How to decide which is the best CRM for you?

It can be a daunting task to choose from the various CRM offerings available nowadays. There is a host of providers, each claiming to be better than the rest. There are established players like SAP, Oracle, Salesforce and then there are new entrants like Deskera CRM, Sugar etc. It can be a tricky decision when there is such abundance of choice.

Fortunately, like all buying decisions, the choices could be narrowed down to a few by a careful evaluation of the organizational needs and how closely each offering fulfills them. Here are a few questions that could help in narrowing the list as per the organizational requirements.

1) What is the usage requirement & pattern?

What is the CRM going to be used for? How many users will access it? What is the frequency of the use - is it constant across the year or does it change appreciably?

These questions should be the first ones to be asked as they set up a clear picture of the actual requirement against perceived requirement.

2) What pricing model fits the usage requirement & pattern?

There are various pricing models available, from the highly flexible On-Demand Monthly Subscription model to the Annual Site License model or the One Time per computer License model. More and more small and medium enterprises are opting for the flexibility provided by the on-demand model. 

Its important to map this to predicted and/or observed usage requirement & pattern to avoid waste.

3) Is the CRM offering compatible with existing systems and mobile systems?

There are a host of devices which we are dependent on - smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops to name a few. Is the CRM easily accessible on all devices if required? Is it accessible on the above devices irrespective of the OS?

With the growing importance of mobile devices, more organizations are opting for solutions that incorporate the mobility requirement in the standard offering. Cloud based applications are being preferred as they allow greater flex

4) What is the ease of customization?

Every organization runs its operations differently and a good CRM offering should be easily customizable to allow for these differences. At the same time, it should not be so skeletal that it does not provide the standard features and everything comes with the tag of a customization request.

While there might be other questions that would be relevant from business to business, the above should provide a starting point from where the decision to choose a particular CRM offering would become less confusing and helps in making the right choice.