CRM system for the IT sector: how to befriend code and communication

Today, CRM for IT companies is as important a component of business process architecture as, say, a load balancer in a complex IT infrastructure. It effectively distributes the load between servers, ensuring uninterrupted operation of the system. The load balancer ensures that no single server is overloaded, and all requests are processed quickly and without errors. A CRM system plays a similar role, distributing tasks and customer requests between teams. For the IT sector, CRM is the main management element, coordinating and optimizing work processes and ensuring proper communication for each customer or partner of the company. This is especially true for sales and marketing teams.

A CRM system allows the team to store and analyze customer data, understand and anticipate their needs, just as a load balancer optimizes request routing based on accurate data. Therefore, thanks to the extensive capabilities of CRM systems, IT companies can automate their business processes and increase their productivity. But each business area has its own specific tasks, and the CRM system must be relevant to their solution. In the IT segment, these tasks are often complex and require flexible and non-standard approaches. SMART business experts, specializing in the development and implementation of modern solutions for customers from the IT sector, know all the intricacies of choosing the right technical solution. Therefore, we share advice from practitioners on which CRM system is best suited for IT companies, taking into account all the nuances and requirements of the industry.

What is the specificity of CRM systems for the IT industry?

While for other areas of business a CRM system is mainly a means of managing sales or a customer base, for IT companies, a much wider range of complex tasks is assumed:

• Managing long-term projects: in the IT sector, many companies work with long-term projects that include several stages: development, testing, implementation, support, etc. CRM for IT provides convenient management of projects, customer requests and technical support. The system saves the entire history of interactions, creates automated reminders and analyzes the effectiveness of communication.
• Focus on different types of customers: IT businesses often work with different types of customers – from startups to large corporations – so CRM helps with customer segmentation and facilitates the formation of personalized offers.
• Managing leads and customers across different channels: IT companies work with global customers and different communication channels (websites, social networks, partner platforms). Modern CRMs collect and integrate all these channels into a single environment to ensure timely and convenient communication.
• Storing and processing technical information: the IT sector often works with very specific technical requirements. Therefore, it is important for companies to have a single database where all data is stored: from documentation to the history of communications with customers and partners. This is provided by modern CRM systems.
• Integration with other systems: the IT industry uses many different software solutions (for example, for task, finance or product development management). Therefore, CRM should be easily integrated with other tools, such as ERP systems or development platforms, as well as with marketing solutions.

However, CRM software for an IT company should also take into account a number of more local aspects that also have a direct impact on business processes in this area. Here are some of them:

• Localization for the specifics of services: IT companies may operate in regions where special regulatory and legal requirements must be considered. CRM should be configured for local legislation (for example, data protection requirements), which will allow doing business transparently and effectively in the local context. For example, the SMART CRM platform meets more than 13 international standards of security, data protection and regulatory requirements: GDPR, CCPA, etc. This factor indicates a high level of system reliability, which facilitates scaling in new markets and expands the space for strategic maneuvers.
• Integration with local payment systems and services: many IT companies deal with financial transactions or subscription models. In this case, CRM should support integration with local payment services or invoicing tools to automate financial management processes and make them convenient for the local audience. SMART CRM has various connectors available, such as SMART Connector for PayPal for managing payment and invoices for orders. Or, say, Connector for Przelewy24 for payment from Polish accounts. Or Connector for UAPAY and Monopay, providing integration with popular Ukrainian payment services. In addition, the system provides the ability to integrate with well-known telephony providers, delivery services and online stores.
• Multilingualism and multicurrency: IT companies can work in several countries at the same time. Then the CRM system must support several languages ​​and currencies to provide services to customers from different regions and ensure barrier-free interaction.
• Adaptation to various work formats: for IT companies working with remote teams or freelancers, it is important to have a CRM system that supports local working conditions and automates productivity management and task monitoring. For example, since SMART CRM is a cloud technology, the system is distinguished by its flexibility, because users can access all the necessary functions from anywhere in the world.
• Flexibility and scalability: since projects can grow from small short-term to large-scale and long-term, CRM for an IT company should be able to easily adapt to changing conditions, allowing you to add new functionality and useful integrations.
• Ensuring automation of key business processes from selling a service to its implementation and subsequent customer support. At the same time, automation should also include tools for resource management, task tracking, task distribution between teams and automation of reminders about important deadlines.
• Automation of analytics processes: since IT companies work with a huge array of data, the CRM system should provide tools for reporting, tracking payments and analytics. Such a functional advantage helps in identifying market trends, segmenting audience and forecasting sales.
• Marketing communications: to effectively manage communications with customers and partners, CRM should support additional integrations with marketing tools. SMART CRM, for example, has connectors for services such as eSputnik, GMS and Infobip, which allows you to set up automatic marketing campaigns, mailings and communications with customers through several channels, providing a comprehensive approach to interacting with the audience.
• Data security: IT software products must have a high level of protection, as they may contain sensitive data about customers and partners, contracts and confidential technical details.

SMART CRM is a prime example of a system that considers the specifics of the IT business. The platform offers a wide range of process automation capabilities, flexible integration with other applications and services, as well as customization to the needs of the company. SMART CRM consists of 4 powerful solutions for B2B sales, B2C orders, registration and processing of requests, and omnichannel marketing management. The functionality of the solutions is expanded by numerous connectors and additional modules that can be installed separately or added as the business scales. Thus, the system can cover the entire list of industry requirements, becoming one of the best CRMs for IT companies.

How to choose a relevant solution for the current needs and capabilities of your IT company?

The IT industry is very diverse and multifaceted, and each company in this sector has its own unique challenges and needs. For some, the key aspect will be project management and coordination of development teams, and for others, sales automation and building effective communication with customers and partners.

Therefore, the choice of a CRM system and its configurations cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution for various IT companies. What is suitable for a startup with a small number of employees may not be powerful enough for a large corporation with a huge range of processes. It is important to consider the specifics of your business and choose a CRM that not only covers today’s needs but is also ready to grow with your company. Let’s take a closer look at the key aspects that you should pay attention to when choosing a CRM for an IT business.

1. Company scale and growth prospects: if your company is a startup, or you consider yourself a small business, you probably do not need an overly complex system at the initial stages. However, even for small companies, it is important to choose an easily scalable CRM system. This means that the system must be flexible to grow with your business processes. For small businesses, the best option may be out-of-the-box CRM systems with basic functions for managing sales, orders, and marketing mailings. They are easy to implement and do not require significant costs for additional development and customization.

   For large companies and corporations, it is important to have a CRM that will allow you to customize the system in accordance with internal specific processes. This can be a customized CRM system, adapted to unique business processes and integrated with other internal company systems: ERP, HCM or LMS solutions, etc.

2. Integration with development and project management tools: as mentioned above, IT companies actively use various tools for project management, version control and collaboration. Therefore, it is important to choose a CRM that easily integrates with these systems. The flexibility of the CRM integration system helps to combine all work processes in one consolidated environment, which saves time and effort. Let’s say a company uses some kind of in-house development solution. Integrating this solution with the CRM will allow you to automatically link tasks, track development progress and build a transparent vision of the project. This approach simplifies communication between the development and management teams. The convenience of integration with existing tools automates a significant part of the processes and allows you to focus on product development without wasting time on administrative routine.
3. The main goals of using CRM: before choosing a system, you need to clearly define which business processes you want to optimize. Conduct an audit. Determine what works inefficiently and where there is room for improvement. The audit may include collecting feedback from employees, analyzing reports and KPIs, such as Lost Leads and Lead Response Time, Conversion Rate, Customer Acquisition Cost, Deal Closure Time or Team Productivity, etc.

   Next, articulate the goals you want to achieve by implementing CRM. If your main goal is effective project management, choose a CRM with powerful features for tracking tasks, deadlines and team productivity.

   If the focus is on interaction with customers and partners, you should choose a system that has integrations with communication solutions. For example, SMART CRM has a solution for managing sales communications, registering and processing written requests or forming a holistic and consistent approach to customers through various communication channels. In addition, to build personalized interaction with the audience, the SMART Chat module combines popular messengers such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram in one window, and SMART Easy Bot automates communication with users.

   To automate sales, your CRM system should provide the ability to manage the customer base, products and their pricing, and have integration with Google Maps for address management. Make sure that the system contains tools for creating a sales funnel, conveniently tracking transaction stages, forecasting income, etc. Integration with SMART Sales offered by SMART business within the SMART CRM platform is ideal for this.

4. Choosing a cloud or on-premises solution: cloud CRM systems are ideal for companies working remotely or having distributed teams. They allow you to access the system from anywhere in the world and do not require costs for maintaining server infrastructure. In addition, modern cloud solutions guarantee a high level of data security due to encryption, multi-level protection and compliance with international standards.

   However, if your business has special security policies and requirements or you own server infrastructure, you should consider on-premises solutions that allow you to fully control the processes of storing and processing information on your servers. On-premises CRM systems are installed on the company’s servers, providing full control over data and security. This may be relevant for IT companies working with confidential projects or having limited requirements for data storage.

It is not necessary to immediately integrate all available functionality, connectors and integrations into your CRM system. It is important to expand the functionality step by step, determining at each stage which features are most relevant to the current needs of your business. This approach will help to avoid overpayments, prevent integration from being delayed for a long period or disruption of already established processes. For the implementation to be as effective as possible, you should first find out which functions are currently a priority. In this context, the practical experience of the vendor who will become the implementation partner plays an important role, helping to find the right solution together with the customer.

For example, SOFTICO, one of the leaders in the Ukrainian IT distribution market, initially migrated its business processes from an old CRM system to Dynamics 365 Sales, which better meets the current market realities. Then the company contacted SMART business to implement SMART Connector for Binotel. The integration was aimed at automating and strengthening the customer service of the department working with end customers and the department for working with partners. The integration had to consider that a manager is assigned to each customer or partner. Accordingly, the connector should provide flexible distribution of calls between specialists so that the customer gets to their manager, who is most knowledgeable about their issues. Therefore, much attention was paid to routing capabilities, which were, in fact, ensured by the integration with SMART Connector for Binotel.

As a result, after the implementation, the number of lost calls at SOFTICO decreased by as much as 72.41%, and the average response time decreased by 72.83%. And this is considering the fact that the number of leads has almost tripled. It was the synergy of the customer’s experience and a strong support component on both sides that ensured the rapid integration and high efficiency of this implementation.

As the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner Sir Denis Gabor said: “The future cannot be predicted, it can be invented”, and SMART business helps its customers shape this future through the implementation of innovative solutions. With SMART CRM, companies can effectively manage customer interactions, adapt faster to market changes and bring their boldest growth strategies to life.