Many businesses implement CRM software in their daily operations because it is a vital tool for boosting sales and evolving the business. Fortunately, there are tons of options available. Select a CRM app of any power for any price. The only downfall is their diversity. It would be challenging to implement the ready-to-use software for your specific needs. That is the reason why many businesses build custom CRM software. Most of them found the perfect way to accomplish it in no time — use the no-code tools. Zoho Creator or AppMaster.io tools focus on creating powerful business software without writing a single line of code. Here we are sharing some tips on building custom CRM in no time using only the AppMaster.io platform.
A quick CRM review
Before we dive into the development detail, let’s briefly describe CRM. Customer relationship management or CRM is a technology or software used for managing the relationships and interactions between the company and its customers. The app’s purpose is straightforward: it helps improve relationships, boost sales, and grow the business. With well-developed CRM, you can stay connected with the customers and help and support them on their journey up to the sales point. CRM software is an effective and valuable management tool that helps manage contacts, attract leads, build strong customer relationships, and grow sales.
Why build a custom CRM?
CRM is a must-have for any business that aims to build and maintain strong customer relationships. But what if you don’t want to integrate a ready-to-use software or simply can’t afford to buy it? Maybe you want more control over the data? But you don't want to spend time and resources on development? As we said earlier, pre-made apps are not always suited for your company. They can contain many unnecessary features you won’t be using but will be paying for.
That is why building a custom CRM app is more practical and includes only the features that your team needs. The greatest advantage of a custom solution is the ability to control how everything works and get the most value out of the managing app. You’ll get the desired flexibility and develop the app as your business grow. There won’t be a necessity to change software when there is a change inside the company's internal operations.
The benefits of using a custom CRM
Using a custom CRM is very beneficial for businesses.
1. Complete control over the data. You know precisely how the data is received and what kind of data you get, as you specify these details in the forms. It could be contact details or other personal information about the customer.
2. Fitting to the needs of the company. Building custom CRM means including only the features that your employees need. As the app creator, you can prepare the customer's pipeline and, depending on it, develop the features list and data details you will need in your CRM.
3. No need to spend money on expensive software licenses. You can make sales and not worry that they will be covering your expenses on licenses and software implementation, which is not cheap. Moreover, building a custom app will help turn the leads into paying customers and increase sales with effective sales instruments at your fingertips.
4. Quick and easy start. Time is one of your main assets. Building a custom CRM app without coding will save weeks of development. The software's implementation process will be much easier, making it easy to start working with the system immediately.
How to create a custom CRM without coding
Do not complicate the process of building custom CRM. You can save time and money using various no-code software options to build custom CRM. There are many options available to build custom CRM app. Many business owners found a simple way to create a custom CRM. They use such tools as Zoho Creator. Zoho Creator is a perfect instrument that includes pre-made business apps, where all the details can be customized to your needs. The low-code platform chose the business direction, making it an ideal option for building a custom CRM. Additionally, Zoho provides many valuable tools and information for companies about building custom business solutions.
We chose another way and would like to offer you minimizing the effort and building CRM with the no-code instrument AppMaster.io. AppMaster.io has several advantages that make CRM building more efficient. The two most powerful platform's functionalities are Data Model Designer and Business Processes Editor. These are the critical aspects of a well-designed CRM, as you need a robust database and a flexible business logic tailored to the organizational processes. Let’s look at several simple steps you must go through if you plan to build custom CRM app.
Creating a database
Data is the most significant part of CRM software. The information submitted via the forms should be well organized and help you build communication with the client. So the first of the development is creating a database. Practically there will be two types of users interacting: customers and members of your team. So make sure to develop forms for both of them. The forms should include all the necessary fields: starting from the name and ending with the sales details. You should understand who the leads are and analyze their behavior and intentions.
All information submitted through the forms is stored in the database. This information is a crucial asset you will be using to manage sales and leads. It contains contact details, customer data, and purchasing behavior. For example, in AppMaster.io, a data model designer allows building a database using only visual blocks. Simply drag them onto the canvas, create as many data models as you wish, and set fields and relationships between them.
Define the features
When creating a custom CRM, you must include all the features you need to manage the data provided by the customers effectively. One of the most critical steps is the step when you define the CRM features. Some of the features to consider are:
1. Contact information. Contact details are vital. As long as CRM helps you connect with potential clients and turn leads into paying customers, you need to know how to contact them.
2. Purchase history. This data can help you track what products or services your customers have purchased in the past and how much they spent. So, any customer will have a profile where you can find everything about their purchases. Moreover, the data should include details about how the client found your brand and at what point the decision to buy the product was made.
3. Integrations. CRM software is often connected to social networks to parse contacts or payment gateways for tracking transactions. Third-party integrations in CRM can help automate tasks and make data more accessible.
4. Interaction history. You can more efficiently identify sales opportunities and provide better service when you track customer interaction. Here you should gain information about customer-employee interaction to evaluate the experience on both sides.
5. Sales funnels. Sales funnels attract leads and boost your sales. It is helpful to track and monitor all promotional activities and campaigns via CRM. Build forms for campaigns to transmit all the data to your CRM. Thus you can categorize the details provided and build future campaigns better.
6. Reports and analytical dashboard. CRM is an analytical instrument. The dashboard is what you must add to the app. To get the full and well-detailed report, first, build forms that correspond to it. For example, you will need the leads’ statuses to update their movements through the sales pipeline. Add only the statuses according to the customer journey you developed. Feel free to add tags and other details to evaluate the conversion of leads appropriately.
It is worth mentioning that AppMaster.io lets easily create all listed features. With its API functionality, you can freely add any integrations; with the robust business processes editor, you can build operational processes of any complexity, sequence, and flexibility.
Create a hierarchy of users
Make it easier for the team and provide access to specific data depending on the user role. The hierarchy of users in the system can protect the business from mistakes and data leaking. What’s more, all the processes will have a clear structure where an individual employer will be responsible for a particular task and won’t be able to invade the interaction with a customer.
Conclusion
Let’s sum up:
- CRM systems are more effective when custom-built and tailored to the company’s needs.
- Building custom CRM can take much less time when you use no-code tools like AppMaster.io or Zoho Creator.
- To build good software, you need to add the core features and not overwhelm the app with unnecessary functionality. CRM should be informative and have a clear structure.
- Try to build organized forms to collect relevant information about leads and effectively track conversions.
