What Are the Disadvantages of CRM Software?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is specifically designed to help businesses organise customer data, manage interactions with customers, streamline company processes and ultimately, improve overall profitability.

By making use of centralised platforms, the idea is that all relevant information will be stored in the same place, allowing for improved sales, marketing, customer service and support.

CRM systems are used by businesses across pretty much all industries, meaning that they’re not only incredibly useful but also have a broad customer base.

However, as with all systems and services, CRMs do have the potential to bring along some disadvantages, depending on the business, industry and specific situation in question.

 

Disadvantages of CRM Software

 

Nothing’s perfect, and the same can be said for CRM software. While these platforms have the potential to improve efficiency, customer satisfaction and general success, there are also some downsides that are worth looking into.

 

Extra Expense

 

Implementing a CRM system can be an expensive ordeal, and it’s not just a once-off expense. Of course, there’s the fee that needs to be paid at the outset, whether you’re using a standard CRM model or a customised model – of course, the latter will be more expensive.

In addition to that, however, there are plenty of extra costs that tend to add up, including expenses related to hardware and implementation fees, as well as what will need to be paid for maintenance, upgrades and software training.

Most of the time, businesses view this cost as a worthwhile expense as it tends to pay off in the long run. The exact return on investment (ROI) can be difficult to quantify, but many businesses, especially larger organisations, view the costs involved in purchasing and implementing CRMs as worthwhile considering the promises of improved efficiency, customer relationships and more.

 

Complex Implementation of Tech

 

Not only is the actual implementation of CRM technology expensive, it’s also complicated. This is especially true for smaller companies with limited IT personnel.

Normally, CRM software needs to be integrated with existing software and it requires a certain degree of customisation, even if it’s not complete customisation. If the business in question doesn’t already employ staff that are qualified to take care of that, they’ll need to hire someone to come in and do it for them which is time-consuming and, again, expensive.

Another risk involved with the complexity of the implementation of CRM systems is that some businesses, if they aren’t able to do it properly, may never fully realise the extent of the benefits of the CRM system they’re using, which is not only a great pity but also a waste of money.

 

Concerns Regarding Data Privacy

 

Privacy and security are always a concern when it comes to customer data being collected, and the same is true for CRM systems. Indeed, these platforms are responsible for collecting, storing, organising and utilising a great deal of customer data, some of which may be private, so it’s only logical that businesses ought to be aware of any and all privacy concerns.

Some of the information CRM systems store include things like names, addresses, contact information and payment information, which can cause serious problems if it were to fall into the hands of hackers and cybercriminals.

Just because CRM platforms collect and have access to this information doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s at risk of being leaked, but it does mean that they need to have really strong and robust security measures to make sure it’s properly protected.

The risk of having customer data leaked is not only problematic for the individuals in question, but the business that was storing the information risks detrimental reputational damage as well as legal liability.

Ultimately, as soon as you create a way to collect sensitive data, you create something that’s attractive to parties with nefarious intentions, so it simply means that privacy needs to be very closely monitored as data breaches immediately become a risk as soon as CRMs are introduced.

 

 

Requires Training

 

CRM platforms have the potential to be incredibly useful and can save plenty of time once they’re properly integrated into business operations.

However, at the outset, staff need to be trained on how to use the systems. This equates to an added expense, especially if you need to hire somebody to come in and run the training. However, the additional expense also comes from the time that is taken to conduct the training, as staff are spending time learning the CRM system when they could be making sales or doing other things.

Of course, the idea is that in the long run, the ROI will make this worth it, but it can still be difficult to manage in the short term.

 

Resistance to Change By Staff

 

This isn’t always a problem, but in some cases, staff may not be keen on using new CRM systems. Whether they’re older and aren’t particularly tech-savvy or even if they’re fairly youthful and simply don’t like change, having staff buy-in is absolutely essential in ensuring that you get the most out of CRM systems.

Sometimes, this resistance to change is reflected in staff members’ refusal to use certain features and insisting on doing certain things manually. Whether it’s because they don’t trust the software, don’t understand it or simply think that they can do it better themselves, this means that the company won’t be getting the most out of the expensive CRM software they’ve paid for.

 

Potential for Errors

 

There’s always at least some potential for error when it comes to operational tasks, and a strong case ca be made for the fact that statistically, humans introduce far more errors than technology and automated systems.

However, the concern is more about the types of errors that software can introduce – specifically, the scale.

While it’s unlikely, many people worry that problems and glitches with CRM software may result in massive system failures which is particularly problematic when considering that these platforms store customer data. This may result in data accidentally being leaked, customers being contacted mistakenly and more.

Of course, this is immensely unlikely, but it’s still a concern that needs to be properly mitigated.

 

Overreliance on Technology

 

There’s always a fine line between how much technology is good and how much is too much and the same can be said for CRM software.

Technology has the potential to greatly improve efficiency and productivity, but in the case CRM software, it also removes an element of human interaction. Some functions of these platforms can almost completely negate the need for humans to personally interact with clients completely, until the very end stages of sales.

Whether or not this is a good thing in itself is controversial, because, as many argue, if customers can’t tell the difference, why does it matter?

However, ultimately, it seems fair to assert that while technology can and does improve efficiency and operations significantly, human interaction is still important, and customers still want and should be able to have at least some form of conversation with a real person if they so desire. It’s all about finding the balance.

 

Weighing Up the Pros and Cons

 

At the end of the day, it comes down to weighing things up and deciding whether the pros of using a CRM system provide more advantages than the cons.

Sometimes, it just comes down to awareness and management. If a business is properly aware of the disadvantages, or potential disadvantages, of CRM systems and does all it can to handle them and mitigate these issues, a lot of it could be avoided.

It’s all about the individual, including what suits them, what kind of resources they have and how they’re able to manage situations.