// Development
Build Your Own Online CRM System
// Development
CRM systems help to manage the business. Almost every company uses its own or ready-made solution. It's not a secret, there are a lot of cloud services and desktop applications that help to manage business and customers. Each has its own features and advantages. In general, box solutions are created for the mass market and do not take into account the specifics of each business. They are well suited for common tasks: management of clients, staff, finances, etc. For most companies, this is enough, and minor inconvenience can be compensated using Excel or other additional tools. What to do if you are not satisfied with the products presented on the market. In this case, you need to develop your own platform, which will fully meet your requirements. Our company, Merehead, is developing complex projects, including CRM, ERP, scalable web applications and understand your pain.
Developing your own CRM system requires effort and time. But you should understand that this is an investment in your business. CRM system for Enterprise can significantly improve the efficiency of the business and, accordingly, the company's revenue. The main advantages of own CRM system:
- The software will be built for your company and with your requirements. This is an ideal approach for jewelry customization of business processes. Forget about Google Drive, Dropbox, Excel and other tools. You will have one system that will solve all the tasks - all in one.
- Convenient and modern interface. Some CRMs have a really terrible design and complicated navigation.
- Effective management of business processes. Own CRM as precisely as possible will manage the company. All that you lacked in boxed solutions will be implemented in the new system. Reports, charts, integration with mail, financial forecasts, calendars, etc.
Zoho CRM. A huge number of options allow you to configure the system very flexible. But on the other side, its universality implies a lot of "extra" functions for your business. In addition, Zoho has limited capabilities for integration with email services.
HubSpot CRM. The system has a limited number of analytical tools. When you copy text into the text area, when you send an email, the content loses markup.
SalesForce. It is well suited for B2B, but there are many problems in the B2C segment. Many functions for a large business. Very often SalesForce is uncomfortable for small companies.
SugarCRM. Has many difficulties in the settings. If you need non-standard functions, maybe this will be a big problem in SugarCRM. In addition, it is difficult to understand.
In general, minor lacks can be forgiven. It is important that CRM performs the functions that the business requires. If you feel that the above listed SaaS platforms do not suit you, then you should consider the development own CRM.
There are several phases of developing a CRM system. A clear action plan allows you to design a project meets the deadline.
1. Consulting
Before you start building CRM, we need to discuss the specifics of the business. It is very important to clearly understand what functions you want to implement, where you need to generate reports, what data will be stored. A clear understanding of your business will allow us to develop the most effective system. The duration of consulting is 1-2 weeks.
2.Technical requirements
After a complete understanding of your business and your requirements, we start to create technical requirements. All functions will be described in detail in one document and will give a clear understanding of the structure and capabilities of the CRM system. The duration of this process is 1-2 weeks.
3.Design
At this stage design will begin. Modern, and most importantly, user-friendly interface will allow you to easily manage all processes and quickly get the necessary information. The use of CRM should contain the best practices of UI / UX. The design duration is about 2 weeks.
4.Development
Development is carried out on the basis of the technical requirements. The project manager makes a detailed development plan for each developer. The whole team has a clear plan for the next few months. It depends on the scope of the project. Although in some cases the duration may be from 6 to 12 months.
5. Testing
Final testing takes place after the project is fully completed. As a rule, it lasts for several weeks. In parallel, the development team is busy bugs fixing and improving basic functions.
6. Introduction
After the project is fully completed, it is necessary to train the staff how to use the new tool. At this stage, the project manager can conduct a detailed consultation of key employees. In addition, your company will receive the manual with all opportunities of the project.
7. Support
As a rule, as the company develops, it becomes necessary to add new features and capabilities. Regular support for the CRM system will improve it and get the maximum result from its use.
In my opinion, the choice of technology is one of the most important issues. First of all, a good CRM should be safe and scalable. All your data must be safely stored on the server and be able to remotely access. In such projects, I recommend using cloud technologies and modern frameworks. For example, Laravel, JavaScript-based frameworks / libraries. They provide high speed and a high level of security. You don't need to worry about SQL-injections, XSS attacks. In addition, a clearly separated architecture on the front-end and back-end, makes it easy to scale the project in the future. Also, these technologies are well suited for developing large crypto-currencies exchanges platform.
The cost of developing own CRM depends on the complexity and number of functions that need to be implemented. Typically, timeline of the development is from 2 to 4 months. The total cost of an average CRM can be $20,000 - $50, 000. If you need to develop a CRM with a huge number of functions, the duration can increase to 6-9 months, in some cases up to 1 year. In this case, the cost can be $100,000 - $200,000.
If your company is developing rapidly and box solutions are not suitable for you, we recommend developing your own CRM system. It will have all the necessary functions that are necessary for successful business development. In this case, many routine processes will be automated, and this will reduce costs and increase revenue. If you have a desire to develop a personal CRM system, we will be happy to help you.
