Organizational success depends on many factors. And collaboration across departments is one of them. However, the lack of unity between teams leads to ineffective communication and miscoordination. In this regard, a CRM system can become not only a tool for sales and customer service but a transformative tool for fostering harmonious team collaboration.
Certainly, many things depend on whether your company utilizes a one-size-fits-all solution or a custom-built tool. Plenty of enterprises tilt toward tailor-made software. They hire CRM developers to create unique and exquisite software that will meet all their needs.
Let’s find out how firms can utilize CRM to enhance teamwork across departments.
The significance of collaboration across departments
A study by the American Psychological Association suggests that highly collaborative teams are more than 15% productive. Such companies even become more profitable due to enhanced productivity.
What else companies can get:
- Seamless teamwork leads to the fact that members spend more time executing tasks than searching for information;
- More integrated organizations get higher client satisfaction;
- Whenever a team works together, issues are resolved quickly.
What role does the CRM system play in collaboration?
1. Centralized data access
A CRM is a storage for all client data. It provides necessary information to all departments, including marketing, sales, and customer service. Moreover, any team member can get a unified view of all interactions.
Let’s say a client raises a complaint. By using CRM, the service team can get quick access to the purchase history while the sales team can find the best solution based on previous interactions. Such a system allows all team members to work with up-to-date data and ensures transparency.
2. Real-time communication
There’s no need to use external communication tools since modern CRM platforms include all the necessary things for communication and collaboration. Employees can talk to each other via internal messaging, assign tasks, and track project progress.
Well-known platforms like Zoho CRM or Salesforce offer task management features. Marketing specialists can ask sales representatives to send follow-ups to clients. This is how no opportunity slips through the cracks.
3. Avoiding miscommunication and duplication of efforts
Miscommunication can lead to detrimental consequences for organizations. Whenever there’s a lack of communication between all the departments, an enterprise can lose face and profits.
By using the CRM platform, retail companies can align their inventory, sales, and customer support teams. Whenever there’s a shortage of a trending item, your platform can alert all the teams about it. In this way, all departments can adjust their marketing efforts, service priorities, and sales pitches.
4. Tracking KPIs relevant to each department
Revenue growth won’t be much of a help to the operation teams, while order fulfillment rates won’t be relevant to the sales team. Every department needs to see relevant analytics reports to make adjustments and strengthen their weak spots.
Tailor-made CRM dashboards can allow teams to track metrics relevant to their roles. Teams will be able to see their strengths and weaknesses to develop a winning strategy and improve results.
5. Automation and workflow integration
Everybody knows that business software helps to streamline routine tasks through automation. Ultimately, it helps to reduce mistakes. Moreover, it helps with the workflow integration.
Whenever a task is done by one team member, a platform can alert another team member to proceed with their work. For example, a sales specialist in a real estate firm can close a property sale, a legal specialist will get a notification to prepare contracts and a marketing specialist will be notified to update listings.
Best practices for using CRM
The benefits of using CRM are clear. However, all team members need to have a comprehensive understanding of how it all works and can help them with their tasks. Here’s what you can do to drive successful integration:
Invest in training
Experienced professionals may have used different CRM systems and young specialists may have little experience at all. Each company operates differently. That’s why comprehensive training for all the staff can encourage team members to use the system effectively. All teams should understand the full functionality of the systems and how it applies to their roles.
Moreover, you should schedule joint workshops with all departments where marketing, sales, and service teams will practice using the shared features. Ultimately, every team member will understand what it feels like when everyone and everything works like a clock.
Encourage feedback
Business managers can find the best solution in their way of thinking. However, no one knows better all the intricacies like team members. As teams start using the system, you should encourage them to leave feedback in the CRM.
When sharing insights, teams can improve cross-departmental workflow. Moreover, if your company outsources the development of the CRM, creators can fix some critical errors or adjust the settings. Thus, you’ll get a perfect outcome.
Leverage integrations
Hardly, one system can be enough for all the tasks. Organizations integrate their systems with other programs for the best results. You should identify the tools your specialists need to work with. It can be email marketing software, a project management app, an accounting system, or any other essential tool.
Work on challenges
Although there are many benefits, the implementation of a new system may not be without challenges. Here are the most common issue and their solutions:
- Resistance to change: Something new is always scary and teams can be reluctant to accept the change or adapt to new systems. You should offer comprehensive training to everyone and highlight the perks of CRM usage;
- Data overload: The more people work in the system, the more cluttered it gets. It can lead to disruption of the workflows, irrelevant data, miscommunication, and so on. However, if you regularly audit and clean unnecessary data, you’ll be able to maintain accuracy;
- Integration issues: Integration with other programs can be complex. In this case, you should work closely with your IT team or external developers to smoothly integrate all the necessary tools.
Final thoughts
Efficiency, productivity, and client satisfaction can lie in effective cross-departmental collaboration through the CRM system. Such a system can bridge the gap between departments and teach them how they can work together effectively for the good of the organization. Successful implementation includes investments in training, analyzing feedback, leveraging integration, and working on challenges.
