In the past, CRM software was designed for larger businesses with hundreds of employees. However, as time went on, companies realized that it wasn’t just about how many people you could reach or what kind of messaging you could send to them. Today, CRM software is a valuable tool for growing small businesses and making sure your company keeps up with its customers.
CRM design is the process of designing a software system to meet your company’s goals and needs. It involves mapping out everything from sales processes, marketing strategies, customer service policies and more.
The goal here is not just to create an application that works quickly or easily within the flow of business but also one that helps you measure key metrics such as lead generation rates and reduction on manual tasks like voicemails.
It's important for small businesses (and those with limited resources) because it can provide advantages when compared against larger companies who already have more "established" CRM systems in place.
CRM design is entirely different from software development, but the two are frequently merged together by small businesses.
When talking about designing a software system, it's important to consider all aspects of your company.
Your sales and marketing departments should be involved early on as they'll have input into how you want processes to work: They will know what numbers you're trying to reach or what messages are most effective in conversions among other things that help determine success metrics for your product.
The more data points there are with which an application can report back statistics - such as lead generation rates and conversion rate - the better chance it has at being successful. Buyers should also be involved so they can tell you what features and capabilities are important to them (such as the ability to view all orders or set up meetings). It's a good idea not only for users but other employees too - there should always be someone at your company familiar with how it works.
The best way to create an application that will work is by breaking down each department into different areas of functionality, determining which processes will involve multiple departments, who reports back in real time with data and who does what tasks manually within those processes. When working on CRM design for small businesses this means being aware of the following:
It's also important for users - even non-business people such as your friends or family members - to know about this design process so there aren't any surprises when launching a new product or service. As you're breaking down processes into individual areas, make sure all tasks within those areas are listed in order of importance.
There are different ways you can design a CRM system, but the process below is one of the most common. This method has worked well for many companies and is a good starting point:
1. Set up a few small test groups, each with different needs. Test out as much functionality as possible (database setup, user sign-up and all the main menu options).
2. After determining what works best in these tests, create "user stories" - short paragraphs that describe how users will interact with your CRM system so you'll know what to focus on during design. At this point, you should have a good understanding of how your users will work with the system and are familiar with the types of tasks they need to perform.
3. Based on what you know about these user stories, create user personas (a profile for each individual customer or client) that describe their behaviors and needs so you can understand what features make sense in terms of functionality delivered by each persona.
4. These user personas help guide design decisions because it's easier to identify which functionalities matter most when building intuitively designed product or service.
5. This step also helps you to understand the behaviors of potential customers. You can then segment your designs by personas, which allows you to identify what value each persona needs out of a CRM system and how you need to design it for that specific customer type.
6. At this point, focus on developing a prototype or mock-up from user stories so you know exactly how the application will look once finished (this is also useful when talking with clients). Typically people start off designing their product like they would build an app - however there are many other factors involved in building something like this such as licensing regulations, integration with other systems, etc. - so it's important to be aware of them as you're starting out.
7. Once the prototype is finished and looks good on paper (or at least in your head), decide how exactly you will build it from there based on what's working best with users during testing & feedback sessions and then add more functionality until they are happy or understand why things can't work that way without a lot of explanation.
As we've seen, simple prototypes aren't always this easy - but when done properly they really help make decisions about design elements sooner rather than later which can go a long way toward avoiding major issues down the road.
I've found that most people can get good ideas when using these personas, even if they don't have any experience with them or haven't used them before - so I think it's worth giving one of these a try as part of an experiment and seeing what happens!
When it comes to building websites and apps, the user is often your last concern. This is because you're trying to please them with a product they will like and use - not some manager who might be using it as an example of what their company should look like or something similar.
However if we think about online CRMs in this way, then things start looking different:
A large part of ROI (Return On Investment) for CRM systems lies in making sure users can find information quickly on any given customer; once that's done then how many times do people actually return over the course of the year to use it is a secondary concern.
In addition, if you're using an online CRM system to sell products and services then this puts additional pressure on its usability: people need to quickly be able for themselves or their clients (or both!) when they're trying make decisions about what that service/product would look like in terms of design and functionality - not just from a technical perspective but also how well those elements will work together with whatever other software your business may already be using.
If you find yourself asking questions such as these more often than once a year, then I'd personally say it's time to start thinking about upgrading the UX of your CRM system.
If you don't have a great way for users to find information quickly or if they're struggling with using any given feature and want help getting up and running...then this is something that needs addressing right away!
I've found however that whilst improving the usability aspects of an existing online CRM can be challenging - especially if your business hasn't had much opportunity in recent years to do so - there are many different ways in which you could go about doing it.
If you're looking to improve your CRM's usability then there are a number of different things that could be done that might help:
1. Make the system more intuitive - this helps people get up and running, it makes finding information easier for them. It also helps with just getting in contact with other users if they need any assistance...especially when doing so can have a positive impact on their bottom line!
2. Expand what aspects of the interface these new features/applications should interact with (or indeed extend how much functionality is available in general) - I'll often find myself asking ' why can you only send an email to someone using just their mobile number? What's stopping me sending it to them on other devices too?'
3. Add features that allow users to refine the information they have about a particular contact and then make these changes available across all of their different systems - why should they need separate records for each type of thing like phone numbers, home address etc.?
Why not be able to add either one or multiple record types at once rather than having lots of 'interaction points' scattered around your CRM system?
This is a topic that I've written about extensively on this blog, so if you want to read more then check out:
1. The most popular form of CRM system (in terms of their high levels of adoption) today is Microsoft Exchange Server - which has been around since the late 90s and currently comprises over 70% market share in corporate environments.
It's also fairly easy to use...but it doesn't work particularly well! If your business already uses an 'off-the-shelf' product like this then you probably needn't worry too much about whether or not customizing your CRM system is something you should be doing - but if it's a new product or one that you've planned to build then I would recommend reconsidering the approach!
2. The next most popular form of CRM system (in terms of their high levels of adoption) today are Salesforce.com and SugarCRM systems both produced by San Francisco-based company Oracle Corporation . These products work really well as long as your requirements don't stray too far from what they offer out-of-the box...but again this isn't necessarily a bad thing because 'off the shelf' functionality may well be exactly what your business needs!
3. The final type of CRM system that I want to talk about today are the 'pure custom' products - these generally fall into two categories: They're either a complete redesign from scratch (such as one company we worked with who turned their existing product and functionality around 4 times before they got it right) - or, more commonly, an off-the-shelf solution has been tweaked slightly in order for them to work together.
In both cases though I wouldn't recommend going down this route unless you have extensive experience working in the field of CRM and you're familiar with the inherent limitations & bugs that come standard in most off-the-shelf options.
Ok, so we've covered the big three options for CRM systems - what about smaller businesses who want to get up and running with a solution as quickly & easily as possible?
1. The first thing that I'd recommend is that you speak to your local IT services firm or Software Development Company.
These guys should have extensive experience of building bespoke software solutions which they can then tailor specifically towards your needs while still respecting the limitations in off-the-shelf products (as well as being able to offer expert advice on how best to proceed).
They'll be able if required also provide various quotes to help you decide between the various options I have just talked about.
2. For those who are already somewhat familiar with databases and SQL, then your next step should be to speak directly with an IT company that specializes in this area of expertise.
Again these guys will be able to provide all kinds of quotes for software solutions as well as assistance on how best to proceed after receiving them (for example an extended period where all support is provided via email rather than live chat).
