At the core of every business is the customers. Without customers, a business won’t run and your services won’t be needed. Customers are everything in the world of business, no matter how hard you try to spin it, and as such, it’s important you have outstanding customer relations services and equipment set up like CRM.
CRM is a vital part of your business. Even if this is your first time really hearing about such an application, it’s likely you’ve encountered it in some form or another. At its base, CRM is there to improve and facilitate customer relations for your business. It’s a special application, too.
CRM can be made from scratch, rented from an existing company, or bought. There are pros and cons to each type of CRM as with everything. Some businesses find it is easiest to just rent their CRM monthly or annually whereas other businesses decide early on to invest in building their own.
When it comes to figuring out what you’ll do with your CRM, there are several big questions to ask yourself and many things you should consider beforehand. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to decide as the choice is mainly determined by your own preferences. To figure out what those preferences are, here are a few things to consider.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Before you make any decision ever, there are always questions you should ask yourself. Even when it comes to CRM software. You know your business best and where you are planning or wanting to take it, so only you can decide what to do. In order to get a better idea about whether you want to rent a CRM software or build one, here are a few questions to ask yourself.
Does Your Business Have Unique or Specific Needs?
Many rented CRMs are made as a more general platform. They have basic features and while these features are actually pretty great, it can be a pain for businesses that have very specific needs.
If you know right now there are certain functions you need your CRM to have that most businesses don’t use, you may find yourself faced with no other option but to build your own. That is, unless you want to pay extra fees for the company to add on that special function for you.
If your business is in a fairly common industry, there are often CRMs available out there that offer all the features you need. Do a thorough search beforehand to see if there are services out there that cater to all your needs. There’s no reason to spend extra money on building a CRM that essentially already exists for rent.
Do You Already Have Support and Development Staff on Hand?
When you choose to use a custom CRM, you have to make sure you have the means for regular upkeep and costs. Sure, you won’t have the monthly rental fees of a CRM, but you do need to ensure your CRM software is being maintained regularly and has a good development team.
For businesses that already have a full support and development staff on hand, a custom built CRM may not be that big of a problem. You may have to hire a couple extra hands if the added work is more than reasonable for your current staff, but it will likely be cheaper.
However, if your business does not have a full support and development staff on hand, then you’ll have to factor in these added costs. Keep in mind what your business can afford and what may be a little too much.
How Soon Do You Need to Start Implementing CRM?
If the answer is immediately, then a custom CRM software is not the way to go. Development will take longer even if you already know exactly what you want, so it’s better to just choose an existing service and use it. Once you have that set up, you can look at whether or not you need to change.
Conclusion
After reading through everything above, you should have a pretty good idea about what’s best for your business. Custom software development has the ability to be anything you want it to be, which is why any businesses choose it. However, if your business can’t afford it right now and you don’t see any particular reason why you would need something special, then renting one is just as well.
At the end of the day, finding the right CRM is about what’s best for your business. With the right CRM, your business is better positioned to serve your customers.