Few people look forward to adopting new enterprise technology. The growing pains of acclimatizing to new software aren’t easy for some folks, and it can take a while before you feel as comfortable with your new platform as you did with the older program.
But sometimes, new technology is necessary if you want to see improvements in your daily workflow and performance. Here are five times when you should update your investor relations CRM.
1. It Doesn’t Support Daily Tasks Anymore
Rule number one: if your tech doesn’t keep up with your workflow, it should be on the chopping block. IR software is supposed to support your daily tasks of communicating with investors and building relationships.
Outdated tech can’t keep pace as your IPO or public company grows. As old tech ages out of your needs, it can degrade in functionality, too. It might glitch or run slower than when you first installed the program.
2. You’re Dealing with Unexplained Downtime
While scheduled updates are standard for any kind of technology that intends to patch security threats or software bugs, spontaneous downtime is a sign you need a new platform.
Unscheduled downtime is not just frustrating for your team as they’re locked out of software, they need to complete tasks. Research shows downtime costs money. In some cases, a single minute of unintended downtime comes with a price tag of $9,000.
3. It’s Not a Single Platform
So far, this article has discussed CRM IR software as a single entity — one program that fulfills all your customer relations needs. However, far too many IROs rely on not one program but several that span many different providers.
This patchwork of technology interferes with your workflow, as you’re forced to switch between windows and offline documents.
4. You Can’t Integrate Your Data
Navigating CRM tools spread across such a large space takes time, but more importantly, it encourages mistakes. It’s easier to miss critical insights or create errors when transferring data from one window to the next.
This scenario describes a tech silo. In other words, your programs can’t speak to each other naturally. You have to gather and consolidate your investor insights by hand.
A best-in-class IR provider prioritizes integration across all your digital channels, including your CRM IR platform, IR site, and events. It relies on AI and machine learning to consolidate, synthesize, and analyze your data in one application.
A fully integrated platform relies on sophisticated engagement analytics to help you make sense of all the data you collect from your CRM efforts, as well as all the other touchpoints of your IR strategy.
5. It’s Still Tethered to a Physical Desktop
There’s a good chance half of your office is no longer working in the office. Now that remote work is the norm, not the exception, it’s important your team can access critical data safely, wherever they log in for the day.
Desktop CRM tools that require local access — that is, logging into a physical computer to access software only available on its hard drive — will slow you down. You need to update your platform to the cloud for the greatest convenience and integration.
Bottom Line:
There are a lot of reasons why you might contact an IR firm — these are just the five most telling signs you need to do it now, rather than later.
