What Is CRM Software? The Definitive Guide

February 2, 2022 - 10 min read

Kelechi Udoagwu

Losing a qualified lead because you misplaced their information, sent a wrong message, or ran into schedule conflicts during onboarding can be tough. Targeted leads and prospects have the possibility of becoming long-term, repeat customers if you nurture relationships well.

Good customer relationship management (CRM) is the key to building long-lasting and beneficial relationships with leads and customers. CRM software helps to nurture these relationships. When choosing the right CRM software for your needs, you may feel overwhelmed with questions about features to look for, how much to pay, or how to integrate with other tools.

This CRM guide answers these questions and more. First, we'll start with the basics, including what CRM means. What is CRM software? Why is CRM important?

What does CRM mean?

At its most basic level, customer relationship management refers to a system or program that enables organizations to provide a seamless customer experience while carrying leads, prospects, and existing clients through various stages of the customer journey.

Using CRM software boosts your productivity, customer satisfaction and experience, and eventually sales numbers. CRM software helps maintain clean and current records of sales and marketing contact information and engagement.

With the ideal CRM software that fits your needs, your teams can add, update, organize, automate, and retrieve customer details, enabling productive cross-functional team collaboration between marketing, sales, and other departments.

What is CRM software used for?

CRM software helps sales and marketing teams acquire and develop relationships with new customers and nurture lasting relationships with existing ones. It organizes lead and customer data in a structured way that provides valuable insights to develop appropriate relationships with each customer.

CRM software, especially when automated and integrated with other sales and marketing tools, gathers insightful but unstructured customer information from numerous touchpoints: website visits, ad clicks and engagement, and transaction history. It then structures this in an easy-to-read format.

CRM software also provides valuable reports to support sales and marketing plans. Other information relating to a specific lead or customer, such as social engagement and communication preferences, may be automatically pulled into and updated in the CRM system.

CRM software provides a data-driven perspective of customers' interactions with your product throughout the customer life cycle. Setting up and analyzing CRM reports with high-performing sales and marketing managers can provide valuable insights for your company.

Advantages of CRM

A CRM system brings together various moving parts of customer relationship management into one platform. Every team – sales and marketing, customer service, business development, revenue operations, and management – can access the system with the proper permissions and pull current customer information to make better decisions. Other advantages of CRM software include:

Consolidates your data

Instead of moving between various platforms to retrieve customer details, a CRM gathers it on one platform. This serves as a central database for customer details such as phone numbers, social profiles, order history, and contact addresses.

CRM data updates in real-time across synced apps and channels. Most CRM software solutions are cloud-based, allowing teams to access them from any location. Team members control how they view CRM data with customizable dashboards.

Helps build and manage your sales pipeline

An effective CRM tool tracks and measures sales and marketing activity and performance in addition to storing and updating the customer database.

Using CRM improves operational efficiency by helping to develop and automate critical aspects of your workflows and defining important milestones in your marketing funnel. If you have a large sales team, match leads to accounts or contacts responsible for maintaining relationship satisfaction and progress.

Automates your workflows

An essential use of CRM software is automation. CRM software closes gaps in your sales and marketing workflows, reducing time spent on repetitive data entry tasks and updates. Link your CRM to other work tools for scheduling meetings and demos, signing documents, processing billing, and allowing information to flow both ways.

CRM software significantly increases employee productivity by freeing up more time for high-value work. It becomes easier to close deals and satisfy customers. CRM automation also helps build consistency with customer engagement, which boosts brand reputation and customer loyalty.

What Is CRM Software? The Definitive Guide 2 — Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash

Integrates with sales and marketing tools

You may be wondering: what is a CRM software integration? CRM software integration means connecting and synchronizing CRM software to other useful work tools through APIs or third-party integrations.

The CRM project management integration is one of the more popular integrations. Here, you connect your CRM and project management software to achieve more coordinated collaboration and execution of sales and marketing projects. Syncing CRM and project management software helps simplify, streamline, and automate your entire sales and marketing data and workflow. Other valuable CRM integrations are:

CRM marketing automation integration for managing digital and social media marketing campaigns
CRM calendar integration for scheduling meetings and product demos
CRM instant messaging integration for quick and timely customer communication
CRM content management integration for publishing and sharing relevant content with target audiences

Provides valuable customer insights

When used and updated regularly, CRM software aggregates valuable sales, marketing, and customer data. This helps teams track which demographic is most engaged and brings in the most revenue, helping them focus and forecast ROI on future marketing campaigns.

A CRM system also helps keep current customers happy by revealing patterns in their preferences, tastes, and wants. You can identify and study patterns that show when a customer is losing interest or buying and engaging less than usual using data from your CRM. When you can read, understand, and predict customer behavior, you can deliver what they need.

Helps create more sales opportunities

As you learn more about your customers, you notice gaps and new customer needs, creating new sales opportunities to upsell, cross-sell, or establish business lines. CRM software helps visualize and reveal customer patterns and themes that can help your business expand. You may use CRM data to create micro-targeted action plans or large-scale marketing campaigns.

CRM software examples

What are examples of CRM software? Below, we list three types of CRM software tools and share at least one example of each. This is not an exhaustive list of all available CRM software, but a good one to get you started. Some CRM tools combine features and functionalities of all three types, making it difficult to categorize them.

Analytical CRM software

Analytical CRMs process and analyze customer data and interactions to identify meaningful patterns and trends. They help predict customer behavior and uncover new business opportunities. Analytical CRMs create in-depth reports that are actionable and easy to read. Analytical CRM software capabilities include data warehousing, mining, and online analytical processing (OLAP). Examples of analytical CRM are Hubspot CRM and Zoho CRM.

HubSpot CRM: HubSpot CRM has dashboard reporting and analytics capabilities that allow you to track the progress of your sales funnel. If you need more sophisticated analytics, combine HubSpot CRM with rich data analytics tools. You can start using HubSpot CRM for free and get premium add-ons starting at $45 per month.
Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM uses powerful, real-time analytics to help teams make smarter, data-driven decisions. It's a cloud-based CRM software starting at $14 per user per month with a 15-day free trial of its premium software. Zoho CRM also offers a free version with essential CRM for up to three team members.

Operational CRM software

Operational CRM software helps maintain updated contact databases, acquire and validate customer information, and direct leads or customers to the appropriate representative. Operational CRM functionalities include sales funnel automation, digital marketing automation, contact management, and lead scoring. An operational CRM software example is Salesforce.

Salesforce CRM: Salesforce CRM software is one of the most popular CRM platforms we have today. It delivers useful sales, marketing, community management, and customer support capabilities. Simple to use and robust, four Salesforce price options are available with the monthly package starting at $25 per user.

Collaborative CRM software

Collaborative CRM software, also known as strategic CRM tools, aims to share data between teams to improve the customer experience across all touchpoints on their purchase path. Collaborative CRMs improve customer satisfaction by monitoring all interactions and communication channels. An example of collaborative CRM software is Pipedrive.

Pipedrive: Pipedrive fosters the connection between teamwork and sales and marketing performance. The software allows users to manage lead flows from a simple dashboard, route tasks to the appropriate accounts, and share data quickly. Pipedrive is available for $12.5 per month per user and provides a 14-day free trial for its premium features.

CRM software for project management

Customer relationship management and project management are two pillars driving the success of any business. CRM software can provide real-time customer insights and feedback to boost decision-making in project management.

A CRM project management integration puts the customers at the heart of sales and marketing projects and activities, ensuring your team delivers value to your customers while nurturing your relationship with them.

How does CRM assist with project management?

CRM software assists sales and marketing project management by tracking customer behavior, marketing campaign resource allocation, and sales pipeline management. Other functionalities for CRM project management software include:

Keeping track of a customer's life cycle
Completing projects on time and within budget
Planning and executing marketing projects from a customer-centric standpoint
Aligning sales, marketing, and customer service tasks
Beginning new projects as soon as new customer contracts are signed
Tracking milestones to identify realistic project goals
Showing and distributing report summaries to assess project status
Automating recurring tasks to enable team members to focus on high-value work
Allowing remote teams to work with unified sales and marketing pipelines
Enhancing collaboration with cloud-based task management and reporting
Connecting ongoing projects with customer feedback and suggestions
Providing a higher total return on investment for software, since you pay for one product for CRM project management instead of two products
Keeping sales and marketing projects on track by setting realistic goals based on real-time CRM data
Generating and distributing reports at regular, scheduled intervals to stakeholders and key project personnel
Managing and adjusting employee workload with increased visibility into each project in the CRM project management software

How to use Wrike as CRM software

The adaptability of all-in-one project management platforms like Wrike has helped companies of all sizes grow faster.

CRM project management software does a great job of keeping your contacts, project timelines, and messaging in a central, cloud-based workspace. This helps you better understand your customers, improve customer experience, and increase sales.

Learn how Wrike, a simple CRM project management software, can make your work easier and more productive. Follow the instructions below to create a rudimentary CRM workflow system with folders and tasks in Wrike.

Create a new parent folder and assign clients to tasks within it
Use tasks to serve as deadlines or reminders
Make a subset of folders according to your goals and priorities
Make a new folder with tags for each client's current status
Create a templates folder for all your recurring communications
Organize your files into subfolders for each stage of the sales process
Schedule follow-ups and allocate tasks to particular sales representatives by creating subfolders for each sales cycle step
For each new step, update the associated project tag
Utilize scheduled reports to keep track of performance and update key stakeholders
Use in-app communications to speed up time-sensitive reviews and approvals
View your activity stream to get updates on specific clients

Are you ready to organize your CRM project management processes and execute better-planned marketing projects to delight your customers? Set your team up for success with a two-week free trial of Wrike’s CRM project management software.

Kelechi Udoagwu

Kelechi is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.

#Customer Retention #Tools & Software Advice

Marketing 10 min read

Top Tips for Creating a Twitter Marketing Strategy

Twitter can be complex. Similarly, the techniques and methodologies that brands use to implement their Twitter marketing strategy add yet another layer of difficulty. While some marketing project managers prefer to follow Twitter best practices and cross their fingers, others know that putting a strategy down on (virtual) paper ensures growth and success on the platform long-term. For those who prefer to know what they’re doing on Twitter and why their efforts (and budget) matter, having a strong Twitter marketing strategy is a no-brainer. In this guide, we’ve answered your most frequently asked questions about Twitter marketing, provided a curated list of essential tips, and listed the exact tools you need to achieve your next benchmarks. What is a Twitter marketing strategy? A Twitter marketing strategy is an action plan that aligns with your company’s concrete goals for this particular platform. A good Twitter marketing strategy involves creating and publishing content that will attract new followers and improve your brand recognition. Why is Twitter good for marketing? Twitter is not as creative as other platforms like Facebook and Instagram. However, it does have an advertising audience of 353 million and is the first in line for customer service as far as social media apps go. Not only is Twitter a must-have social media tool, but it’s also effective for engaging individuals, sharing time-sensitive content, and staying up to date with what’s going on in the world as it relates to your business. How to create a Twitter marketing strategy Despite its fast-paced nature, Twitter still requires a bit of strategic planning and discipline to get the most out of it. Not to mention the fact that it’s important to be prepared for all the unexpected conversations that happen on Twitter. Having a strategy in place will help you respond to any situation that may arise while also building a strong marketing and sales funnel for your brand. Here’s everything you need to know to successfully implement a Twitter marketing strategy. 1. Evaluate your current strategy You should check your existing social media accounts both on and off Twitter to make sure they're in good standing. This will help identify any issues that need addressing now before you launch the next phase. 2. Define clear goals Having clear goals is the first step to achieving success on any social media platform. You should create goals that are specific, measurable, and time-bound. These should align with your company's greater objectives and be realistic about the resources you have to dedicate to the project. You’ll also need to get specific about which metrics you’ll use to measure progress and how often you’ll check in with goals. Remember that there are a ton of different metrics available but not all of them will be applicable to your particular goals. 3. Check out the competition By carefully analyzing the accounts of your competitors, you can learn about their weaknesses and develop a stronger strategy. Look for common themes, tweet frequency, and their most popular tweets to better understand what your audiences are looking for. You can also use this information to improve on what they’re already putting out there in your own content. Pro tip: You can also get digital marketing inspiration from original strategy examples found elsewhere that you can make your own on Twitter. 4. Create a Twitter guide Your company’s customized Twitter guide should include a code of conduct and a clear set of style guidelines anyone can replicate. First, follow a clear responsibilities policy to ensure that everyone is on board with how you’ll deal with the variety of scenarios you may find yourself in on Twitter, which can be a well-known hangout for pot stirrers and ‘trolls’. Even something as simple as accidentally having multiple team members answer the same questions can create a lot of confusion and lead to unproductive discussions. Following actionable guidelines will prevent these common roadblocks from happening in the first place. Next, remember that a good social media style guide is also helpful to keep your team's communications on track. This will prevent branding mistakes and minimize miscommunication. Keep in mind that your brand personality should be consistent across all platforms. It should also communicate your company's values and goals. 5. Create your Twitter profile Having a professional Twitter profile can help strengthen your brand and inform your audience. You also want to make sure that your handle is consistent across all platforms. Here are the steps you’ll need to take in order to get started: Create a handle. Your username is the first thing that people will see when they look at your profile. It should include your company's name and other recognizable details. Add a profile photo. Make sure your imagery keeps to the correct dimensions and is high-resolution. Add a header image. Your profile should also feature a clean and prominent header image. It can help provide insight into your company culture or reflect on current campaigns. Write your bio. A well-written and snappy bio is also important to stand out from the crowd. You can also use a tagline or a creative image to highlight your brand personality. Include a link. Send click-throughs to your homepage or a dedicated landing page for Twitter audiences. Choose a location. One of the most important elements of your profile is your location. This is very important for small businesses as they want their customers to be able to find them offline. Add a birthday. Use the date your company was founded or an important launch date. 6. Start a Twitter content calendar A social media content calendar is a great way to align your content across all your channels and identify potential conflicts. It can also help you plan ahead and capitalize on any opportunities that arise. Another benefit of planning out your calendar is that it will help you determine if you're sharing a balanced mix of content. Although you can schedule some tweets to go out ahead of time, the social aspect of social media will still require you to respond to DMs, mentions, and retweets promptly. 7. Schedule some tweets ahead of time Get ahead of the competition by scheduling your tweets to go out on optimal days and times. Doing so will allow you to maximize the engagement and visibility of every post. Unfortunately, you can't always schedule 100% of your tweets or else the platform may flag you as spam. However, it's possible to save time by pre-scheduling content that's already planned in advance. 8. Create a monitoring plan Once your marketing strategy is in place, it's time to regularly evaluate your progress and set goals against those that you set. Use the same project management platform to evaluate your Twitter data and run reports to keep everything in one accessible place. 9. Use social listening Twitter isn't just about speaking. It's also about listening. Through social listening, you can learn about the opinions of other people about your products and services. It can help you develop a more authentic and loyal customer base. 10. Consider paid ads Paid ads aren’t right for everyone, but they can help your new Twitter marketing strategy gain more traction faster. Twitter Ads are a great way to target specific audiences. They allow you to measure the effectiveness of your campaign and find the right messages for your brand. Even if someone doesn't follow your brand or hashtags, a promoted tweet can still show up in their timeline. You can also interact with them in the same way as organic content. 11. Include link tracking Just like you link track on your sales pages, email newsletters, and other social media, Twitter offers another way to obtain data on customer buying journeys. Track the link in your bio as well as any company website links you tweet out. The metrics provided by link tracking tools allow you to monitor how people navigate to your website and measure the effectiveness of your campaign management. They're also useful for analyzing your bottom line as you improve your conversions and traffic over time. 12. Use all of Twitter’s features This one may take some time, but it’s worth noting that the best way to maximize your Twitter marketing strategy is to use every last tool the platform has to offer. For example, did you know Twitter allows users to host live chats? Use a live chat to discuss a topic, ask customers for their opinions, or collaborate with a brand partner on something you're working on. Twitter marketing tips There are countless tips on the internet about how to do Twitter well. The truth is most of your success depends on trial and error plus consistency over time. Here are some of our curated Twitter marketing tips that we’ve either used or seen work firsthand. They serve as a good jumping-off point for any foundational strategy. Start with one, then mix the rest in over time. Think big-picture. One of the most important factors to consider is how Twitter fits into your overall social media strategy. Assign daily supervision. Busy accounts may require a team member’s attention to monitor them every day or even every hour. Have a backup team member for every single account in case one is out-of-office. Plan one month out. A 30-day content plan will help you grow your Twitter following fast. It will also help you track your social media campaigns and analyze what resonates with your audience. Use lists. Through lists, you can get in touch with the conversations that matter to you most. These feeds are curated by the accounts that are most likely to have influential discussions. Develop your voice. Although you can use images and videos to attract followers, a well-written and compelling voice is very important to have on Twitter. Tweet authentically. Don't send tweets that sound like they're coming from a robot or a script. Instead, communicate clearly and politely. Stand out. Follow a unique and original message whenever you post on social media. Doing so will make your Twitter content more engaging. Use polls. Twitter polls allow users to pose questions with multiple choice answers. Gather valuable feedback and opinions about your customer preferences and favorite products. Add photos and videos. Visual assets can help you convey a message more effectively. They can also be used to reinforce an important point or highlight a chart or infographic. Use hashtags. Hashtags are a great way to boost your visibility and discoverability on Twitter. This feature is essential for new accounts. Add branded content. For example, creating a branded hashtag is a great way to organize and promote content about your business. It can also be used to search for user-generated content related to your products. Track trends. Follow trending topics to get notified about new posts and hop on relevant themes. Think before posting. Although most Twitter users rely on the mobile app, search engine preview snippets of profiles may show recently deleted tweets. So think through each message before you hit publish — otherwise, it may come up on Google days, weeks, or months from now! Engage, engage, engage. It's important to create a two-way channel of communication on Twitter to engage your audience. Creating content that encourages your followers to interact with each other is also important. Get verified. A verified profile helps prevent people from being confused with fake and duplicate accounts. Twitter marketing tools to get you started There are three main marketing tools you’ll need to get started, regardless of your goals or strategy. Data measuring and reporting Asset storage Project management platform Without the help of data measuring and reporting, brands aren’t able to perform well on Twitter. The feedback from key metrics such as retweets helps marketers better understand their audience, grow their following, and reach as many new timelines as possible. Asset storage is another essential Twitter marketing tool. Between branded links, third-party links, photos, videos, GIFs, and more, having one central location where all of your Twitter content assets are stored is both convenient and strategic. Last but not least, the most important Twitter marketing tool you can use is a project management platform. Twitter requires you to create content, respond to public and private messages, track data, and keep up with the latest features. A great project management tool will allow you to do all of that in one accessible place so you can stay on top of all the moving parts while focusing on your chosen strategy. Why use Wrike to build your Twitter marketing campaign Like other social media platforms, finding success on Twitter requires a strategy and an intentional approach. That is why using a marketing project management tool is so important. Wrike's marketing project management software lets you track and communicate with your team across all your campaigns in one place. Not only does it help break down silos and make communication easier, but it also gives you a 360° view of your Twitter and related social media campaigns, allowing you to see all of them in one place. Wrike's software also helps you track communication with your team across all your campaigns in one place, so you’re always on the same page, even with Twitter’s fast-paced conversations. If last-minute tweets or replies need approval, team members can easily see your feedback and loop approvers into ongoing conversations via @mentions, which can help cut down on review cycles. For productivity, Wrike's marketing project management software helps you streamline your processes and achieve your goals. Doing so will increase the visibility and efficiency of any strategy you implement. With all of Twitter’s moving parts, having full transparency into your workflows is essential since bottlenecks are that much harder to resolve. If you run a social media strategy on any other app, you already know that project management for digital marketing is different from other project management disciplines. That is why Wrike developed flexible workflows that make it possible to eliminate the guesswork and get more done in less time. Twitter has many complex moving parts with real-time feedback, so solid data reporting is mission-critical to getting it right. Wrike's marketing project management software features dynamic reports that allow you to visualize and gather business intelligence quickly. Ready to take action on your new Twitter marketing strategy? Get started today by organizing your social media plan into assigned tasks and timelines using Wrike’s two-week free trial.

Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Guide to Multi-Project Management

The more companies grow, the more projects they have in progress at the same time. Managing workloads, keeping track of deadlines, and knowing what to prioritize can become complicated, which is why multi-project management is so vital. In this guide, we’ll outline how leaders use multi-project management to coordinate multiple projects, tasks, workers, and time. We’ll explore why having a multi-project management tool is important for organizing and managing work. What is multi-project management? Multi-project management refers to the process of overseeing multiple active projects all at one time. It is often guided by a multi-project management framework which refers to the various stages of the project life cycle, from selection to planning, control, monitoring, and evaluation. A multi-project program will summarize the various essential elements of a project. Having this information allows a company to create and consolidate repetitive tasks across multiple projects within a portfolio. This approach can help improve the efficiency of all projects in the department. Difference between project management and portfolio management There are key differences between projects and portfolios but the biggest one lies in the very nature of what they are. A project is temporary, while a portfolio is ongoing. A project manager focuses on the requirements of an individual project, while a portfolio manager looks at all aspects of the organization’s operations. Project managers will also be able to appreciate the results of their work if they can relate to a single objective. Tips for managing multiple projects Start planning early. Having a project plan in place is very important when it comes to coordinating multiple projects. Use templates and task lists to outline key components before project kickoff. Manage time wisely. Pay attention to individual workloads when assigning tasks. Also, it's important to set some breaks so that the team can recharge and focus on the most important tasks. Prioritize individual tasks. Project managers need to know how and when to focus on the most critical tasks in a project. Doing so will help the organization achieve better results and minimize the time spent on non-important tasks. Templatize repetitive actions. By batching tasks that are similar to or repetitive in different projects, you can work on them in the least amount of time possible. Keep plans flexible. It is very important that leaders are flexible and can alter their plans and goals as they see fit. Doing so helps avoid making common mistakes over and over again. Find managerial balance. A great leader knows when to take command and when to trust their team. Create detailed tasks. Assign a specific time allotment or effort for each task along with individual due dates, approval assignments, and task descriptions. Encourage open communication. This is important because it allows teams to easily identify potential issues before they occur, which can be addressed before any major delays happen. Multi-project management challenges Like with any given project, there are infinite challenges you may experience. However, there are three common themes among the top multi-project management challenges. Here’s what they are and how to overcome them. Challenge: Lack of prioritization Team members may have multiple tasks to do across a variety of projects and only so many hours to do them in. Cut down on analysis paralysis by deciding which tasks are a priority for them so they can make decisions on the flow and continue moving forward. Solution: Clear priority indicators Set individual priorities on tasks and update them as needed. Challenge: Miscommunication Cross-functional teams, third-party vendors, and external stakeholders can easily lose sight of communications if they aren’t easy to access. Solution: Centralize discussions Bring everyone together and give them controlled access to in-platform conversations, files, and tasks as needed. Challenge: Inefficient use of resources Scheduling conflicts, budget constraints, and the occasional sick day can all throw a wrench in even the best-laid project plans. Solution: Improve visibility Use a project management solution that will allow you to see a macro view of all your projects in one multi-project management dashboard. What is a multi-project management dashboard? A multi-project management dashboard is a project management tool that covers the various features of all your active projects in one easy-to-digest space. Through this dashboard, you can view all of your most important schedule, budget, and reporting metrics. Each project schedule and project plan are displayed as a percentage complete and status indicator for reference. The project budget displays planned costs vs. the actual costs in real time, while visual charts display the various resources, risks, and issues affecting the projects in play. They can also be used to create reports and chart-based data sets. You may already be familiar with using multi-project dashboards if you have experience with Agile project management. Features to look for in a multi-management project tool Although some project apps offer these features, a true multi-management project tool will have each of the following: Dashboards that give users a bird’s-eye view of all active projects Detailed task descriptions that include individual effort indicators, deadlines, and in-task communication Integrated planning and scheduling tools that make it easy to pinpoint potential roadblocks Prioritization settings so that managers can indicate which areas should get the most resources and attention at the right time In-platform communication with controlled access to project plans, files, and assets Centralized document storage made accessible to all project team members Real-time budget and scheduling updates for accurate resource allocation How to implement multi-project management software Like any other project, implementing a multi-project management software requires planning and preparation. This should include a variety of key steps and roles for everyone involved, as well as a plan for communicating with the team. Before you dive into tool comparisons, the first step is to thoroughly assess your company’s needs. This will help you answer the most important questions, which will also inform the project’s overall budget. Once you have decided on the type of software that will work best for your company, you can start to narrow down the providers by interviewing them and gathering feedback from other users. This step will give you a better understanding of how to use them and what your options are. During the execution phase, you will start converting data and preparing for the transition to the new platform. This is a critical step in the process, and it involves preparing for various scenarios. One of the most challenging parts of a successful software roll-out is dealing with resistance from your staff members, especially if they’re already overwhelmed with a number of ongoing projects. Having people with varying levels of expertise can help manage this issue and keep the system running smoothly. Some software tools may even be ready within a day if you are able to dedicate time to quickly adding in project details and tasks. Get a jumpstart on this before you even purchase your next tool by taking stock of all current project workflows. Mapping out your organization's processes is an important step in the transition from an old to a new project management software. This will help you visualize how those processes operate and identify opportunities for improvement which can help you prevent or overcome them in the future. Implementing a multi-project management tool also works best if you can get the senior and middle managers to buy in first. They may be more likely to adopt the software if they see its effectiveness first-hand. List the activities that your team deals with and identify the key processes that have the most impact on achieving goals and targets. How to manage multiple projects with Wrike Wrike is an effective tool for project coordination no matter how many active projects you have on at the same time. With Wrike’s multi-project dashboards, you can quickly go over your work schedule, review progress, and approve changes where needed. It’s also a useful space for reflecting on projects and tasks throughout their entire lifecycle. But above all else, Wrike is the best tool for keeping track of the tasks that require the most effort. It does so by allowing you to rate the amount of work that each task requires. At the same time, you can keep up with all the details, such as deadlines and stakeholder approvals through detailed task descriptions. Creating a step-by-step breakdown structure for your tasks is the easiest way to make them more efficient. That’s why Wrike offers an automated workflow system to help you create a copy of all your past tasks and trigger the next steps in real time. With Wrike, you can easily evaluate your progress and assign tasks to specific projects. This eliminates the need to wait for the projects to finish before getting a more detailed view into what else is going on. This level of transparency holds employees accountable and provides greater visibility into vital project aspects that will cut down on miscommunications and unnecessary questions. Plus, Wrike allows managers to plan each project's goals and assign people to oversee the work so that everyone knows what's expected of them. This will make it easier to get done and reduce stress. And with Wrike's Report Builder, users can customize the data so that it only reviews the most important metrics with updates made in real time so you never miss a beat. In conclusion Multi-project management is a process that can be easily used to jump-start various projects while keeping everything organized in one place. Having a solid foundation like the kind Wrike can provide will allow you to focus on what matters most instead of starting from scratch each time you begin, work on, or finish another project. Start Wrike’s free trial today to begin mastering the art of multi-project management.

Leadership 7 min read

A Quick Guide to Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory states people work harder when they believe they will achieve a goal. Here's how managers can use expectancy theory to motivate employees.

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What Is CRM Software? The Definitive Guide

What does CRM mean?

What is CRM software used for?