How did you feel the first time you saw HTML code—a bit clueless, confused, deer in the headlights perhaps?

If Epiphany CRM system users feel the same way when viewing their computer screens, they’re unlikely to hit the top of the productivity charts. In all of CRM’s deployment details, why do user interfaces so often get moved down on the priority list? After all, this is the primary conduit between critical CRM information and the user who needs to understand it.

And understanding is key to acceptance and adoption—a big problem in the CRM implementation world that’s finally getting recognized by company executives. A Forrester Research report entitled “Best Practices: Getting the Most From Your CRM Deployment,” published in June 2007, noted that 66 percent of executives would promote user adoption as a crucial best practices area.

Speaking of understanding, that could be the bugaboo. Often, the sales organization deploying Epiphany CRM sets up the infrastructure without addressing the “details.” While user interface is a huge part of Epiphany CRM success, it often doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

So, how do you go about setting up user interfaces that motivate employees, giving them the tools to manage customer interactions cost-effectively and efficiently? First and foremost, find someone who knows Epiphany CRM inside and out to configure interfaces. That’s because there’s more to this process than initially “meets the eye.”

For example, let’s look at just one area—sales and marketing. A January 21 article by Steve Walsh in destinationcrm.com (affiliated with CRM Magazine), notes, “CRM’s broadest user communities, front line sales and marketing professionals, could benefit greatly from powerful insights into their respective areas of the business. But, their reporting needs are specific and vary massively by role, time of the year or quarter, the type of product sold, region, etc…needs include custom reports that are highly time-sensitive so they can quickly turn data into actionable insight that delivers results.”

Having a user interface configured to assist rapid generation of this data is a sales and marketing must. And this is only one CRM arena. Data needs for financial services employees and customer service reps will be far different.

User interfaces can be personalized after initial CRM deployment in ways that drive the ultimate success of Epiphany CRM, and the company itself. But, it must be a priority addressed proactively, not as an after-thought amid a hundred other CRM challenges.