Magic Business: online CRM without limits
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions generally all claim to be customisable. The question is: how customisable? There are standard (all-in-one) software packages, and others designed to meet the specific needs, technical or otherwise, of your business. As an important and sometimes even central tool in your day-to-day organisation, how do you make your choice? And if you're going to customise it, how do you assess what you're getting into? Read all our opinions on CRM software.
The disadvantages of standard software
Unnecessary complexity
Off-the-shelf software is often comprehensive and advanced. This is certainly an advantage, but it's also a disadvantage. The sheer number of possibilities means that the essentials are lost. Basic functionalities, buried among the options, become complex and time-consuming. Studies show that most companies use only 20% of their management software. But that doesn't necessarily mean that 20% is enough. Very often, as complete as the tool may be, it won't provide THE functionality you need.
Not adapted to specific needs
Every company has its own way of working, its own habits, its own way of entering a contact into its database, of qualifying it and of getting back to it later. These characteristics may require specific configuration. In the case of a basic creation of personalised fields, this poses no problem. On the other hand, for a quote with relatively advanced parameters and pricing rules dedicated to your business, this will be difficult to achieve with an all-in-one solution. It is when it comes to specific parameters that standard solutions show their limitations.
The company adapts to the tool, not the other way round
Most of the time, companies do without. Caught up in the urgency of operations, they make do with what is feasible. Even if this means wasting time on a day-to-day basis, doing three things instead of one. And gradually, the risk is that your processes will be reshaped to suit the tool, when it should be the tool that adapts to your processes.
A tendency towards standardisation
Imperceptibly, you are getting closer to the standard set by the tool. But this standard is everywhere. Which means that your competitors are probably following the same one. Result: a standardisation of practices. This will undoubtedly suit the supplier, but will not help you stand out from the competition.
Limited customisation of the standard
To maintain your approach to what a CRM should be, you may also want to start from a standard and develop it further. But here too, there are likely to be pitfalls.
Novices beware
To go beyond the classic customisation of standard business management software, you need to get into the code and then 'tinker' around inside. Unless you're a novice, or have the skills in-house, you'll need to ask your service provider to do this.
Unnecessarily expensive features
The desired developments will have a cost, whether they are carried out in-house or outsourced. In the end, you will end up with a solution that will no longer have much in the way of standard features. And yet you had originally paid for a complexity that was eventually removed in favour of your expressed needs. So much money invested for nothing.
Time-consuming upgrades
Remember that the standard tool is not intended to evolve too much. So it won't be easy to make major changes. Development is likely to take a long time, and may encounter unexpected difficulties.
The problem of compatibility during updates
When it's finally right, the respite will only be temporary: the time it takes for a new version of the software to be released. And because it fixes bugs and is more powerful, you'll want to take advantage of it by updating your own. But the developments you have made or had made will no doubt be more compatible with the update. The bits of code that have been integrated here and there are likely either to be deleted or to hinder the update. Unless you go back to the drawing board, you risk being deprived of the benefits of subsequent versions.
Customisation: iterative and autonomous appropriation
The benefits of iterative development
How do you go about it? Work in reverse: start with the essentials and test. You'll build up from strength to strength and better understand your needs. You'll see more clearly how your way of doing things is specific and what it requires. The iterative or lean method avoids unpleasant surprises and refines the final result.
More scope for action
This is what CRM Magic Business proposes. Recognising the rigidity and complexity of standard solutions, Androcom is offering this made-to-measure solution. Relying on the SERVOY platform and basic CRM and Sales Force modules, its customers can be autonomous. A basic knowledge of IT is all that's needed, and then the CRM software can simply be upgraded as required. Smoother and ultimately less time-consuming, you get the essentials right from the start, and gradually implement what you need.
CRM is at the heart of the company. It is the daily work tool of the marketing and sales departments, and its properties are key. Beyond the operational aspect, it is the relationship with your customers, and by extension your market strategy, that are linked to it.
Article translated from French