This year, there's been a twist in my CRM conversations with enrollment exec's. For the first time, the topic has been more focused on identifying a replacement product rather than a brand new product. That means it's time for many institutions to begin renewing contracts for their CRM's for the first or second time.
Unlike your student information system (SIS), CRM's are much easier to replace. Sure, no implementation is fun, but the challenges you'll face with a new CRM are nothing compared to an overhaul in your SIS.
Why are so many, though, looking as closely at alternatives? Because at least one member of the team has been ready to reach into her computer and ring the CRM's virtual neck. They are frustrated by the failed attempts at getting the CRM to perform the magic it is supposed to provide.
As you look at the new options now on the market (and there are new options since you've acquired your current CRM), as you create the laundry list of tasks you want the new product to do for you, as you consider all the fancy reports and charts you want your new dashboard to include, just remember this one important tip:
Your higher ed CRM will only be as successful as the business processes you have in place to support it.
I've actually seen an institution completely dump a CRM because it "didn't work." But the institution's definition of, "didn't work," was that the recruitment staff didn't use it, that it took the operations team too long to get information between the CRM & SIS and they weren't converting new students at a pace they expected.
Regardless of the tool you select, if you don't build it in a way that supports your enrollment process, your staff will not find it a useful tool in their recruitment efforts. When that occurs, one of three things will happen: