Exploring the need for a new CRM system

Before you begin to design and build your CRM, you need to understand why you are doing this. Understanding your reasoning and the need for a new CRM can help you make sure you prioritize the new system effectively to remove pain points and set clear goals. Consider some of the following reasons:

• Your sales team does not have a clear, well-defined process for generating new business.
• Your business is experiencing growth, and you need this growth to be scalable and more profitable.
• You have identified the need to improve how customer data is collected, managed, and used within your business.
• The sales team is missing out on opportunities from existing customers through not nurturing or following up with them enough.
• You have customer data in several different places and are using multiple systems that do not integrate with each other.
• You realize that your current CRM system is out of date or no longer fit for purpose.

You may be able to identify with more than one of the aforementioned reasons. Once you truly understand why you need a CRM system, we can begin to think about the next steps.

Tip

List the reasons because of which you/your team have decided that a new CRM is needed for your business. Doing so will provide a reference for later when it comes to defining success measures and also seeking buy-in from colleagues.

Now that you have identified a few reasons for change, it is also useful to consider how a CRM may also be of benefit to other areas of your business.