User Experience: An Important Aspect of CRM Implementation Projects

When you choose a new or upgraded CRM (Customer Resource Planning) solution, there are several areas that you investigate carefully. You’ll look at processes, features, and tools; you’ll be concerned with ease of compliance and security capabilities; you’ll want to know about implementation timelines and training; and of course, you’ll be sure to pin down up-front as well as ongoing costs. 

But there is another critical area that you must not overlook during your CRM selection and implementation project, and that is user experience.   

Your employees, particularly your power users, are going to be using your new CRM solution every day. Their input about the system definitely should be a consideration. Giving your team the tools and processes they need to do their jobs in a way that is intuitive and user friendly will go a long way toward CRM project success. 

Here are three questions you can ask to evaluate user experience before implementing a Cloud–based CRM solution such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. 

1. Are we presenting customer data in the best way? 

Optimal presentation means that customer data will be quickly and intuitively accessible when a team member needs it. Users shouldn’t have to scroll up and down forms to enter or update information. Your CRM can be configured to eliminate such scrolling and make information easier to find. Cloud-based CRM solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 have a customizable drag and drop form builder that tailors forms to meet the needs of the user. Ask your users what fields they need to see on their forms. 

For instance, team members can use tabs to find the data they need without excessive scrolling. The Accounts entity may have a Summary tab displaying frequently accessed data and additional tabs for locating less regularly required information. Consultation with your users will help you to determine the most optimal configuration of your forms and tabs. 

Users can create sections within a tab to group similar data and provide a heading for that group of data. Fields can be added to a section in a one-to-four-column format. 

2. Is our data easily searchable?

The way data is captured and entered will directly affect the ease with which your users can locate it as needed.  You can give your team a better user experience and thus ensure increased adoption of the new CRM solution if you make sure to include searchability as a priority.  

In addition to reviewing data input forms, canvass users to understand how they interact with the data. Determine what fields they most commonly search, what entities they frequently view, and what subsets of data they typically access. 

Consider configuring these Dynamics 365 data searchability features during your implementation project 

• • The Quick Find feature allows users to input simple queries to locate commonly searched information. Tailor your system’s functionality by setting record return limits, indexing methods, and parameters for displaying data. 
  • The Global or “Categorized” Search feature gives users the ability to search up to ten entities simultaneously. Depending on user access permissions, they can customize or reconfigure these fields at any time. Modify settings to include desired fields that are returned by the search. 

• • Views give information about an entity that users can sort or filter. For instance, if you frequently work with contacts in Texas, you can configure a view to filter “State = Texas,” and sort the list as a saved query for future access. System views are available to all users, and from there, personal views can be created for individual users. Personal views can be restricted to individual users and those with whom they wish to share them. 

3. Can navigation be easier and more efficient?

With Dynamics 365s  Business Process Flows and Power Automate Flows, your organization can standardize and automate many of your frequently used processes,  

• • Business process flows furnish a consistent, standardized experience for frequently-used processes. These flows take users through steps and stages defined by your organization in line with your preferred procedures, including any interactions required or recommended for process completion. For instance, in the Lead to Business Opportunity process flow, four stages: Qualify, Develop, Propose, and Close are defined. For each stage, specific steps must be executed before the user is moved along to the next stage. By standardizing your processes, you ensure that your sales team captures all the data necessary to close opportunities. 
  • Power Automate Flows create automatic procedures in Dynamics 365. For instance, when a subscription service nears its expiration date, an automated process will allow you to clone the customer information and add a new expiration date rather than manually creating a whole new customer file. 

To promote CRM optimization and user buy-in, consider the overall user experience. BroadPoint can help you take advantage of the best features Dynamics 365 CRM offers before you begin the implementation process. Contact us today to learn more. 

By BroadPoint, www.broadpoint.net