Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions help businesses of all sizes and industries improve on what really matters the most – their relationship with customers. Unfortunately, one of the most common mistakes among CRM enterprise adoption is not even thinking about how a CRM system will affect end-users. If company employees are comfortable using a management solution, they can easily embrace other features that will only enhance their service levels and the customer experience.

One of the first things to remember when implementing a CRM system is getting users on board. This includes upper management – the CEO and top executives should set the example to improve CRM adoption. After successfully bringing users on board, look at the value of CRM. Some CRM systems offer the ability to automate and create marketing campaigns without using third party software.

“CRM tools glean data on your customers. It then depends on you to implement the insight in improving your association with your customers. The advantage that customer relationship management software offers is that it collects personalized information on your customer. This insight then can be applied to in building personalized relationships with customers,” explained a recent article on ERP Cloud News.

Successful CRM solutions should integrate with other systems, such as accounting, to reduce the risk of data error. Another point of integration is social media, which is a huge source of customer information and feedback. But it’s not enough just to monitor and collect data from social media – businesses need to listen and engage with customers over social outlets to make the most out of social networking.

CRM solutions should not only be able to keep up with a company, but the industry as a whole. Mobility is quickly taking over as the primary source for e-mail, Web browsing, file sharing and communicating, so why is your CRM only optimized for the desktop?

“To see higher engagement, businesses should choose user-friendly mobile CRM [solutions] that integrate effectively with current systems, while facilitating real-time updates as they make phone calls, visit customer's offices and schedule appointments,” said Lawrence Coburn, CEO and cofounder of DoubleDutch, a mobile enterprise app developer.

Last but not least, implementing a CRM solution is beneficial to businesses because it helps measure, monitor and analyze customer information, which in turn helps improve relationships between customers and organizations. If you don’t have a goal in mind to achieve, measure and report on, what is the point?