Other CRM Functionality

All of the other many functions and features that we found in our CRM product research (that were not part of our definition of core CRM) fell into one of the following categories:

• non-core CRM functionality,
• vertical industry specific features, and
• accounting-related CRM features.

Enterprises that are evaluating CRM solutions that include "non-core" CRM functionality need to be aware of the potential issues associated with these features.

From our experience, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a CRM solution that incorporates any, or all, of these types of functionalities. However, enterprises that are evaluating CRM solutions need to be aware of the potential issues associated with functions and features that are not part of core CRM functionality.

Non-core CRM Functionality

Some CRM vendors seem to be competing for business based on the number of functions and features that they offer. Their assumption is that the more functionality they offer, the better. The thing that distinguishes these features from core CRM functionality is that many enterprises don't need all of these things. Some examples of non-core features are

• Event management
• Project management
• Proposal generation
• Vendor management
• Product defect tracking
• Partner management

The issue is that if you don't need all of this non-core CRM functionality, you don't want any of it to negatively affect the usability (i.e., increase the complexity) of the system for your enterprise.

Of course there's nothing wrong with any of this functionality being incorporated into a CRM solution, particularly because there are enterprises that can benefit from one or more of these features. The issue is that if you don't need all of these things, you don't want any of them to negatively affect the usability by increasing the complexity of the system for your enterprise. So, when evaluating CRM solutions that include functionality that will not be needed by your company, it is imperative that you understand what will be required to remove (or hide) any unneeded functions and features from the user interface.

It is absolutely critical that you evaluate whether or not the process flows embedded into the functionality of each CRM solution being considered match your enterprise's needs.

Secondly, when evaluating CRM solutions, it is not nearly enough to determine whether or not the needed functionality is available in the CRM solutions that are under consideration; you must evaluate whether or not the process flows embedded into each solution match your enterprise's needs. For example, a CRM solution that inherently assumes that four or five people are involved in a particular process (e.g. developing and approving new entries into a customer support, frequently asked question-type knowledgebase) and segments the process into four or five steps will not be a good match for an enterprise that has only one or two people who will want to perform this process in one or two steps.