Transformations Community Custom CRM
Problem
Outreach staff struggled to track opportunities and maintain consistent communication. Previous CRM attempts failed due to poor adoption and a lack of personalization.
Solution
A customized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system designed to streamline partnership building, enhance targeted communication, and increase staff capacity. Despite time and resource constraints, the solution focused on ease of use and workflow integration.
What is Transformations Community?
The Transformations Community is an academic non-profit dedicated to enhancing social-ecological systems. Amidst rapid growth, managing potential partnerships and conversations became overwhelming for staff.
Research Methodology
Interviews with Outreach Team
I conducted interviews to gain insights into current workflows, familiar terminology, and the information needed to inform partnership decisions. This helped me design a system that would feel intuitive and relevant to the outreach staff.
Desk Research
I analyzed previous tools and identified reasons for failure to inform requirements for success. This research highlighted the importance of minimizing technical barriers and disrupting existing workflows as little as possible.
Key Challenges
Adoption Challenges
Adoption hinges on minimizing technical barriers and disrupting existing workflows as little as possible.
Mass Communication Over Personalization
The organization favored broad communication over targeted approaches, resulting in outreach that lacking in strategy.
Automation Given Constraints
Manual processes could compensate for limited integration capabilities given resource and time constraints
Tracking & Data
A centralized system for tracking organizations was lacking, but existing systems did contain data needed for core tasks.
Understanding Workflow
I analyzed the workflow and created a basic structure to understand what tools and processes already existed to assess how they might play into a centralized platform.
Constructing Requirements
Understanding the outreach staff's needs and the organization's constraints guided my creation of a tailored CRM solution. I focused on simplicity, customization, and flexibility because these factors would drive adoption and return on investment.
User Characteristics
I considered a potential characteristics of a user to keep the solution focused on usability and ensure that the solution was catering to users with diverse skillsets and functions.
Outreach, marketing, & management teams
Utilize their own personal network
Limited access to Mailchimp
Manages communication in personal files
Struggles with learning new technology
Increase community engagement
Build organization’s knowledge base
System Objectives
I defined objectives for the system that will enable outreach staff to work more strategically and effectively, resulting in stronger partnerships and furthering the organization's mission.
Generate opportunities with potential partners, both individual and organizational.
Develop connections for current and future initiatives.
Centralize communication tracking.
Designing Structures & Workflows
With system objectives and varied user expertise in mind, I prioritized a scalable design that would adapt to the organization's growth. I focused on creating consistent, flexible structures and workflows as the foundation for a future-proof system.
System Structure
I simplified the traditional CRM structure by removing one database to form the system below. This structure better facilitate adoption by minimizing training requirements.
Streamlining Workflows
I streamlined workflows around the new system to ensure effective adoption and minimize disruption to existing processes. I created two workflows in order to center on the two main reasons for outreach.
Individual Outreach aims to get individuals involved in the community that involves proposal submissions, speaker opportunities, spotlights, and more.
Organizational Outreach aims to create continued partnership with organizations with similar goals to the Transformations Community. Combining efforts with external organizations provides more funding, increased engagement, and more opportunities for individuals in the community.
Detailed Customization
I tailored properties, database relationships, and the user interface to match internal practices and user needs because customization is key to driving long-term use and maximizing the system's value.
Product Demo
Recognizing the organization's remote and growing nature, I knew that even a simplified CRM would pose a learning curve for new users. To ensure accessibility and adoption, I created comprehensive written documentation supplemented by an introductory video, setting users up for success regardless of their prior experience.
Reflection
Adoption Through Alignment
The true measure of a tool's success lies not in its features, but in its ability to blend into the existing technology landscape and amplify workflow efficiency. I learned that user adoption hinges on two factors: intuitive usability and unmistakable value. With this insight guiding my approach, I prioritized a design that echoed familiar systems while incorporating customizations that addressed the organization's unique needs. This strategy accelerated development and paved the way for seamless adoption, ensuring the tool would become an indispensable asset for the outreach team.
Laying the Foundation for Growth
From the beginning, I knew this project would outlast my time at Transformations Community. With that in mind, I focused on creating a foundation for lasting success. I knew that a truly valuable solution would be one that was not only functional but also easy to maintain and build upon. Although the CRM system was designed to be straightforward, I understood the importance of comprehensive documentation – both technical and user-facing – to ensure its continued relevance and usefulness. This project challenged me to prioritize documentation, ultimately fortifying the system for the long term and setting the stage for future enhancements.