So, you’ve finally chosen a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for your company and just accessed it for the first time. Now it’s time to start using it to drive results for your business—but first, you have to figure out how to set it up.
Setting up the system and migrating data in CRM software is an important process to perform before you open up the CRM to your whole team and integrate it into your day-to-day processes. But what goes into CRM setup? How do you get started with a CRM?
That’s just the question we’re here to answer. Keep reading to find out more.
Setting up the system and migrating data in CRM software: 7 steps
There are a handful of tasks you can do as part of the CRM setup process. Different businesses might approach it differently, since each company has unique needs, and the process can look a bit different depending on the CRM.
That said, there are a few things every business should do when they get started with a CRM. Here are seven steps to setting up the system and migrating data in CRM software!
Before you get started with a CRM, you should set some goals for its use. To set it up properly, you first need to know how you plan to use it. Ask questions like:
What sort of data will you import?
How will you use that data?
What sales and marketing tasks will the CRM perform for you?
Who on your team will use the CRM?
Ensure you have answers to questions like these before continuing with the CRM setup process. These answers will guide the way you configure the CRM in the steps below.
2. Clean your data
The next step is to clean your data before importing it into your CRM. What does it mean to clean data? Data cleaning is the process of parsing through your data and removing any inaccuracies or redundancies.
You’ll want to perform this step before your CRM data migration because if you put faulty data into your CRM, you’ll get poor results—garbage in, garbage out, as the saying goes.
Here are some things to remove when cleaning your data:
Mistakes
Outdated info
Formatting errors
Duplicate data
By eliminating all of those issues before importing your data, you can ensure that your CRM is actually producing accurate and useful results.
Furthermore, you can use the goals you set in the previous step to eliminate any information you don’t want to use in your CRM. For example, CRMs are for customer data. So, if you have data unrelated to your audience, you probably don’t want to import that into your CRM.
3. Customize your CRM settings
Most CRMs will allow for some type of customization. The best ones will give you various customization options across the platform. It’s a good idea to take advantage of these options and set up the CRM in a way that works best for your company’s unique needs.
First, seek feedback from your team about what features they need and how they plan to use the tool. This goes back once again to the goals that you set in the first step.
Setting the CRM’s configuration to fit your exact needs will make it much more effective at doing what you need it to later on.
You should also set up automated workflows where it makes sense for your business. If you can automate tasks like moving leads between pipeline stages, sending marketing emails, and generating reports in your CRM, your team can save time and work more efficiently.
To implement specific automated workflows, first determine which tasks you’d like to automate and what types of automation your CRM will allow. You can then design customized automation workflows to streamline your team’s use of the platform.
4. Configure integrations and add-ons
Another critical step in preparing your CRM for data migration is configuring any integrations and add-ons you want to use with the core platform. It’s important to connect your CRM with other essential business tools your team uses before implementation. That way, you’re all set to transfer your data and start optimizing your processes right away.
Web form integrations to quickly create new leads when someone fills out a form from the website.
Communication tools to keep their teams united and make it easier to correspond with customers.
You’ll also want to consider other add-ons that your CRM offers that will provide even more value for your team and customers. For example, adding a native email marketing tool add-on that lets you create and automate email campaigns based on audiences created from your CRM data helps your team turn more subscribers into buyers. Setting up these add-ons can enhance your CRM’s functionality and drive more revenue.
5. Run tests on your CRM setup
The last thing to do before you begin large-scale implementation is to test out your CRM to avoid running into problems after you’ve already had your whole team start using it. Testing the CRM system also ensures it meets your established goals and can handle what you need it to accomplish.
Before filling the platform with users, run some tests yourself to make sure everything works well. Some things to test include:
Data importing and categorization: You may want to migrate a small amount of data first to test whether the importing process worked before transferring all your customer data into the new system.
Sales automation tasks: Testing the automated workflows you set up can help iron out any issues before your team implements them in their daily processes.
Analytics report generation: Ensure that report generation works as it should before you begin relying on the reports for decision-making.
If everything is working as you want, you can take the final step of pushing the tool out to your whole team.
6. Data migration
With everything else in working order, you can migrate the rest of your customer data to your new CRM. Most CRMs support data imports from other CRMs, other software tools, and spreadsheets.
Before migrating your customer and lead data, it’s important to consolidate the data from various sources. Different from data cleaning, data consolidation is putting all of your data in one file, which simplifies the migration process and allows you to add thousands of customers, leads, and companies to your CRM all at once.
If you’re having difficulties with your data migration, your CRM’s support team may provide data import services to help you get up and running quickly.
7. Onboard new users
Once you migrate the rest of your data, you’ll want to guide your CRM users through the onboarding process before rolling the CRM out for daily use. This step is vital because it helps your team get used to the new platform before they have to use it regularly.
It’s always helpful to start training and onboarding your CRM users early during the CRM implementation process to make the transition smoother. Schedule hands-on training with your CRM users to help them become familiar with the system and provide training materials they can refer back to if needed.
From there, it’s simply a matter of driving new leads and sales using your CRM!
Nutshell is the ideal CRM for your company’s needs
Setting up a CRM shouldn’t be difficult. Really, though, it depends on which CRM you have. Some make it way harder than it needs to be, while others just don’t give you much flexibility. If you want a CRM that avoids both of those issues, Nutshell is the right choice.
Nutshell is a CRM designed for small businesses like yours. On top of having an intuitive interface, every Nutshell plan comes with free, top-tier customer service. Our team can assist with the setup process and help you through any questions or problems you may run into.
Wondering if Nutshell is the right choice for you? Find out for yourself today with our 14-day free trial!
