If you’re trying to justify an investment in a new customer relationship management (CRM) solution, or even if you’re looking to replace an existing solution, there are several considerations before taking your proposal to the next level for approval. Weighing these considerations ahead of time helps prepare you for any questions that might derail your project.
Compare the Features Against Their Ease of Use
When justifying a large purchase, it’s easy to tout the benefits that come from a rich feature set. As more components and modules are added to the application, however, the application may become difficult to navigate, cumbersome, or slow. When users decide that the program isn’t user friendly, there’s a high probability that the project will fail.
Be prepared for usability questions by including only those features your organization would find useful and putting the vendor’s product through live testing in an environment that mirrors your own. Finally, do your homework by reading up on what other users have to say, especially those who use the product in a manner similar to your organization.
How Is Information Presented?
It’s no secret that harnessing the data of a CRM solution can pay off for your sales team. Countless statistics support attractive returns on investment for those who implement these solutions, but one thing you need to consider when investigating a CRM solution is how the data is presented to the sales team. In other words, will the team be able to access and use the data? Sales reps need information to be concise and comprehensive; they shouldn’t have to navigate multiple screens when trying to get a picture of the person they’re talking to.
Will the Product Scale?
Most people expect their business to grow over time, but they don’t want to buy tools that they can grow into. Instead, smart companies look for software that will grow with them, so, it’s important that you consider how well the CRM solution you’re considering will grow with you. Find out how easy it is to add users, expand records and data stores, and even how quickly you will be able to add new modules when you need them. Also, consider the fact that as the size of your CRM solution grows, so will the need for more people to manage and secure it. If this is not something you can justify spending money on, you may want to think about a cloud solution that will provide easier growth without the need to increase your support team.
Most businesses would find it difficult to survive without the help of a CRM solution, but a software purchase of this size could have serious ramifications if the wrong application is selected. Make sure that your justification for CRM software has taken everything into consideration before the application makes its way into your organization.