Every business is different, and every business has different needs and requirements for their data management. So, when you are looking at which CRM system you need, don’t just go with one because it is what everyone else uses.

There are new CRM systems being launched every day and the older, more established ones are developing all the time, so where do you start when identifying which system is right for you.

A lot will depend on what your organisation does, if you are a not-for-profit or charity, there will be some systems that will be more applicable, especially those that have been developed for charities, such as donorperfect or Harlequin. If you are a commercial, sales led business, there will be systems that suit you more like Salesforce or Hubspot.

CRM Systems Integration

What is fundamental is the need to understand your CRM strategy at the outset, understand your contacts and how you want to interact with them in the long term and what data you will need to hold. It is also important that you identify which other systems need to be integrated with the CRM, these can include;

• Finance
• Sales processing
• Operations
• Automated marketing
• And others.

The systems that need to be integrated will have an impact on which CRM systems are applicable for you, so make sure you have mapped out your full systems structure and include this in your CRM strategy.

I would always recommend that you develop your CRM strategy before you start looking at which systems are available. However, there is some very good information to look at if you want to get an idea and this comparison was sent out from Charity News recently. Whilst it is focused on charities, there is also some good information for commercial organisations as well.

We deliberately don’t recommend any one system as every organisation’s requirements are different so to find out more about how to get the most from a CRM system for your organisation let me know.