How to write CRM specifications & downloadable template
The implementation of a CRM tool begins with the drafting of a CRM specification.
This essential stage defines the company's objectives in this area, the scope of action for the sales force and the marketing department, and all the criteria needed to qualify its needs and uses in terms of customer relationship management.
How can you ensure the success of your project ?
By using our CRM specifications template, available as a free download in this article, before comparing and implementing CRM software.
What is the purpose of drawing up a CRM specification?
Customer relationship management can't be improvised, and neither can the choice of your CRM software.
The purpose of a specification is to serve as a reference for the implementation of your CRM solution. It's a roadmap that sets out precisely how the CRM software will be used.
Basically, this reference document should answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of CRM?
- A CRM, for whom?
- What is the purpose of CRM?
- How should it be used?
- When and in what situations should it be used?
When you draw up your CRM specifications, you define :
- your company's objectives
- the expected results
- the users concerned by the CRM solution
- the needs of the sales team
- the needs of the marketing department
- the roles of each team,
- the interactions between each department,
- interoperability requirements with other software already in place in your organisation.
How do you draw up your CRM specifications?
The 5 steps to follow
There are 5 steps to drawing up a well thought-out specification, during which you need to answer a number of questions in order to identify the tool best suited to your CRM project.
Stage 1: Presentation of the company and its activities
- Administrative information about your company,
- Presentation of the company,
- Overall company strategy.
Stage 2: Details of CRM project objectives and challenges
- Presentation of the existing system,
- Establishment of measurable objectives,
- Consideration of all issues,
- Priority and desired functionalities.
Step 3: Description of the business processes envisaged
- Services and missions of the various departments,
- Customer relationship management processes,
- Data access.
Step 4: Integration of existing data and technical resources
- Integration of existing data,
- Integration of the CRM solution with existing tools.
Stage 5: Implementing the CRM project within the company
- Contacts for the CRM project,
- Budget and schedule,
- Identification of training needs.
CRM specifications template to download
This free CRM specifications template, in PDF format, is your writing guide.
By following our advice, you can ensure that you choose a CRM solution that meets your criteria, particularly with regard to :
- technical issues
- functionality
- cost/budget
- planning aspects.
A few more tips for your CRM specifications
It is advisable to adopt the following 3 behaviours to better draft your specifications:
- Go through the customer journey.
- Involve your staff in the drafting process.
- Ask yourself about usage rather than functionality.
💡 Note that it is also possible to call on the CRM software publisher itself for support in defining your specifications.
🛠️ Cirrus Shield, for example, 100% customisable CRM software, offers a packaged consultancy approach. This means you benefit from their expertise in deploying your solution (designing a specification, configuring the solution, data migration, developments specific to your needs, user training, etc.).
🛠 Divalto weavy, another example of CRM, offers a model CRM specification and dedicates a team to supporting you throughout your project, from simple information to the deployment of your tool. The solution is designed to adapt as closely as possible to your needs and offers numerous possibilities for connection with management software.
Which CRM software should you choose?
Once you've drawn up your CRM specifications, it's time to compare the functionalities of the various CRM software packages on the market so as to choose the one best suited to your company's needs.
💡 Some interesting features or modules to look out for depending on your expectations:
- Contact management: manage duplicates in your database, this is the minimum requirement. Being able to segment your lists means you can go much further in personalising your offers.
- Multi-channel integration: whatever the point of contact with a customer (telephone, point of sale, social networks, etc.), you can centralise data and interactions.
- Sales management: there's nothing better than sales tracking functionalities combined with an opportunity tracking module to effectively manage sales activity.
- Business intelligence: by harnessing artificial intelligence, you can get to know your customers better and anticipate sales opportunities. So you can improve your sales processes.
- Marketing tools: give yourself the option of connecting your CRM tool to an emailing solution to send targeted campaigns, or a marketing automation module to automate your transactional emails and help prospects move through the sales funnel. The inbound marketing favoured by BtoB customers is effectively a relationship marketing practice that leads to a purchase, especially for long sales cycles.
Updated article, originally published in December 2017.