7 horror movie lessons to apply to your CRM strategy

Easter is officially over. And there’s only one thing we all need after seeing cute Easter bunnies everywhere. A splash of terrifying horror. 

Horror movies might not be the first thing you think of when planning your CRM strategy. But surprisingly, there’s a lot of valuable lessons we can learn from them. If you want to steer clear of unexpected jump scares like overspend and CRM failure, and make sure your CRM strategy isn’t in mortal danger, use the insights from these lessons.  

1. Always check the back seat 

We’ve all seen a horror movie like it. Everything is calm. All the drama is over. The protagonist gets into the car… and panic. Suddenly something jumps from the backseat. You’ve dropped your popcorn, the protagonist has let their guard down, and no one is getting any sleep tonight. 

The moral? Stay alert. If your CRM strategy is going well right now – that’s great news. But over time your needs as a business will change – whether the business is growing or your goals change. You have to keep adapting your strategy with those changes to get the best possible outcomes from your CRM. So, how do you do that?  

At Workbooks we offer Shared Success Workshops – these are a great way to find out how effectively your CRM (or process if you don’t have a CRM) is working at the moment vs. what you could be getting out of it. Our consultants visit you on-site to help you tailor your strategy and there’s no commitment to buying Workbooks – so you can take your strategy and use it anywhere.  

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2. Be prepared for the unexpected

It’s the unwritten rule for horror movies – there has to be at least one jump scare. You might experience some when you’re choosing a CRM provider too.  

Planning to create a strategy around a new CRM provider? Make sure you do research into how they carry out your implementation first. Significant overspend and bad support are the jump scares that you might experience if you choose a provider that doesn’t implement your system themselves. And a surprising number don’t.  

Our latest research shows that customers are happier when working with a CRM provider like Workbooks that does it all for you. It leads to easier communication, better support, and no significant overspend. 

3. Don’t ignore the warning signs

Ever watched a horror movie where someone tries to explain what’s going on and no one believes them? They ignore the warning signs and usually end up in a less-than-desirable situation. Make sure you don’t ignore those warning signs when it comes to your audience.  

A CRM like Workbooks makes it much easier to keep track of communications – this means you can spot the warning signs when customers are unhappy. Your support teams can act quickly with this real-time info, listen to your customers, and help resolve the issues they do have. It’s a win-win for everyone. So, if your strategy focuses on turning things around with customers or improving retention – turn to your CRM to make it happen.  

4. Leave the dead weight behind 

It sounds harsh… because it is. But in the scariest horror situations, there’s always something or someone holding everyone back. Sometimes it’s just better to cut your losses and do a runner. 

The same applies to your CRM provider. 

If it’s not your CRM strategy that’s causing your challenges. The reason you’re not getting the results you need might be down to your CRM not working well for your business. Make sure you take the time to review how well it’s working and what you feel is missing. There’s lots of different CRMs out there so you just need to find the right provider. Here’s a short checklist to work out if your CRM is working for you: 

• Was your training good enough? If users are finding it hard to complete tasks or user adoption isn’t great, this could be why. 
• Does it feel too complicated? It shouldn’t feel like a chore to use your software. If it does, you might have chosen software that’s too complicated for your needs – that means you could be overpaying too. 
• Do you feel supported? If something goes wrong – you need to be able to rely on your CRM provider to get you back up and running quickly. If you’re struggling with enterprise CRM support – try one of the smaller providers like Workbooks that prioritize support. 
• Do you have all the functionality you need? If you’re wishing for more functionality to help you reach your goals, it’s time to move. There’s lots of other CRMs out there that can tailor the system to your specific needs. 
• Does your CRM have all the integrations you need? When the systems you use are aligned, you’ll the clearest insights. Make sure you’ve got the integrations you need like accounting software so that it’s easier to track your finances

5. Remember, you’re being watched 

Don’t panic – it’s not as creepy as it sounds. But it’s always good to remember that your customers and prospects will notice changes in your strategy. Especially if you have goals around personalizing their experience, improving retention or simply doing more to keep them happy.  

The great thing about Workbooks CRM is that you can segment customers to tailor your communications to them directly. Pair that with the information your CRM stores about customer preferences, activities and behaviours and it makes it much easier to send tailored messaging. 

6. Don’t venture into the unknown alone

Scary tapping noise outside? Creaking in the cellar? While the obvious choice for any horror movie character is to sprint directly into danger alone, in the real world it’s ok to be a bit more cautious. 

The best way to survive and thrive when it comes to your CRM strategy is to make sure all of your teams are aligned. Get sales, marketing, operations and those managing your CRM together to map out your long-term goals together.  

A Workbooks consultant can help you do this and lead the way with getting to the bottom of your challenges. They can then produce a consultancy guide that gives you one clear path to success – where you’re all working together. 

7. Have a plan of action 

You know the situation. A character randomly decides to go rogue and start fighting back. Not only does it make us shout at our TVs, but it also means things are over pretty quickly for the character too.  

When it comes to having a plan of action it’s important to stick with it. That’s why it’s so important to have a strong CRM strategy in the first place. To do this, make sure you keep the following in mind: 

• Define who you’re targeting and create personas 
• Decide where your company sits in the market 
• Map out your customer and lead journeys 
• Create a step-by-step  
• Work out where you can save time with automation 
• Set KPIs around your goals whether that’s sales win rate or customer retention per year 
• Choose the right CRM software and the right provider 

The very first step is to work with a consultant to uncover where your challenges are and get clear advice on what will help you overcome them. Workbooks offer discounted Shared Success workshops to help you do just that. 

More on Shared Success 

So, there you have it – 7 ways horror movies taught us to create a better CRM strategy. Stay safe and avoid those CRM scares with a great strategy and software. 

Need help with your strategy? Get in touch.