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this article that takes an in-depth look at the use of CRM systems and how they can be used in the wrong way. When sales reps ignore the insights provided by a CRM system, when management isn't willing to use the system to their advantage by paying attention to pipeline activity and just concentrating on close rates, a CRM system is not being used in the right way. A byproduct of this misuse is that it decreases marketing effectiveness because prospect probability is practically non-existent.
So how can you avoid this mistake? To summarize, here a are some ways you can use your CRM the right way:
- Ensure your sales people understand the value of a CRM system.
- Add more value to the CRM system (LinkedIn, plugins, etc.)
- Get sales management to agree that pipeline reviews based on CRM data is a must!
- Create reports that identify the biggest users and non-users of the system.
- Create reports on which account are most recently updated and which ones are not.