Non-Profits Considering CRM
Are you a Non-Profit Organization that is not currently using a Customer Relations Manager (CRM)? Well, if you are…
You stand at the precipice of change. A world of possibilities is open before you. An adventure awaits, should you have the resolve to embrace it. No, a gang of hearty adventurers, with a wizard in tow, have not beset your humble Hobbit hole. Still, like Bilbo, you are faced with the opportunity to risk what is comfortable and to step out on a journey that will have you facing off proverbial dragons and reclaiming lost piles of riches. Will you accept the call, or will you remain where it is comfortable, even if it may not work the best for you? Like Frodo, you have a decision before you, but unlike the mines or the mountain pass, you have a clear vision of what to expect with each. Both have their trials and tribulations, but only one will lead you to real success and reward you for the effort. The other is also mired with problems to overcome, from bogs that relentlessly slow you down (and cost you a few shoes) to untrimmed branches that beat you about the face and shoulders, to unseen monsters waiting to pounce when your guard is down.To begin this adventure, this quest, you must start by asking yourself a series of questions. Unlike Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this scale of needs is built in reverse, with the top being that your need for a CRM is low, while at the bottom, you have a compounding problem that is just screaming for the One Ring so it can disappear.
Are you a non-profit whose executive leadership team is constantly saying something to the effect of “There has to be a better way than this!” Does your I.T. team spend too much time recovering lost files or lost versions of files? These are some of the considerations that might lead a Chief Information Officer to start looking into a Customer Relations Manager (CRM). Having spent far too many years in the field, I started with an abacus, managing the daily reports for a company that employed dinosaurs and their riders to break rocks. A company that shall remain nameless at this time. Since then, I have been privy to a wide variety of companies, CRMS, and the hassle and headache that accompany them. With that in mind, my goal here is to help you better organize your thoughts on if your nonprofit needs a CRM. My side quest is to do so in a somewhat amusing fashion.
One of the first things I ask when brought into a new meeting where we are asked to help modernize a process is, “Where does the data live now”? The inevitable answer is typically within Excel. Now, Excel is a fabulous tool with a wide array of things that it can do for you. It is not, however, where your data should live. Perhaps as a backup file on your mainframe, set next to a dusty copy of Dracula on the Commordore64…I told you I have been around a long time. Back when the ring was forged. A backup file stored on Excel is still a relic, but a common cost-saving way to guard against data loss.
The next question is, “How many people are making changes in that Excel file?” If it’s more than one, it’s time to sound the alarm. Light the fires, Gondor calls for aid. There is a wide array of issues that can stem from two people making changes in the same Excel file. If in succession, perhaps the risks are somewhat mitigated, but if they are working in tandem that’s a recipe for disaster. It could be anything from a clerical error, a formula change, or that delightful thing that Microsoft does with Word when you add a picture, the preverbal Ghost in the Machine can wreak havoc on that file, requiring a lot of backsteps to find out where things went wrong. That if you notice it.
I repeat, that’s if you notice it.
So, you have several users playing in the same sandbox, as it were. Does this Excel file have financial data in it? Does it have personally identifiable information (PII) in it? Does this file play into how you hand out commissions or handle some important aspects of your business? Is this file being passed around via unsecured emails?
If so, then forget the beacon, the orcs are already at the gates! Its time to act quickly and to start working to mitigate the potential hazards that are already in play. Having that kind of data in an unsecured Excel file could open your company up to litigation, data theft, and a host of other unsavory outcomes that work against you and your company’s mission.
So, if you have come this far, and you’ve been checking boxes the whole way, then my advice is to start looking into getting your non-profit a reliable Customer Relations Manager program. There are quite a few out there on the market, and my goal isn’t to sell you on a specific one. My skillset is tailored to Salesforce, so I can answer honest questions about it and its practical use, but I also understand that each non-profit is unique and there may be some limitations that Salesforce has for your business model, or just that another program works more effectively with your specific needs.
If you are interested in learning how Bosma uses its Salesforce program for both its production side and its program side, please feel free to reach out to us at bosmaitconsulting@bosma.org. Or if you are like us and need to make sure that the apps you are using are screen reader friendly, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask for information or advice. We can stand with you against the Balrog of mismanaged data and guard you against the spidery threat of lost revenue.