Identifying the CRM needs of your business

Some of the high-level characteristics of a business that cause one to have very different CRM requirements from another include the following:

• The business model: One location or many? Franchises? Regional Sales Offices? Products or services? High or low unit sales value?

• The customers: Where are they? Who are they—businesses or individuals?

• The scale: How many employees—2? 25? 50? 100?

• The culture: E-mail or personal visits? Are there any data security concerns?

• The international needs: Multiple language support? Date format? Currency format?

Compensating and adjusting appropriately for these varying requirements will make the difference between a CRM that suits your needs (and is quickly embraced and adopted) and a CRM system that never feels like a good fit, quickly falling into disuse and abandonment.

To genuinely understand issues a CRM system is meant some measure of customization to become a truly effective tool within an organization, we...