6. Choose the best CRM for your needs.

At this point, one CRM solution has likely risen above the others and is the obvious choice. With the careful consideration you’ve given, you’ve done everything possible to set your business up for CRM success.

7. Integrate the CRM into daily business life carefully. 

You may be certain you’ve chosen an excellent CRM solution for your organization. However, your implementation process is critical. Here are four steps to take for a successful CRM implementation.

1. Customize the CRM to your business’s needs.

Your first step is customizing the platform to your specific needs. You’ll likely need to do the following:

• Tidy up and migrate your data: Merge your existing databases, clean them up and upload them to your CRM, ensuring you configure the CRM’s data structure to match your data.
• Set up dashboards and permissions: Decide on users’ priorities and set up their dashboards to reflect their responsibilities and targets. To follow data protection best practices, limit each user’s access so they can only view the data necessary for their roles.
• Set up integrations: Add the necessary third-party plug-ins so your CRM can connect to and share data with your other business software. Some use cases may not have a pre-built app and custom API coding may be required, which may necessitate hiring an external developer.
• Set up workflow automations: Add crucial workflow automations and external apps that will benefit the company.

2. Train your team on the CRM.

Invest in employee training to ensure everyone understands the system. Provide all staff members with basic training on the platform’s core features and functions. You’ll also need specialized departmental training on specific workflows and processes.

Department heads and senior management should understand the platform’s more complex features. For example, train marketing managers to run various campaign analyses and inventory managers to analyze stock turnaround times for more accurate ordering.

Clemens stressed the importance of utilizing all available training. “Make use of any offered sessions and don’t shy away from advanced programs, even if they come with a fee,” Clemens advised. “These investments are critical for ensuring your team understands the system’s capabilities and can maximize its potential.”

3. Roll out your CRM officially.

When initial training is complete, the companywide CRM rollout begins. Note that the system won’t be perfect immediately. For example, users may not be prompted to input necessary data at certain stages. This is to be expected; it’s a complex process.

Start a pilot phase for each team and department to determine what’s working and what needs improvement. Gather feedback over several weeks and share it with the project manager configuring the system.

“You should roll out the system in stages,” Sorensen advised. “Start with one department and a select few users, all while gathering their feedback prior to scaling it. This will help minimize disruptions and ensure a smoother adoption overall.”

4. Build on the initial implementation.

Monitor how team members react to the system. If some co-workers seem resistant, determine why and investigate whether any system changes are necessary. Note where staff members get stuck and need help; consider creating screen recording videos to demonstrate how to perform specific actions.

Stay positive and keep working to improve the system. As its benefits become apparent, buy-in will increase, and your CRM system will have an excellent chance of success.