XRM: eXtend Customer Relationship Management
Use the non-technical customization tools in CRM to create entirely new applications for your organization in a fraction of the time that it would take with traditional programming. And if you have software development capabilities, eXtended Relationship Management lets you fine-tune the business processes that drive customer, supplier and employee interactions.
XRM takes advantage of 3 key features in all CRM systems: Customization, Workflow and Reporting
Customization
“Customization” describes any changes in that can be done without changing the software code that is delivered by the vendor. This review splits anything that requires coding into a separate Programming section, so that we can see only what you can change without having to engage a programmer. IT professionals normally say that ‘Customization’ includes changes that require programing code, as long as the vendor’s core system is not changed.
The most common CRM customizations, by far, are adding fields to the database and changing the data management forms. Customization is combined with Workflow, Reporting and Analytics to give you a CRM experience that creates business value.
Before you dig into the differences between systems, it’s a good idea to spend some time thinking about the daily operations of your company. Don’t get overwhelmed with trying to think too much about the big picture, but spend some time listing daily and hourly tasks, steps, and processes. Some questions to ask are:
- How does your company currently track and retrieve their business data?
- Does the data fit in the standard CRM records such as accounts and opportunities?
- Will you need additional relational data or links to other systems?
- Can time-consuming procedures be made easier with efficient access to good data?
We suggest you spend a reasonable amount of time looking at your data, to minimize the cost and maximize the value of adding fields and modifying forms.
Workflows
As an alternative to programming, and a companion to non-technical customization, Workflows let you configure the CRM software to fit your business. Any repetitive process is a candidate for Workflows. The most common CRM workflows are built to improve routine or error-prone procedures that are an obvious value to the organization. You can get a high return on your time by building the processes, training the users, and confirming the results.
Some workflows do not require user inputs to run, although user input may be required to start. Other workflows require interaction with the user at different points in the process. The different CRM systems each have their own language to describe the second type of Workflow, which may appear in ‘Approvals’, ‘Dialogs’ and ‘Campaigns’.
The rules for initiating a workflow are similar in most CRM systems. A process may be started when data is entered or changed, or the process may start at a particular time. After that, the systems vary widely. Some are intentionally limited, others are very powerful within their boundaries, and some offer a rich programming interface. The programmer’s tools may be important to you –workflows deliver a lot of value when they integrate with systems like Enterprise Resource Planning, and don’t do so well when duplicate data needs to be maintained.
Workflows do not need to be complicated or highly integrated. Simple workflows may bring a lot of value to your business, or you may not want to set up many automated procedures. If so, give less weight to this section, but do spend a little time looking at these reviews to help your understanding of this important concept.
Reporting
Charts, dashboards and traditional row-and-column reports can be created in all of the CRM systems. The depth of these features varies widely among the CRM vendors, and this may be a factor in your choice. Some of the approaches are:
Salesforce: The built-in tools are good, as with most CRM vendors. The biggest differentiator with Salesforce.com is the great tools that a programmer can access. Not only do the tools deliver great formatting options, they have pre-built access to business logic and data.
Sugar CRM: Like most of Sugar, the reporting tools are very easy to use for non-technical people. If you need more capability, third party report generators and PHP programmers come into play.
Dynamics CRM: The built-in tools are good for lots of purposes. Beyond the basics, you will need a SQL server, Microsoft Reporting Services, and technical capabilities.
Recent Comments