Custom CRM Development – 5 Reasons to Build a Custom CRM

A good CRM tool is one that can take care of itself. And what better way to ensure that your CRM will be a seamlessly working service? To build a custom system, of course. Developing a custom CRM will help your business keep track of the interactions it has with its customers. 

Custom CRM can be an all-in-one tool that automates all your sales, marketing, and customer service. There are many reasons why you should consider developing such a system for your company. Keep reading to find out what they are. 

What is custom CRM?

A custom Customer Relationship Management is a tool that allows you to maintain and manage relationships with your customers easily. Of course, this goal can be achieved by simply using outlook or spreadsheets. However, a more complex solution such as a custom CRM opens up lots of possibilities. Most of the standard CRM systems assume generic CRM processes. Nonetheless, many of the customized software alter these processes according to their specific necessities. Thus, if a company needs to adjust system settings to different buyers, there is no problem to do so. 

Customization can range from the personalized name of fields and buttons to change in the overall workflow, so the user’s lifecycle, the basis of invoicing, and other functionalities. Generally speaking, a custom CRM is a great solution if you are looking for an alternative to off-the-shelf software that will answer your specific needs and requirements. 

Can you build your own CRM?

Building your own CRM can bring your company a wide range of benefits. However, nobody said it is an easy thing to do. If you decide to take up the challenge of developing a custom CRM in-house, you have to remember the crucial factors that can have a decisive impact on the whole process. 

First and foremost, you need to take into account your team’s knowledge in this scope. If your employees lack experience building CRM tools, it might be quite difficult to develop them. Then, you would need to invest a lot of time and money in a number of trainings. If your team has never built this type of software before, it might be better to outsource it. If you are looking for the right company, do not hesitate to contact us, and we will estimate your customized project. 

Another important thing to remember while building your own CRM is to make it intuitive and familiar to your customers and employees. After all, this tool is supposed to make their life easier. Thus, you can never overlook the UI/UX during the development process. 

Finally, CRM systems need constant attention, so it’s essential to provide live support for them while building your own tool. Robust tech support will help you in keeping the software swift at all times. Additionally, if your CRM rarely gets bugs and works well, it will help you gain customer trust. Maintaining software costs a lot and may cause many issues. Thus, if you are not a specialist in this area, reach out to some experienced developers who will support you on that matter. 

5 Reasons to Build a Custom CRM

There are many reasons for building a custom CRM. Let’s take a look at the most important ones. 

Unique functionalities

It is not impossible to find an off-the-shelf solution that fulfills most of your needs. Still, usually, you will have to compromise between available features and your company’s workflow. If you decide to build a custom CRM, you can choose precisely which functions are vital for you and which you don’t need. Simply, there won’t be a better solution for your business. in the market. 

Customizing doesn’t necessarily have to mean full configuration or building the whole system from scratch. To obtain uniqueness, it might be enough to rebuild the existing functions or adding new ones. However, if you find yourself in a position where you need to change almost everything, building a customized CRM solution makes more sense. 

Integration with another system

Integration means that your custom CRM can be easily connected with another system, for example, your website or a third-party service. This way, you get to exchange the data seamlessly and, as a result, improve productivity in all departments of your business. 

Ready-made CRM might be tough to integrate. This kind of system doesn’t offer API integration, and you may have to face some extra costs to achieve that. Even though integrating a custom CRM system might be challenging, it is undoubtedly easier than with an off-the-shelf system. 

Security of data

Out-of-box CRM solutions might be appealing from the cost perspective; they often are free or partially free and open-source. However, apart from the price, there are major risks associated with it. First and foremost, anyone can download and go through the source code, and you can never know their real intentions. Thus, off-the-shelf software brings a risk of a data breach.

Custom CRM software provides better security. As the system is unique and most likely secured with encryption or tokenization (or both), it’s much harder to break into. You are the only owner of all the data, and if someone attempts to hack your CRM, you will be able to react and push the attack away. 

Eases scaling process

To improve your company’s workflow across all departments with the help of a CRM, you need software that you can expand across all the units. If you are thinking about acquiring a ready-made CRM, that won’t be easy. And you are very likely to face the following problems:

• everything is fine until you find out you need your CRM to perform ‘something more’ than just standard daily activities; in the case of an out-of-box software, you will probably need to spend a lot of money to purchase additional features and functionalities,

• a ready-made solution requires integrating your own extensions, which would take up your time and money,

• there might be times when lots of new customers join your company; in case of that event, an off-the-shelf software won’t provide you with features that meet various and increasing needs.

On the other hand, custom-build CRM will allow you to integrate it across all the company’s departments. You get to add as many users as you like without paying any extra money and adjust the system whenever and however you need. Also, it might help you with predicting the future growth potential of your business. 

Less expensive than ready-made CRM

A ready-made CRM system might seem less costly at first glance. But, if you dive into the details, you might find out that it lacks many features essential for your business. In the final count, upgrading the system to the upper version, constantly looking for new add-ins or new customers, will result in a tone of hidden costs. Also, most of the ready solutions are SaaS products, and they work on a subscription basis. You are limited with the time or number of users you can add to the system, and you will be charged for every alteration. Finally, such a system might include some functions which you will never need, and you still have to pay for them.

In the case of a customized CRM, you decide precisely which features you want to pay for. It’s all up to you, so you stay in control of your spendings and the product you obtain. Even though hiring a team of developers who will build the software for you looks pretty costly, it will bring more profits than damage. Remember to consider the number of add-ins you want to include, the technical complexity, and non-functional requirements such as security. If you aren’t sure how to get onto all the planning, contact us to estimate the project. Our developers will dispel your doubts. 

What is CRM application development?

Developing any software is a complex process that requires a lot of time and an experienced workforce, especially with a product as demanding as a CRM system. When you decide to outsource the project, it is also a lot of cooperation. Building a successful product doesn’t end with the first meeting, after which developers take over the project and remain without contact for long months until the application is finished. 

Digital product development starts with project estimation. It can be a consultation or a workshop with a specialist. The main goal is to set the principal targets on the project roadmap and calculate the costs. 

Then, during the development phase, you get to stay in touch with the team that builds your custom CRM. Regular meetings will allow both sides to work actively on the software and adjust it according to your requirements whenever there is a need to do so. 

Once the strategy is set, a team of qualified developers begins the work on frontend and backend development. They make sure your CRM gets an attractive, modern layout and is intuitive. The experts work hard to ensure your system runs smoothly and meets high safety standards. Then, the CRM is tested carefully, so you don’t have to fear any unpleasant surprises along the way. After the software development is complete, the team takes care of the system maintenance and provides you with further support. Fixing bugs, optimizing and upgrading the code is important too. 

To put it simply, CRM application development is the whole process of building an integrated, data-driven software solution that improves how your company manages relationships with its customers.

How much does it cost to build custom CRM software?

Whether you are running a small or a large business, custom CRM software might benefit you. If you can’t get your head around the development costs, we come forward to uncloud what kind of expense you can expect. 

First of all, the custom CRM cost depends on the number of features you want to include, the technical complexity of the software, development team experience, and other functionalities such as security measurements. 

Let’s see the difference between the cost of ready-made software and custom CRM. Suppose you run a mid-size company with more than 25 employees, and your enterprise-sized package costs you $125 per user per month. It means you would spend $3125 every month, $37,500 per year, and 187,500 per 5 years. The truth is that with the same amount of money, you could get yourself a customized CRM software that would be more advanced and better suited to your specific requirements. 

That’s why we always recommend estimating a project with our experts. We know that every client is different and with different needs. The individual approach is essential in successful product development. If you would like a personal consultation, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. 

Summary

• Building a custom CRM will help you manage and maintain your company’s relationship with customers.
  
• By developing customized software, you will achieve a solution that fulfills your needs.
   
• Custom CRM can easily integrate with other systems and present much better security measurements than a ready-made CRM.
  
• Building your own CRM will scale up the workflow in your business in every department (Sales, Marketing, Accounting, etc.)
  
• Customized CRM software is less expensive than a traditional CRM, and in the final reckoning, it brings more profit.