4 Reasons Your CRM System User Adoption Rate Stinks and How to Turn it Around

CRM systems are no longer just for the large enterprise. With the advent of cloud CRM and more affordable CRM solutions, every business can now take advantage of the many benefits it has to offer. Leading CRM systems have proven themselves effective tools to drive and support company growth, improve revenue, increase productivity, and drastically enhance customer satisfaction and relationships. But buying the software alone does not create results, CRM user adoption is necessary and for many companies, this is the biggest obstacle.
Below are 4 of the most common reasons a team ignores your CRM system and what you can do to improve your CRM user adoption rate.

Users are not properly trained on the system. Incomplete training is one of the biggest killers of any software implementation because many companies ignore it or just go through the motions. If your employees don’t know how to use your CRM system, then they certainly will not make it a part of their daily activities. It is important to take the time to train them properly. Fully learning the ins and outs of the system and feeling comfortable with it can take months, but that’s ok. In the end the training will be well worth it when you see then changes it will make in your productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction levels. Be sure to explain to users why they are learning something. How will it make their job easier? How will it boost their performance? This can help them better understand their training and its importance.

There is no mobile option. If you have a mobile sales force, it is important to give them mobile tools. This way whether they are meeting with a current customer, meeting prospects at a tradeshows or networking event, they can quickly and easily enter information into your CRM system while the information is fresh in their minds.

You have too many modules and required fields. Make sure your modules are clean and only require what is necessary. Many companies, when implementing CRM, get too excited and want to make up a field for literally every possible piece of data they can think up. Be sure you do not fall into this trap. Start with the basics and add in fields as you notice you need them. Too many fields, especially required fields, will overwhelm your employees and make the process of entering information too long and involved.

Too much dirty data. Before you transfer information from an old CRM system, or if you are using a CRM system for the first time, be sure your data is clean. That means making sure there are no duplicate records, incorrect contact information, and old email addresses, etc. Be sure your team knows how important it is to keep this data clean as you work in the new system.

While there may be other reasons your team is not using the system, by addressing the above situations you will likely see a significant change in your CRM user adoption rates. If you’re still looking for information on making the most of your CRM system, download this free white paper in which we discuss:

• Increasing user adoption
• Choosing a CRM that can scale
• Using reports effectively
• Utilizing Workflow
• Identifying long-term CRM objectives

e2b teknologies provides ERP, accounting applications, custom cloud-based software development services, accounts receivable management software, and calibration services through its three business units – e2b anytime apps is the publisher of Anytime Collect accounts receivable management software, Anytime Assets, Anytime 500, and related Anytime brand products. e2b enterprise develops custom cloud-based business applications and resells leading ERP accounting software and other enterprise business software applications from Sage Software, Epicor, Sugar CRM, and other publishers. e2b calibration is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration laboratory.

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By Jeanne Lee