Your business will need to choose a CRM that facilitates a specific set of needs, which might focus more on collaborative, operational or analytical capabilities. That’s why it’s essential to first conduct a detailed business requirements assessment, to gain an understanding of which teams will be using the CRM, and how. This document will outline things like the number of users, whether mobile access is required, and which other tools, like eCommerce pricing and payment solutions, will need to be integrated into the system.

The next step is to establish a solid CRM strategy for how your business and teams will leverage your CRM’s capabilities. Once this is done, you can pin-down the features that you actually need from a CRM. But whichever type of system your business lands on, there are some capabilities that should be considered ‘must-haves’.

First, there’s sales automation. This one is pretty essential because only around 35% of a sales rep's time is actually spent selling, with the rest dedicated to administrative tasks and research. Sales automation aims to eliminate as many of these extra tasks as possible, allowing your sales team to get back to what they do best - selling. It can facilitate things like tracking the sales pipeline, lead management and lead scoring, as well as forecasting sales and product demand levels.

Next, any CRM system should also have some marketing automation capabilities. After all, the marketing team will want to leverage the vast amounts of consumer data that the CRM collects. Using automation, marketing teams can create detailed consumer segments and personas to help them target their campaigns to the right audience. And they’ll be able to personalize their messaging at a much deeper level, ensuring consumers are met with products and services that interest them.

Customer service automation should be considered a ‘must-have’, too. This helps the customer service team manage their cases and generate case tickets, as well as store and analyze transcripts from calls or live-chat tools. This type of automation can also highlight trends, products and areas that need the most attention, allowing you to give consumers personalized services and support.

Last on our list of CRM must-haves is the ability to create custom reports and dashboards. Most CRMs you come across will have some standard dashboards and reporting functions. But, to get a deeper understanding of how specific areas of your business are performing, you’ll want to customize these reports and dashboards to reflect your business goals and needs.

So, these are some of the key ‘must-haves’ to consider when choosing a CRM system. But of course, it’s also likely that cost will be a factor in your decision-making. Pricing varies widely, depending on whether your business is implementing its own CRM system or acquiring one from an external vendor. There are benefits and pitfalls associated with both options and the right choice usually depends on the size and structure of your business.

External vendors have pre-built CRM systems ready to go, along with the expertise to get them up and running. They also provide businesses with cloud servers to store and manipulate the data they collect. These vendors will do most of the legwork for you. They’ll be responsible for things like system maintenance and software updates, as well as implementing any required customization – although, these options can be limited. The drawback of using external vendors is that it can be a more expensive option.

You also have the option to build an in-house CRM system. This can be designed in line with brand-specific requirements, and gives you full control over many aspects, including the development process, security and privacy measures, and the level of built-in scalability as the business grows.

In-house CRMs can also be fully integrated with other existing systems, like your eCommerce platforms or billing tools. But there are some limitations here, too. Developing an in-house system requires hardware and software, a team of internal developers, designers and project managers, as well as a lot of time and effort to get it up and running. So, even though developing your own CRM system might seem appealing, it’s quite an investment to set up and maintain.

So, there are plenty of considerations when it comes to selecting the right CRM system for your business. The important thing to bear in mind is that the most expensive solution isn’t always the best. You’ll need to consult your business requirements document and figure out which CRM capabilities you need, and which ones are just ‘nice-to-have’ - then go from there.

Specifying CRM Requirements

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