Why are CRM consultants needed?

When people talk about CRM in everyday life, they usually mean CRM systems. That is, the software services that support salespeople in their sales work and manage customer data more efficiently. These can be systems such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Hubspot or Upsales.

It should be easy. A system that automates certain tasks, helps save important customer data and brings all interactions with customers and prospects under one roof. What's more, systems have become much easier to work with recently. Most vendors offer a range of functionalities that create advanced automations with just a few clicks - without a single line of code. But:

• Why is it difficult to find the right system? 
• Why sit in never-ending workshops and meetings before even getting started and working with the system?
• Why should management be involved? It's just plug and play, honk and go, isn't it?
• Why should you need consultants to implement these solutions?

When we talk about digitisation, we're not just talking about the shift from analogue to automated processes - we're talking about the whole digital evolution. Digitalisation is about using new digital technologies, systems and solutions to make businesses more modern, efficient and flexible.

It's about starting to use technology to streamline internal tasks and to better understand customer needs and behaviour, as well as to prioritise data (data collection, data quality, and data availability) in the organisation. It is and must be part of a larger strategy: the digitalisation strategy.

In a change process that takes the organisation from the current state to a future where you act on data and base your decisions on facts, technology is just one piece of the puzzle. However, people and processes are the power behind the change. Technology is only as good as the processes that are implemented around it, and processes are only as good as the people who execute them!

Therefore, technology will never be the solution to any problem in itself.

Why should you take external help in a CRM project?

• Choosing the right CRM system

From choosing the CRM platform that best suits your needs, to supporting employees both during and after implementation, there are many aspects that can lead to failure if not handled properly. 

CRM systems are usually very similar when compared across the board. It's not until you start diving into the details that the systems start to differ. This work in turn is important for managing expectations and can be used as an educational opportunity in the capabilities and limitations of the different platforms. It is just as important to buy into a solution's capabilities as its limitations and it is not always easy to know the limitations as vendors like to leave these out of the picture in their demos.

An independent consultant can help you understand which features are important for your business, help your team to spot the differences between platforms and prioritise the right things rather than falling into the shiny-object trap.

• Time & Resource

"Practice makes perfect"

The CRM industry is a very dynamic field where new trends, technologies and solutions are emerging every day. Consultants are specialized in this field, working with different industries, creating understanding of pitfalls and how to avoid them. This enables them to carry out implementations both on time and cost-effectively. 

Your internal resources can also do the work, but alongside all their other tasks, implementation slows down. This in turn increases the risk of parallel databases making the migration more difficult and less smooth. Unfortunately, these costs are rarely factored into the project and come as negative surprises afterwards.

• Best practices

One of the main reasons to hire CRM consultants is their vast knowledge of a variety of CRM best practices. When you hire an external consulting team, you're not just engaging people who are technically certified in your chosen CRM system. But you are hiring a team of professionals who have encountered a variety of business situations with years of expertise and who know which strategies and technical approaches work best and which don't. Not knowing the exact challenges you've faced in the past gives the consultants the advantage of thinking "outside-the-box" and coming up with suggested solutions that you may not have thought of yourself.

• People before technology

"It is business processes that should drive technology, not technology that defines business processes!"

It is important to define the business processes independently of the technology and systems in which the business processes will be implemented.

Involving all stakeholders affected by the system choice from the very first step, gathering their requirements and getting buy-in from them throughout the process will be a success factor for implementation. 

An independent partner who does not come from a specific department with a cross-functional approach makes requirements gathering more efficient. Consultants are experts at this. They don't get caught up in the company's hierarchical structure, can interview different stakeholders, gather requirements and produce information that would otherwise not have been available.

• Advanced solutions for advanced functionalities

When you hire an experienced CRM consultant, it's possible they've encountered some similar business problems to your company's during their previous consulting assignments. Therefore, the consultant can then recommend the best proven methods to solve these business problems within a CRM solution.

This can range from previous experience in migrating data from the old to the new CRM system, to advanced features that have evolved to meet similar challenges. 

CRM projects require a full commitment to best practices. When you implement the solution without going through business process modeling, change management, testing and other critical tasks, you reduce your chances of achieving widespread user adoption or even getting a well-functioning system. 

Consultants have several projects within the framework. They understand the importance of providing appropriate user training and following a proven approach to ensure that your agency supports your goals.

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