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Helpful Tips For CRM Migration

4 min read

Knowing how to migrate your CRM could be a very challenging task whether you are switching from one CRM software to another or you are upgrading your old CRM software.

Most CRM systems nowadays allow you to export data from the application, although you can import data from there, many steps are still required to make a smooth transition. The implementation of the solution does not have to be overwhelming. There are helpful tools and functionalities, and experts available who can help you have a less tedious and chaotic transition.

Why businesses migrate from one CRM to another?

Today, every business acknowledges the significance of optimizing the business processes that is why CRM data migration often turns up at the top of every company’s agenda. These businesses migrate from one CRM to another to look for the best tools for their business processes or perhaps that their current CRM solution is high-maintenance but low-performing. Lack of software integration with third-party marketing services, third-party sales, and data loss are also some factors that cause firms to switch.

Losing all customer data and information you have in your current CRM is a great loss. CRM migrations are not as simple as records transfer, but rather a complex process of migrating data and its internal relations. Different firms have a diverse type of connection with each other or probably no direct correlation at all. CRM is a complex process that requires a lot of preparation, analysis, and planning to ensure that no data is lost during the migration process.

In this era, as businesses race to the top, it is a need to monitor customer relationships. CRM helps gather data from a vast array of communication platforms with real-time analysis. It also helps in digging out user preferences and gives you an idea of how to meet customer expectations.

Why do you need to migrate to a new CRM?

The CRM migration process is a difficult process that needs a significant amount of time and attention. Below are six common reasons why companies switch from one CRM to another.

The CRM migration process is a strenuous process that requires an appropriate amount of time and attention. Here are 5 main reasons why companies decide to migrate from one CRM to another:

1.       Lack of Configurability and Scalability

2.       Declining User Adoption Rates

3.       Escalating Costs of Supporting the Application & Users

4.      Limited Access Methods

5.       Lack of Cloud Integrations

You need to migrate your existing data instead of starting with a clean slate is obviously because your client information database is the main reason for your firm’s success and losing those precious information means losing your existing and prospective customers.

It is also unwise to keep the data in a cloud because it could not be easily accessed. If so, you have to dig for it somewhere in the archive. With a CRM system, you can easily access reliable insights if you already incorporated the previous data into the analysis.

Why should you switch to a new CRM solution?

The two main points to consider when switching over to a new CRM solution are the data structure and the customer information and sales process data itself.

The sales process data includes all customers’ data like their contact information, demographic data, preferences, and style, tracked phone calls, and more. It also consists of purchases history, sales cycle, updates, marketing campaign outcomes, employee information, customer service information, and social media insights.

When we say “data structure”, it refers to how you organize, handle, modify, and store client information and sales data. Unorganized data is considered worthless that is why it is important that you migrate data structure as well. You have to adjust your current data structure as it is impossible to migrate it without any changes.

What to do before CRM Migration?

You need to make a strategic plan ahead and prepare for the migration process properly. Here are the things you need to before CRM Migration:

1.      Inform Stakeholders For CRM Migration                              

Before anything else, you should arrange a meeting to bring together both CRM end users and the stakeholders. By this, you can easily set a clear vision of what to expect with the new CRM system. Discuss why you need to migrate to a new system and what needs to be improved, what data should be kept, and what should be deleted.

2.      Compare CRM Systems                                                        

Identify what type of data and fields you can use in the target CRM. Go through your current CRM system and examine whether all types of data can be transferred into the new one. Make sure the new CRM system can be customized if you have customized fields to make the migration successful.

3.      Examine the Data and Remove Duplicates

Analyzing what data your legacy CRM contains, its type and format, its organization, and what CRM data needs to be migrated. This is the step when you have to get rid of any repeating data is the most important step. After doing those, design a data map to help you easily track what data goes where.

4.      Make a Backup

CRM data is essential for your business that is why you should make sure that no data is lost during the migration process. You should create a backup in case something goes wrong and you can rest assured that you would not lose any CRM data. If you switch to a new CRM system from a different company, make sure that they back up your previous data. 

5.      Customize The Target CRM company

To make data migration from customized fields possible, you should customize the target CRM system. You can just get rid of the fields that you would not be using anymore.

6.      Establish a Migration Script Or Tool

The most technical part of the whole migration process is establishing the migration script or tool that does the entire job for you. We strongly advise you to choose a company that provides this service except if you have a CRM data migration expert in your team. The coding should be perfect because a single mistake in the code would ruin everything. 

7.      Do Prior Test Before Migration

Every newly created tool should undergo testing first and CRM migration tools are no exception to it. Do a test by transferring some pieces of data to see if the tool properly works the way it should and how you expect it to perform. By doing this, you can check whether you have prepared your data and structured it properly. You can also know if some data gets lost, or the format is not compatible with the target CRM by running a prior test.

Helpful Tips during CRM Migration

CRM migration could be a very meticulous process and it can be easy to get overwhelmed with it. Below are 4 useful tips for CRM migration you can do to solve some migration issues:

1.      Pay Close Attention to Customized Fields

Whenever a customized field in your legacy system was utilized more than once, you should get rid of it. Ensure that you know how to customize your target CRM, what specific fields you need and what data should be in it.

2.      Watch over Attachments

Make sure to migrate CRM with attachments properly. Gather all attachments from different folders in one core location. You have to decide where to store these attachments may it be locally or in the cloud.

3.      Verify Everything

Make sure to double-check and verify what data you migrate. This is very important especially when you want to transfer data from one CRM system to another or a spreadsheet.

4.      Opt for a Reliable Specialist

Even though it might be a bit costly, CRM customization and data migration should be much preferably done by a CRM specialist or not done at all. These precious data are very sensitive that is why it should be done by an expert who knows every way around the complex process.