Introduction To CRM Software Evaluations

The goal of evaluating a CRM system is to be able to identify the state-of-the-art and most suitable CRM software package. The best way to conduct an evaluation is to find published articles on journal and online discussions about CRM packages. This way the company itself can gain insight on how to conduct their own evaluation.

The following are the activities to be done during the CRM software evaluations process. These steps will help ensure that you are purchasing the right software for your business. Doing the proper research before making large purchases can save your business quite a bit of money in the long run.

Define the right strategy
Establish the organization structure
Examine the needed IT resources
Analyze the software market
Define the functional criteria of the system
Identify the potential vendor
Schedule system testing
Evaluate the data gathered and negotiate the contract between the vendor

Each of the aforementioned steps is important and none should be skipped. Most companies tend to skip the first step: defining the right strategy. This is probably due to the business mentality of “Just do it.” While this mentality gets a lot of tasks done, it has a tendency to get the tasks done poorly. As a result some companies have ended up with CRM systems that are more of a hindrance than a benefit. Don’t forget to define your customer relationship strategy before proceeding.

Determining some criteria before purchasing is important. You’ll want to consider functionality, quality, and cost. In the quality criteria the following are studied: portability, usability, data integration, modifiability, security, timeliness and popularity. In the cost side, the following are considered: system costs, maintenance cost, other resources, training and upgrade cost. Lastly in the functionality side, the following are considered: contact management, reporting, sales management, customer service, lead management and account management.

The cost factor is always an important once, especially in times of economic downturn. You’ll want to look at a wide range of prices before making your decision. If you only evaluate low-cost items then you’re likely to miss a feature that would really benefit your company. If you only evaluate high-cost items, then you might miss out on a product that is offering the same features for less. Look at a wide range of CRM products.

The organizational framework should also be given sufficient consideration and it involves the following: CRM strategy, requirement specification, vendor offers and presentations and finally the CRM implementation.

Whatever technique the company uses in conducting their CRM software evaluation, the important thing is that it will offer a wide range of options for the company to choose from and help them to purchase the CRM software that best fits the needs of the company.