Common errors in mobile CRM deployment and how to avoid them

Many companies invest in mobile CRM to increase customer engagement. However, there are some things they need to consider in order to get the desired results.

Training is one of the factors that need careful consideration (and often overlooked by businesses), if you want to achieve a successful deployment and adjustment of your personnel to the new conditions. Training programs should include guidelines on how the personnel will use specific mobile CRM features (monitoring metrics, importing and exporting customer profiles, and so on). At the same time, end-users should be encouraged to integrate such applications into the existing business processes. After a proper training, even those sceptical about the use of mobile CRM will have changed their minds.

Mobile CRM offers valuable business intelligence, enabling businesses to optimize their marketing campaigns. And given the fact that mobile analytics have become much more accurate over the last years, businesses should not ignore these insights. Some of the analytics that can indeed make a difference in a company’s marketing strategy, include return on investment, sales closing prices, sales cycles and customer retention percentages. Most vendors have integrated these metrics into their systems, allowing marketers to have access to their data from any device, regardless of their location.

The fear of an unsuccessful solution can also become a setback for businesses that wish to take advantage of this technology. There are various factors that can lead to failure, such as lack of commitment, excessive dependence on the old systems and personnel resistance. Sometimes, end-users can regard the new system as overly complicated, which should not be the case. Mobile CRM is not supposed to add to your problems, but rather to resolve existing issues. A mobile CRM solution should be user-friendly and offer valuable insights with just one click, thus enhancing sales.

Security is a crucial issue, especially for small and medium businesses, and mobile CRM solutions should meet the highest standards, especially if your customers’ credit card details are stored in your system. There are a few different ways to keep your solution secure. Many employees use their own mobile devices to access the mobile CRM system, so this is an area that requires you to be extra careful. Employees who access your mobile CRM system from their smartphones or tablets, will also need to download and install applications that will erase their valuable data, in case they lose their device for example. In any case, security is a crucial factor that businesses should never overlook.