If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software already, you know the great benefits it provides compared to a manual system. But, say there are a couple issues with it, and although for the most part, it gets the job done, it is still lacking in some areas. Regardless of whether there may be a better CRM solution out there, there are a few things you can do to better utilize your CRM today knowing in the future you can still be open to a new solution. Plus, by trying to make it work first with your current, you can save time and money since there is no need to start from scratch in looking, getting management buy-in, and financial approval. Let’s review some ways you can improve your current CRM.

Make a detailed list of shortcomings or missing needs.

The best way to get started is to make a list with what you need and what needs to be improved. This list should include all departments that use the CRM and any user can be consulted, especially if there are employees that use it differently. It will also help for future reference to rank the list based on importance or projected cost or ease to fix. You are ready to take the next step once this is done.

Make changes to dashboards, fields, etc.

Consult your IT department or the main administrators of the CRM solution. They will be able to configure any untouched dashboard setups or fields to better fit any areas that are lacking or absent if they are there. You would be surprised what may be behind the scenes. From there, that will hopefully help utilize the full system functionality and better improve your business.

Communicate with CRM provider to see if they have any features or options to fit.

When making changes internally is not enough, it can be very beneficial to reach out to the CRM vendor to go through the list in details and see what they say. There is no better source than the authors of the software. They will be able to in detail better fit your list with what the software can do beyond anyone internally. The communication and talks should be free as well so there is no risk in that.

Consider customizations to improve the CRM.

Unfortunately, you may find the CRM you chose does not have the capability to fit all your needs or improve on its shortcomings. If the software has open APIs, you can build a customization yourself to bridge the gap or even hire a third-party company to handle that for you. The CRM software provider can also build it for you. It will be a considerable cost regardless of the way you go, considering your own employees time is valuable, so weigh the benefits versus the cost and make the decision appropriate for your company.

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