Forget the Tech: Why a Great CRM Starts With You

As a customer service leader in the housing sector, you know the daily struggle better than anyone. You and your teams are often trapped, forced to work with rigid, expensive, and outdated systems that just don’t… work.

It leads to daily frustrations that you see first hand:

• The ‘Swivel-Chair’ Nightmare: Your team is juggling three different systems. They also use a spreadsheet and a folder of sticky notes. This is just to log a simple repair. It’s inefficient, stressful, and a recipe for mistakes.

• The ‘Groundhog Day’ Call: A resident has to repeat their entire story every time they call. They have to explain the damp, the broken fence, and the appointment they’re chasing. It’s frustrating for them and demoralising for your teams.

We need to fix this.

When I help housing associations, I go from a blank piece of paper to a brand-new or updated system. I follow a 5-Phase Blueprint. And Phase 1 is the most crucial step.

Why? Because this is where you, the customer service expert, are the most important person in the room.

Phase 1: Getting the ‘Why’ Right (Before Anyone Writes a Line of Code)

This phase focuses on ensuring the new system solves your team’s biggest problems. It is not just about ticking a box for the IT department. It’s about building a solid foundation based on your service goals.

Here’s a break down in plain English.

1. Define Your ‘Why’ (And Make it About the Customer)

Before we build anything, we have to be crystal clear on our purpose. Forget the tech buzzwords for a moment. This is about answering one simple question: “Why are we really doing this?”

Your job here is to make sure the answer isn’t “because we need new software.”

Drawing on your skill, your ‘why’ will sound different (but should link to a business strategy).

For example,

• Most strategies will include something like ‘Reduce Customer Complaints’ (This was pinched from Platform Housing Group’s)
• This item will relate to key policies, procedures and processes eg: Complaints Process, Repair policy & Procedure etc

So our ‘why’ for CRM could be:

• “To help residents get a first-call fix for repairs.”
• “To give our team the tools they need to actually solve problems on the spot.”
• “To meet our compliance goals by having one, reliable source of truth.”
• “To have one place to log and track our complaints”

If you can nail this down, you’re already setting the project up for success.

2. Decide What ‘Good’ Looks Like (In Plain English)

How will we know if this massive, expensive project is working? “Success metrics” is just a fancy way of asking, “What does winning look like?”

Crucially, these goals must matter to your team and make their lives easier, as well as meet your ‘why’. Instead of a complex spreadsheet, think of it like this:

• Short-Term Win: Finally! A ‘Single View of the Customer.’ Your team can see the resident’s entire history on one screen. (No more, “I’ll check to see if thats been completed”)

• Medium-Term Win: We’ve moved the top 3 most painful processes from the old clunky systems into the new, flexible one.

• Long-Term Win: We’re using the data to spot problems with AI. This happens before they become widespread complaints. Less admin for you and the opportunity to help customers with more complex needs.

3. Create a Simple Roadmap (You Can’t Fix Everything at Once)

Once we know why we’re doing this and what ‘good’ looks like, we need a plan. This is our roadmap.

This is where we get realistic. We can’t fix everything overnight. So, we focus on a small number of items. These are the things that will make the biggest impact. Perhaps we target the top 3 processes (identified above) that cause the most headaches for your team and residents.

This roadmap isn’t a secret document. It’s a simple plan that gets shared widely. Everyone —from the executive team to your front line staff — knows what’s coming and when. No “big bang” surprises.

4. Get Your Leadership On Board (And Keep Them There)

A project like this needs a champion in the exec team. Why does this matter to you?

Because when your bosses are visibly backing the project, it’s not seen as “‘IT’s new toy.” It’s a real, strategic priority. Your team gets the resources and time they need to make it work. Additionally, you get reassurance that this is being driven by a well-thought-out strategy.

Another reason, CRM has tentacles. As you start to process map and build it you’ll impact multiple teams across your organisation.

Admittedly, this is something that one or two of the leadership team would have been driving from the start. This step would be more about bringing the rest of the team up to speed.

5. Figure Out Who Needs to Know What (And Tell Them!)

This sounds formal, but it’s simple: Who does this project touch? (Hint: almost everyone).

“Stakeholder mapping” is a method to figure out who’s who. It helps determine what they need to know. It also involves keeping them in the loop. This includes you, your managers, your frontline teams, and IT.

Once we know who, we create a simple Communication Plan. Since everyone takes in information differently, we’ll use a mix of channels—weekly emails, regular team huddles, monthly drop-in Q&A sessions. The key is no surprises. Everyone should feel like they know what’s on the horizon.

The Result of a Great Phase 1

By the end of this phase, we don’t have a single line of code. And that’s a good thing.

We have a solid and agreed-upon plan. It is built on your expert knowledge of what your customers and colleagues actually need. We have measurable goals your team will thank you for, a realistic plan, and buy-in from the people who matter.

This disciplined approach ensures that you stop being held back by legacy systems. It also helps you start building a future where your team is empowered with intuitive tools to offer excellent service.

I like to think of it this way: Phase 1 is like designing a car. First, you decide who will drive it (your team). Then, determine where it needs to go (your service goals). Finally, consider what counts as a good journey (your success metrics).

If you skip this step, you might end up with a high-tech engine bolted to a bicycle frame. It looks impressive on a spreadsheet. However, it will not help your team or your residents get where they need to go.

Coming Soon – Phase 2

Here’s where you’ll find information on all five phases

What’s the main challenge you’re facing?

We need a quick proof of concept to help back our business case: Struggling to secure funding for your #Dynamics or #Powerapps implementation? Need to show what they can do? then this is for you

Our business case has been approved but we need help to get going: We know that it can be overwhelming. Where do you start, how do you bring your business case to life? Our #D365ForHousing package can help you get going

We’ve started our Dynamics/Power Apps project but struggling to find the time to gather some serious momentum: This is a tough one, the will is there and everyone is up for it but you just struggle to find the time to get things moving while you do the ‘day job’. Our project support service can help lighten the load

We just need a bit of training or access to some handy templates: Then this Business Analysis 101: A Simple and Effective Course for Non-BAs course may be of use or perhaps visit our store to access some handy templates

Hi, I’m Chris Roberts with E&F Solutions. 

I’m a Dynamics consultant helping UK housing associations escape rigid legacy CRM systems and overpriced suppliers. 

With over 20 years in housing operations, I specialise in translating complex user needs into precise plans. This ensures we deliver a system your teams genuinely love, freeing up funds to be reinvested into building new homes & communities. 

Original Post https://deliveringcrm.net/2025/11/09/forget-the-tech-why-a-great-crm-starts-with-you/