A guide to CRM adoption
Moulding and adapting to change within your company’s software stack is always hard. Processes are different to what they used to be, and your day-to-day work requires new tools and smarter integrations to become effective within the business.
In a survey carried out by the International Data Group, businesses that adopt a digital-first strategy see an average revenue increase of 34%. Embracing this change isn’t straightforward, but it can be made a whole lot easier when you get the adoption stage right.
Keep reading to explore why adoption is such a crucial stage in the CRM (customer relationship management) implementation process, and what steps you can take to make it successful.
What is CRM adoption?
CRM adoption is the percentage of users actively using the platform when compared to total seats. Low rates are often due to complexity, poor user experience, or lack of training.
Adoption is crucial because if your team isn’t actually using the CRM, it doesn’t matter how powerful it is. Without buy-in, data gets messy, opportunities slip through the cracks, and the system you carefully built goes to waste.
Why CRM adoption matters
Adopting your new CRM solution in the right way affects how your staff will use the system for years to come. Setting off on the right foot helps everyone understand how it fits into their day-to-day roles and turns the CRM into something people want to use, instead of something they avoid. A smooth rollout means better teamwork, less confusion, and more value from your investment.
How to effectively adopt CRM software
Effective adoption looks different for every team. It depends on your goals, workflows, and how open people are to change within your organisation. The most important thing is to align the CRM with your specific needs from the start, something which implementation experts enable.services do daily.
Let’s take a deeper look at how you and your team can effectively adopt a CRM system:
Involve your team early
If your team isn’t involved from the get-go, they can be left feeling excluded and resistant to change. Bringing them in early helps to build trust, surfaces useful feedback, and gets everyone on the same page. When people feel heard and understood, they’re far more likely to support the adoption and actually use the new CRM.
Tailor the product to fit your needs
There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all CRM. Every team works differently, so it makes sense to shape the system around how you do things, not the other way around. Customising fields, workflows, and dashboards makes the CRM feel familiar and helpful to your team, not just another tool to learn. When it fits your team’s working style, people are much more likely to use it because they can see the value it brings.
Training and ongoing support
No matter how great your CRM is, it won’t do much if people don’t feel comfortable using it. That’s why good training from the start is key, it helps everyone get up to speed without frustration. And the support doesn’t stop there, ongoing support means exactly what it says. Any questions or hiccups along the way get quick answers, so your team never feels left on their own.
Regularly monitor and improve
Setting up your CRM is just the start. The real magic happens when you keep checking in on how it’s working for your team. Listen to what they like, what’s tricky, and make changes as you go. Doing this regularly means the CRM stays useful and doesn’t turn into something nobody wants to deal with. It’s all about keeping things simple and helpful so everybody feels positive and confident when using the CRM.
Want to start the adoption process?
Whether you’re figuring out how to roll things out, customising the system to fit your needs, or helping your team get comfortable with it, enable.services has your back. Take a look at our CRM adoption services to see how we can make the process work for you, and check out our training & support to keep your team confident.
Don’t just take our word for it, take a look at some of the companies we’ve helped successfully adopt their CRM and turn it into a tool their teams genuinely enjoy using daily.
