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Did you know that CRM solutions have been on the market for almost 3 decades now? Well, we’re pretty sure you didn’t and that’s one of the greatest CRM secrets. Of course, they’ve evolved over the years, which is why every iteration is completely different from the previous one. This is also the same reason why CRM solutions mystify businesses even today.
Anyway, getting back to the point, there are several such “secrets” that some businesses have no clue about. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of sorts to “educate” them. So, let’s begin.
Want High-Quality Data? Be Ready to Pay
Even in the case of cursory implementation, you will start to see significant issues with regard to the quality of data. This can be hugely annoying and detrimental to the credibility of the CRM solution. But, there’s hope. You can handle data quality issues through this 3 step approach.
First, make sure you bring in data into the system after cleaning it up, irrespective of the whether or not it’s a subsequent import or initial migrations.
Second, search and identify the sources of data corruption and fix them. There are automation tools that can help you with this. However, establish a budget that suits a data steward who understands data entries and prioritizes quality. There is no such thing as data that fixes itself in CRM.
Finally, identify the interfaces and processes that disturb the CRM data’s semantics. You see, your team could be making small but significant changes to the data’s meaning. This is especially true in the case of business processes that stretch across multiple departments with varying metrics, objectives, incentives, and definitions.
A very common example here would be sales vs. marketing vs. support.
Outdated CRM Systems Deliver Outdated Customer Experiences
There’s no point of having a CRM solution that’s just done its time. You see, in order to survive in today’s business environment, you need to keep up with the changes and also, set yourself apart from your rivals. The distinctiveness and the quality of your customer experiences can have a tremendous impact in this case.
However, if you’re using an outdated CRM system, providing an up-to-date customer experience is going to be next to impossible. The older some CRM systems get, the slower and clunkier they get when compared to their modern counterparts. You can adapt them to modern demands, but it’ll cost you everything.
So, invest in something modern to stay relevant in the race.
First-Gen SaaS CRM Vendors Ask for Data Just to Charge You for It
As we stated earlier, CRM solutions have been available for decades. When the first-generation solutions started rolling out, SaaS vendors had to establish their own cloud infrastructure to support these solutions. There were simply no other alternatives.
Of course, times have changed and technology has evolved. Today, we have flexible cloud platforms offered by the likes of giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon that are not only more advanced but also, affordable.
But, what really makes these modern solutions better than their older rivals is that you, the client, have options to choose from. You can even deploy the solution on your own private cloud.
So, why do SaaS vendors still charge for customer data, despite such flexible options competing with them? Well, that’s how they trick you into paying them more. They charge almost 5 times more just to keep your data. Once you sign up with these vendors, you’re basically giving away your rights and freedom for a temporary period. But, that temporary period will slow you down drastically as far as business years are concerned.
Did you know that CRM solutions have been on the market for almost 3 decades now? Well, we’re pretty sure you didn’t and that’s one of the greatest CRM secrets. Of course, they’ve evolved over the years, which is why every iteration is completely different from the previous one. This is also the same reason why CRM solutions mystify businesses even today.
Anyway, getting back to the point, there are several such “secrets” that some businesses have no clue about. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of sorts to “educate” them. So, let’s begin.
Want High-Quality Data? Be Ready to Pay
Even in the case of cursory implementation, you will start to see significant issues with regard to the quality of data. This can be hugely annoying and detrimental to the credibility of the CRM solution. But, there’s hope. You can handle data quality issues through this 3 step approach.
First, make sure you bring in data into the system after cleaning it up, irrespective of the whether or not it’s a subsequent import or initial migrations.
Second, search and identify the sources of data corruption and fix them. There are automation tools that can help you with this. However, establish a budget that suits a data steward who understands data entries and prioritizes quality. There is no such thing as data that fixes itself in CRM.
Finally, identify the interfaces and processes that disturb the CRM data’s semantics. You see, your team could be making small but significant changes to the data’s meaning. This is especially true in the case of business processes that stretch across multiple departments with varying metrics, objectives, incentives, and definitions.
A very common example here would be sales vs. marketing vs. support.
Outdated CRM Systems Deliver Outdated Customer Experiences
There’s no point of having a CRM solution that’s just done its time. You see, in order to survive in today’s business environment, you need to keep up with the changes and also, set yourself apart from your rivals. The distinctiveness and the quality of your customer experiences can have a tremendous impact in this case.
However, if you’re using an outdated CRM system, providing an up-to-date customer experience is going to be next to impossible. The older some CRM systems get, the slower and clunkier they get when compared to their modern counterparts. You can adapt them to modern demands, but it’ll cost you everything.
So, invest in something modern to stay relevant in the race.
First-Gen SaaS CRM Vendors Ask for Data Just to Charge You for It
As we stated earlier, CRM solutions have been available for decades. When the first-generation solutions started rolling out, SaaS vendors had to establish their own cloud infrastructure to support these solutions. There were simply no other alternatives.
Of course, times have changed and technology has evolved. Today, we have flexible cloud platforms offered by the likes of giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon that are not only more advanced but also, affordable.
But, what really makes these modern solutions better than their older rivals is that you, the client, have options to choose from. You can even deploy the solution on your own private cloud.
So, why do SaaS vendors still charge for customer data, despite such flexible options competing with them? Well, that’s how they trick you into paying them more. They charge almost 5 times more just to keep your data. Once you sign up with these vendors, you’re basically giving away your rights and freedom for a temporary period. But, that temporary period will slow you down drastically as far as business years are concerned.
