By
·
3 minute read
Let's face it — most CRMs weren't built with your customer in mind.
They were built to satisfy internal needs: what Sales wants to track, what Legal needs for compliance, and what IT needs for governance. The result? A CRM that looks more like your org chart than your customer journey.
And that's a problem.
Because while your teams might be structured in neat verticals, your customers don't move in silos. They experience your brand as one continuous journey — from their first ad click to the moment they renew. When your CRM isn't built to reflect that journey, marketers lose the ability to engage, personalise, and optimise truly.
Let's unpack why this happens — and, more importantly, how to fix it.
Designed for Governance, Not Growth
It's not that internal constraints are bad. Legal, compliance and IT teams play a crucial role in safeguarding your data and ensuring the integrity of your processes. But when those needs dictate the structure of your CRM, marketers are often left working around the system instead of with it.
You end up with field names no customer would ever understand. Pipeline stages that reflect internal approvals, not buying intent. And workflows that prioritise internal reporting over customer experience.
It's understandable — but limiting. And it often means your CRM becomes a box-ticking tool rather than a growth-driving engine.
What Org-Centric CRMs Look Like
You know you're dealing with an org-centric CRM when:
- Pipeline stages mirror internal departments (e.g. "Legal Review" or "Ops Approval")
- Field names are written in internal jargon
- Handovers between teams feel clunky or create duplicate work
- Reports focus more on internal KPIs than customer behaviours
These setups make sense internally, but they often complicate life for marketing and sales. Because they force your teams to translate customer signals into internal processes — and that's where things start to break.
Don't get me wrong; you should have reports that show how effective internal processes are and which leads aren't progressing because they are waiting for someone to approve something. However, these reports should not determine the lifecycle or journey stage a lead or customer is in, let alone serve as a trigger for marketing automation.
Why a Journey-Aligned CRM Works Better
When your CRM is aligned with the customer journey, everything starts to click:
- Better handoffs between marketing, sales, and customer success — because everyone's working from the same map
- More relevant automation — trigger emails and actions based on real customer milestones, not just internal steps
- Cleaner data — because fields and statuses reflect customer behaviours
- Higher adoption — when the CRM makes sense to the end user, they're more likely to use it
In short, a journey-based CRM turns your system from an admin tool into a customer growth tool.
How to Tell If Your CRM Is Too Internally Driven
Here's a quick gut check:
- Do your pipeline stages reflect customer intent or team workflows?
- Are field names intuitive to someone outside your company?
- Is automation triggered by customer actions or internal deadlines?
- Do reports focus on what the customer is doing or just what teams are doing?
If the answer leans toward internal processes, it's time for a rethink.
Rethinking Your CRM Around the Customer Journey
Here's how to start shifting your CRM to be more journey-first:
- Map the entire customer journey — from initial contact to retention. Define key stages as your customer would see them.
- Align CRM pipelines and stages to those stages: Awareness → Consideration → Decision → Onboarding → Retention.
- Rename fields and workflows to be human-readable and journey-relevant.
- Rebuild automation triggers around customer milestones — e.g., downloading a whitepaper, booking a demo, or completing onboarding.
- Collaborate with legal/IT to strike the right balance — compliance and clarity can coexist.
CRMs Should Empower, Not Restrict
Yes, internal requirements matter. But if your CRM is only serving compliance and governance, you're missing out on what it could be.
It's time to build your CRM around your customers, not your organisational chart. When you do, everything, from marketing to sales to service, becomes easier, faster, and more effective.
Want help navigating internal CRM constraints?
Please fill in the form below — we'd be happy to take a look and share how you can bring more customer focus into your CRM setup.
