What is CRM-systems and how to choose them correctly?

Introduction

In modern business, the need to automate various processes has become commonplace. Already it becomes difficult to imagine warehouse or accounting without the use of specialized software, sales representatives use special applications for processing and sending an order to the office directly from a tablet or a mobile phone, a large number of orders come from the site already in the form of ready-to-work documents. But at the same time, relationships with clients, at least in medium and small businesses, for some reason are very often conducted without introducing automation and sufficient attention to accounting.

I observe all this quite often, because as a business consultant I am constantly in contact with small and medium-sized businesses. And each time I have to tell my clients how to automate customer relationships, how CRM systems work, what they are, and why in a particular case it is worth choosing one or another system.

What happens if the work of the sales department is conducted without an accounting system? Each sales manager works as he likes, fixes calls, other types of interaction with clients at his own discretion: someone is on paper, someone is in Excel spreadsheets, and someone does not consider it necessary to fix his process work.

Incoming calls or requests from the site from new customers are also not recorded, it is often even difficult to understand which of the managers is engaged in the incoming application. As a result, real records are kept only at the level of paid orders and shipment of goods. And how effectively the sales department works, whether all incoming LEEDs are being worked through , whether some work is being done with existing contacts, it turns out to be impossible to determine.

In addition, in the case of dismissal or illness of an employee, the company may lose all of its unfinished negotiations and unprocessed contacts, which is also highly undesirable for the effective work of the sales department.
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The way out of this situation is automation and standardization of customer relationship management, i.e. CRM system implementation.

This solution will help:

1. Get a common for the company standardized contact database (customers, contractors).
2. Effectively implement the quality control of the sales department at any time.
3. Get statistics and analysis of the effectiveness of working with leads (incoming calls, queries).
4. Plan to improve the quality of work and develop a business development strategy.

In general, the process of selecting and implementing a CRM system is no different from a similar work on the choice of any other software. How I conduct work on the selection and implementation of software, I have already told in detail in previous articles, for example, here: Choosing a software product for a client. Collecting requirements . And now I want to talk about the features of choosing exactly CRM-systems.

In this article I will avoid advertising this or that CRM-system. If someone is interested in which of them I personally use in my work, and that I am ready to recommend in one way or another, I am always ready to answer your questions on an individual basis. And here I want to talk about CRM-systems in general, about what they are, who and why they are needed, and how to choose a CRM-system for the needs of a particular business.

What is a CRM system?

If you refer to Wikipedia, you can get the following definition:

CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management or Customer Relationship Management) - this is an application software for organizations designed to automate strategies for interacting with customers (clients), in particular, to increase sales, optimize marketing and improve customer service by storing information about customers and the history of relationships with them, establishing and improving business processes and the subsequent analysis of the results.

In fact, the CRM-system can be considered any option of control and accounting, which will help to improve interaction with customers. Even if you keep a history of calls and contacts on paper or in Excel - this can be considered a CRM system if the developed accounting and control scheme works and allows you to control all options for interacting with customers. Of course, such accounting methods are a thing of the past, because in the modern world without effective automation it is difficult to imagine the work of any business. So when they talk about the CRM system, they usually mean special software.

In some cases, developers add more confusion to the terminology, promoting the term “CRM”. This combination of characters is not deciphered in any way, since it is a simple Russian lettering of the English abbreviation. I believe that even for promotion in search engines this term should not be used.

Software developers also often try to impose their vision of what might be called a CRM system. Usually their list of necessary qualities of a real CRM is completely the same as the option that they implemented in their software product. In some cases, such marketing works quite clearly and intrusively, according to the principle: CRM should be this and only this (and here it is - our development!). Other developers (mostly foreign companies) do it less clearly, just show their product and say: “This is the CRM system”.

You must understand that there are no common standards and a clear understanding of what the CRM system means by the term. It can be any business-friendly customer relationship management system.

For example, for one of my clients, CRM is, first of all, an account of contacts and interaction with them, he considers other possibilities optional, as he almost does not use. And many developers of powerful CRM platforms will assume that the concept of CRM is much broader, from their point of view even the CRM systems of many banks will not be functional enough to be called true CRM. In fact, it all depends on the goals and scope.

For example, in a small trading company, a CRM system may include just phones, email and customer addresses. A beauty salon, for example, will also need to add the frequency of visits to each of the clients and the average bill to this list. This information is important for successful interaction.

My personal definition is:

A CRM system is any software that helps you successfully monitor, organize, and plan your work with clients.

In medium and small businesses, the most important requirement is not to lose a client. I understood this in practice. It is not so important whether birthday greetings or happy New Year greetings will be sent to the contact person, or how the interaction will take place. The main thing is not to lose the client, not to lose the interaction, so that all the efforts that were spent on attracting him are not in vain. Therefore, it is very important to control the flow of incoming calls and the receipt of requests from the site, by email, etc.

Who needs CRM systems?

Before choosing a CRM system, you need to understand whether your business needs it in principle. It often happens that someone told the business owner about the existence of such systems, or software vendors are trying to impose their product. But in fact - do you need this system?

CRM-systems are necessary for any business that works directly with customers and seeks to expand the number of buyers.

So, if incoming calls or inquiries (leads) from new customers are important in the business, if the business makes any efforts to obtain and retain new customers, then a CRM system is necessary.

For example, an online store, a wholesale company or a beauty salon will not be able to work effectively without attentive attitude to the leads (incoming requests and calls). Indeed, in each of these types of businesses, it is very important that all orders are completed, buyers of goods and services are satisfied, and customer loyalty is increased.

On the other hand, if your business is not interested in increasing the number of customers at this stage of development, if the loyalty of regular customers is based on long-term contracts, and all contracts with new customers are based on personal meetings, even the best CRM system will not give anything.

For example, a retail store will not use a CRM system in its work, since it is impossible to record customer contacts. Here, customer loyalty is based on product quality and service quality, i.e. on personal contact with the seller. Also, the CRM-system does not help in cases where the company has concluded long-term contracts for the supply of goods to a chain of stores, the supplier’s capacity is barely enough to fulfill the orders of this distribution network, and everyone is happy with this state of affairs.

But if you develop your business, if you invest in advertising, make other efforts to attract and retain customers, the CRM system will be a great help in your work.

What are CRM-systems for?

The question of explaining complex and new things is an integral part of my profession. And often you have to explain why a client needs a CRM system. What is it, a businessman can know himself. But at the same time, very often representatives of small and medium-sized businesses do not understand why they need it. After all, the number of customers is relatively small, the sales department also in companies of this level consists of only a few people. And, it seems that even without a CRM system, it is easier to control work with customers. In fact, it is not. Very quickly after the introduction of the automated system, a huge number of shortcomings are revealed, and the quality of the sales department’s work grows significantly.

CRM is needed in order to:

1. Do not lose a potential client , do not miss a single incoming call and request. In small and medium business in our country, the competition is very high. Companies are making significant efforts to attract customers to pay attention. Compared with other costs to attract customers, a significant budget is allocated. And it is very important that all these means and efforts are not in vain. Automated systems allow you to gain confidence that this is how the sales department will work. You will receive a fixation of every incoming call, every request, every lead.
2. Monitoring the work of employees and the standardization of work with clients. Without a common standardized CRM system, every employee works the way he is used to. Someone keeps records in spreadsheets, someone - in a notebook or diary, someone does not keep records at all, focuses solely on reports from 1C or on their own memory. Contacts also occur quite chaotically. Letters to clients can be sent from both corporate and personal mailboxes, calls can be made from any convenient phone, and quality control of work is impossible. CRM-system almost completely solves this problem. Information about all incoming and outgoing contacts will be located in one repository, from where it can be retrieved at any time.
3. The statistical base is accumulated, which is also very important for the successful development of any business. Thanks to the use of a CRM system, all working information is collected in one common database in a standardized form. As a result, the manager can analyze work statistics, compile various reports (many of which are already present in finished form in CRM systems), i.e. analyze work and plan future work more consciously.
4. Ready-made solutions that can build on your own work system. Each CRM-system is the embodiment of the developers' vision of how to work with the client. It has a lot of ready-made tools that allow you to transfer work to a new level. For example, integration of a CRM system with telephony allows you to record all calls, memorize all new contacts and analyze the quality of the sales department’s work with leads. In small and medium businesses, the directors (owners) of the business most often direct their work with clients. He has no experts, and often there are no developments in the organization of work with clients. The manager has nothing to rely on in this matter, and therefore the sales department often does not work in the best way. The introduction of a CRM-system allows you to get not only the tool, but also the help, the developers' view of how the sales department should work. In turn, when developing a CRM system, they usually rely on best practices, experts in working with clients. So, if you actively use the tools provided by the CRM system, then the work of your sales department will also be optimized. Various system tools themselves suggest what steps to take in the process of optimizing work with clients.

In addition, the user of the CRM system will receive many other useful things, most of which depend on the chosen system. But I always explain these four basic things, because they are very important for small and medium businesses, and also because any of the existing CRM systems provides them.

How to choose a CRM system?

When choosing a CRM system, the most important thing is to make sure you have all the functions that you would like to see in the process. So, if incoming calls are very important to you, you need to make sure that the selected CRM system supports integration with telephony. And if you get most of the leads through the site, then one of the main criteria will be the ability to integrate a CRM system with your CMS.

Otherwise, much depends on your tastes, as well as on the recommendations that your specialist gives you. In principle, if a specialist who will be engaged in the implementation of a CRM system offers you a certain software product, then, provided that the necessary functions are implemented in this system and you are satisfied with the cost of the product, it makes sense to agree with his opinion. Usually, experts advise the product that they are well aware of, which will undoubtedly be a plus at the implementation stage.

It is rather difficult to study a CRM system based on commercials and test access, there are many nuances in any system that you will recognize in the process of working with the system. But there are some fundamental points that will help you make the right choice.

So, the main thing - it is the most fundamental decision to implement a CRM-system. Further, if you have any preferences, you saw a system that you liked for some reason, implement it. In all other cases, it is best to rely on the opinion of a specialist.

Saas or Stand-Alone - clouds or your own server?

There are two types of CRM-systems based on different technologies:

1. Saas or system as a service. With this option, all software and data resides on the server of the service provider. You get online access to the system through a browser, client program or mobile application. All processes occur on the side of the service provider.
2. Standalone - license to install and use the software. You get a solution that you install on your own server, if you wish, you can customize it to your needs, depending on the capabilities provided by the CRM system provider.

When choosing a Saas-solution you are waiting for some restrictions. You can not change anything in the product code, since the software solutions are located on the side of the CRM system supplier. Typically, such CRM systems allow you to customize employee access rights, integrate some external systems (receive data from the site, record incoming calls, etc.), change the design with the help of a designer, set up reports, etc. But all this will be stored on the servers of the supplier of the CRM system.

It is also important to understand that when using Saas solutions you should always have access to the Internet. Of course, nowadays reliable Internet has become an important part of any business for a long time; in the absence of access to the network, many business processes are stopped. That is why the optimal solution is to have, in addition to the reliable main one, a backup Internet access channel.

Another important point that you need to understand when choosing Saas-solutions: most likely, for each backup of the database and other similar operations you will need to pay separately. For example, in a system that I actively use, backup costs $ 10 for 1 backup.

Advantages of Saas solutions:

1. You do not need your own server to host the software;
2. You do not need to do updates yourself, it all lies with the service provider, you just use the solution.
3. A lot can be said about a CRM system as a Saas solution. Perhaps I will write a separate article about it. To select the type of solution, the above features are sufficient.

Stand-Alone solutions, as I said above, are the purchase of a “boxed” solution, which you install on your own server and you can change the program code (as part of the access provided by the developer). In some cases, for example, when it becomes necessary to implement atypical solutions, this level of access is very important.

But most often, for medium and small business Stand-Alone solutions are not required. The need for profound changes is extremely rare, and therefore I usually recommend Saas.

Telephony Integration

I believe that any CRM system should be integrated with telephony . If you are not able to record incoming calls and initiate outgoing, then this is a big minus. Therefore, when choosing a software product for my clients, I always pay special attention to the availability of this feature, as well as how it is implemented.

It would seem that data on calls can be entered into the system manually. But practice shows that this method does not work. People begin to resist, they are annoyed by the need to perform additional work. In addition, anyone can simply forget to make this or that important call into the system. Therefore, this method usually does not work in practice.

So, it is necessary to record calls in the system. There are 2 options for implementation:

1. The call is made from the browser itself, it passes completely through the system, all interaction takes place through the browser. It is important to understand that the entire call goes through the system, and therefore the sound quality, signal processing speed, etc. depend on the browser and the CRM code.
2. Telephony is integrated with third-party services - asterisk, avaya, etc. In this case, you install a virtual telephony system based on these services and connect your numbers to this telephony. At the same time, you can make all outgoing calls and receive incoming calls through a vulture, and not through a browser. How does this happen? Your sip provider takes the call from the client, forwards it to your virtual PBX system, and it already transmits the call information to the CRM program. At the same time, the CRM database records the phone number, time, call duration, etc. The user needs only to add his notes to the call record (a brief topic of conversation, the result, comments).

Of course, there is another option of recording call information manually, but I have already described above why this will not work in practice. Basic routine operations should be automated, otherwise the system will not work.

API integration: availability of ready-made solutions

Any business uses various services for receiving applications, maintaining records, processing documents, etc. When choosing a CRM system, you should pay attention to whether there are API solutions for integration with your website, data exchange with 1C, IT telephony, other programs you need and services. Availability of ready-made integration API is a big plus.

Interaction with a contact (client) usually consists of several things:

1. Phone calls;
2. Email correspondence;
3. Mailings (SMS or email);
4. Meetings

The first 3 things should be automated. They give an idea of ​​the history of the relationship with the client, help to understand what is happening in working with him at the moment, what were the last actions.

Planning and work with tasks

When choosing a CRM system, it is also worth paying attention to whether the system has the ability to plan, set and work with tasks. Employees should be able to create tasks for themselves and their colleagues, set reminders, etc.

In addition to working with clients, a CRM system must have the necessary tools to account for interaction between employees. It is not enough that they communicate with each other in the office or by telephone, discuss projects and solve some problems. You must also be able to control the workflow and interaction of employees.

Users should be able to set themselves and other tasks related to both working with the client and reporting, with other necessary actions. Also, a very convenient function is the possibility of setting up an automatic task setting service, for example, once a quarter, the task of creating quarterly reports will be created, etc. Or, when the system receives contact information of a potential client (the appearance of a new lead), the system will automatically create a task for a specific employee, for example, call back by the specified phone number.

Integration with SMS service

As such, I did not see integration with SMS service, for example, a ready-made solution for integration with certain SMS-sending services. This is done as part of a business process or as part of working with an API. Accordingly, the system should have the possibility of mass SMS distribution for all clients, for a certain group of contacts or for a specific contact (for example, notification of certain actions).

Data import

Carefully consider what opportunities the CRM system provides for importing data. In what format is it possible to download information? Is there a ready-made migration module from other systems, and if so, which ones? Or is it necessary to prepare the information for download in a particular format?

You need to understand how the initial data will be filled at system startup. This process is somewhat similar to the input of residues into the system, which I wrote about in the article .

It is very important that data import is fast, easy and transparent. Without convenient automatic transfer of all contacts and other information important for work, the launch of the system will most likely end in failure. Of course, you can enter all the data manually, but it is very long and inconvenient. And if you enter this data in parts, then the risk of duplication of customer cards increases, as a result, you will find confusion and overlays.

Personally, I really like the option of transferring data from an Excel spreadsheet, this option is universal, quite visual and convenient. In Excel, uploading is possible from almost any system, including 1C. And uploading data in this format to the system is also quite fast and convenient.

Presence of localization

This parameter is currently not the most relevant, as the majority of powerful widely known CRM-systems have long been Russian localization. But, nevertheless, when choosing software for this parameter, you should always pay special attention, because without Russian localization, you and your employees may have difficulty in working. In addition, I believe that there is no point in depriving oneself of comfort in work if it can be avoided.

Licensing: Open Source or Proprietary Architecture?

The difference between open source and proprietary architecture is that in the first case you get an open source system, and in the second - with a closed one. It is clear that here we are talking about licensing options for Stand-Alone software, since every Saas-system has a closed code by default.

The proprietary (closed) architecture is mainly sold by large developers. In this case, you get a powerful system in which you can make changes within the limits indicated by the developer. I personally do not see anything bad here, because, as I already wrote above, for medium and small businesses it is extremely rare that any atypical solutions are required.

License Open Source (open source) differ development, created mainly on the basis of some CMS. In this case, you get extremely ample opportunities for integration and work with the site or another system. On the other hand, such CRM-modules largely lose to large CRM-systems, specially designed to account for customer relationships.

Contacts and counterparties

When choosing a CRM system, pay special attention to how the directories are implemented, what is their structure. So, if you work only with individuals, then one level will be enough for you - this is a contact (client). In this case, in principle, you can use any version of the contact directory structure.

Another thing, if you work with legal entities. In this case, your contact is an organization. But on behalf of this contact, different people can call, for example, an accountant, a supplier, a storekeeper, a manager, etc. It is very important that the CRM system envisages the possibility to make a card for each contact person (counterparty) separately, and also to combine them into one common contact organization. This is very important, since otherwise it’s impossible to organize a sufficient level of automation in controlling work with clients.

System cost

Any businessman, before introducing this or that software solution, wonders, how much will it cost? When determining the CRM price, you need to understand that the numbers that you see on the websites in the “product cost” or “license cost” section are only part of the total costs. And therefore it is worth figuring out what makes up the full cost of implementing a CRM system.

The total cost of the product consists of several parts:

1. The cost of the license (acquisition). This may be a payment for access to "cloud solutions" or the cost of 1 copy.
2. Transfer data to the system. You will definitely need to somehow transfer contacts and other data. Therefore, the presence or absence of a finished module, as well as the complexity of the preparatory preparation of data for import will also affect the final cost.
3. The cost of refinement. Even if you bought a “boxed solution” or access to the saas version, some improvements will still be needed. You will need to configure permissions, reports, tasks, etc.
4. The cost of maintenance.

In addition, many miss another important, but not so obvious point. These are financial losses during the transition period. It is necessary to understand in advance that during the transition to the CRM-system, there may be some problems, due to which you may lose some leads, untimely to work them out, etc.

When implementing any software, there are some difficulties. Even if the vendor of a software product tells you that it is enough to make a payment and you can immediately start working, anyway, in practice, problems arise, problems, overlays due to the human factor (employees still do not know how to use the new system or are not good enough, etc.) ).

Also you are waiting for indirect costs during implementation. So, instead of performing direct duties, your employees will devote part of their time to learning and checking the system’s work. Also, the manager will be forced to devote part of his work time to solving issues related to the implementation of CRM, as well as to supervising work on solving this task.

If you understand in advance that the costs at the implementation stage are sure to be, if you are ready for the need to allocate time and effort to implement a CRM system, if you are ready for possible overlays, all these costs can be minimized, and the process can be made as simple as possible and painless.

License cost

Depending on the type of CRM system you have chosen, there are various options for purchasing a license. You can:

1. Buy a perpetual license.
2. Buy a license (subscription) for a specific period (month, year, etc.)
3. Buy a copy of the program for installation on your own server.
4. A perpetual license is purchased once and is valid on a permanent basis. This is convenient, but the amount you need to pay immediately is usually quite substantial.

Subscription refers to the purchase of access to the system for a specific period. The cost of a subscription is usually small, but you have to make regular payments to extend access to the CRM system.

When comparing the cost of licenses, one should also take into account marketing moves, which are often used by sellers. So, very often the sellers of CRM-systems on the site advertise the minimum price of a package of services, which will be valid only under certain conditions. But in reality you will have to pay more for this system.

For example: on the page with the description of the package of services the price is 40 dollars for 1 user per month. But if you carefully read the entire text, including notes and notes, it turns out that this price is valid only if you purchase at least 10 licenses simultaneously for a period of 1 year. And if you only need 9 licenses, the price will be different.

Such marketing tricks are very characteristic for the IT market. But in detail about the tricks of licensing, I plan to talk in a separate article. And now, just remember that you need to carefully consider the conditions of pricing, so as not to be deceived in their calculations.

In the case of the purchase of the program you pay once an unlimited number of licenses. You do not need to pay for access to the program either periodically or in the event of staff expansion. But any updates for your program will be paid.

Improvements and launch of the system as part of its value

Work on setting up, refinement and launching the software should also be taken into account when calculating the total cost of a CRM system.

You will need:

1. Install software (when purchasing a program, you will need a lot of work, setting up a server and much more, in the case of Saas solutions, you may need to install client software on computers, tablets, mobile phones)
2. Configure user groups, set permissions for all groups of employees who will work with the CRM system.
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In addition, you will need to integrate your CRM system with the site, 1C programs, telephony, etc. This work is also performed by a specialist, and therefore its cost must be taken into account.

Standalone solutions require additional investments: buying or renting a server, setting it up, buying additional software, etc. It is important to understand that when you buy a standalone solution, you simply buy a copy of the program. And all the further costs associated with its installation, configuration, its use, you assume.

Escort

It is necessary to understand that failures occur in any system, and first of all it concerns Standalone solutions. And maintenance is the work of a specialist, and it must also be paid.

When choosing Saas-solutions, you may not need support or it will cost a minimum amount. Most often, a once-customized solution works great, unless, of course, you try to experiment with the settings yourself.

Why Saas systems do not require constant support:

1. Such systems are usually very well established, and experts constantly monitor the performance of the software.
2. The functionality of such systems is quite strongly limited, since it is designed to solve a specific range of tasks and nothing more.
3. The interface is usually intuitive, and specialist assistance is not required to perform most actions.

Let me remind you that for small and medium businesses, I usually recommend Saas solutions for the implementation of CRM systems. And the savings on implementation and maintenance is not the last factor.

Epilogue

In this article I did not set myself the task, to fully describe in detail the CRM-system. I wanted to clarify the following questions: what it is, who needs it and why, and on the basis of which parameters it is best to choose a CRM system for small and medium businesses. I hope that I managed to help you understand these issues. Much has already been written about the diversity and features of various CRM systems; perhaps I will also come back to this question more than once. And here and now I have tried to explain the basic things with which familiarity with any CRM system begins.

At the same time, the process of introducing a CRM system is almost the same as the introduction of software. Details on how this happens, I wrote in the article Implementing a software product. Features of the business consultant. Part II .