Using a consultant could save you time and money. Software resellers are often good first line advisers as they have experience and feedback from selling competing CRM packages. Some resellers offer wider packages including strategic planning and process management.
Want to do the research yourself? Most of the big CRM software manufacturers have extensive advice, pdfs and guides on their sites that reputedly hold your hand through the choosing process. They are likely to be biased, of course, but can be good sources of ideas anyway. Sage, in particular, has a pretty neutral sounding Adobe document download.
For the DIYers another good place to start would be to make a list of your objectives and the benefits your organisation hopes to achieve. When looking at CRM solutions you want to check the features and functionality "out of the box"
- customisation is all very nice but it takes time and may not be as easy as you think
- supported platforms in terms of hardware, operating systems, databases, online activities and online ordering systems etc., (not just your back office systems but third party software you use too)
- integration with those systems
- global perspective
- price - preferably a one-off purchase price with no annual licence fee.
And look for references, preferably from companies in a similar industry as you. Test their customer service and look for unbiased reviews of the same.
When you've narrowed the field down you can ask each supplier to provide you with a full cost (including mods), time frame for implementation, likely downtimes in your current operations during implementation, breakdown of further costs (including training and licencing).
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