How Do I Know if My Nonprofit Needs a CRM Consultant?
Nonprofit customer relationship management (CRM) tools enable organizations to manage relationships with donors, volunteers, supporters, and advocates. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is a CRM tool that centralizes constituent data, making it easier to track fundraising events, donor engagement, and outreach programs. One way to maximize the potential of nonprofit CRM software involves working with a consultant. Here are some reasons your organization may need a Salesforce nonprofit consultant:
The CRM Software Doesn’t Meet Your Needs
If your current CRM software doesn’t meet the evolving needs of your organization, you can look for a new one with all the required functionalities. Some of the reasons why CRM tools fail to meet business requirements include outdated CRM technology, limited functionality, limited data access, and scalability issues. A Salesforce nonprofit consultant audits your system to identify areas of improvement and recommends new CRM tools or integrations. The new software or application integrations usually offer enhanced automation and analytics to help you improve stakeholder communications.
CRM consultants also provide solutions with increased functionality to enable seamless integration with marketing automation, fundraising, and accounting software. If the issue is limited access to data caused by the use of multiple systems, consultants use modern CRM systems to harmonize data for easy tracking and analysis. Working with a consultant also allows you to adopt systems with user-friendly interfaces. If you have outgrown your existing CRM tool, consultants can recommend scalable alternatives geared toward your donor data, activities, and user accounts.
You Need Custom CRM Solutions and Tools
One of the benefits of CRM software for nonprofits is personalized communication, which improves donor engagement and fundraising. Standard CRM offerings can be static and require customization to remain relevant as your nonprofit evolves. If your CRM hinders your ability to manage constituent data effectively, find ways to implement a customizable solution. CRM consultants help with various customizations for data fields, workflows, and user access to keep the software relevant to your organization.
Data field customization allows your teams to add, remove, and modify donor profiles and data fields. Using custom data fields, tagging, and reporting makes it possible to manage donor information and create specific segments for easy analysis. Workflow customization helps to facilitate and automate internal processes, while user access customization gives you granular control of user access. A CRM consultant works with developers to deliver solutions that align the software interface with your organization’s needs and processes. Consultants also work with you to customize new solutions when scaling up or branching into other sectors.
Your Team Is Underutilizing the CRM Software
A CRM consultant is a suitable professional to work with when your team is not making the most of your investment. CRM software integrations require tech-savvy users who know how to use the technology to meet your organization’s needs. Using this software involves working with fundraising technology, content management systems, marketing platforms, and matching gift databases. These independent systems can be consolidated in a single dashboard to synchronize and manage real-time data. Staff training is also required to successfully implement CRM solutions and avoid underutilizing the investment.
Consultants help with management and staff training throughout the adoption process, from CRM selection to implementation, maintenance, and scaling. Experienced CRM consultants also assist with guiding the developers to design middleware for smoother implementation and integration. Middleware are intermediary software layers that enable faster exchange and synchronization of information between your systems and the CRM. These layers are designed to reduce errors and flatten the learning curve. Working with consultants is one way to get everyone up to speed with what’s required to exhaust the CRM’s potential.
Speak to a Salesforce Nonprofit Consultant
CRM nonprofit consultants help with many decisions, including selecting software that can be customized and scaled. Working with an experienced consultant allows you to align the CRM software functionalities with your activities, needs, and goals. Consult a Salesforce nonprofit consultant today to learn how you can use the technology to promote growth and eliminate efficiency barriers.
