Tips to help you with your CRM implementation

Do you know where you are going?

If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there? Your CRM journey is no time for a lazy Sunday afternoon pedal. You need to know where you are going, what you're going to do, and what you are not going to do. Technically, this is your project scope, but most of us would just call it a plan.

Whether you are implementing with in-house resources, or using a vendor or consultant or a combination of these to support you, time is money. Without your project being scoped out you could waste a lot of time and a lot of money, and might face a lot of steep, energy-zapping hills. You will probably lose a bit of focus and enthusiasm and wonder what you're doing and why it was such a good idea.

For such a big, charity-changing decision like a new CRM, you need to know what lies ahead so you can plan that the right people are in the right places, doing the right things, at the right time. It will also mean you can measure what has happened against what was supposed to happen and if you take an accidental detour, figure out how you're going to get back on track to complete your journey.

What do you need to bring?

Putting a shopping basket on a top-notch titanium framed racing bike is not going to help the balance and performance of your ride. But where are you going to put all the bits you need to bring with you? In CRM journey terms, we are talking about legacy systems and integrations – things like your website CMS, email marketing tools, even accounting and HR tools.

Bringing your data with you is a big part of the journey and being prepared for data migration should not be underestimated. Evaluate the data you have, identify whether it needs 'cleaning', and work with the vendor on data mapping to ensure the process goes smoothly.

Now is the time to take a look at what you need to bring with you and make some choices. Think about the tools you already have and how they are going to work with your new super-efficient CRM. You might not even be aware of some of the tools that are in use as others may have just adopted them to help them get on with their job. That might have been the right decision at the time, but now you're switching CRM, you could run into problems with systems that don't or won't easily integrate.

Think about whether you want to retire some tools in favour of the new CRM and map out whether integration is possible and what it will cost. The good thing is many systems now work with an open API (application programming interface) which makes integration much simpler.

Agree with co-riders where you'll meet up en-route

No cyclist is an island, apparently, so it's pretty unlikely you'll be taking your bike ride alone. Inevitably you'll find that people ride at their own pace, some racing ahead and some plodding along admiring the view. The real danger is not that people fall behind (ever noticed, there's always someone at the back chivvying people along!) but that some will start to take a different route. You need to agree up front where to meet along the way to keep everyone on track – and on plan.

If people start to deviate from your CRM plan, problems start. Change control is vital. That's not to say you cannot change your plan. But how you change and how and who agrees the changes is critical. With no controls in place, the project can end up growing and expanding and never finishing, or worse morphing into several sub projects over which there is little control and no clear direction.

You want me to ride where?

It came as a rude shock when I found out what a contour was and what that meant to my legs as I pedalled up a steep hill. I try and plan round them now, often taking a slightly longer route in preference!

A key part of your CRM is not just everyone following the plan – it is also that everyone is happy with what that means for their team. Faced with a new system, and potential changes to tools they've used quite happily before (see point 2), making sure everyone is pleased with how the system is working for them is vital.

User Acceptance Testing (to give it its grand title) at every step along the way makes sure that key business processes work. However much time you spend laying out key processes for your project scope, translating one way of doing things into a new system can take time to get right. Either way, it's a new approach and people need time to get used to it. Give them that time.

Avoid collisions

The last thing we need on a lovely ride is a collision to spoil it all. You know the others in your peloton have probably got half an eye out for each other. But they're not the only people on the road…

What could possibly cause a problem for your project? By staying on top of the risk points through the process, you will help avoid an internal crash and keep the project on course – yes, sometimes they happen, but you can usually get up, brush yourselves down and carry on.

A more serious risk lies with the others involved in your project – have they estimated their time requirements correctly? Is there enough training time scheduled in? Is there some flex if some things take more time or an unexpected snag comes up? One thing that should not be skimped on is training time – it is vital to ensure the project is successful, that the CRM is used properly and that it achieves the goals you set out at the start.