Is It Time to Audit Your CRM Software?

Your CRM software took a lot of time, energy, and money to incorporate into your business. Not only did you have to pay for the software and load it onto your computers, you also needed to take time out of your regular day to train your employees how to use the system.

 

If your CRM system is no longer effective or efficient, you may find yourself wondering if it’s time to install a brand new system and go through that rigmarole once again.

 

However, before you consign yourself to switching out your CRM software, you should perform an audit on your current system. It may be that the root cause of your problems isn’t the software itself, but rather the processes you have in place. Determining the cause of your problems can help you find a way to fix them – either through modifications or a full-out replacement.

 

Potential CRM Problems
Your CRM software could be malfunctioning for a variety of reasons:

• You could have ineffective processes in place.
• Your employees may not know how to use the system effectively, or to input information into the system correctly.
• You may have customized the software so much as to cause the systems to break down.
• You might have outgrown the software – giving it more information, accounts, or responsibilities than it can handle.

 

Some of these problems can be fixed, whereas some cannot. Before making the decision whether to fix it or toss it, you need to audit the software.

 

Questions to Ask in Your Audit
Auditing your CRM software involves going through a list of questions regarding the functionality of your tools and processes. If many answers to these questions are “Yes,” then the problem with your system is in the processes you built, not the program itself. If most of the answers are “No,” then you need to consider whether to attempt to fix the tool itself, or replace it with one better suited to your needs.

 

Consider your system and ask yourself the following questions:

• Can customers easily contact your sales and customer care representatives? Can they access their end of the CRM tool with no training?
• Do your employees regularly take part in training? Are they updated on all new processes? Do they know how to access metrics and analytics? Can they create new accounts quickly and easily?
• Is information stored properly? Is it easy to find and pull specific information and reports from the system?
• Are you spending less than $1,000 per year on maintenance costs?

Getting Help from a Professional
If a do-it-yourself audit is too involved or complicated for you to handle on your own, you can bring in a professional auditing firm to assess your CRM software’s functionality. They can help you determine if your processes need to be updated, how to update them and correct other problems, and whether you will ultimately require a new CRM system.

 

• Since buying and implementing a replacement CRM system is such an involved task, a thorough audit of your current system may be worth the price it costs to hire a professional team.
• Choose your auditing firm based on the amount of work you need done on your system, the level of experience the firm has with CRM in general and your program in particular, and the overall purpose of your audit.

 

Whether you do it yourself or employ a professional, auditing your CRM software may be a necessity. Don’t throw away your system just because it isn’t working – perform an audit first to see if your problems are permanent or fixable.