What are the 5 essential steps to take to prepare for a new CRM system? Find out what you must ask yourself and what factors you must consider to prepare for the success of your CRM project.

1. P R E P A R I N G F O R
C R M

2. P R E P L A N N I N G Y O U R C R M
Why do we need a CRM system?
What do we expect to see as benefits?
Who needs to access it?
What does “good” look like?
What should the ROI be?
What is the minimum benefit we expect to gain in the first instance?
This will help you to prioritise your most important requirements and set quantifiable
objectives that can be used to confirm your project's success.
Before starting a new CRM project it is important to ask yourself:

3. W I T H Y O U R O B J E C T I V E S
D E F I N E D Y O U C A N M O V E O N
T O T H E N E X T I M P O R T A N T S T E P
O F D O C U M E N T I N G Y O U R
P R O C E S S E S .

4. 1 . P R O C E S S E S
T h e r o o t c a u s e o f m a n y C R M
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n f a i l u r e s i s a l a c k o f
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e b u s i n e s s
p r o c e s s e s .
T o h e l p a c h i e v e g r e a t e r s u c c e s s ,
l o o k a t t h e p r o c e s s e s y o u w a n t t o
i m p l e m e n t b e f o r e l o o k i n g a t a
s o l u t i o n .

5. S I X K E Y P O I N T S T O C O N S I D E R :
1. Review the processes with cross departmental representatives.
2. Define the objective of each process and work towards it.
3. How do you want to run your processes going forward?
4. Think Digital! Will users access information from hand-held
devices or a portal?
5. Continually challenge along the way.
6. Use an external facilitator - they should be able to add value in
their own right, by sharing and offering up ideas and input based on
their own experience.

6. 2 . D A T A
D a t a i s t h e l i f e b l o o d o f a C R M
s y s t e m .
I f y o u d o n o t h a v e g o o d d a t a ,
y o u r C R M i s i n b i g t r o u b l e f r o m
t h e s t a r t .

7. F i v e p r i m a r y
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s t o
r e d u c e d a t a f a i l u r e :
1 . D a t a G o v e r n a n c e .
2 . D a t a S o u r c e s .
3 . D a t a M i g r a t i o n .
4 . A g e o f D a t a .
5 . D a t a S e c u r i t y .

8. T h e w o r k r e q u i r e d t o m o v e d a t a
f r o m o n e p l a c e t o a n o t h e r i s
g e n e r a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t l y
u n d e r e s t i m a t e d . W i t h t h e h e l p o f
a n e x p e r i e n c e d f a c i l i t a t o r y o u c a n
a c h i e v e g r e a t e r d a t a c o n s i s t e n c y .

9. S t a r t w i t h t h e e n d i n m i n d .
C o n s i d e r t h e s o r t o f o u t p u t
y o u w i l l n e e d t o h e l p y o u
a s s e s s i f y o u r p r o c e s s e s
c a p t u r e t h e d a t a r e q u i r e d .
3 . O U T P U T

10. 4 . P R I O R I T I E S
As you explore the customisable capabilities of
your CRM, you are likely to find brilliant new ways
of working faster and smarter. This is great if you
have a huge budget and/ or unlimited time and
resources.
The reality check is that you are likely to have a
finite budget/resource/timeframe.
Y o u n e e d t o P r i o r i t i s e !

11. 5 . R E Q U I R E M E N T S
O n c e y o u k n o w w h a t y o u w a n t t o
a c h i e v e ( a n d t h e p r o c e s s e s / d a t a
r e q u i r e d t o d o s o ) y o u c a n d r a f t
y o u r r e q u i r e m e n t s .

12. D e c i d e t h e b e s t w a y f o r w a r d f o r
y o u r b u s i n e s s n o w a n d i n t h e
n e a r f u t u r e w i t h Q G a t e .
W A N T T O L E A R N M O R E ?
R E A D T H E F U L L A R T I C L E H E R E !