I’ve Heard That A Lot Of CRM Projects Fail, Why Is This?

Poor User Adoption

This really is an essential, and often overlooked, part of a CRM project. Getting the technology embedded in the right way in a business can be challenging, however, if the employees (who are ultimately the end-users of the software) are not fully on board, then the entire project is in danger of failing. We have seen too often in Dynamics 365 recovery projects, that a partner implements the CRM software and after a few weeks, users are resorting back to their old habits and working outside of the solution.

To overcome this, it is important that users are on-board from the very beginning, communication is open within the business, sufficient training is provided and a range of other steps. When it comes to training, this should also be tailored to your business. In any organisation, there are different levels of user capabilities, so various types of training may be required. Additionally, training is not always a one-time thing, so this should be revisited wherever necessary, especially if you are implementing new functionality regularly.

It is also important that top-level stakeholders are on board and driving this project internally, as a change in CRM is ultimately a cultural shift within the business. The CRM system is crucial to many elements of day-to-day operations, from building a foundation of customer communication to maintaining customer relationships. Therefore, having the support of the senior management team is important.

An Unsuccessful Partnership

It is crucial that whoever is implementing your CRM solution, really understands your business, industry, current and future needs/requirements, what you are trying to achieve, etc. This will ensure that the solution that gets implemented is truly suited to your business and will be able to make a real difference in your organisation. When it comes to choosing the product and partner for your CRM project, it is important to take your time to review partners out there and look at reviews, case studies, social media, meet with them, etc; They are going to be an extension of your team during the CRM implementation and in a long-term partnership post-implementation.

When it comes to Dynamics 365, we have spoken to multiple businesses whose D365 project hasn’t gone to plan and they say “Microsoft Dynamics 365 isn’t right for our business”. When we have delved deeper, we usually discover that it isn’t that Dynamics is ‘not right’, it’s the customisations that have been built on top of the platform by the partner, which are failing to meet the needs of the customer. A good partner will understand your business challenges, processes & goals, and design the system around this. There are many other reasons that could impact a CRM project, however, these are the two most common ones we encounter. Hopefully, by reading this you have a better understanding of why a CRM project can fail and in contrast, what makes a successful rollout.

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