How to Build a Custom CRM Software for Your Business

In the past few years, CRM systems have become widely popular and many companies are successfully using them, increasing their productivity and profits. However, most businesses still hesitate to use them.

It is necessary to see that no common standards or clear understanding exists when it comes to the term, “CRM system”. It can be any business-friendly customer relationship management system.

Oftentimes, managers do not dare to make a decision to implement such innovations because they fear their funds will be wasted. To dissippate all doubts, we recommend finding out how a CRM system is developed and getting acquainted with its main implementation stages.

What Are CRM Systems for?

In brief, integrating software of this kind allows a company to set up full process consideration and control as well as organize efficient interaction with customers and partners.

Generally, the introduced CRM provides businesses with a number of advantages:

1. Systematizes and manages sales and other processes.
2. Keeps a history of relationships with each client.
3. Monitors managers’ and departments’ operational efficiency: how much work they carry out and how they interact with customers.
4. Provides access to quick and complete customer service processes analytics.
5. Increases sales, optimizing processes.
6. Creates the company’s common standardized database.
7. Allows efficient quality control over the sales department at any time.
8. Provides statistical and analytic data to assess leads efficiency (incoming calls, queries).
9. Allows for the planning of work quality improvement and the development of a business development strategy.
10.  Saves employees’ time, freeing them from the need to create and fill out reports, search for data on a client, etc.

Actually, a CRM system integrated into business processes is one solution to get rid of all weaknesses. You can see how the company departments operate and what managers do. You can also find weak points and understand how to fix issues.

Customized Development Instead of a Turnkey Solution

When CRM systems are developed and implemented taking into account the company’s specifics and objectives, they provide a complete picture of current company processes and allow increasing sales. Custom development provides a number of advantages:

• The system is designed based on particular business needs and nothing more.
• The system can be integrated with the necessary external services: time tracking, file storage, workflow, and others.
• When more users connect to the system, the license fee does not increase and the financial burden increases (but not by much).
• The source code is uploaded to servers with access granted exclusively to the client company, and that increases the security level. Source codes and system rights will belong to you.
• Developers implement the system after employees complete special training on the customer side.
• Changes and improvements are possible if necessary to adapt to customer specific needs.

The main stages of CRM system development

To create CRM, it is necessary to take several steps and begin the development with a detailed study of the customer company’s activities. Based on the preliminary analysis results, the developers determine the optimal solutions for the business and proceed to CRM system development itself.

1. Detailed technical specifications. Compiled based on the preparatory work, technical specifications become the starting point and guidelines for action for all specialists involved in CRM system development.
2. Robust prototype. The prototype of the system-to-be will help developers assess the extent to which it meets your business specialization and make adjustments if necessary.
3. Elaborate design. A simple and non-intrusive design with correctly placed priorities makes it easy and comfortable to use the system and work with it.
4. Suitable functionality. The CRM system includes functional capabilities that help you arrange your activities and achieve the best results for customers.
5. Integration with services. Integration with any services facilitates business achievements and helps to implement ideas.
6. Comprehensible management. At this stage, an accessible and easy-to-use administration panel is designed. It allows you to easily configure the necessary functions or reassign responsibilities among staff members.
7. Permanent service. To ensure uninterrupted operation, the system requires maintenance on an ongoing basis. If necessary, new functions are introduced or existing ones are altered.

The CRM system development stages described above will allow you to create a prototype that will eventually need changes, but they will be minimal. Furthermore, the database will be convenient without unnecessary fields.

Summary

In most cases, instead of using a ready CRM system, the better choice would be to develop a custom solution tailored to specific customer needs rather than trying to change and adapt business processes to existing software products.

Using a CRM system in business, you will have all working data standardized and in one shared database. Consequently, the manager will be able to analyze performance statistics, compile various reports, analyze the company’s activities, and knowingly plan its further operation. This approach provides an important competitive advantage in the modern market.

If you have any questions after reading this article, please contact us to tell about your business peculiarities and objectives, and we will offer you the most efficient solution.

We create CRM systems for customer business needs and implement the products, providing support and software updates based on customer feedback.