How to import CRM and project management system for small businesses
The dollar exchange rate hints, as it were, unobtrusively: using SaaS solutions with currency prices for business can soon have a significant impact on the budget of a small company.
Well, let's play a fashionable game, "Import me completely" . Let the prices be in rubles, and the developer - in Russia or so.
Given: a company of 20-25 people , at the same time in the work of 30-40 projects and about the same hot leads. The main focus of attention is the provision of quality service (this means that almost all the work consists of discussions and iterations).
We need automation in order to fulfill promises quickly and cheaply and satisfy the expectations of existing and potential customers. Resource planning and micromanagement are not interested.
')
CRM Highrise and the Basecamp project management environment have been used for over two years now. Highrise is almost useless, it actually works as an archive of the history of customer relations (usually correspondence) and a list of tasks for the sales person. Basecamp, on the contrary, quite helps to manage projects and even a portfolio of projects. In conjunction, they do not work at all.
So we lived on these products of the company 37Signals , but something happened that happened . And it became expensive. Plus Highrise, to be honest, tired of its meaninglessness.
It was decided: we are entering the open field, looking around and trying to choose the “import-substituting” tools: CRM and project management system (hereinafter - PM). Or maybe one tool that combines these two pieces of work.
From a small Facebook discussion and its continuation, they pulled out a list of products that (according to the general public) would be worth a look.
Explanation to the free column: if there is a tick there, then the product has a free tariff.
As usual, we managed to make a lot of conclusions about our IT party and its ideas about life.
Interestingly, these discrepancies with reality occur in the heads of IT people quite regularly. Not only in this discussion.
• • •
Let's return to the task.
There are 11 candidates left.
There is a choice.
But how to approach this choice?
Perhaps to compare features? Fu-oo-oo-oo, nafig-nafig such happiness: where are the features, and where is the business.
Then, probably, it is worth coming, as we love, from the side of needs? Recalculate these needs for a start, then for each set a rating for each softinka, count the total score ... It sounds tempting, but what needs are we talking about?
Made a list of needs. It is conditionally possible to call them user scenarios (although in fact there are nuances there, but now it’s not up to it). Grouped. It turned out a list of 90 (ninety!) Points.
Here it is, this list: http://bit.ly/1uT2UTb - lies on Google Drive and is open to everyone for comment. Please come in, read, copy yourself - well, have fun.
So, ninety. Not the number of scenarios that a weak human mind can grasp. And not the number of points by which you can evaluate 11 products, even if you divide the expectation model by CRM and PM.
In general, even the benchmarking comparison is not worth it. It will surely fail. Need a different approach.
Which one How do you compare these assorted monsters?
Everyone talks about delicacies. Everyone promises mountains of gold. Everyone gives demo access. Each car has flaws. And everyone has to pay about the same money.
And-and-and? How to make a decision?
Let's go in two ways: humanitarian-religious and experimental.
First, tell about a simple humanitarian and religious path.
See, what an interesting thing it turns out. A company that implements a more or less ready-made tool (rather than developing its own from scratch) does not subscribe to a set of features. And the rationality of this decision is much less than faith in a bright future: systems change with time, and faster than customers migrate from one to another.
In other words, implementation is an act of trust. The company believes that it is this tool that will lead it into a bright future. Well, sorry for the pathos, now goes specifics.
This is where the fun begins. The fact is that if in terms of the set of functions all the products of one family are more or less similar, then in philosophy, in general vision, not at all.
That is, each product is a carrier of the answer to the question “How to organize the sales / production business processes”. Not exact, to the details, the answer, but, as it were, the general direction: this is important, and this is not important; such habits are good and such habits; it is worth going deep into this area, but not into this one.
And it turns out that when choosing a product, the vital task becomes this: you must first recognize the common message, attitude and life principles of the product - and then try on yourself and understand how they correspond to the reality of your company.
Let's go to identify and compare these vision-missions.
One ma-a-scarlet nuance is evident almost immediately: the development companies of the products under discussion did not bother to formulate their microreligion. Not written in large letters on the first screen, about what they are, how they differ from competitors and how they want to change the world. Guess, they say, herself.
Well, bad business is simple. Let's go guess.
Below is how we read the product positioning on the accompanying information materials: the site, the general mood of the audience, screenshots of the interface, the registration procedure, etc. Without digging into details, namely trying to catch the general mood.
Bitrix24
We believe that team cohesion in the virtual space benefits the business. And we see the benefit of collecting all-all-all information flows in one place.
Megaplan
Around mess. And we want to restore order. Yes, for us the order is the control of the authorities over the work of subordinates and the growth of sales.
Business365
We are modern, technological, young, successful and we are doing everything correctly. And we are supported by the state. So join our correctness, and there will be happiness.
Freshoffice
Wow, class, how much can you automate in business processes! And to fasten 1C, and turn around in the cloud, and that, and that, and yet it happens ... We like to run at once in all directions - ran together?
amoCRM
The customer is the biggest value for the company. Do not miss any! And incidentally, by the way, we will teach you how to sell on the Internet.
1C: CRM
We are 1C. And it is worth any suffering. In general, chew your favorite cactus, we do not mind.
NovaCRM
Customers are coming from all sides. Our task is to keep all gateways entering and keep the system work by phone, by mail or by social networks. True, we are from St. Petersburg, and therefore we do not boil with energy and are a little embarrassed to sell.
OnlyOffice
It so happened that our technology is no worse than Google technology. Well, we think so. So if Google completely disappointed you - maybe to us? Almost the same after all.
DaOffice
No one works systematically and accurately. Around mess, fan and social networks. Let's at least try to pull these lazy collaborators from VKontakte to our corporate social network. Let the case communicate - you see, and be able to lead this chaos.
Teambridge
Control freaks are fashionable. Control people and what they do. Make reports at your pleasure, look at your list of task-projects from any angle. Hurray control!
Devprom
Floppy IT-monsters must somehow hide behind a fashionable Agile cloth. Here you are, friends, suitable instrumentik. But you do not worry, in the depths all the same UML and other tickets. But all at once in one, plus it is not necessary to tune this great-aa-ative Jira.
Honestly, after this writing out of the secret messages it became already quite obvious to us what product (the only one in the list) we are ready to trust. Not without risk, but - yes, ready. Very much in line with our task for at least the coming months. We will not call the product, and then ah-ah-ah-advertising.
However, you, dear readers, surely because much more rational? And on the sweet conceptual promises just will not lead? Looking for facts and arguments, yes, yes?
So here's a present for you.
We are not the first to choose one solution among many, many. And we know that the most disgusting thing in this business is an attempt to touch the product with your hands. Registration, filling the disc with meaningful data, that's all.
What if you're interested too? Do not drive you along the path that we have already passed. Therefore, we decided this way: we will open access to our demo sites. Play
Here are the universal login → password for the products discussed:
But the address for the entrance.
Bitrix: https://www.bitrix24.net
Megaplan: https://replace37.megaplan.ru
Business365: https://system.business365.ru
Fresh Office: https://go.myfreshcloud.com/login (subscription code - 19236)
amoCRM: https://sobakapavlova.amocrm.ru
1C: CRM: waiting for the response to the application for the third day
NovaCRM: login only through GMail, used your own, we will not give
OnlyOffice: https://sobakapavlova.onlyoffice.com
DaOffice: registration e-mail did not reach us
Teambridge: https://app.teambridge.ru
Devprom: https://sobakapavlova.myalm.ru
Of course, to go idle on an empty platform is boring and sad.
So here's a to-do list for experiments.
CRM
Project management system
We believe in the power of the human mind and bring here this tiny cheat sheet just so that you can begin the game. And how far you dig, is no longer in our power.
We do not remove the detailed list of scenarios anywhere either, delve if you wish.
Will the system stand, we have no idea. Write about the impressions.
Well, let's play a fashionable game, "Import me completely" . Let the prices be in rubles, and the developer - in Russia or so.
Given: a company of 20-25 people , at the same time in the work of 30-40 projects and about the same hot leads. The main focus of attention is the provision of quality service (this means that almost all the work consists of discussions and iterations).
We need automation in order to fulfill promises quickly and cheaply and satisfy the expectations of existing and potential customers. Resource planning and micromanagement are not interested.
')
CRM Highrise and the Basecamp project management environment have been used for over two years now. Highrise is almost useless, it actually works as an archive of the history of customer relations (usually correspondence) and a list of tasks for the sales person. Basecamp, on the contrary, quite helps to manage projects and even a portfolio of projects. In conjunction, they do not work at all.
So we lived on these products of the company 37Signals , but something happened that happened . And it became expensive. Plus Highrise, to be honest, tired of its meaninglessness.
It was decided: we are entering the open field, looking around and trying to choose the “import-substituting” tools: CRM and project management system (hereinafter - PM). Or maybe one tool that combines these two pieces of work.
From a small Facebook discussion and its continuation, they pulled out a list of products that (according to the general public) would be worth a look.
Explanation to the free column: if there is a tick there, then the product has a free tariff.
As usual, we managed to make a lot of conclusions about our IT party and its ideas about life.
- Well, okay, users don't read, but are we? Approximately half of the commentators ignored the key requirement of Rubles only. And peskazyvayla zakordonnogo software. But okay, they took all the products, let them go out of competition.
- IT people are very attracted by the prospect of finishing and tuning. Honestly, it was a little unexpected: obviously, for small businesses, the cost of implementation and support should be about zero. It seems that we are witnessing a professional deformation: I’m into a buzz setting up the system and understanding software subtleties ñ it means everyone is buzzing (and who isn’t buzzing, let them pay for the dullness). The fact that the reluctance to dig is connected not with stupidity, but with the economic inexpediency to invest time-power in such entertainment, usually does not occur.
- Free solutions are considered seriously. It is clear that this is connected with paragraph 2: I can adjust - I do not want to pay. IT product is considered as a toy “to modify the file”, and not as a tool for closing the production task. In fact, it is scary to trust key business processes with free solutions, and specifically for us this is not an option at all.
- There is a popular myth that a buyer is looking for a tool in the hope of patching the devil’s machine with holes in business processes. The truth is somewhere nearby: indeed, such faith in miracles is sometimes found here and there. But I would probably be careful not to consider this a default situation: there are enough sane and system-minded people not only in IT. And now, perhaps, the crisis will clean up the heads and streamline the work of small companies.
Interestingly, these discrepancies with reality occur in the heads of IT people quite regularly. Not only in this discussion.
• • •
Let's return to the task.
There are 11 candidates left.
There is a choice.
But how to approach this choice?
Perhaps to compare features? Fu-oo-oo-oo, nafig-nafig such happiness: where are the features, and where is the business.
Then, probably, it is worth coming, as we love, from the side of needs? Recalculate these needs for a start, then for each set a rating for each softinka, count the total score ... It sounds tempting, but what needs are we talking about?
Made a list of needs. It is conditionally possible to call them user scenarios (although in fact there are nuances there, but now it’s not up to it). Grouped. It turned out a list of 90 (ninety!) Points.
Here it is, this list: http://bit.ly/1uT2UTb - lies on Google Drive and is open to everyone for comment. Please come in, read, copy yourself - well, have fun.
So, ninety. Not the number of scenarios that a weak human mind can grasp. And not the number of points by which you can evaluate 11 products, even if you divide the expectation model by CRM and PM.
In general, even the benchmarking comparison is not worth it. It will surely fail. Need a different approach.
Which one How do you compare these assorted monsters?
Everyone talks about delicacies. Everyone promises mountains of gold. Everyone gives demo access. Each car has flaws. And everyone has to pay about the same money.
And-and-and? How to make a decision?
Let's go in two ways: humanitarian-religious and experimental.
First, tell about a simple humanitarian and religious path.
See, what an interesting thing it turns out. A company that implements a more or less ready-made tool (rather than developing its own from scratch) does not subscribe to a set of features. And the rationality of this decision is much less than faith in a bright future: systems change with time, and faster than customers migrate from one to another.
In other words, implementation is an act of trust. The company believes that it is this tool that will lead it into a bright future. Well, sorry for the pathos, now goes specifics.
This is where the fun begins. The fact is that if in terms of the set of functions all the products of one family are more or less similar, then in philosophy, in general vision, not at all.
That is, each product is a carrier of the answer to the question “How to organize the sales / production business processes”. Not exact, to the details, the answer, but, as it were, the general direction: this is important, and this is not important; such habits are good and such habits; it is worth going deep into this area, but not into this one.
And it turns out that when choosing a product, the vital task becomes this: you must first recognize the common message, attitude and life principles of the product - and then try on yourself and understand how they correspond to the reality of your company.
Let's go to identify and compare these vision-missions.
One ma-a-scarlet nuance is evident almost immediately: the development companies of the products under discussion did not bother to formulate their microreligion. Not written in large letters on the first screen, about what they are, how they differ from competitors and how they want to change the world. Guess, they say, herself.
Well, bad business is simple. Let's go guess.
Below is how we read the product positioning on the accompanying information materials: the site, the general mood of the audience, screenshots of the interface, the registration procedure, etc. Without digging into details, namely trying to catch the general mood.
Bitrix24
We believe that team cohesion in the virtual space benefits the business. And we see the benefit of collecting all-all-all information flows in one place.
Megaplan
Around mess. And we want to restore order. Yes, for us the order is the control of the authorities over the work of subordinates and the growth of sales.
Business365
We are modern, technological, young, successful and we are doing everything correctly. And we are supported by the state. So join our correctness, and there will be happiness.
Freshoffice
Wow, class, how much can you automate in business processes! And to fasten 1C, and turn around in the cloud, and that, and that, and yet it happens ... We like to run at once in all directions - ran together?
amoCRM
The customer is the biggest value for the company. Do not miss any! And incidentally, by the way, we will teach you how to sell on the Internet.
1C: CRM
We are 1C. And it is worth any suffering. In general, chew your favorite cactus, we do not mind.
NovaCRM
Customers are coming from all sides. Our task is to keep all gateways entering and keep the system work by phone, by mail or by social networks. True, we are from St. Petersburg, and therefore we do not boil with energy and are a little embarrassed to sell.
OnlyOffice
It so happened that our technology is no worse than Google technology. Well, we think so. So if Google completely disappointed you - maybe to us? Almost the same after all.
DaOffice
No one works systematically and accurately. Around mess, fan and social networks. Let's at least try to pull these lazy collaborators from VKontakte to our corporate social network. Let the case communicate - you see, and be able to lead this chaos.
Teambridge
Control freaks are fashionable. Control people and what they do. Make reports at your pleasure, look at your list of task-projects from any angle. Hurray control!
Devprom
Floppy IT-monsters must somehow hide behind a fashionable Agile cloth. Here you are, friends, suitable instrumentik. But you do not worry, in the depths all the same UML and other tickets. But all at once in one, plus it is not necessary to tune this great-aa-ative Jira.
Honestly, after this writing out of the secret messages it became already quite obvious to us what product (the only one in the list) we are ready to trust. Not without risk, but - yes, ready. Very much in line with our task for at least the coming months. We will not call the product, and then ah-ah-ah-advertising.
However, you, dear readers, surely because much more rational? And on the sweet conceptual promises just will not lead? Looking for facts and arguments, yes, yes?
So here's a present for you.
We are not the first to choose one solution among many, many. And we know that the most disgusting thing in this business is an attempt to touch the product with your hands. Registration, filling the disc with meaningful data, that's all.
What if you're interested too? Do not drive you along the path that we have already passed. Therefore, we decided this way: we will open access to our demo sites. Play
Here are the universal login → password for the products discussed:
replace37@pavlova.cc → Replace37 But the address for the entrance.
Bitrix: https://www.bitrix24.net
Megaplan: https://replace37.megaplan.ru
Business365: https://system.business365.ru
Fresh Office: https://go.myfreshcloud.com/login (subscription code - 19236)
amoCRM: https://sobakapavlova.amocrm.ru
1C: CRM: waiting for the response to the application for the third day
NovaCRM: login only through GMail, used your own, we will not give
OnlyOffice: https://sobakapavlova.onlyoffice.com
DaOffice: registration e-mail did not reach us
Teambridge: https://app.teambridge.ru
Devprom: https://sobakapavlova.myalm.ru
Of course, to go idle on an empty platform is boring and sad.
So here's a to-do list for experiments.
CRM
- Reply to customer email.
- Find a customer at his site.
- Mark the customer need to invoice.
- Understand what projects are now going for a specific client.
Project management system
- Create a project and assign him a manager.
- Invite a new user to work on the project.
- Set tasks for different performers within the project.
- Ask a question to the client.
We believe in the power of the human mind and bring here this tiny cheat sheet just so that you can begin the game. And how far you dig, is no longer in our power.
We do not remove the detailed list of scenarios anywhere either, delve if you wish.
Will the system stand, we have no idea. Write about the impressions.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/364645/
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