As a Microsoft partner, Boyer understands that preparing for a successful Dynamics 365 CRM implementation involves focusing on the three key pillars: people, processes, and technology.
While user adoption is important, it’s equally critical to focus on what your organization—and your implementation partner—can do to drive success. By aligning these three areas and maintaining close collaboration with your partner, you’ll set the foundation for a successful CRM implementation that delivers long-term value.
Let’s take a closer look at these three areas, how the right implementation partner can help and questions to ask a potential partner.
1. Set your people up for success
While the people in your organization are ultimately responsible for using the system, it’s your job to set them up for success. This means involving key stakeholders early and providing clear communication about what to expect. It’s important to create an environment where users feel that the system was designed with their input in mind and that they are adequately supported through training and resources.
How a Dynamics 365 CRM implementation partner can help your people:
- Stakeholder Engagement: A good partner will work with you to identify key stakeholders early in the process, ensuring their needs are captured and reflected in the solution.
- Tailored Training Programs: Our team provides role-specific training to ensure that each department understands how the system supports their tasks and goals. We’ll help you design an ongoing support plan to reinforce learning and maintain system proficiency.
- Questions to Ask: When determining if a partner can successfully support your people, ask potential vendors these two questions:
- How will you ensure the system meets the needs of all relevant departments?
- What kind of support and training do you provide post go-live?
2. Design processes for efficiency and scalability
One of the most critical factors in any CRM implementation is ensuring the system supports and enhances your business processes. At the start of the project, your implementation partner will work with you to document and map your current workflows, identifying areas for optimization. This ensures the CRM not only meets your needs today but is scalable for future growth.
What a partner can do to improve your processes:
- Business Process Review: A good CRM implementation partner such as Boyer will conduct workshops to assess your existing processes and help you streamline them to work more efficiently within the Dynamics 365 framework.
- Customization Strategy: Your partner should work with you to determine the right level of customization for your CRM solution. With Boyer we guide you in leveraging out-of-the-box features wherever possible to reduce complexity while tailoring the system to your specific needs.
- Questions to Ask:
- How will you help us identify opportunities for process improvement?
- What level of customization is necessary to support our unique processes, and how do we balance this with future scalability?
3. Maximize technology investment in Dynamics 365
Technology is the backbone of any CRM system, and Dynamics 365 offers powerful tools to help you achieve your goals. However, ensuring that the system is configured correctly and integrates well with your other business systems is key to maximizing its potential.
What the right partner can do to improve your technology:
- System Integration: A good partner will ensure Dynamics 365 is integrated seamlessly with your other business systems, such as your ERP, marketing tools, and communication platforms. This ensures that data flows effortlessly between systems, giving you a complete view of your customer interactions.
- Future-Proofing Your CRM: As your organization grows, your CRM needs will evolve. The best partners will help you create a scalable architecture that allows for easy adjustments without over-complicating the system, reducing the risk of expensive future upgrades.
- Questions to Ask:
- How will you ensure that our CRM integrates with our other business systems?
- What is your approach to ensuring that our system remains scalable and adaptable to future changes?
How Boyer ensures a successful implementation
At the core of every successful Dynamics 365 CRM implementation is close collaboration between your organization and your implementation partner. Boyer follows a specific methodology to help guide you through each phase of an implementation project:
- Discovery and Requirements Gathering: We start by understanding your business, goals, and unique challenges. Through workshops and interviews with key stakeholders, we’ll define the objectives and outcomes of the CRM implementation. Together this encompasses our Educate and Analyze phases of any implementation.
- Solution Design: Based on the requirements, we create a detailed solution design that outlines how we plan to configure and customize Dynamics 365 to best meet your needs. We’ll map your business processes to the system to ensure it aligns with your workflows.
- Implementation and Testing: In the Build phase, our team will manage the implementation process, ensuring your system is configured correctly. We’ll conduct thorough testing to identify and address any issues before the system goes live.
- User Training and Change Management: As part of our Deployment, we’ll provide comprehensive training tailored to your team’s specific roles, ensuring they feel confident using the system. We’ll also work with you to create a change management plan to support adoption.
- Go-Live and Post-Implementation Support: When it’s time to go live, we’ll be there to support you every step of the way. After go-live, we offer ongoing support to ensure your team continues to succeed with the system.
Set yourself up for a sucessful Dynamics 365 CRM implementation
Preparing for a successful Dynamics 365 CRM implementation requires collaboration, planning, and a focus on the three key pillars: people, processes, and technology. By working closely with a trusted implementation partner, you’ll ensure that the system not only meets your needs today but can also grow and evolve with your business.
Boyer’s role is to guide you through every step of the journey, from discovery and design to implementation and support, ensuring your organization gets the most out of its investment. When the right foundations are in place, your CRM can deliver long-term value and help drive your organization’s success.
Contact us today to set up a free intro call.