“I hate CRM.”
That’s what a Microsoft Dynamics CRM client (I’ll call him Sam) recently told me, his voice rife with frustration.
“I used to love it. But now I hate it.”
What happened? Why does Sam hate a tool that was designed to make his business better? What happened is that Microsoft implemented some changes, and he didn’t have a partner to help him navigate them.
An analogy:
Imagine there existed such a thing as the perfect robot housekeeper to take care of you. It did anything and everything you wanted. Each day it cooked your meals; it even knew your family’s favorite foods and made individual dishes according to what they like. It cleaned and kept your house spotless. It brought the kids to and from school, never forgetting your daughter’s soccer on Wednesdays and your son’s karate on Mondays. It took care of the shopping, housecleaning and laundry. Think what a lifesaver this housekeeper would be. Who could hate something like that? No one of course. But make some small changes, and things can go bad fast.
Imagine you renovate your kitchen, but forget to tell the housekeeper. Now it doesn’t know where the fridge is. Guess you’re not eating today.
Imagine you start storing the vacuum cleaner in a different closet, but don’t mention it to the housekeeper. Your floors won’t be very clean tomorrow.
Imagine you registered your kids for different activities, but didn’t tell the housekeeper the new schedule. Now they miss every ballet and piano class.
Suddenly the perfect housekeeper doesn’t seem very perfect at all. Pretty soon you might wish it would just go away.
Sam had started with something perfect, but ended up with something he wished would go away. All because no one told the housekeeper where they moved the fridge.
Here’s what happened: Sam’s Dynamics CRM was running perfectly, doing all the things he needed it to do. Then, Microsoft put out an update and it interfered with some of Sam’s customizations. The new and improved features broke some of Sam’s old ones, requiring downtime and costly repairs. But all this could easily have been avoided with some planning. The problem is that Sam had neglected to tell the housekeeper. If Sam had been working with a Certified Microsoft Partner to help him plan for the updates, he would have transitioned with no disruptions.
If you are looking for a Microsoft partner, get in touch with us at CRMDynamics.ca. We can help you or put you in touch with a partner in your area.
Greg Kligman helps companies manage and grow their business with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. He can be reached at greg.kligman@crmdynamics.ca
by CRM Dynamics
The post Hate CRM? Don’t Blame the Housekeeper. appeared first on CRM Software Blog.