How to Build a Custom CRM System: Why Building Your Own CRM is a Good Idea

Why Do Companies Choose CRM System?

CRM system is a must-have for all types of businesses. It captures details of transactions and stores the results of interaction with customers: how they are progressing through the sales, what they are satisfied with and what they complain about. It helps to analyze the work of departments and increase their efficiency.

On the market there are many off-the-shelf solutions: amoCRM, Bitrix 24, A2B, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. But there are companies that prefer to build their own CRM system.

In this article we explain why custom CRM systems are better to build and we analyze the features of the process and how to create your own CRM.

According to the Market Research Future (2020) 92% of businesses choose CRM as an important link to reach their revenue goals. It can raise the revenue to 45% ROI per dollar invested.

For instance, your own CRM System can call anyone who has left an application within 1 hour or contact the buyer 2 weeks after finishing the transaction for feedback. It organizes the process of sales, automates your business, increases the buyers` loyalty, and creates comfortable conditions for employees.

CRM systems are suitable for any business sphere, but most often they are used by ecommerce, healthcare, IT, finance, etc.

Why do business owners choose a CRM system?

If your business works with a narrow range of partners and does not engage in attracting new ones, forget about Custom CRM. But if you are actively looking for new sales channels and launch advertising campaigns, every lead is on the account. In order not to waste a budget and collect data about customers, you need a CRM system.

Keeping you from losing customers

All requests and calls go straight into the system, so no lead is lost. The history of interaction with buyers is stored in the database and available to managers – they can always turn to it to offer the person what he needs.

Boosting sales

The system automates processes, so managers have time to process all requests. They know more about customers, make offers tailored to their needs. Customers appreciate attention, come back, and sales are rising.

Organizing responsibilities

Small companies often lack a clear division of responsibilities – all do everything. The main disadvantage of such multiple-work employees: it is impossible to understand who is responsible for what. CRM-system has a special tool for this case.

Monitoring the results of managers

The CRM system keeps time records. With this tool, it is possible to estimate how much time is spent on average on solving problems, to find those who are idle and to distribute the load.

Increasing business management

Performance indicators can be identified for each process, and the system will track them. For example, they introduced some new tool and immediately evaluated its effectiveness with the help of metrics.

Collecting analysis

The CRM system keeps a constant record of all customer service data: how many customers at different stages of pipeline, where the most lead is eliminated, how long it takes from the first contact to the final stage of the transaction.

Aid for finishing a deal

The CRM system shows at which stage of the pipeline each lead is located, which helps the manager «push» it further and close the deal.

Whether big or small business you can not cope without a CRM-system – a huge flow of information, tasks and customers can not be quickly processed manually. For small companies, it especially matters, because it helps to reduce costs and squeeze the most out of advertising budgets.

Now that we have decided why to implement the CRM system, we will figure out what type do you really need.

Do You Really Need to build a Custom CRM System or is it enough Off-the-shelf CRM?

Off-the-shelf CRM systems are designed to be used by any business with standard processes. This is their advantage and the main drawback – not all companies operate under some universal scheme.

Custom CRM systems are built for a specific business, taking into account the features of the business. You decide which functions will be in your system and how they will work.

For example, you want a discount for every 11 orders. This is a non-standard condition under which a custom software company will write code. With custom development, you get only the right features, pay once for the creation and use without restrictions, and you can always modify or change the system.

Let’s look at the features of each system.

• Principle of work Off-the-shelf CRM System has a standard set. Custom CRM system works on the basis of your business needs.
• User-friendly interface A lot of functions that can complicate working with the system. In the Custom variant you have only those functions which you need and it will save your money and time to train the staff.
• Integration with other services Off-the-shelf CRM has some restrictions on integration into third-party services while Custom CRM system has opportunity to integrate with all types: messengers, social-media analytics tools, email services.
• Easy usage In case of off-the-shelf CRM some tools are difficult to master without special training. The Custom CRM system is based on the company’s business process, so its use is simple for employees. Additional training is provided before implementation.
• Customization You cannot modify or change functionality in the off-the-shelf CRM. In the Custom variant the functionality can be modified or modified by the developer or an employee of your company.

So the main advantages of an off-the-shelf CRM system: it offers a standard set of features; has low support costs; provides a fast start.

But the disadvantages are costs which combined monthly fees, costs of customizing the final solution, training of personnel. At the same time, you will not be able to fully configure the ready-made solution for yourself.

Building a Custom CRM system is initially created for a specific business, takes into account the subtleties of the company’s work.

Custom CRM development will work when:

• the company grows and faces problems of scaling;
• too much time is spent on routine tasks;
• you need an employee performance monitoring system.

Custom CRM is a universal tool that suits both small, medium and large businesses.

To create your CRM system we recommend using the services of outsourcing companies, not freelancers. To create a CRM system will require a whole team: UI/UX designer, frontend developer, backend developer, QA engineer, DevOps.

Read more about best features for a sales boosting property CRM

The off-the-shelf solution is suitable when you need to understand the principles of CRM-systems, immediately determine what additional functions are missing, and take them into account when developing a Custom CRM System. But you need to know about the challenges of ready-to-use CRM.

What Are the Potential CRM System Drawbacks?

Let’s look at the most popular CRM systems.

Zoho CRM

This CRM system allows you to fully control the company, manage sales, marketing and support. Extensive data collection and processing capabilities in statistical reports will help to improve cost recovery and to develop a work plan for staff.

Initially, it requires a great deal of customization, also it is insufficient customer service. Users prove poorly designed forms. Although Zoho CRM offers a lot of functions, the number of them will not be enough, since your business will grow.

Hubspot CRM System

Hubspot CRM allows you to maintain a database of contacts, organizations and transactions; store any information on contacts, organizations and transactions by adding your own fields or using dozens of pre-configured fields; correspond with clients; assign meetings/calls with clients directly through the site, etc.

This CRM system suits B2B companies, but if you are a large retail business (offline stores etc.) and company, which grows quickly, better to choose Custom CRM as it does not work with more than 200 people.

Unlike the Professional version, Hubspot cannot create its own objects (for example, if you want to see “Project” as a separate system object). There is no integration with Telegram.

Pipedrive CRM System

Compared to the most famous analogues, Pipedrive has concrete advantages. And the most important thing is to focus on problem solving for small businesses or single users. System settings are as simple as possible.

This tool is often selected by small departments to control long sales. The popularity of this choice is due to the following advantages of Pipedrive: simple to use – the system interface is intuitive, and to configure it, it is enough to just drag and drop the desired objects.

But the disadvantages are in such options:

• sales functions – the service is sales oriented, but it does not provide documentary support for this process. There is a lack of integration with the accounting department, which makes it difficult to invoice, manage contracts.
• data processing – the system has limited capacity to process and manage data. Records can be duplicated, so data cleansing must be done manually.
• lack of support for the current relations with clients – the service is focused on primary sales, but in order to provide support to existing clients, the functionality of the system provides very few opportunities.
• reporting – the reporting system is very limited. Its capabilities allow you to track only current activities and estimate the sales forecast.

So the main drawbacks of ready-made solutions:

• Insufficient integration. All ready-made CRM – a product of mass consumption, which can be integrated into the existing business only superficially.
• Too many functions. Ready-made CRM-solutions are built with a huge number of features and options, most of which remain unused. It’s like selling a smartphone with a thousand pre-installed apps that might one day be needed by a user in the future – requires a lot of resources, is uncomfortable and more expensive than it might be.
• Inappropriate UI / UX design. Developers of ready-made CRM have a difficult task – they have to create a product that will appeal to all. This is not possible, so developers are giving up some target audiences in favor of most. And it’s quite possible that your audience is one of those compromises.
• No special offers for your business. All the template solutions are similar, which is very bad in terms of marketing.

To avoid these drawbacks, experts recommend developing CRM systems from scratch. Next you will find guidance on how to do this correctly, avoiding most possible problems.

How to Build a Custom CRM: Stages

Before starting to build your own CRM from scratch, it is necessary to answer several important questions that will help to determine the scope and set of functions.

You can describe all your needs during the consultation and description of the technical assignment: for instance describing the main features of Custom CRM: maintain contact info, create reminders into calendars, task management, and report generation.

Analyzing the main features of CRM Systems we created a guide on how to build Custom CRM.

Choose Type, Roles, and Platforms

Before building Custom CRM you need to make an analysis of your business and choose the type of CRM software.

Operational – optimization and automation of sales, customer service and marketing. This type of CRM application is suitable for business, interacting with customers through call centers, blogs, websites, communities, direct mail and direct sales.

It standardizes the sales cycle and includes the following modules: product configuration, which allows sellers or customers to independently automatically develop the product and determine the price for the customized product, management of proposals, account Management, lead Management, and etc.

Analytical – collection of information from many points of contact with the client and processing of this data. The main purpose of such CRM is to help in the organization of daily (operational) work with clients and the formation of analytics for the development and planning of scenarios of interaction with clients.

Analytical CRM can set different approaches to sales for different customer segments. In addition, different content and style can be offered to different customer segments. For customers, analytical CRM provides individual and timely problem solutions. For business, this provides more opportunities for sales as well as acquisition and retention of customers.

Collaborative CRM System combines interaction management between all departments. It’s an opportunity for employees to exchange information and easily cooperate with customers, partners and suppliers.

The choice of CRM system functions depends on the tasks you set for it. As a rule, this is most affected by the size of your business:

• Private Entrepreneur. Usually single users only need a Client Database to manage and track relationships with them. This significantly saves time and nerves.
• Small Business. Larger businesses in most cases need automation of the sales department to control and monitor the actions of individual trade representatives.
• Medium-sized business. Such companies focus on automation of sales and marketing. In addition, they need analytics to predict business processes and create marketing strategies.
• Big business. For large companies, everything is important – from sales to strategy, so they need full-fledged combined CRM-systems.

When developing CRM systems, it is important to create several templates for typical roles («Owner», «Manager 1», «Manager 2», «Full Access», «Extended Access», etc.) and at the same time to add the ability to create and customize roles. What roles users can create should depend on the level of access.

Also it is important to build your pipeline view in Custom CRM. The correct pipeline allows you to evaluate revenue and sales; how much and what resources will be required to transfer a potential client to real; how long the sales cycle will be; what obstacles may arise in the process of gaining the trust of the client, etc.

The ideal pipeline consists of five stages:

• Search for potential customers and lead generation;
• Determine the appropriateness of the assembled base for your business;
• Consultation (before you give the customer to the sales department, it should be analyzed, so consultations are held to identify these customers` needs);
• Offer (It is made after the sales department has established contact with the client);
• Transaction (here the potential client is converted into the one who brings the company profit).

The CRM allows the team to manage clients’ contacts collectively, move them easily from one stage of the pipeline to another, and monitor the progress of the entire team in achieving their goals.

The choice of platform depends on the equipment of your company. In most cases, these are web applications using Windows and macOS operating systems, less often – Linux. Over the past few years, there has also been a trend of mobile CRM applications.

Also e-mail marketing can be included. You can create any sequence of emails which you need.

Synchronization with third-party services. Almost all companies use several information programs – specify what. You can even synchronize your CRM with social media.

You need to choose how the invoicing and reporting system will be built. Think about methods of taking information that are suitable for your business, about invoice options for clients and invoice history.

How much does building a CRM system cost?

The CRM development cost depends on the set of functions. It is very important to understand whether your CRM will be able to manage roles, tasks, reports, etc. Plus additional functions as chartbots, customer scoring, etc.

To calculate the estimated cost of CRM development, we focused on the time needed for development. The average cost of an hour is around $50.

It is quite possible that you don’t need some of the features that we have put in the assessment, but you can add your own. All this will affect the final cost of the project.

How can Glorium Technologies help you?

Glorium technologies is a software company covering specific client business needs with the help of the latest and most relevant technologies.

Advantages of working with Glorium Technologies:

• 12+ years of team experience – our developers have extensive experience in creating Custom CRM solutions in a variety of areas. All of them are constantly developing their skills to stay on the cutting edge of progress.
• Fairness and transparency – we are a company for maximum transparency in communication with customers, and we strictly adhere to non-disclosure agreements to keep the idea of our customers in maximum safety from competitors.
• Simple project management – we use a flexible model of interaction and communication, which will allow clients to follow the development progress in real time and quickly make necessary changes and additions.
• Reliability and Security – our software products have a high degree of reliability and protection against all kinds of malicious actions – from fraud and phishing to data leaks and DDoS-attacks.
• User orientation – we always focus on the business goals of our customers.

Final words

If your company develops rapidly and you do not fit the box solutions, we recommend building a Custom CRM system. It will have all the necessary functions that are needed for successful business development. In this case, many routine processes will be automated, and this will reduce costs and increase revenue goals.

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