Basics of CRM Software Development: Step-by-Step Guide for Enterprises

If you own a medium or large business, you’re likely already familiar with some widely-used CRM solutions. If you are reading this article, however, we would assume that your business has grown to a stage where off-the-shelf products no longer suffice to match all your business requirements, hindering your progress toward further growth and success. At this point, you might be wondering about CRM software development as the way to cut down software fees and use your own, custom-built CRM system. The global CRM market is expected to reach $128.9 billion by 2027, and these growth prospects just go to show the further growth of the industry and the growing impact of the industry’s major players.

In today’s article, we will look at the reasons behind custom CRM software development and how you can do that with the assistance of a reliable software development partner.

Why Businesses Need CRM Systems

Before delving into the process of building a CRM application, let’s examine the reasons for choosing custom CRM software development rather than off-the-shelf options. First and foremost, this CRM software development benefits large enterprises that pay exorbitant costs for third-party solutions. At a specific size, investing in a custom solution is better than paying for the off-the-shelf solution. Here are other benefits of CRMs and the reasons why you might want to invest in CRM software development services.
Manage client data
Most standard or tailor-made CRM software systems facilitate the collection and storage of client information. This encompasses personal details, contacts, contracts, company documentation, and more. The specific features vary depending on the product.
With this information, you can:
Identify client preferences.
Anticipate their needs.
Enhance your sales strategy.
On top of that, all valuable data is consolidated in one location, in a well-organized format, enabling accessibility and utilization by everyone within your company.

Automate and integrate tasks

If your customer data is dispersed across various applications and services, CRM software development may be necessary. Integrating CRM with live chat, email marketing solutions, call tracking systems, and other services streamlines communication channels, simplifies task management, and ensures data synchronization from various sources.

Optimize and centralize data storage

Centralizing data eliminates concerns about sales duplicating customer profiles, and prevents missing vital client feedback, or marketers overlooking crucial reports. The database, accessible from any location and device, is a comprehensive repository for years, documenting the entire history of customer interactions.

How does CRM Software Development Happen?

Now that we have specified the reasons behind the decision let us take a look at how a CRM software development company approaches the process and builds a custom solution. Naturally, this process might vary depending on your specific needs and requirements but the major steps are common for most such projects.

Select the right type of CRM system

Operational systems are designed to optimize and automate sales, customer service, and marketing. This type of CRM application is well-suited for businesses engaging with customers through various channels such as call centers, blogs, websites, communities, direct mail, and direct sales. Key features of operational CRM systems include:

• A unified client database for convenient and quick access.
• Utilization of multiple communication channels.
• Registration, processing, and execution of all client requests.
• Continuous analysis of interactions with clients.
• Task distribution and handling of typical interaction scenarios.
• Analytical systems collect information from various client touchpoints and process this data. The primary goal of these CRMs is to assist in organizing daily operational work with clients and generate analytics for developing and planning future interaction scenarios. Key features of analytical CRM systems are:
• Analysis of customer requests and their key attributes.
• Segmentation of customers into groups based on various parameters.
• Forecasting the outcomes of interactions with clients.

Strategic systems contribute to enhancing communication and teamwork within a company. These CRM systems combine multiple departments (sales, marketing, technical support) to achieve a common goal—utilizing accumulated data to enhance service quality and attract new customers.

Combined systems typically consist of operational CRM applications with a limited set of analytical tools (customer reports, sales, and performance analytics), along with the ability to communicate directly with customers and colleagues through integration with instant messengers, social networks, and the website.

Define the user roles

When incorporating a user into a CRM system, you designate a specific role to their account, such as salesperson, manager, head, or executive. Each role comes with predefined rights and capabilities essential for executing corresponding tasks. For instance, if the designated role is a manager, the account will encompass the following functionalities:

• Viewing and managing personal activities.
• Managing created contracts and accessing the contacts directory.
• Overseeing events, applications, documents, and transactions created by or assigned to the user.
• Viewing and completing assigned events.
• Other associated tasks.

In the process of CRM software development, it is crucial to establish several templates for standard roles from the get-go (e.g., “Owner,” “Storekeeper,” “Manager 1,” “Manager 2,” “Full access,” “Extended access,” etc.), while also incorporating the ability to generate and configure roles. The roles that users can create should be contingent on their level of access. For instance, a “Senior Manager” may create accounts with the “Manager” role but may not add another “Senior Manager” or “Owner” to the system.

Calculate the expected budget

Now, what about the cost of CRM software development services?

Several factors impact the cost associated with CRM software development. The key considerations include:

1. Number of features: Each feature in the program code takes a specific number of man-hours.
2. Number of user roles: Roles such as General Manager, Supervisor, Salesperson, or Branch Office entail distinct access rights and capabilities within the system. The implementation of each role also requires a certain amount of man-hours.
3. Platform support: The more platforms the application needs to support, the higher the cost of the final software product.
4. Method of information entry: The manual creation and editing of client profiles by managers, as opposed to automatic system-generated profiles, have different implementation times. The latter option demands a significant amount of time, thereby increasing development costs.
5. Events and tasks: Implementation can range from simple notes to more complex elements with labels, attributes, interaction with invoices, deadline tracking, and reminder settings.
6. Sales funnel: The sales funnel can be a straightforward visual representation with manual lead status changes by managers or a solution with automated business logic that guides leads through the sales funnel while recording all interactions.
7. Interaction reports: Regular reporting may include the ability to assess potential customer profitability and likely responses to offers. Additionally, data about customer interactions on social networks can be collected.
8. Integration with other services: The cost of developing this feature is contingent on the number and complexity of third-party services involved.

You should also factor in the cost of a partnership with your software development vendor. It is also critical to select a partner who can guarantee the highest standards of CRM software development services at a reasonable cost and adequate time frame.

Final Thoughts

Having outlined the major steps in the process of CRM software development, we must acknowledge that this process is far more nuanced than a short article can outline. Each system is unique as it follows the inherent parameters of the client’s business. As a reliable software development partner, BilSoft offers strong expertise in CRM and ERP software development along with a client-centric approach that guarantees strict adherence to your business specs and technical requirements.