Choosing the right CRM tool and the value of expert help
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Choosing the right CRM tool and the value of expert help
Danny Coleman
1 May 2025
7 min read
Danny Coleman
1 May 2025
7 min read
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1. Core CRM features to consider
2. Advanced CRM functionality
3. Technical considerations
4. The role of a solutions provider
Choosing a CRM? This blog explores features like customisation, integration, user experience, automation, analytics, security, scalability, and the value of expert guidance.
If you're in the business of selling, you likely have some way of tracking customer information, interactions with your prospective customers, and projected pipeline revenue.
In many cases, even in large, complex organisations with thousands of employees, it's often a series of spreadsheets or maybe some customised processes in another tool you've repurposed to try and solve a problem, rather than a dedicated solution. Or, if you already have a customer relationship management (CRM) solution in place, it's expensive, people aren't using it, and it needs a rethink. And then, consider your marketing teams. Often, sales and marketing are misaligned, using disparate tools with limited transparency, meaning marketing campaigns are not in tune with supporting sales to achieve their goals, and these teams are having real problems communicating with each other and their customers and prospects. There can also be challenges across organisations with collaboration and communication between teams dealing with customers in some capacity–revenue, legal, HR and people teams all have interactions where relationship building is essential.
The good news is that if you're reading this, you've recognised the need for change in your organisation and are starting to do some research. Defining your challenges is the first step. There are expert solution partners (like us here at Adaptavist) who can help you clarify your current situation and support you in planning a pathway to future success, from selecting the right apps or products to building bespoke solutions, workflows and processes to onboarding your team.
In this blog, we'll examine what to consider when choosing a solution to improve customer relationship management and the role of a solution provider in that process.
First, it's essential to set out your business goals and objectives. At this point, we'd suggest you evaluate your current processes and identify pain points a CRM system could handle. It's very important to include your different stakeholders in this process, as they will all have different priorities, requirements, and perspectives on what the outcome of this exercise should look like.
In many cases, even in large, complex organisations with thousands of employees, it's often a series of spreadsheets or maybe some customised processes in another tool you've repurposed to try and solve a problem, rather than a dedicated solution. Or, if you already have a customer relationship management (CRM) solution in place, it's expensive, people aren't using it, and it needs a rethink. And then, consider your marketing teams. Often, sales and marketing are misaligned, using disparate tools with limited transparency, meaning marketing campaigns are not in tune with supporting sales to achieve their goals, and these teams are having real problems communicating with each other and their customers and prospects. There can also be challenges across organisations with collaboration and communication between teams dealing with customers in some capacity–revenue, legal, HR and people teams all have interactions where relationship building is essential.
The good news is that if you're reading this, you've recognised the need for change in your organisation and are starting to do some research. Defining your challenges is the first step. There are expert solution partners (like us here at Adaptavist) who can help you clarify your current situation and support you in planning a pathway to future success, from selecting the right apps or products to building bespoke solutions, workflows and processes to onboarding your team.
In this blog, we'll examine what to consider when choosing a solution to improve customer relationship management and the role of a solution provider in that process.
First, it's essential to set out your business goals and objectives. At this point, we'd suggest you evaluate your current processes and identify pain points a CRM system could handle. It's very important to include your different stakeholders in this process, as they will all have different priorities, requirements, and perspectives on what the outcome of this exercise should look like.
1. Core CRM features to consider
Customisation and flexibility
Every business operates differently and has its own needs, processes and workflows. So, an important consideration is choosing a system that can be adapted to suit each situation. For example, the ability to create custom fields, change user interfaces and build dashboards that reflect your key performance indicators might be important to you. Similarly, these factors can change regularly, so the system needs to scale with new processes and growth and integrate with new functionalities without significant disruptions.
Integration capabilities
Interconnectivity between the different tools you use will help ensure information is not lost in silos and that teams can connect data across the organisation to provide a comprehensive view of all customer interactions, making it easier to make data-driven decisions.
User experience and ease of adoption
For users to maximise a tool's available functionality and see its benefits, it must be easy to adopt. When adoption rates are high, the system's effectiveness increases with more people using it, keeping the information fresh and updated and increasing business success. Look for tools with intuitive UI and ensure teams have onboarding, training and ongoing support to ensure continued effectiveness.
2. Advanced CRM functionality
Automation and efficiency
If a tool can't automate routine tasks and reduce manual administration, it's not up there with the best. Automation is pretty standard but essential functionality, making it easier to use (that case for easy adoption again!) and more straightforward to capture data, manage follow-up, ensure consistent engagement, trigger workflows, and help support personal customer communications–so automation is a win-win for productivity and optimised operations.
Analytics and reporting
Data is the foundation of strong decision-making, so your CRM needs to offer insights into customer behaviour, sales performance, and business health and provide teams with the tools to delve into analytics and metrics in more detail to surface opportunities for growth.
Mobile and remote access
It goes without saying that most users will need to access their tools securely from anywhere, so staying connected from home, in the office, or when travelling is a non-negotiable for a CRM solution. Teams can update on the move, respond to messages, and access accurate and up-to-date information when needed, making interactions timely and relevant.
3. Technical considerations
Security and compliance
Security and compliance are top priorities when handling sensitive customer data. CRM systems must incorporate strong security measures to protect against data breaches, unauthorised access, and cyber threats. You should consider implementing encryption, access controls, and regular security audits. Compliance with industry regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA, is crucial to avoid legal repercussions and maintain customer trust. With these in place, you can ensure that personal data is collected, stored, and processed in a manner that respects privacy rights and meets legal requirements. Strong security and compliance protocols safeguard data and enhance your organisation's reputation and customer confidence. An accredited solutions partner can help with this–more on this later in the blog.
Scalability
It's essential to choose a solution that can adapt, flex, and grow with your business (this is where the flexibility we discussed above comes in) so that when your volume of data increases, you can add new users. You want to add more functionality so that your system continues to perform as you need it to without interruption. It might not be a consideration now, but as market conditions change, you will want to ensure your investment is future-proof when you implement new strategies or build your teams.
4. The role of a solutions provider
A solutions provider looks at the whole picture. Although the technology you choose is a top consideration, you must also consider the people using it and the processes that your team needs to implement for it to perform at its best.
Often, it helps to turn to an independent provider to benefit from a consultative approach and experience gained from years of customer projects that a solutions partner like Adaptavist can bring to your organisation. Adaptavist works with strategic partners, including Atlassian, AWS, GitLab and monday.com, alongside our customers to assess your business needs and recommend best practices. We offer end-to-end solutions, from customisation to workflow implementation, integrations, training, and ongoing support, to ensure your CRM implementation meets your business goals.
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Written by
Business Information Services Manager
As Business Information Services Manager, Danny focuses on expanding monday.com services. Committed to enhancing business processes and team dynamics, his leadership emphasises operational excellence, authenticity, and transparency, aiming to positively impact his team's work experience.