CRM Implementation and Customization

Integrant specializes in building and maintaining custom software. This can range from building new software from scratch to maintaining and enhancing an existing system. There are many valuable business benefits to choosing custom software because it meets your exact needs. However, there are several scenarios in which package software is more ideal than custom.

Generally speaking, if you can find a package system that meets 90%-100% of the core functionality you require, it makes a lot of sense. If you are adding a service or function without set processes in place, it would also make sense to adapt to a package. The goal with package software is to get a quicker solution at a lower cost.

Keep in mind, though, that package software comes with workflows already in place. These workflows allow some limited changes, but you’ll need to find out if this small margin of customization will work for you. If a package system fits with 90% or more of your processes, you can assume that the remaining 10% can be adapted to your needs. If, however, a package meets less than 90% of your process needs, this will be a significant problem. In order to customize beyond the standard 10%, you will have to modify the core of the software. Ultimately, this will defeat the low-cost, quick-solution benefits of package software.

In the case of two of our clients, we recommended packaged software as the best option for a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Both clients used custom software extensively, but after some quick analysis, we determined the best investment would be a custom implementation of a package and integration of the software with the client’s custom systems.

CRM software is designed to help companies manage relationships with customers. Whether client interactions are over the phone, by email, over the web, through direct mail, or any combination of these, CRM software is intended to make client contacts efficient and consistent. It also provides immediate and intuitive access to client-related data through a unified data repository.

Today, if a customer calls with a question about their account, customer service has immediate access to all of the client’s account info. The information is always accurate and up-to-date because any changes made to an account through CRM software are made universally, or systemwide. Without CRM it was necessary to transfer the client to another department, send a request for information, or direct them to someone outside the company—all of which could be frustrating for the client.

Other practical CRM uses include workflows that automatically send customers a follow-up
email with the information they requested over the phone. This kind of activity is tracked so management can measure, analyze and make improvements. Our clients use the CRM to track how well sales reps are performing. Dashboards encourage healthy competition within teams, and set up forums that outline and track group goals. The CRM allows accurate reporting on the effectiveness and ROI of sales and marketing investments. It’s simple to report how many and what kind of marketing campaigns are running, how many deals closed, and how these two aspects relate to marketing costs and the amount of
revenue generated.

Though package software was the best option for both clients, the two companies had very different goals and objectives. This factored into their investment in customization and integration.

The first client had a small number of users (less than 50) and planned to manage one type of customer relationship. There were no plans to include data from various related systems. They just wanted a simple integration of the CRM with their business intelligence tool. Their goals included:

• Better understanding product volumes, call center performance, campaign performance, marketing list analysis, customer retention rates, etc.
• More efficient call process
• Tracking of calls and call outcomes
• Automation and tracking of manual steps like printing and fulfillment requests

This project only required about 600 total hours for implementation and integration.

The second client shared the same goals as those outlined above. Additionally, there was a need for:

• Data transfer between different departments, such as operations and customer service to
• permit sharing of key customer information
• Integration of the CRM with online lead generation tools to enable real-time follow-ups
• Integration of the CRM with complex operations system to allow customer service reps to complete applications and process orders
• Highly customized workflows to improve call and data processing efficiency
• Complex data loading and cleansing requirements
• Dozens of custom reports and dashboards

A much more complex implementation, integration with multiple systems and a need for extensive custom workflows required about 3500 hours.

The same software package served similar, but different requirements for each client. By gathering requirements in the beginning, our clients invested what they expected and received a product that met their needs. Both companies were able to launch faster than custom building a whole new system from scratch, but enjoy the benefits of a custom implemented and custom integrated solution.