BlueWhaleCRM Implementation
BlueWhaleCRM is a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that can be deployed to a company in a matter of hours. While this is the case, we strongly recommend against this approach to implementing your CRM system. There are several phases of a successful CRM (or any software for that matter) implementation that should be followed.
Initial Assessment
The first phase of the CRM Implementation Lifecycle is the Initial Assessment. We know you need a CRM system (or you wouldn't be reading this right now), but do you know why? The Initial Assessment takes a look at the business model you are using, the systems you have in place, and the goals of your organization. By analyzing these factors, you can determine what the end result of your CRM implementation should bring you, and give you a start as to how to get there.
Design
The Design phase of the implementation is where you should spend the most time in your process. This is where you need to determine what information you want to capture and how to capture it. Some common questions to ask are:
  • What specific data should you capture with your contacts, accounts, opportunities, or cases?
  • What types of contacts do you want to track?
  • What are your working statuses while in the sales process?
  • What queues should you set up and who will be monitoring them?
  • What automated workflow rules do you need?

These are just a small number of questions you should ask yourself during the design process.

Remember: "Garbage-In --> Garbage-Out" -- Planning is the key to success. Write it down.
Build
The Build phase of the implementation is where you begin to apply what you have compiled during the first two phases. Whether you are building custom functionality into BlueWhaleCRM, or just configuring your workflow and data capture options, the build process needs to follow the design phase to a tee. If you need to deviate from the original design, take the time to go back to the design, update it formally, and analyze the change against the rest of the system. It is all too common for a single change in the build phase to create a domino effect of inconsistencies throughout an implementation. Taking a little extra time to assess the impact of your change will likely save countless hours / days / weeks / or months of frustration.
Validate
The Validation phase of the CRM implementation enables you to test what you have built in the previous phases. While this testing is partly technical, you are mainly testing to ensure that what you have implemented fits with your business processes. Several questions to ask yourself are:

  • Am I capturing all the data we need?
  • Is the data I am capturing correct?
  • Is the data in the best place to be able to access it in the most efficient way possible?
  • Are my reports telling me what I need to know?

These questions, along with many others, need to be answered during the validation phase. Additionally, your user training should occur during the validation process. By integrating your user training with the validation of your changes, you have recruited more testers and gathered user feedback about your implementation. If the users don't like it, they won’t use it, or at the very least, they won’t use it efficiently. Take the time to solicit your users' feedback and build their suggestions into the application. There is no better way to get users to accept change than to allow them input into the decision making process.
Deploy
Finally, once you have made it through all of the other phases successfully, you are ready to deploy your system. This is by far the easiest of all of the phases as you have now designed, built, and tested your system. A phased deployment is usually a beneficial approach to minimize the impact of change on the organization and to enable your trainers to be available for user questions.

Think you're done? Think again... A successful CRM system changes with your business, the market, and your customers. As you grow and time passes, your needs will change. A good design will enable your CRM system to grow with you, though your requirements will likely change over time. It is now time to start designing for your next implementation....
TechWhale Implementation Services
TechWhale Solutions offers implementation support and customization services to help you with your process.

Please visit our services page to find out more information about the services we offer.
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