Driving User Adoption. White Paper August 2012 CAUTION. User Adoption Required. Driving User Adoption White Paper

Transcription

1 Driving User Adoption White Paper August 2012 CAUTION User Adoption Required

2 Contents Importance of User Adoption... 2 Reasons Behind Poor User Adoption... 3 Best Practices to Increase User Adoption... 4 Improving the Training Experience... 7 It All Comes Down to User Adoption About CRMUG

3 Driving User Adoption When deploying a new software solution, the percentage of employees that readily adopt the new technology can vary widely from one organization to another. User adoption is different for every organization that deploys new technology. While it may be difficult to determine what methodology might be right for your unique organization, this white paper includes tips and examples of what other organizations have done to encourage their teams to embrace Microsoft Dynamics CRM. IMPORTANCE OF USER ADOPTION An investment in customer relationship management (CRM) software is a choice that changes your business forever. When implemented properly, you re on your way to success outpacing competitors by collecting more leads, increasing sales, and providing superior customer service. After all, your business data is only as good as the people using the software and you need the participation of everyone on the team. Below are the top five benefits for getting the entire team involved with your new Microsoft Dynamics CRM software solution, as experienced by real companies during their implementation and adoption phases. Top Five Benefits of User Adoption 1. Higher quality of data and results: Microsoft Dynamics CRM can provide greater insight into your sales and marketing efforts. The robust reporting features can help you improve cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, as well as find the opportunities that will drive continued growth. Recording each touch point and end result provides the data needed to determine what promotions or marketing efforts yield the most profitable results, and what avenues to avoid in the future. 2. Detailed customer and case reports: Each touch point from prospect to customer can be recorded in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Complete historical information about every prospect or customer can improve marketing and sales efforts, as well as improve customer service. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can ensure that customers receive the proper promotional materials, or follow-up calls, and reduce the chance of losing a potential customer from not responding or following up on their inquiry. USING MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM has shed a whole new light on our opportunities. Everything is tracked and in full view. We are running out of hours during the day to address all the potential opportunities. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has simply transformed how we conduct business and we envision doubling or tripling in size. Scott Sobolewski, Owner Custom Equipment Solutions Company (CESCO) 2

4 3. Mobility: Critical projects, approvals, and customer service don t need to be delayed simply because you can t be at your office computer. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is accessible online or offline from many mobile devices. 4. Improved communication and collaboration: Streamline communication and data sharing with easy to use collaboration features. Share tips and ideas with co-workers to optimize efforts that yield results and avoid wasting time on activities that simply don t work. When your team is working collectively, they can get more accomplished with greater efficiency. Easily share data with other departments, shareholders, or other colleagues who can use the data to make the important decisions that drive business growth. 5. Personalized customer service: Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers complete organization of your customer information, sales and marketing data, as well as powerful analysis tools. You can respond quicker and with greater accuracy to address specific customer needs. In addition, you can identify trends in customer buying habits or other preferences that can promote successful business growth. This single software solution can enable your team to provide personalized customer service, allowing you to generate higher customer satisfaction and long-term business relationships. REASONS BEHIND POOR USER ADOPTION Change can be scary, it can be difficult, and it can rock the boat. The most experienced sales people have their own methods of capturing customer data and storing it in notebooks, spreadsheets, or other devices. When your best sales person has a system that works, they will resist change for any new technology. It is difficult to abandon a system that works for an unknown system. In order to encourage better user adoption, it is helpful to understand the reasons behind resistance. Below are the five most common reasons that companies have experienced poor user adoption. Top Five Common Causes of Poor User Adoption 1. Poor data accuracy and lack of management plan: Offering a tool without training or implementing it without a management plan will guarantee poor results. If everyone enters different data in different ways, then you won t be able to extract meaningful data to move the company forward. 2. The application is not set up to work the way an organization does: Software that doesn t use familiar terminology, doesn t have the right data-collection fields or doesn t include meaningful reports is, quite simply, useless. Collecting data that isn t needed is a waste of time and not collecting the data you need is frustrating. A CRM system should be adapted to your business as much as practical. 3. Insufficient training: Without the proper training, employees will be confused about what data to enter and how to enter it. As a result, they will either use it improperly or choose not to use the software at all. 4. Missing executive sponsor: If upper management and others on the sales team won t support the use 3

5 of the software, then employees are less likely to use it. Users won t want to waste time entering data into a system that won t be reviewed by management. 5. Several things can lead to confusion and frustration when learning new software: Overloading employees with too much information at one time or including processes and other information within the training program that don t affect direct job responsibilities are two good examples. Employees who are afraid to do something wrong in the software will avoid using it. It can be a challenge to encourage employees to embrace a new technology, but it doesn t have to be this way. Everyone has their own particular manner of doing things, especially experienced sales people. Expecting people to change how they perform their jobs without explaining how the new technology will make their jobs better or easier is unrealistic. Knowing the reasons behind the resistance can help you execute a successful deployment by addressing their common concerns. Based on interviews conducted with users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM software, the five most common excuses for not adopting a new technology are listed below. Top Five Excuses 1. I don t trust the data. 2. I don t know how to use the software. 3. It takes too much time. 4. It doesn t follow our business process or work the way we work. 5. Management doesn t use it, why should I? BEST PRACTICES TO INCREASE USER ADOPTION Choosing to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an important first step in strengthening business relationships, improving insight, and driving growth. Developing a management plan and rolling out this new technology in a manner that will encourage user adoption can be as easy as remembering a few tips: keep it simple, build trust and credibility in the technology, set goals, and share the results of your success. Below are the top five best practices collected from real users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM that have increased user adoption during implementation. THE CUSTOMIZABILITY OF Microsoft Dynamics CRM is what enticed me about the solution. I could make 80% of the changes we needed myself, making adjustments as needed and increasing the rate of user adoption along the way. Mike Henry, Owner Quatro Automation 4

6 Top Five Ways to Improve User Adoption 1. The boss should own it and support it: Management made the choice to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM. They should share the reasons behind choosing Microsoft Dynamics CRM and what they expect from the software and the employees who use it. The management team should set specific targets for this software use and closely monitor those metrics. When management takes ownership of deploying this new technology, they should be firm with quantified expectations and follow up to ensure people are using the software as they have been instructed. Management at Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) located in Spokane, Washington, knew they needed CRM software that would improve productivity and increase customer satisfaction. They knew exactly why they needed Microsoft Dynamics CRM and how this software solution was going to be beneficial to their company. With this clear goal in mind, they sat down with their employees who would use the software and shared their goals and expectations. For example, don t have vague goals that the software will improve sales. Set realistic targets for your company, such as a goal of improving sales by reducing lost leads by 30% and closing 20% more opportunities. Black & Veatch Corporation, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, knew that Microsoft Dynamics CRM was the right tool for their sales team. This software solution was more than just a sales pipeline tool, it was a strategic tool to help manage their business. They were previously using a homegrown CRM system and knew they needed something more. They wanted more visibility to and engagement from their team. Managers now perform weekly status reviews using comprehensive drill down reports to analyze the opportunities behind the data. They also use division and company-wide reports for comparative analysis. As a result, their employees are more accountable for their data and deliver better customer service. Providing their team with the right tool has enabled Black & Veatch to work with customers more effectively, improving sales and customer satisfaction. 2. Train managers to train their teams: Making CRM champions of sales managers and identifying other CRM leaders who can share what they have learned within their teams is a powerful way to start building excitement throughout the rest of an organization. Their enthusiasm for what this technology can add to their department will encourage user adoption throughout their group and beyond. While your IT staff may know how to use the software, everyday users telling of their everyday experiences is a proven way to drive adoption. At all phases of implementation and training, encourage employee feedback. Honest feedback could streamline software use, make sure that the software coordinates with business needs, and can solve issues early on. Nalco Holding Company, an Ecolab company based in Naperville, Illinois, trained a core group of people and made champions out of them. Those champions then trained colleagues in their 5

7 districts. Being trained by their district manager resulted in quick acceptance of the new software solution as the managers were able to explain how their business processes fit into the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Using real business experiences and data illustrated how the new system would improve productivity and increase sales. Leaders at Quatro Automation, a virtually based distribution firm, chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM because it was like other Microsoft products that they used at the office. They were already using Microsoft Office Outlook and adopting CRM software with a familiar look would make learning it less scary than complicated software from another vendor. Assured by the ease of use, the rest of the team saw this software as a way to drive growth and were encouraged to provide feedback during the implementation phase. By being a part of the process from the very beginning, the entire organization had an investment in the project which helped ensure the successful adoption of the software. 3. Phased approach to software introduction: It is easier to learn and understand new technology when introduced in phases. Showing how this software can produce results by showing quantifiable examples will encourage buy-in. Then, training the team in steps and adding functionality slowly will ensure everyone stays up to speed. Following this process and allowing the users time to to experience functions and ask questions, is more effective than expecting users to learn the software in one training session. In addition, allowing users to work with their own data versus sample data will make the software real to them and helps promote a focus on understanding how to use it. Black & Veatch organized training sessions for each separate department to keep the sessions small and to tailor content to what was most relevant to each department. Training started with an overall introduction to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and what it could potentially accomplish. They incorporated the reasons behind using the new system, as well as understanding the end results, to encourage people to understand the value of CRM. They even worked one-on-one with employees when needed. By making training less formal and more personalized they improved user adoption. 4. Make users accountable with reporting requirements: The powerful reporting features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM enable management and users the ability to extract data by individual, by sales team, by division, or any number of criteria. It will be apparent who is using the software - and who isn t! When users know that management will review reports in real-time, they will be more accountable and more likely to use the software. PAML uses the monitoring tools built into Microsoft Dynamics CRM to ensure that their employees are using the software. Commissions are tied to their use - or lack of use - of the software providing an incentive to follow the policies established by management. They set firm goals and expectations for their Microsoft Dynamics CRM users. PAML said here s your tool, here s how to 6

8 do it, and I m watching. By being very clear with their team and providing the tools and training necessary to reach their goals, they significantly reduced the possible excuses for hanging on to old methodologies instead of using this new solution. 5. The right tools can make all the difference: For businesses that choose to deploy software on-premises, the software is only as good as the hardware on which it is installed. If computers run slow or can t handle the databases as they grow, then employees are going to lose interest in the software. When using powerful software like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, make sure that you have the hardware needed to optimize results. For example, provide sales teams with mobile devices that support Microsoft Dynamics CRM so that they can have important customer data when they are out of the office. Provide in-house users with computers that can handle volumes of data without slowing down or crashing. Those that choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online can be less concerned with this issue since the service is delivered via the internet. A good user experience will lead to better user adoption. PAML experienced some resistance when implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As part of their rollout, they provided ipads to the sales representatives and provided the client services group with dual monitors. This state-of-the-art hardware upgrade improved efficiency as well as provided an incentive to embrace the new software. Furthermore, management firmly stood behind the decision to use this software and regularly checked to make sure that the teams are using it properly. IMPROVING THE TRAINING EXPERIENCE Providing the proper training is a significant element to improving user adoption. Teaching users the benefits of using the software, how to use it properly, and providing the right tools can be the difference between a successful deployment or a waste of resources. Below are tips for improving the training experience based on the actual experiences of the companies interviewed for this white paper. Top Five Ways to Improve the Training Experience 1. Use the right trainer in the right setting: Your Microsoft partner is a good resource to provide training to management and software users. Training management first helps ensure that Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be set-up in a manner that suits your business operations and captures the data you want to analyze and use. Once management is on board and excited about the potential benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, they can train their teams with or without the support of the Microsoft partner. When offering training sessions, make sure the software can work in the location of your choosing. Some offsite locations (like hotel and conference centers) are ill-equipped to handle multiple computers or large databases. Test networks, wireless equipment, and make sure you have passcodes before calling a group of people into a training session. 7

9 Nalco Holding Company gathered key employees in a hotel for training. There were 200 sales representatives present and when everyone attempted to open Microsoft Dynamic CRM during the first training session, the hotel network was unable to handle that much traffic at one time and denied access to everyone. As a result, the trainer had to use a PowerPoint presentation to train the 200 colleagues who had set aside valuable time to attend this important training session. 2. Train in phases: Rolling out information a little at a time is more efficient than a single training session. Show the big picture of what Microsoft Dynamics CRM can bring to your organization, how it can streamline operations, improve productivity, and elevate customer satisfaction. Then teach users how to accomplish their individual tasks in as many sessions as may be needed. Offering small bits of information will make training more meaningful and allow for better comprehension. Custom Equipment Solutions Company (CESCO), a Charlotte, North Carolina company that specializes in the marketing and sales of high quality process equipment and systems, was able to get about half of their sales representatives using Microsoft Dynamics CRM after the initial training. The remaining staff dragged their feet a little longer before embracing the new technology. Eventually all the users realized how much they were missing when collecting data with their old methods. Now all opportunities are in full view of the entire team. Since everything is being tracked, opportunities are not lost in notes or spreadsheets. CESCO anticipates doubling or tripling in size because everything is so efficiently tracked in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. 3. Personalize training: Customize training sessions to each team or individual. Don t waste anyone s time by training them how to use elements of the After a successful Microsoft Dynamics CRM rollout, Max Seymour of Nalco Holding Company improved sales and found that the organization of key customer data was an important part of this success. BY MAINTAINING a sales plan within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, I have achieved $3.5 million in sales at a mill where we previously averaged only $40,000 in sales at that location. I find CRM invaluable in maintaining all the details I have to look after as we start all this new business. It really helps me keep so many things organized and on the move. Schedules, meetings, deliveries, promised feedback or documents are all entered and CRM tracks them for you. Place a quick note in CRM and they are brought back to you in a timely fashion. Ya gotta love it. 8

10 software that they will never need to use. Provide training only on the functionality and features that they need to use as part of their job function and use real data in their training sessions. It is easier to learn software when the data is familiar. Nalco Holding Company did not load global data into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the same time. They phased data migration for each region. When training, the districts had their specific data beforehand and were able to tailor training to the functions pertinent to individual employees. The company also chose not to use test data. Using familiar business data was more effective in illustrating how data is entered and how the new software would provide value to the company. 4. Follow-up and share experiences: Encourage feedback from users and follow up to see if users have any questions or concerns. Provide follow up training if there are elements that are challenging to learn. Use the robust reporting features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to determine who is using the software and who isn t. Follow up with employees who may still be unsure how to use the software and encourage active users to share what they have learned with their peers. Nalco Holding Company included a feedback session for their core team. Input from this meeting was incorporated into their modifications for the next release. Not only did this feedback make Microsoft Dynamics CRM more relevant to their business needs, it strengthened the relationship with their software partner. They learned that they could rely on their partner to alter the software at any time throughout the implementation phase or afterwards as their needs changed. Consistent follow-up will reinforce the importance of using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When all users know that management is watching and relying on real-time data, they will be encouraged to use the software. 5. Re-train: When new functionality is available or new features are added to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, additional training may be necessary. New employees may also need training whether from peers or your software partner. If user adoption appears to decline, try to find the root cause of the decline and offer new training sessions to encourage users to return to the software. It is also helpful to share successful results so that all employees can see how Microsoft Dynamics CRM has improved company-wide business operations. Quatro Automation was impressed by how easy it would be to use and customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM to suit their unique business needs. The ability to share real-time information in quickly-generated reports is a powerful way to show results. When colleagues can see that Microsoft Dynamics CRM is driving growth, it will help them support that process. 9

11 IN CONCLUSION... IT ALL COMES DOWN TO USER ADOPTION When conducting interviews and collecting data for this white paper, we discovered several common pain points behind poor user adoption, as well as ways that businesses were able to successfully get their teams to embrace this technology. By sharing real-life situations and experiences, this white paper hopes to provide insight and answers that will improve user adoption of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Teaching an old dog new tricks is not impossible, it just requires some finesse. As Black & Veatch Corporation observed, it was easier to teach new sales representatives how to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM than the more experienced representatives who had their own methods in place. With a combination of firm management support, incentives, and proper training, they were able to achieve full user adoption. As a result, they have expanded to become a national competitor using Microsoft Dynamics CRM as the heartbeat of their organization. It is not uncommon to experience some level of resistance when implementing a new software solution. However, when using software as important as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it is critical that you find ways to break through that resistance. You need your entire team, working collectively, to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to the fullest extent. Using the software properly will allow you to maximize the value of the information that is captured. Without full cooperation and support, you could end up down the wrong road, making decisions based on erroneous and partial data. While not all of the experiences shared within this white paper will be applicable to your unique business, incorporating various tips and ideas may improve user adoption when deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM at your workplace. This powerful software can yield impressive results as soon as your team understands and embraces the solution. 10

12 About CRMUG: CRMUG s mission is to maximize value to individuals and companies using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Our vision is to engage every individual and company using Microsoft Dynamics CRM in value-added networking and knowledge sharing, and to be the single most important conduit for Microsoft to seek guidance on future development of Dynamics CRM. We re all about users helping users by exchanging and sharing Dynamics CRM expertise. Our team works hard to facilitate unmatched opportunities for CRM users to learn and share ideas through local chapter meetings, informational webinars, special interest groups, discussion boards, in-person conferences, and hundreds of educational events and training opportunities each year. CRMUG dedicated team members ready to assist you with questions, problems, and suggestions. You can contact us at or at info@crmug.com. CRMUG is an independent, user-driven organization, managed by Dynamic Communities, Inc. About Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) software solution that will streamline marketing efforts, boost sales, and improve customer service. Add automation and simplicity to marketing efforts, as well as gain valuable insight into the results of your efforts. Marketing more efficiently will improve lead generation, turning more touch points into opportunities. Shorten sales cycles and increase customer satisfaction with the support of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The easy-to-use, familiar interface will provide guidance through every prospect and customer interaction and help you stay connected with your customers, strengthening important business relationships. Attract new customers, improve sales opportunities, and drive business growth with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. 11