In the final part of a series on common CRM implementation issues and how to avoid them, we cover the importance of monitoring and enforcing the proper use of CRM.
In the first and second blogs, we discussed:
- How CRM systems are not financially governed – which makes people feel like CRM use is (almost) optional.
- We also highlighted the importance of business executives owning and leading the CRM project.
- We covered the need for a change management and adoption strategy to set a foundation for proper use and increase data accuracy.
Once a CRM system is live, the hard part begins.
Over time, CRM usage and the related quality of data can degrade if the people interacting with the system lose focus on how important it is to consistently manage the sales and services processes within the system. The primary reason usage degrades is simple: If the data is not accurate, trust in the system also declines. As trust is lost, proper usage declines, which ultimately may lead to a CRM “death spiral”, system that’s largely ignored.
So how do you keep this from happening?
In the previous chapter, we discussed the need for an adoption strategy to encourage proper usage and to ensure a high level of “ownership” in the system. This adoption strategy is also intended to get folks on board with how success with CRM will be measured. During the implementation, the team should establish key metrics and goals that tie back to the business case for the project. A corresponding monitoring and enforcement process must also be put in place; one that is designed to drive the preferred behavior and activities.
One of the most effective enforcement methods is “data transparency.” People are perfectly comfortable working at their own pace, in their own way, and perhaps not the recommended way until their activities and performance become visible to the team. While some may view this as “public shaming,” the reality is visibility across the team creates a sense of accountability and usually generates competition and pride if done the right way.
D365 Tools that Facilitate CRM Monitoring and Enforcement
Organizational Insights
This free module in Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a wealth of information on who, what, where, and when the CRM is used.
It is easy to understand how much time users are spending in the CRM, when they are using it, and what activities are performed. Using this data in summary or detail on a dashboard or display monitor is helpful to drive CRM usage.
Gamification
Gamification is a free module for Dynamics CRM that’s designed to make CRM usage FUN!
Using CRM KPI performance metrics, users play a game to drive a desired goal or goals. This module easily builds competition across organizations and similar teams or groups. Game performance (user performance) is frequently shown on a video display so the current score is always in mind.
KPI Dashboards
Dynamics CRM also provides powerful tools to collect performance metrics based on activities and goals.
Using these dashboards to compare performance across teams, departments, offices, and sites can build a spirit of competition. Using this information for weekly, monthly, and annual performance reviews is key to driving usage.
Ongoing CRM Usage & Performance Nurturing
A management approach to getting the most value from your CRM solution is to integrate CRM usage data into personal and team performance metrics. The tools previously noted can help track and encourage CRM use, but it’s the assessment of how well the CRM users are performing against expectations that really shed light on how well things are going. The recommendation is to establish KPIs and goals for each role and team. Not only will this help drive accountability, but when folks exceed goals, a nice opportunity to recognize top performers presents itself!
Here are three examples of where CRM KPI performance metrics can be used in performance reviews to help drive proper CRM behavior:
1. Monthly Sales Review
For each role, create a KPI metric for activities (example: five appointments per month, 10 phone calls per day) and create KPI sales goals by period.
Using activity reports and sales KPI performance reports for sales representatives: review the performance KPIs of sales versus budget (goal) and compare activities KPIs to a role standard. If performance is low, indicate this in the performance review data so it is visible – month to month.
2. Weekly Customer Account Review
For each role, create KPI metrics for activities (example: calls per hour, completed cases per day).
Using activity reports and KPI performance reports, review account management with each customer service representative in terms of service level, data accuracy, open and closed documents, and customer satisfaction. Compare performance with established goals so the user clearly understands what behavior is expected.
3. Annual Performance Review
Create KPI performance metrics for established budgets and/or goals.
These metrics can be spread across activities, leads, cases, opportunities, orders, and surveys. A rich blend of data is available using not only standard CRM data but also organizational insights. External data sources can also be pulled in using Power BI.
Include these budget-to-actual statistics in the annual performance review and take corrective action where needed. Monthly reviews with goals will help guide user behavior but corrective action, or more importantly rewards, should be an option at year-end so the outcome is always understood.
In Summary
There is an old engineering adage that says “what gets measured gets done.” Since CRM usage spans all areas of the business focused on optimizing customer engagement and satisfaction, it is imperative that methods are deployed to track, manage and encourage the use of CRM.
Tools are available in D365 CE to help facilitate this, but tools will only take an organization so far. It’s the application of the tools in the right way that makes the biggest impact in optimizing the value CRM can drive into the business.
A combination of…
- tying individual and team goals to performance against those goals,
- implementing an ongoing KPI review, and
- incentivizing for “good behavior” can really move the needle on CRM usage, and keep that needle pointing in the right direction.
