One of the major selling points of customer relationship management (CRM) systems is customization. In the past, companies that wanted to utilize a CRM platform had to purchase software off the shelf; frequently there were many applications bundled together, which meant that the company paid for everything, regardless of whether or not they would actually use it all. It was expensive to purchase multiple copies of licensed software, and upgrades could be complex and time-consuming. Then came cloud computing, which involves the use of applications that run remotely, through the internet. Upgrades take place automatically, without employee downtime; apps can be shared across all channels without the use of multiple software bundles, and all data can be easily accessed, whether the employee is telecommuting, traveling or located across the globe.
Additionally, cloud-based CRM systems are extremely customizable. They can support sales and marketing processes along with customer support. The systems can be customized by fields, forms, views, and reports. They feature automated workflow processes and are able to use Jscript automation for forms.
CRM is designed to present a user friendly interface for managing customer information and interactions. Systems can be customized to meet needs of different departments, from customer service and collections to telemarketing and sales. The goal is to provide information about customers and prospects, manage the data collected, and ultimately sustain and increase sales activities. It can be used for any company department, including collections, directory services, and financial departments. The systems are data-driven.
Typical customizations include layout changes, custom fields and custom views. An app can be customized to present workflow development and custom reports and define business processes. Keeping in mind the need for CRM to be very user friendly, here are 5 best practices for CRM customization:
- Know what sales and marketing processes need to flow into the CRM application. If you do not map out what is needed, the application you end up with will not match the needs of your business. Once a system is in use, options for customization may be addressed. Take time and work with your vendor before and after you make a decision on what CRM to purchase.
- Know in advance which user needs and reporting needs must be met. Get input from users about what they need before any customization is done, to help make that customization accepted and useful to those users.
- Test the system before it goes live. Make sure it functions properly and does not interfere with other activities.
- Make sure data that is entered is clean data. There can be problems moving data from one application to another. There can be duplicate listings or wrong data placed in empty fields. A good CRM application will account for these kinds of glitches, but of course it’s best to avoid them from the beginning if at all possible.
- Don’t rush to integrate CRM systems with other applications. It is good to be able to combine data from multiple applications to get a better, more complete picture of a customer. Loosely coupled systems are better than rigid interfaces. Being linked to other systems allows the CRM system to perform more functions and access more data.
Practical Application
CRM customization has worked well for Divisions Inc., a property management services company in the United States. They customized their CRM system to incorporate photo libraries. This allowed field representatives to use BlackBerry software to send photos from mobitheir le phones to customer email inboxes, as well as to store photos in groups for later recall. Photos are also linked to Google Maps. This capability brings customers what they want faster—which, of course, results in increased customer satisfaction.
Customizing a CRM platform can be one of the best decisions your company can make. Why not find out more about the benefits of custom application development, and what it can do for you and your customers?
