Nonprofit CRM

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How to increase use of your CRM within your non-profit

Business Customer CRM Management Analysis Service Concept

Imagine you spend a year building out your CRM and taking the solution live. Doing so costs staff time (money), consulting fees (money), energy (money) and morale (money). Now imagine there is little usage of the CRM after Go live. That’s a lot of money spent for little return. As managers, we have a responsibility to provide the best tools and we also have a responsibility to ensure those tools are well utilised. You can buy someone a Mercedes Benz, but if they do not know how to drive it, do not drive it, and do not like to drive it you have wasted your money and effort.

So, what do you do now?

There are four things you must do to turn this around:

  1. Conduct an analysis of use. Use your CRMs internal audit systems to see who is logging in, when they are logging in, how often and for how long. Most CRMs in the market allow administrators to view usage in these terms. Measure and monitor weekly.
  2. Conduct a survey of use. Understand what the users like, what they find clunky, and what they need now. Perhaps you did not consult with the end users when you designed the system? (That was a mistake). Perhaps you have a new team and their requirements and ideas are different than the previous team? (That’s natural). Perhaps your business requirements have grown and your system has not grown with the business? (That’s a good thing).
  3. Create a policy, which states only activities recorded in your CRM count towards performance evaluations. If activity is not recorded in the CRM and, instead, on an Excel sheet or in diaries, the activity did not happen. Your major gifts offices might conduct 10 donor visits in a month. If only one is recorded in the CRM, the major gift officer only conducted one visit.
  4. Implement the “phase II” items you never got to as part of the CRM implementation project. Every project has items that are not a priority at the time, but are placed on a “phase II” bucket list. Well, it is now phase II. It is sort of like the three cardboard boxes you moved house with, did not unpack the week you moved, and are still in your spare bedroom or garage. Unpack them!

All of the above might be prevented through the original implementation of a CRM. Maybe or maybe not? Nonetheless, when the issue of lack of CRM use surfaces, you must get on top of it. Like any issue unattended, the issue only gets worse. It is at that point you become the issue.

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CRM search infrastructure lacking in your nonprofit?

Database word cloud concept

The customer relationship management (CRM) system or, as some call it “the database system”, is a non profit organisation’s most important asset.

FundraisingForce receive at least one phone call a week from non profit organisations seeking assistance with a data base search and many are planning to launch a search now that we are in the new year.

Complaining about the CRM/database is the one thing, which every non profit organisation has in common. Charities often say things such as:

  • …it is too clunky
  • …it does not meet our needs
  • …we’ve outgrown the system
  • …no one uses it
  • …if the database could only do x, y or z
  • …I wish our organisation owned x product
  • …I used x product at my previous job and it was great
  • …I’m going to contact X supplier immediately and see if we can’t get a demo and start to talk about pricing

Put the brakes on.

Do not contact any suppliers until you have CRM search infrastructure in order.

CRM search infrastructure, includes:

  • Organisation CRM readiness. Study whether your organisation is ready for a sophisticated CRM. Do you have the following in place:
    1. Financial backing of organisation leadership? Do leadership have realistic expectations of project costs?
    2. Organisation resourcing to implement a chosen CRM. Remember, the organisation is required to staff the project in the same manner as the supplier.
    3. How will your organisation deal with staff turnover? Staff turnover can become detrimental to a CRM implementation. If your organisation has vacant key positions, perhaps waiting until those positions are filled is the right strategy.
  • Documented, detailed requirements across the entire business. Ensure you focus on the detail rather than “high level” requirements. The more you understand your business requirements, the better suppliers will understand them.
  • Market research, including a list of suppliers and associated products available in our market.
  • Time allocation for a comprehensive CRM search. A CRM search takes time, even if you contract with an external consultant to coordinate the search for your organisation. Be certain you understand the time commitment required of your team.
  • CRM search coordinator. Whether you resource the oversight of the CRM search with an internal resource or a consultant, be sure you identify “who is in charge”. This pint of contact is critical for your organisation and the various CRM suppliers. Empower this person with the responsibility and the authority.

Ensuring you have the proper infrastructure in place before you hit the CRM search accelerator is critical. Searches fail because of a lack of organisation readiness, improper resourcing, poor documentation, or unrealistic expectations. Your ability to negotiate with CRM suppliers is dramatically impacted by not having your act together.