MISTAKE #1 - UNDERUTILIZING A CRM
The underutilization of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems within architecture and engineering firms leads to a failure to store
key information. Consequently, employees are at a loss when referencing past projects to secure new work. Without easy access to critical
project details and firm data, team members waste time searching for them, which hinders productivity.
When information isn’t stored, it lives in the minds of staff. Employees then heavily rely on this "institutional knowledge" to compensate
for the inadequacies of the CRM system, further exacerbating the problem. This perpetuates a cycle of dependency and contributes to the loss
of vital details over time as people forget and experienced team members depart. Furthermore, the absence of robust data storage and
retrieval mechanisms deprives firms of the ability to gain actionable insights or view analytics on projects over time.
Effectively incorporating a CRM system can yield substantial benefits for architecture and engineering firms. 78% of business development
leaders acknowledge that their CRM effectively improves alignment between sales and marketing teams (HubSpot Research, 2023). This
underscores the importance of leveraging CRM systems to streamline operations and enhance collaboration.
