What’s the Difference Between IT Support & Cyber Security?
It’s 9am, and your CRM’s already playing up. The shared drive won’t sync, no one can log in, and your sales team are juggling customer calls with outdated records. CRM issues have a way of showing up when you least expect them and right when you need things to work. From duplicated contacts to access problems, even slight glitches can waste time and frustrate your team.
The UK government's 2025 Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that 43% of businesses and 30% of charities experienced cyber security breaches or attacks in the past 12 months. These issues were often due to poor configuration or maintenance. The good news is that most CRM problems can be resolved quickly once you know where to look. This guide walks you through seven common CRM issues and how to fix them.
Whether you run your systems in-house or rely on outside support, these tips are straightforward and practical. Our team is here to help your CRM get back on track without the technical jargon.
When your CRM doesn’t properly communicate with your other systems – email, calendars, and quoting tools – you’ll start to see gaps. The first signs are often duplicate data, missed messages, and broken workflows.
Most integration issues involve compatibility. Legacy systems, outdated plugins, and poorly set-up APIs can disrupt how tools connect in the background.
Start by reviewing what’s linked to your CRM:
If you’re still hitting walls, the issue may be with your infrastructure. A stable and well-maintained managed IT environment ensures everything runs smoothly. It keeps your tools linked and your team working efficiently.
When Rescue Rod wanted better system stability for their team, Town & Country Communications stepped in. We completed a full refresh of their IT infrastructure. This built a strong foundation for tools like their CRM to run smoothly.
When customer records go missing or don’t match across platforms, it’s usually a sync issue. If the data is wrong, the decisions are, too, and that can affect everything from marketing accuracy to customer service.
Common causes include:
Over time, even minor mismatches can snowball.
Check that everyone is accessing a shared, secure CRM, and not just spreadsheets on their desktop. Regular audits and clear data rules go a long way. And if you’re using Microsoft 365, connecting your CRM to tools like Teams and OneDrive can help ensure updates flow automatically. Our Microsoft 365 support helps businesses bring their systems together. This reduces errors and avoids sync-related stress.
Abbey Office Solutions partnered with Town & Country Communications to set up a cloud-based phone system. This system supports hybrid work, improves remote access, and keeps teams connected to shared systems like CRMs.
Access issues like failed logins, blocked permissions, or expired passwords affect more than just one user. They can disrupt entire teams and erode confidence in the system.
First, review who can access what:
Issues like this are often part of a bigger picture. If you’re spending more time resetting passwords than focusing on clients, it might be time to rethink your IT support. Our business IT support team regularly helps SMEs simplify user access and improve system security. Best of all, we do it without overcomplicating things.
If your CRM feels sluggish, crashes often, or takes forever to load, it can be irritating and reduce your team’s output. This kind of slowdown is often caused by bloated databases, outdated software, or unreliable hosting.
Try archiving old data, like long-closed leads or inactive contacts, and check that your CRM software is up to date. If you host the system locally, it may be worth reviewing your server’s capacity or memory limits.
Often, performance issues aren’t caused by the CRM at all. They’re the result of underlying infrastructure struggles. With a reliable, managed IT setup, you can prevent these bottlenecks before they impact your team.
Even the smartest CRM won’t work if people don’t use it. But most of the time, low adoption isn’t due to laziness; it’s usually down to confusion, lack of training, or poor system fit.
Start by listening:
Simplifying the interface and showing how the system supports their role can make all the difference.
We’ve helped businesses in Dorset and Hampshire that almost gave up on their CRM. With just a few small changes, they saw a big turnaround. One example is The Funky Peach, who were struggling with a system that didn’t suit their needs. We helped them rebuild from the ground up with a tailored solution. This improved their usability and day-to-day communication.
Often, it’s not the system that’s broken. It just needs to be reintroduced the right way.
If your team constantly has to double-check CRM records – or worse, avoid using them – it’s a clear sign of poor data quality. Poor data quality leads to missed opportunities, weak reporting, and wasted effort. If this sounds familiar, you might be wondering what the fix is.
Keep it simple:
If your team works on the move, ensure they update records through secure, synced devices, not by writing things down or saving them to desktop files.
With the right systems in place, you can reduce manual errors and keep your data accurate without overloading staff. Regular audits and cloud-based backups are a strong start.
It’s easy to think the job’s done once the CRM is installed. However, without a clear strategy, even the best system becomes little more than a digital filing cabinet.
Define what success looks like:
Once you know the goal, you can align the CRM to support it, from automated reminders to streamlined pipelines.
Don’t think of your CRM as just as a tool but as an active part of your team’s workflow. Like any team member, it needs regular check-ins to stay on track.
Simple fixes, smoother days, and support from someone who knows your setup.
CRM issues rarely announce themselves. Yet, when left unresolved, they quietly drain your time, frustrate your team, and hold your business back. The good news? Most problems don’t require an overhaul; they just need a clearer view of what’s going wrong and a trusted partner to help set it right.
At Town & Country Communications, we’ve helped businesses in Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire with just that. Whether reviewing your setup or solving a nagging login issue, you’ll always speak to someone who knows your system, often one of us Butlers!
Call 01202 514444 or contact us online to book your free CRM check-up today, and let’s get your setup running the way it should.
