Switching to Salesforce CRM is often touted as the elixir of digital transformation— and usually, it is. When implemented properly, the Salesforce platform empowers businesses to remain efficient, effective, and relevant in today’s fast-paced digital era. But sometimes, organisations don’t receive the value and return they expect from their investment.
It’s the implementation that will make or break your ROI.
Digital transformations aren’t off-the-rack experiences
According to CHAOS Manifesto 2020, 31% of all IT related projects were successful, i.e. delivered on time, on budget, and with required features and functions; 50% were challenged, i.e. late, over budget, and/or provided less than the required features and functions; and 19% failed, meaning they were canceled prior to completion or delivered and never used.
If the IT projects were patients, they would have a 31% survival rate, a 50% chance of getting sick, and a 19% chance of dying (“IT Project Management, A Geek’s Guide to Leadership” by Byron A. Love)
Failed and challenged CRM systems are rarely due to the software. It’s almost always due to the implementation.
Original thought 1: “Let’s skip professional services and implement Salesforce ourselves. We have technical people, it’ll be easy. We’ll save a lot in consulting fees.”
Crushing reality 1: Your people already have a full-time job and no time to learn and implement Salesforce on top of that. Even if they have months to study and learn, do you want your CRM to become their learning project?
Original thought 2: “Salesforce will deliver great functionality and UX out-of-the-box.” Crushing reality 2: While there is some out of the box functionality, you would not consider Salesforce if that was all you needed. Process automation, customization and integration with your systems are where Salesforce shines. Paying for the best CRM and underutilizing it is not a good investment.
Original thought 3: “We do not need project overhead. We just need someone to implement it quickly at a bargain price.” Crushing reality 3: The cheapest of anything is rarely worth it. Yes, senior resources and a proper implementation methodology with process analysis, UAT and training phases cost more initially. However, a failed implementation however costs much more in the medium to long term.
What’s more expensive than implementing Salesforce? Implementing it twice.
From Shelfware as a Service
Your business processes are not covered resulting in a lot of manual work. Some employees have already reverted to excel and stopped using your new CRM.
You have worked with numerous freelancers to get low prices. Some things work, some things don’t. Fixing them has become as expensive as rebuilding most of the functionality.
Data is spread among different systems in your company. Invoices are in the accounting software, sales activities in LinkedIn and your email, product sales in your in-house system.
To Software as a Service
Your processes have been analysed and mapped in Salesforce. The system has been tailored to your business needs and not the other way around.
A design and implementation methodology was followed. Stakeholders participated in all phases. Testing and training phases were not skipped. Implementation is well documented and consistent with best practices.
Customer 360 gives you true visibility. You have gone the extra mile to integrate Salesforce with your systems and information flows as needed.
Find the right partner and get it right the first time.
At Robin we implement Salesforce systems that work and are actually used, not just delivered.
We will be a true partner in your Salesforce implementation journey and helping you make the most of your transformation investment. What sets us apart is that we are fast, reliable and responsive.
Let’s talk today about your Salesforce implementation journey.