Defining CRM success with the CRM Adoption Curve
In the first post in this CRM Adoption Curve series, we discussed the challenges companies encounter before investing in their CRM processes and tools. In the second post, we covered the benefits of centralizing your customer information into one system and defining repeatable processes for interacting with your customers. The next stage in adopting your CRM strategy and driving company growth is “Step 3: the Defined Stage”. This is where your hard work really starts paying off.
At this stage, the customer-centric processes that you began defining in the Managed Stage are now battle-tested and you are ready to automate them via Sugar Workflow. Leads are automatically passed to the right sales person. Stalled inquiries are automatically identified for management review. Hand-offs across teams are tracked and audited so that you never lose track of your customer when moving that customer from one department to another. Your CRM professionals are collaborating within, and across, teams because they now have access to the same data. Management has clear visibility into the processes via well-defined Sugar Reports and has begun predicting future success with accuracy. Your company is more responsive than ever to prospects and customers and your customer acquisition and retention rates have grown.
Keep in mind, it can easily take six to twelve months to move from the Managed Stage to the Defined Stage. Progress doesn’t just magically happen. It takes focus and dedication. This is where the vast network of local SugarCRM implementation partners can make a big impact on your CRM adoption success and help you accelerate your customer growth plans.
In the next post, we will describe what happens when you move from the Defined Stage to “Step 4: the Optimized Stage“.