Five Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Renew Your Legacy CRM Vendor
What do a bedside shelfie, bit-coding robot, and a Gremlin chia pet have in common with your legacy CRM vendor? A lot!
Don’t you love those vendors that push everything you think you might want, but offer little or nothing you actually need? Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a bedside shelfie that easily clips onto your bedside and comes in nine – yes, nine – different colors.
Or a bit-coding robot in “cool blue”? I don’t know the difference between cool blue and regular blue, but I now want everything I buy in cool blue.
Don’t even get me started on the Gremlin chia pet…
Whether it is in our personal or business lives, there often is a disconnect between what we think we want and what we really need. It’s no different with our CRM vendors.
This month, thousands of global organizations will renew their legacy CRM vendors. Before you rush to hit the renew button, consider these important questions:
1. How often do you hear from your CRM vendor? Every month, twice per year or only 30-60 days before renewal?
a. Hint: A quarterly sync up or business review is important for you and the vendor. You need to give them feedback on your experience with the solution, and they need to receive this feedback and take action. Remember, CRM is a journey, and your vendor should provide guidance, resources, and best practices to help you achieve your goals today and for the future.
2. Do you consider your CRM a vendor or a business partner?
a. Hint: A vendor sells you stuff, but a business partner is in it for the long haul and works with you to ensure you extract every bit of value from your CRM system.
3. Do your sales, services, support and marketing teams use the CRM system every day from their mobile devices? Do they find it easy or cumbersome?
a. Hint: Your CRM should be very intuitive and enable your teams to use the system from mobile devices so they can focus on servicing customers regardless if they are in the office or on the road. Additionally, your CRM vendor should provide ongoing support and adoption enablement to ensure your users are successful working in the system.
4. Since buying your CRM solution, has it helped you grow your sales, know more about your customers, create exceptional customer experiences and run more effective marketing campaigns?
a. Hint: The answers to all four questions should be a resounding YES!
5. When you first purchased your CRM, were there any hidden costs? What was your total cost of ownership?
a. Hint: There should never be any “gotcha” fees in any CRM vendor contract. It is the equivalent of a car vendor saying, “Oh, you didn’t mention you want tires on your new car. That’s going to be extra.”
If any of these questions hit all too close to home for you, it is probably time to make your legacy CRM vendor re-earn your business and evaluate your options. When you think about what your business really needs, consider vendors that provide the core CRM features that matter most and can be managed as a single, complete CRM system without requiring investment in additional technologies to build out your CRM platform. Today’s modern solutions offer simple and modern user interfaces providing every employee with the right information, at the right time, before they even ask. This helps drive adoption, increases productivity, fosters collaboration and enables better decision making.
Choosing the right CRM solution is way more important and life-changing than a bedside shelfie and bit-coding robot. It may even help alleviate the buyer’s remorse you have on your new Gremlin chia pet.