It’s a question we see time and time again is your CRM system genuinely helping your business – or is it quietly holding you back?
You might not notice it immediately. A CRM that was fit for purpose five years ago can tick along in the background, doing ‘just enough’. But over time, what was once ‘good enough’ starts creating friction – bottlenecks, blind spots, and inefficiencies that slow your growth!
Here’s the reality: CRM should be a growth enabler. If it’s not, it’s a growth blocker. And that’s where the hidden costs start to appear.
So how do you know when your CRM is starting to work against you?
1. Your CRM isn’t adaptable to your processes
If every time you want to tweak a process or adjust your reporting, you have to go cap-in-hand to IT – that’s a problem.
Your CRM should work the way your business works, not force you into outdated processes because ‘the system won’t allow it’. If it’s easier to work around the CRM than to use it properly, something’s gone wrong.
Businesses evolve. Processes change. If your CRM can’t keep up, how can your teams?
2. Poor user adoption rates
If your sales, marketing, or customer service teams are reluctant to use your CRM, that’s not a user problem – it’s a system problem.
We often hear, “Oh, the team just doesn’t like using it.” But when we dig deeper, it’s usually because:
- It’s clunky and unintuitive
- It doesn’t reflect how the team actually works
- It takes more time than it saves
Low adoption doesn’t just hurt productivity – it undermines your data quality, forecasting and customer insights. Then, without reliable data, your decision-making suffers.
3. Data silos and disconnections
A CRM should be the central hub of your customer data – but is yours?
If your CRM doesn’t play nicely with other tools like marketing platforms, finance systems, or support desks, you’re operating with one hand tied behind your back. Manual data transfers eat up time and introduce errors, while insights are missed entirely.
Disconnected systems mean fragmented customer views – and that leads to fragmented customer experiences.
4. Lack of visibility and reporting
Can your CRM tell you how your pipeline looks, right now? Can it flag risks? Can it show you where opportunities are stalling?
If the answer is ‘not really’, that’s a serious gap.
Leadership teams need visibility. Decision-makers need real-time data they can trust, not piecemeal reports stitched together manually. Without it, you’re steering the business blind.
5. Scaling up feels impossible
Your CRM should scale with your business. If adding new users, launching new products, or expanding services feels like a technical nightmare, that’s a red flag.
We see this a lot with legacy CRMs – they weren’t built for flexibility, so every change feels like a painful workaround.
A modern CRM should grow as you grow – supporting your ambitions, not stifling them.
Is it time for a change?
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many businesses ‘make do’ with a CRM that’s just about coping – until they realise the cost of inaction.
At Collier Pickard, we help businesses understand where their CRM is limiting them – and what to do about it.
Our ‘CRM Health Check’ is a great place to start. It’s a no-obligation review of your current system, your pain points, and your growth plans.
If you’re ready to find out whether your CRM is holding you back, let’s have a conversation.
