This blog post stems from a conversation between César, host of the Awtana Amplify podcast, and Carolina Oliveros, a digital transformation expert with over 20 years of experience in the real estate and retail sectors, and current Experience and Real Estate Services Manager at Imagina. Throughout the episode, Carolina shares her perspective on how to rethink business from the customer's point of view, break down departmental silos, and build a future-ready organizational culture.
Drawing from her experience leading a CRM (HubSpot) implementation, Carolina reveals the real challenges of technology adoption, the value of ongoing change management, and the key role that leaders play in sustaining tool adoption over time. Beyond the technology itself, this conversation offers practical takeaways for any company looking to start or strengthen its path toward a real and sustainable digital transformation.
Main Challenges When Implementing a CRM
One of the biggest obstacles when embarking on a digital transformation is how organizations manage customer data. In the case of Imagina, the company where Carolina Oliveros led this process, the primary issue was working in silos. Each department managed the customer independently using its own tools, such as Excel spreadsheets, personal emails, or isolated documents, resulting in a complete lack of inter-team coordination.
This fragmented structure prevented clear customer traceability. When a customer transitioned from one department to another—for instance, from sales to after-sales service—information was lost or inaccessible, directly impacting the customer experience. Furthermore, without a single source of truth, there were duplicated efforts, confusion over assigned tasks, and communication breakdowns.
According to Carolina, this disconnect had a profound impact: the customer perceived the company as a collection of isolated departments lacking a unified service strategy, which weakened relationships and damaged brand perception. It was this diagnosis that raised the alarm and motivated the organization to take the leap toward a technology solution capable of providing a 360-degree customer view, centralizing data, and enabling cross-functional collaboration.
Evaluation Process for Choosing a CRM
Selecting the right CRM was not a decision taken lightly. It was the outcome of a rigorous process that lasted over a year, actively involving every customer-facing department across the company. This evaluation went beyond evaluating tool features; it began with an essential step: understanding the real pain points of each team. To carry out this evaluation, key steps were taken, including:
This thorough process ensured that the decision to implement HubSpot was informed, consensus-driven, and aligned with business goals. Beyond the technology itself, the greatest value came from the organizational learning generated during this period: processes were clarified, hidden problems were brought to light, and cross-departmental collaboration was strengthened. Turning Point: Why Was the Decision Made to Implement a CRM?
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The decision to implement a CRM was neither immediate nor driven solely by technology trends; it was fueled by a concrete need uncovered by data. Carolina explains that it all started when analyzing their Net Promoter Score (NPS) results, a key metric measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. The outcome was alarming: customers were rating their experience negatively, even after purchasing an asset as significant as real estate.
That was the moment the team paused to investigate what was truly failing. Through in-depth analysis, they identified that the gap between customer expectation and reality was directly tied to communication. Although it seemed like a straightforward issue, the company discovered that customer communication was disconnected at every stage of the real estate journey. Data was not shared across departments, teams lacked access to customer history, and no one possessed a complete picture of what that customer had experienced or requested.
This not only hindered internal operations, but it also eroded customer trust. When people buy a home—arguably the most important investment of their lives—they expect to feel supported at every step. Instead, they encountered generic answers, a lack of follow-up, and teams that had no idea who they were or what they had previously requested.
It was at this point that they realized that without a centralized, collaborative tool, any effort to improve the experience would fall short. The need for a CRM offering a 360-degree customer view became undeniable. This was the real turning point: not a technology fad, but a direct response to a customer experience crisis.
Lessons Learned: Involving the Business, Not Just IT
One of the major lessons Carolina Oliveros highlights from the process was understanding that digital transformation cannot be spearheaded solely by the information technology (IT) department. Historically, many implementations failed because decisions were made purely from a technical standpoint, without involving those who engage with customers every day: the business teams.
In previous experiences, systems were selected that satisfied technical requirements—security, integration, architecture—yet failed to resolve the real pain points of operational teams. As a result, the tools were neglected or used superficially, causing frustration and even resistance. It was during this project that Imagina decided to change its approach and open the discussion to all key areas, including sales, after-sales, marketing, customer service, and communications.
Each of these areas contributed its perspective on what they needed, what challenges they faced, and how they expected the system to help them. This enabled building a richer and more representative evaluation, where the CRM not only had to fulfill technical requirements, but also align with a clear, customer-centric business strategy.
The main takeaways from this approach were:
- Listening to the end user drives adoption: People are more committed when they feel their needs were considered from the start.
- Business pain points do not always align with IT's: While IT prioritizes security or integration, the business demands efficiency, traceability, and intuitive tools.
- Technology is a means, not an end: If it does not improve concrete processes, no matter how robust it is, it will not deliver real impact.
In summary, involving the business from the outset not only ensures a better technology selection, but also accelerates adoption, strengthens cross-departmental collaboration, and maximizes return on investment.
How to Prepare the Organization for New Technologies?
Adopting a tool like a CRM or integrating artificial intelligence into business processes is not just about installing software. It requires deep organizational readiness so that the change translates into tangible value. Carolina Oliveros explains that one of the biggest takeaways was realizing that change management is not a one-time milestone, but an ongoing practice that must be woven into company culture.
Often, those leading the transformation fully understand the purpose behind the change, but when rolling that vision out to operational teams, friction arises. People are caught up in their day-to-day work, accustomed to methods they have already mastered, and do not always see the long-term benefits of adopting a new tool. For example, even if the CRM streamlines tracking, many still find it easier to send an email from their personal account or jot down notes in a notepad.
Preparing the organization means investing in ongoing training, but also in awareness: showing through concrete examples how proper technology usage impacts results, reduces rework, improves customer experience, and fosters teamwork.
Additionally, conveying the importance of data quality is essential. Entering incomplete or inaccurate information—such as generic or misspelled email addresses—has serious downstream consequences: leads are lost, handoffs are disrupted, and customer relationships are damaged. Readiness, therefore, is not merely technical, but cultural: organizations must foster a mindset of accountability and collaboration.
Finally, Carolina points out that, even three years after the CRM implementation, change management remains ongoing. Because tools evolve, teams turn over, and new people will always join the organization. That is why preparing the company for technology is not a one-and-done initiative, but a continuous effort to ensure change sticks, is reinforced, and drives tangible results.
Conclusion:
In this conversation on Awtana Amplify, César, our host, along with Carolina Oliveros, Experience Manager at Imagina, provide an honest, in-depth look at what it takes to drive a digital transformation with real impact. Drawing from her experience, Carolina makes it clear that success is not just about choosing the right tool—such as HubSpot in their case—but about aligning technology, people, and culture.
One of the biggest takeaways was understanding that technology is only an enabler. What truly transforms an organization is its ability to break down departmental silos, improve customer communication, and build a 360-degree view of the customer experience. This is only possible when all business departments are involved, not just IT, and when companies actively listen to those on the front lines with customers.
Change management is not an isolated event, but a continuous practice. As Carolina points out, even three years after implementing a CRM, awareness and training efforts remain critical. Preparing an organization for new technologies means fostering a continuous improvement mindset, delivering recurring training, and ensuring that leaders lead by example in adopting the implemented tools.
Ultimately, this episode reminds us that a true digital transformation requires executive commitment, cross-departmental collaboration, and a clear vision centered on the customer as the core of the business. If you are starting on this journey, remember that technology does not change companies; the people who understand, adopt, and lead it do.
