As interpersonal relationships are an important aspect of Higher Ed, investing in a CRM will undoubtedly make managing your contacts easier.
Each model can be modified to fit an individual institution’s needs.
A CRM is a relationship management tool. The “C,” however, can mean either customer, constituent, or client. You may have worked at an institution that preferred to call it a client relationship management tool while the new colleague you recently met at a conference refers to it as a customer relationship tool. Regardless of which C you choose to use, they all do the same thing: manage your interactions with your contacts. Depending upon your CRM, this can be done in a variety of ways, as each model can be modified to fit an individual institution’s needs. All CRMs contain the same basic features: sending emails and reminders, categorizing contacts into specific groups or fields, and keeping an up-to-date report about whom you have already contacted that can be automated and pulled upon request.
CRMs are most commonly used in Admissions to work with prospective students, in Student Affairs to communicate with current students, and in Advancement to maintain active relationships with alumni. Other departments, such as Career Services, Residential Life, and Athletics, may also benefit from installing a CRM. While many CRMs are developed in-house, they can also be bought from a variety of vendors.
Whether your university is developing a CRM in-house or buying the software from a third party, there are many things to consider as the implementation phase of the product begins. Some of these things may seem so simple that they will often go overlooked. We hope that this list will allow you and your team to have the smoothest implementation possible!
1. Appoint someone to overlook the entire implementation
Enrollment RX calls this person a “CRM Champion.” They can be the head of your IT department or someone from another department. Either way, you need to appoint someone to be in charge of the implementation that can make the tough time sensitive calls that may affect your implementation’s timeline.
2. Create a realistic timeline
They can often end up being a much larger implementation than what you originally anticipated.
A CRM may seem like an easy implementation compared to some of the other products your university has implemented in the past. They can often end up being a much larger implementation than what you originally anticipated because it is directly related to other aspects of your university—like your email client or Registrar’s student information system. Getting all of these things to come together appropriately will take time.
3. Budget, budget, budget
Whether you’re licensing software from a third party, or developing your CRM in-house, you’ll want to stay within the parameters of your budget. One way to do this is to assign each user an allotted monetary value; this is especially useful if you’re opting to license your CRM from a third party vendor. Find out how much it will cost for each of your users to be in the system and choose the best CRM within your budget.
4. Discuss what will be integrated and how those systems will be affected
Take the time to think through what it will take to make these integrations.
Similarly to making sure you implement on a realistic schedule, decide which other systems are going to be integrated with your CRM. You may have to integrate an entirely different system, such as an enterprise system, with your CRM. Or perhaps you’ll want to directly integrate your CRM with your university’s Admissions or Financial Aid systems to make it easier for them to reach out to students. Take the time to think through what it will take to make these integrations. One conversation will not be enough. Neither will ten. Take the time to work through this step thoughtfully.
5. The use of a cloud
Cloud-based software is becoming increasingly popular, especially within Higher Ed. Actually, it is becoming more much more common than not. However, with its increased popularity, it begs the question: will your CRM be cloud-based, and if it’s not, what sort of hardware and supporting software costs will be incurred? There are pros and cons to each of these options and you should make sure to weigh your options and choose appropriately.
6. Build your network
Implementing any new product can be hard; make sure you’re able to get through it with a network of people in and out of your institution. These people can be your team, or perhaps another peer that has done it before. If you can find a few people at other institutions that can provide their insights based on their own CRM implementation experiences, go to them with your questions, listen to their experiences, find out what worked really well for them and make sure to heed their advice when they tell you what to avoid.
Now, a personal favorite from us at Optimal Partners:
7. Don’t forget processes
Being open to reviewing your processes will make for a more successful implementation in the long-run.
Every new implementation that you work on is a chance to redefine your current processes. Once your implementation is planned, view it in juxtaposition with your current processes: is there anything that will best serve your organization in the future? Too many organizations automate bad processes with new technology. A bad process automated simply causes exponentially more waste and causes you to do the wrong things very efficiently. Be open to reviewing your current processes and improving upon them. This is especially important if you are building your system or are able to customize it. If you are using a cloud system with very limited ability to customize, evaluating your processes upfront is useful. You do not want bad processes to inform your comparison of different systems. We cannot stress this suggestion enough; being open to reviewing your processes will make for a more successful implementation in the long-run.
Implementing a new product can always present unexpected problems; no matter how thoroughly you plan for a smooth implementation. These tips, however, will increase your odds of success as you move into implementing your new CRM. Best of luck!
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