Systems underpin culture

In all areas of business, we rely on systems to operate efficiently. The same goes for people and relationships, only those systems are often much more complex than a flowchart or piece of computer code can ever explain. What does help, however, is having clear routines and operations that can guide the way we interact and work with each other.

This is where smart software systems can improve and strengthen successful human relationships in the business world.

Collaboration

At the core of any healthy culture, you will always find that sense of collaboration. The ability to work together towards common objectives and helping each other is central to making everyone feel valued and significant. By utilizing software that makes communication and collaboration easy you can avoid the stress that often comes with isolated or siloed teams.

A modern business library of collaboration tools includes at least one project management system. This is where each team member is able to access visual overviews of projects and share files and information.

 Most modern collaboration systems enable conversation threads to grow within the system – keeping all relevant information in one place.

Another flavour of collaboration is of course instant communication. While this is particularly useful for distributed teams or working across long distances, it can also be a quick and easy way to send a short request across a building.

Fun and games

Few things help build morale as much as having fun together. Organising friendly competitions, draws and social gatherings can be made easy using online tournament systems and planning tools.

It’s becoming popular to apply a form of ‘gamification’ to both work and learning. It can be easy to create an interactive scoreboard for sales numbers, phone calls, bug fixes or other measurable areas of the business to encourage some friendly competition. For others, the gaming element could come in the form of learning achievements and knowledge badges.

Transparency

In businesses where a negative culture is brewing, transparency is often one of the first things to get overlooked. A lack of openness means that things get discussed in small cliques of people, where others feel left out. The best thing the business can do to counteract this behaviour is to instil a sense of transparency across the organisation.

Many businesses also use the reporting functionality in their CRM or business management systems to create visual representations of performance.

Training

Ongoing training is a huge part of nurturing a good company culture. This goes beyond basic skills and operations training, to also entail training on values and behaviour. This can be particularly important when a merge between two businesses occurs, or when the company is global and relies on people from different parts of the world being able to work comfortably together.

There are plenty of learning management systems (LMS) available, some which are specifically tailored to different industries.

Software as part of the business environment

As we see recurring examples of in the business world, culture is far from straight-forward. The complexity of human behaviour is hard to predict and sometimes impossible to understand. But although we can never eliminate the element of human carelessness, we can do our very best to create a business environment where the good qualities flourish and bad behaviour is quickly shut down – and software can help us do this in more ways today than ever before.

Why do I need a CRM?

We often take for granted that we need a CRM system without truly pondering the reasons why we need one. Your reasons may be unique to other businesses as after all, every business is slightly different.

Some of the most common reasons are

• Structuring customer data
• Analysing customer behaviour
• Measuring sales and financial activities.
• Improving customer engagement
• Decreasing the time taken for sales
• Reducing admin input and dependencies
• Improving marketing effectiveness
• Improving general productivity
• Cash flow and sales forecasting

Once you understand your unique business needs and how a CRM can support them, you will have a much better view of how to choose a suitable system.

Existing applications

 A modern business application library should be well integrated at the most significant touchpoints, including the CRM system.

Some features an existing system could include:

• Marketing automation systems pulling data from the CRM
• Financial systems linking up with CRM Sales data.
• Collaboration or project management system for sharing CRM activities.
• Storage drives for managing customer files
• Website for transferring new leads to the CRM

Take note of your current system and application ecosystem. Consider how your business could benefic from communication between the CRM and these other applications.

Budget check

Whatever your budget, you should make sure you get the best return for your money when looking at the investment that a CRM system is. Rather than looking at a price tag, consider how you can save money by moving existing processes into this new centralized CRM platform. Take some time and look at what can be done better throughout your whole business.

There are more options for your CRM than off-the-shelf

There are some bestselling, ready-made CRM systems out there, which are often found on the top of a lot of companies wis lists. They range from extremely advanced and often expensive solutions, all the way to the more budget and cheaper alternatives.

However, it can be difficult to find the perfect match from a selection of available pre-built systems. Many businesses find themselves paying for functionality they don’t need – whilst sometimes they are required to pay extra for features, they would ideally have liked to have.

The good news is that you don’t actually need to select an existing platform. You can have your very own custom-made bespoke CRM system tailored exactly how your organization needs it. Also as a bonus this is oftentimes more cost efficient in the long run.

What your CRM must have

Whatever solution you opt to take, you should always consider these vital check boxes before making your decision.

Integration

How well does the system connect with your existing business applications and workflow?

Cross-department value

Don’t view the CRM as just marketing tool – it’s a business tool. The more people across the organization who can use it, the better. Collaboration and productivity improvements will follow.

Security

It’s critical to secure your data properly and your selected CRM should provide all the necessary security and compliance you need. Not only do you need your financial information to be safe from intruders, you also need to make sure you don’t breach the trust of your customers when handling their details.

User friendliness

If people don’t understand an application, they won’t use it. Always allow users to test and review the system before implementing it, to get their feedback on how easy it is to understand. Also ensure you get sufficient training from the selected vendor.

Reporting

One of the best aspects of CRM is that it can support decision making. But first, you need to be able to track, view and export data being used across the CRM. With the help of customer dashboard and reports you should be able to get the insight needed to evaluate the business performance across several different departments

The choice is yours

With the massive selection of options available, you have the buyer’s power to select and review what suits your business best. Don’t compromise, there will always be a solution for you. Even if it doesn’t quite exist yet.

“Is it really that hard?”

Being a bespoke software development company, we often see companies with unrealistic expectations, requirements, or timescales. However, on the other side of the sword, we also see clients who overestimate the cost and timescale of their projects. It’s almost impossible to know just how expensive or how long a project can take if you have no experience with software development and why we recommend speaking to a professional and suitable partner about your bespoke software needs.

Internal vs white label software

There are two main aspects of software development that are relevant to most businesses. The first one is software systems designed for your company, such as payroll or CRM systems. The second one is white label software. This is created for the company to brand and sell as their own on a one – off or license-based system.

Regardless, it is always good to look at the key elements of starting software development. So here are our tips for key factors to keep in mind.

Analyse requirements

The first and probably most important stage of development is defining and understanding the scope and size of the problem you want to address. Which processes do you want to introduce or transform with this new software? What is it you are aiming to achieve with this?

Setting down initial requirements is absolutely vital to ensuring development is smooth and stays on course.

In some cases, you might not know exactly what you want to achieve or understand the possibilities available to you. However, a skilled development team will be able to help you analyse and solve your pain points and problems.

Shortlist potential development partners

Most start-ups or small companies don’t have the resources for in-house development while also focusing on management of the actual business. Consequently, an external solution provider is often the answer. As well as taking the time to analyse your actual requirements it is also well worth checking out multiple suitable developers to make sure you are suitable together.

Do they have credentials and testimonials to back up their service? Any awards or customer references? They should be able to show that they are working to a good industry standard.

A good partner will help you do three important things

Create a minimum viable product

This will prove that the model will actually work in practice.

Leverage any work already done

By taking a simple test version of your software they should be able to turn it into a solid and reliable product.

Provide finance solutions

Funding a project made bespoke is oftentimes a problem especially for payment upfront. So finance options should suit your budget and timescale.

Planning is priority!

Planning for a bespoke development never truly ceases. Throughout the project you will be required to test and check your software and see what you think of it. Some features will work in theory but perhaps not in practice and vice versa. The next stage of development should always be on your mind. The developers will of course help you with this as well, but nobody knows what you want better than yourself.

Communication is key

Communication is a fundamental element of any software development project. As a client you will need to know what exactly has been happening between meetings. Developers will not only need to communicate clearly with you but will require clear communication from you in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

Test

You should be able to see prototypes early on in the project, to encourage experimentation, testing and discussion. Once you are able to test your software you will be able to suggest features or modifications to be built into the system. You can also make sure the product will be safe and free from bugs and glitches upon going live.

1. Centralised, organised data storage

Having a single point for all your information storage means never having to search through multiple different places for important emails and traded messages that are vital for maintaining the continuity of a business relationship. These small chunks of information are often what lead to sales. Sending the same, generic catch-up email more than once to a customer gives them the impression you can’t even remember when you last spoke. They will see your attempts to converse as disingenuous. With CRM software you will have all the details of each email logged so you can remember that you only recently touched-base with certain clients and to perhaps send a different type of email to others. CRM software will lay out your history of each client in an easy and digestible way, transforming the way you interact with customers and boosting their interactions with you consequently. It’s efficiency means less time and money spent in the process and your attention is fully focused forward.

2. Clear communication company-wide is KEY!

Client histories are constantly changing as businesses evolve and employees join and leave the company. The best way to keep these histories consistent is not through notes left behind by ex-employees but rather through one overarching CRM. Inside a CRM, due to the nature of it being so robust and computational, it is extremely easy for a junior staff member to pick up right where the last member left off with absolutely zero confusion as everything is streamlined and has been recorded in line with how you want it to work. Furthermore, there is no risk of duplicated inputs or lost data with the system being entirely online everyone can see everyone else’s notes and (provided the server stays in healthy condition) there is no way the data can be misplaced and lost.

3. CRM software can diagnose a company’s state of health

You might oftentimes find yourself struggling through old data trying to find a clear picture of what’s been happening with certain customers. Due to the lack of a uniform source of data storage to help with the analysis, it is difficult to piece things together yourself from oftentimes disjointed and confusing notes. CRM is the tool to fix this, you can see as individual or as general as you wish to get a comprehensive idea of how your business is doing.

4. Organised data allows you to predict the future of your business

While a business is still small it can be easy to think that storing and filing all your information on an excel spreadsheet is the best way to go. However, consider doing the same filing and storing in five years’ time when your customer base has doubled, tripled, or increased tenfold! Not so easy now! It is also had to devote time solely to making sales when employees (or yourself for that matter!) are lost in an endless backlog of outdated information and recording client interactions manually. Without easily accessible current data you can’t possibly analyse, predict, or plan for the future.

If you think that CRM software is the missing piece to your business, we can help you make and integrate your very own bespoke CRM system. You won’t be on a paid monthly subscription, or need a license per user and everything can be tailored exactly to your needs. Get in touch to explore the possibilities and find out what a CRM could do for your business.

Training

Many off-the-shelf solutions will include a plethora of training videos and sometimes companies may specialize in providing training for popular software. However, this training won’t necessarily be specific for your industry or organization and will be once again aimed at a general audience in a one-size-fits-all approach

Support

One advantage of off-the-shelf software is that there will likely already be an existing userbase who are well versed in how to use it. This could be helpful if you come across any problems along the way there may already be existing solutions or people who have had similar problems before in a user-based community.

Development influence

A popular off-the-shelf solution will have a wide and varied userbase. As a result, it may become apparent that your individual needs will take a backseat. When the developer of this software has so many people to cater too all requesting different addons and changes it is hard to make everyone happy. For some this may be a benefit, with the stress of providing feedback to an active and dedicated developer removed. However, it will also have its drawbacks as there will be much less influence over the direction of development should you need there to be.

Price

Clearly, the development cost of off-the-shelf packages can be recovered over a large number of customers making the cost extremely competitive. However, using a general software solution means you can’t have technology designed around your processes and you’ll need to conform to whatever process the subscription-based software provides you.

Furthermore, in the long term it may well be that investing in a more expensive but bespoke solution is better value and ultimately sometimes even cheaper, especially when considering that individual licenses from off-the-shelf solutions are often how you will be billed.

Fitness for purpose

Generic applications can be extremely sophisticated. Because they are developed for a wide audience and have considerable investment going into their development. They are likely to be designed to fit as broad a range of applications as possible, but this can lead to cumbersome features you neither need nor want. Furthermore, some features that you do need are sometimes locked behind paywalls and disguised as a “bolt-on” that will eventually build up and cost more.

Software updates and upgrades

Updates for off-the-shelf software normally happen regularly and try to keep up with technological advancements, adding new features and benefits. This is good for keeping up with the advancements of the world. However, unexpected upgrades can cause disruption if legacy data is no longer available to be used with the new version or perhaps support will be discontinued for your version of software over time.

Ownership

Since you are paying for use of someone else’s software, you will never be the sole owner of your system. One part we overlooked in the “Price” section is that the software you pay for becomes, in itself, an asset for your business. Should you want to sell on your business in the future or want investors to take you seriously, it’s much more appealing and attractive to say you have your own custom-made software.

Trials

When searching for an off-the-shelf solution, the chances are you’ll find a free trial version to try before you buy. Also, it’s worth remembering that trials are by their very nature designed to make the product look as compelling as possible, in order to trigger a desire to purchase. In a worst case scenario, an impulsive purchase can end up being a one-trick pony that doesn’t have the resources to support the business in the long term.

And how does it work?

Businesses generally use SaaS for business apps and office software. This often includes messaging services, payroll, and accounts, as well as software that manages databases, information systems, HR, and resources. SaaS apps are key to running some of the human aspects of a business.

5 Advantages of SaaS

1. Providers usually develop and manage their own software cutting out the third party and allowing them to take a more proactive approach.
2. An app can serve many businesses and users together, but separates the data of each, keeping them secure individually through multi-tenant architecture.
3. SaaS only needs a web-browser to use, unlike traditional software that needs to be installed onto a PC
4. On-demand usage costs are usually lower than old school software,
5. SaaS apps can be customized to reflect a businesses brand and particular aesthetic, interface, etc.

Why might businesses need it?

Nowadays, companies are all looking to be more flexible in the ways they work. The best way to do this is through off-premises software. As cloud computing and smart devices become part of our every day lives and find themselves embedded in our working day, so will SaaS.

SaaS now vs 10 years ago

The first decade of SaaS has gone very well to say the least. ‘After more than a decade of use, adoption of SaaS continues to grow and evolve within the enterprise application markets,’ says Tom Eid, Research Vice President at Gartner. As technological developments close the gaps in security, availability and timescales, more and more organisations have signed up for SaaS. In turn these companies have been able to offer more services to vendors and customers.

What’s in store for the future?

So, what does the future hold for SaaS? Where else can it go?

SaaS is perfectly tailored to small- and medium-sized businesses, so it’s easy to imagine its adoption may become widespread in the long-term. So long as application service providers remain a viable source of services, it’s fair to say we’ll continue to see SaaS take over from the big names in software.