Introduction: Complexity Happens
Complexity and Chaos are just normal and expected parts of a small business. When you run a small business, you are trying to make things work any way you can.
MacGyver could do amazing things with bailing wire & duct tape… some businesses run that way, but do they need to? Using a CRM like Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help simplify complexity.
It never fails: When you start to gain traction, you’re feeling good about yourself, and something unexpected happens. A key employee finds a better job, a necessary component is unavailable, you neglect to follow up on deals, and you stumble and miss a delivery…any small mistake can really hurt and could even take you down. Operating and growing a small business is not for the faint of heart.
In a small business, complexity happens.
As you grow, layers of complexity are added, one on top of the other. It happens to everyone. Commonly, you start managing by spreadsheet. As the business grows, you add a new column, row, color-coded cell, a macro… and pretty soon the spreadsheet turns into a monster that only one or two people can tame.
And then, another spreadsheet is added, that turns into another monster.
You end up with your data and related business operations locked away in these different, disconnected spreadsheets and only useful to the one or two people who know the secrets.
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”— Confucius
Growing Complexity in Small Business
As a small business grows, it hits various growth milestones. Initially, you start with a simple accounting program like QuickBooks Online and handle everything else with Outlook and Excel spreadsheets.
As your business and staff expand to over 15 people, your QuickBooks, Outlook, and Excel system begins to fall short. Errors start popping up, and things begin to fall through the cracks. Despite the challenges, you make it work.
However, simple questions like "What is going to close this month?" are often met with dazed looks or require labor-intensive spreadsheet consolidation work. And do you believe what you are being told?
As your business continues to grow and reaches over 30 people, the issues compound. Sales have been successful for several great quarters, but now customers have started calling their sales reps for support.
This situation frustrates everyone involved because it pulls salespeople away from selling, and customers don’t receive the attention they need and deserve. Your growing business starts sputtering, and new business hits a plateau.
Complexity Happens!
The Challenges of Complexity
Over time, the complexity of your operations can become a significant hurdle. Managing customer data, sales information, and support requests through fragmented systems like spreadsheets and disconnected software solutions becomes unsustainable.
A robust CRM, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, can help simplify this complexity.
You often end up with a tangled collection of applications ("apps"), and each does something important.
The apps are isolated islands of data. If you ask yourself, "Where is my Customer Data?" and envision something that looks like the diagram below, then you are living with this issue now.
Efficiency decreases as more time is spent managing the chaos rather than delivering value.
Employees grow frustrated, and the risk of errors escalates, which can damage customer relationships and overall business performance.
Negative impacts of complexity result in:
Bottlenecks & increased errors
Frustrated & unengaged employees
Clunky & time-consuming workflows
Managing complexity rather than delivering value
Less focus on core business objectives
Addressing complexity is crucial, but it requires a deliberate effort and a strategic approach. Ultimately, these challenges result in slower business growth and potential stagnation - but they don’t have to.
Your Business is Unique
"My business is unique" -- I’ve heard this from almost every single client I’ve worked with.
Yes, it is true—your business does have unique qualities that set it apart.
However, it's important to recognize that while your business is unique, it's not as different as you might think in terms of its challenges.
To stand out in the market, you need a unique value proposition, your “Secret Sauce.”
But take a moment to reflect: is that Secret Sauce how you do accounting, save customer information, or manage and forecast sales? Likely, it is not.
If you are like most, your differentiation lies in your core offerings and how you deliver value to your customers, not in the more mundane aspects of data quality, technology systems, and business operations.
Understanding your Secret Sauce is crucial as these are your competitive advantages. Your strengths are what set you apart from competitors and forms your unique value proposition.
Remember that while your business operations might have specific nuances, the fundamental principles of managing growth and reducing complexity are common across all businesses.
By focusing on what truly makes you unique and streamlining the rest with tools like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can better leverage your strengths and maintain your competitive edge in the market.
Stay Tuned
This has been Part 1 of our 2 Part blog series CRM for Small Business: Simplify complexity for Growth.
Part 2 will continue with this theme and provide some actionable ideas on how to get more out of your existing Microsoft investment, simplify your business systems, and ultimately pave the way for growth.
About the Author:
Optrua specializes in optimizing Dynamics 365 CRM and Microsoft Power Platform to enhance customer experience and employee engagement. Using agile methods and continuous improvement, we're your partner in thriving amidst change.
We offer tailored solutions to help our clients grow and stay ahead of the competition, including CRM, AI, System Integration, Analytics, and more.
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