How to ensure success of SuiteCRM Implementation

Whether you have chosen a SuiteCRM vendor or not, it is a good idea to prepare for the organizational challenges you may meet:

•   What does it involve resources?
•   Do you need to make organizational changes?
•   What are the goals or benefits you expect to get out of the CRM system?
•   Do you want a cloud or a server solution?

When you implement a new IT system, the whole organization needs to be in sync. It has to be a combination of a set of official guidelines and personal involvement. A good project manager is essential and the way to success lies in good internal communication. A SuiteCRM system is not just technology; it is a strategy and a philosophy.

The success of SuiteCRM implementation largely depends on the ability of the users to efficiently work with the system. This is the best way to know more about the SuiteCRM Implementation & SuiteCRM Training.

1. Identify why your organization needs a SuiteCRM system: Your organization will maximize the benefits of a CRM system by first identifying which areas you want to improve or which problems need to be addressed.
2. Research the many vendors in the SuiteCRM bracket: To find one that will be a good fit for your organization. Consider factors, such as:

•   Strength of the vendor’s product
•   Vendor’s experience in the CRM market
•   Knowledge level of the vendor’s employees
•   Vendor’s corporate vision
•   Vendor’s experience in working with companies the same size as yours
•   Customer references

3. Instil good businesses practices before implementing your SuiteCRM system: The last thing you want to do is automate bad processes or deploy a CRM system that forces you to change the way you do business. Evaluate the quality of your business procedures and improve any shortcomings, then make sure the CRM system you choose can accommodate your practices.
4. Create a formula to assess the system’s benefits for your company: Declaring intangible benefits, such as increased productivity and better communication, is relatively easy to do, but gauging concrete payoffs, like a million-dollar revenue boost or a 10% increase in customer retention, requires some planning. Knowing the system’s benefit calculation is important because it benchmarks the success of your customer strategy and validates the importance of the system.
5. Identify which areas within your organization will use the system: Gather input from all areas to ensure everyone’s needs are met. You’ll want to make sure that all users are satisfied with the functionality of the system because everyone must use the system in order for it to succeed.
6. Develop a realistic budget that accounts for all expenses associated with the implementation of the SuiteCRM system: Be sure to discuss all of your expectations with your chosen CRM partner so you can both work to meet your budget.
7. For the first phase of your SuiteCRM implementation: estimate how you might want the system to evolve in the future. For example, are there areas of the CRM system you will want customized to meet your unique needs? Add users? Find out if the system will be able to accommodate these changes.
8. After the first phase of implementation: You can consider additional phases for rollout. For example, once you have used the system for a few months, you might want to extend the system to other departments, implement other modules or other customizations that you did not consider during the initial implementation.
9. Evaluate whether you will need the system to interact with other software: Such as your accounting or human resource systems. Discuss ease and cost of integration with the vendor so you are aware of what the process entails.
10. Implement the SuiteCRM system with a trickle-down approach: Support for the project must come from the top levels of management to instil a sense of importance and commitment toward using the system.
11. Don’t leave training till the end: Training is often considered the last component of an implementation. Training receives the least funding and results in end-users receiving a new application at the last minute. Give your end-users as much time as needed with the new solution before going live–it makes the transition that much easier. Training should begin immediately following integrator and software selection. The sooner training begins, the sooner end-users realize they’re part of the process and the quicker they realize the benefits of the application. Also, the training curriculum needs to mirror the business processes of each department. “Training should begin as soon as the vendor is selected,” says Suda Harvard, CRM specialist for Global Knowledge. “The more time to train, the better off you are.”
12. Choose a champion of change: When making a full-suite implementation, start with a single department and let the dominoes fall into place. Choose a department with a manager who’s behind the implementation, realizes its benefits, and whose department will also find the most success early on. Nothing jump-starts a CRM implementation more than a manager who always has that can-do attitude. Once other departments begin to see this success, they should follow suit. Just like hitting in baseball, CRM success can be contagious.”The key to this strategy is choosing a department manager you know can make it happen,” Franco says. “Other departments will start to think, ‘Hey, that looks pretty good. Why can’t we do that?’
13. Ask the expert:When faced with a problem, whether it’s customization, functionality, or deployment strategy, companies often assume a new product needs to be purchased or another module integrated. Instead, look to leverage current applications to gain new functionality or services. “A lot of times people–because of management changes, IT turnover, and all these real-life things that happen–lose sight of what they have and what they’ve already purchased,” Freeland says. “Many times, there’s a lot of functionality and potential with what you already have, and you don’t even know it.”

With years of experience in sales, marketing and customer support automation,Fynsis is the most preferred SuiteCRM training & development Partner always aims to meet your budget while delivering a measurable ROI on your CRM Investment. We create best-in-class business solutions that deliver competitive edge and ROI, with power and flexibility.