The Key to Simplifying CRM Transformation for CIOs

Krishna Dunthoori—the CEO and Founder of Apty—outlines the “key” that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) can use to simplify their CRM transformation efforts. This article originally appeared in Insight Jam, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI.

It’s incredibly challenging to keep abreast of the constant changes and evolutions many customer relationship management (CRM) platforms undergo to ensure their offerings remain effective and competitive. However, for chief information officers (CIOs), these changes are often a double-edged sword. CIOs not only have to ensure and validate accurate implementation of these new tools, but they must also face resistance against change among employees.

This trend is why many CIOs turn to digital adoption platforms (DAPs) to support employee learning and CRM implementation efforts. DAPs help employees learn new software and processes by providing real-time, in-app teaching that guides them as they interact with the software. DAPs also give CIOs analytical insights into user behavior, which helps them simplify and maximize CRM adoption and implementation.

Smoothing the Transition

Research shows that CRMs can increase conversion rates by up to 300 percent and improve sales by 87 percent, so there’s no doubt that the return on investment (ROI) for CRM implementation can be sky-high. However, despite these benefits, CIOs often struggle to harness the full benefits that CRM implementations can bring. While employees might attend training and make solid attempts to use CRMs to the fullest extent possible, there’s a consistent trend of user adoption falling off within the first week or so because users don’t fully understand how to use the new tools. As a result, they go back to the old systems they know how to use already, leaving behind innovations that could make their work that much easier (and more profitable). And without analytical insights, CIOs are left in the dark.

By leveraging DAPs to offer personalized training based on every user’s unique role and usage patterns, CRM users can avail themselves of targeted guidance specific to their function. Plus, whenever CRM systems see an update, CIOs can re-leverage DAPs to get insights into user behavior and system performance, train employees on the new features, and build data-driven mechanisms to help their organization adjust to market demands and customer expectations. The results? Keeping their company—and its team members—ahead of the competition.

Overcoming Change Resistance

Resistance to change is one of the most common challenges CIOs face when introducing new CRM tools, alongside struggles around adaptation and adoption. Tools like DAPs play an essential role in countering change resistance by maintaining productivity despite the uncertainty around shifts like mergers or acquisitions (which often come with significant internal changes to software like CRMs). As mentioned, DAPs lessen the learning curve associated with these new systems, ensuring optimized workflows that translate to employees meeting goals faster while utilizing new software to the fullest possible extent.

When it comes time to bring in new CRMs or implement digital transformation campaigns, employee frustration during training can become incredibly prevalent, often leading to a sudden drop in adoption. DAPs can improve this experience for employees and CIOs by empowering learners with personalized onboarding modules and training that ensure employee productivity isn’t hampered by a steep learning curve. Additionally, DAPs can provide valuable insights to CIOs on where the specific drop-off points are in the learning curve to emphasize focus on those points moving forward. This positively impacts employee satisfaction while helping CIOs make software-related choices that lead to better results.

Now more than ever, the need for digital transformation is vital to organizations looking to remain competitive in their industry, expand to new marketplaces, and/or fill new niches. For many businesses, adding a new CRM to their tech stack or updating their current CRM is an essential part of that process. Still, the challenges associated with those changes can make them difficult to actively implement. While CIOs may know digital transformation is critical to meeting both cost-cutting and growth goals, the pressure to bring about those changes without disgruntling employees or wasting valuable time is immense.

Strategically deploying DAPs is a great way to circumvent these concerns while maximizing the benefits of a new CRM. For employees, bringing in-the-moment training modules to their computer screens will help them adapt to and learn how to use new CRMs or updated functionalities. This will boost their productivity and job satisfaction, ensuring they know how to make the most of their company’s investment in a way that makes their job easier. For CIOs, access to data-based employee use insights can help improve future software implementation efforts, increasing the speed at which companies can reap the benefits of their CRM-driven initiatives.