CRM comes with a number of misconceptions. Some stem from vendors’ marketing, others from failed projects from which the wrong lessons were drawn. They all have one thing in common: they lead to decisions that weaken the project before it even launches.

Here are six of the most widespread CRM myths, and what to take away from them to avoid the most costly misunderstandings.

The team behind our flexible, automatable CRM tells you everything.

Myth no. 1: CRM is software

This is the most widespread idea, and the most costly. It consists in believing that choosing the right tool and deploying it is enough to achieve your goals. Sales pitches readily encourage it.

In reality, CRM is first and foremost an approach: organizing internal processes around the customer, to create value for them and results for the company. The software is the tool, and an essential one, but it replaces neither thinking about processes nor team buy-in.

Projects that fail on this point are easy to spot: unsuitable processes, modeled on the tool rather than the other way around, and teams slowed down instead of helped. Processes are defined first, then the tool is configured.

Myth no. 2: CRM is a marketing database

Marketing needs clean databases to segment, target and communicate. This function is part of CRM, but only one part of it. The scope is much broader, and it is usually described along three dimensions.

• Operational CRM: the day-to-day tools of sales, marketing and customer service. Prospects, opportunities, campaigns, support requests.
• Analytical CRM: using data to understand, forecast and decide. Dashboards, segmentation, forecasts.
• Collaborative CRM: sharing information between departments, so that everyone sees the same customer.

Reducing CRM to a marketing database means missing out on two-thirds of its value, and often on the buy-in of sales reps, who then see no benefit in it for themselves.

Myth no. 3: CRM is for large companies

This idea dates from a time when customer relationship management software was expensive to buy, install and maintain. Online solutions have changed the game: monthly subscription, quick start-up, no infrastructure to manage.

Small organizations often even benefit faster: fewer users to convince, simpler processes to formalize, and an immediate effect on the company’s sales memory, which no longer relies on one or two people. The topic is detailed in our article on CRM for very small businesses.

Myth no. 4: CRM is for monitoring sales reps

This is the most common fear in the field, and it is not always unfounded: a CRM can be used as a control tool. But that is a misuse, which produces incomplete data and demotivated teams.

When well run, the CRM serves sales reps first: the history of each customer, automatic reminders, meeting preparation, fewer reports to write. Monitoring by the manager becomes a side effect, transparent and shared. Good practices are detailed in our tips for tracking your sales team’s activity.

Myth no. 5: the more information, the better

During configuration, it is very tempting to create a field for every piece of information imaginable. The result is well known: records no one fills in, incomplete data and a tool considered cumbersome.

Information is only valuable if it is reliable and used. Ten fields that are always filled in are better than fifty empty ones, as we explain in our article on data quality.

Myth no. 6: a CRM is deployed once and for all

Many projects are conceived as an installation: specifications, configuration, training, and it’s done. But the company changes, and so do its customers. A frozen CRM gradually drifts away from reality, and users go back to their spreadsheets.

A successful CRM project is managed over time, with regular adjustments based on user feedback. It is one of the three pillars of a successful CRM project.

Your questions about CRM misconceptions

Should processes be defined before choosing the tool?

The broad outlines, yes. The details are adjusted afterwards, taking into account what the tool makes easy.

Does a CRM replace spreadsheets?

For managing customers and deals, yes. Spreadsheets remain useful for one-off analyses based on exports.

How many fields should a customer record have?

The minimum useful to your processes. Each field must have an identified use, otherwise it will remain empty.

Is CRM only for sales teams?

No. Marketing and customer service are full users, and benefit just as much.

Can you start small?

It is even recommended. A limited initial scope produces quick results and makes buy-in easier for what comes next.