The cost of developing CRM software: An extensive guide

In today’s business world, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is considered a must-have for most enterprises, from small businesses to large corporations. These solutions enable you to store, access, and manage consumer information in real time and reduce the amount of time you spend later on. But how much does CRM software cost? The cost of custom CRM software development depends on a number of factors. Various factors, such as the complexity of the business process, the number of steps to be completed, the time spent on each step, etc. Here, we will learn how much it costs to develop a custom CRM.

What is CRM software development? Why do you need it?

CRM stands for “customer relationship management.” They help companies manage, track, and organize their customer relationships. CRM systems store data about your customers, such as behavior patterns, duration of relationships, purchases, and sales interactions. Based on this information, you can optimize your sales and marketing processes and improve customer service.

Using a CRM platform will help you gain a comprehensive view of your customers, which will in turn help you align your messaging. A number of activities (both behind-the-scenes and direct interactions) can be digitized and automated, which helps you target your marketing efforts, accelerates sales cycles, and provides better, more efficient customer service. As a result, a CRM that integrates all departments makes cross-departmental collaboration easy, so you can present a united front to customers.

Benefits of CRM software

You can benefit from CRM software in a number of ways, all of which will streamline your work and increase your profits. CRM software can help your business in the following ways:

• Compilation of all client data, including information from employees who have had contact with them
• Having all data stored in one place, accessible at all times to all departments with direct or indirect contact with customers
• Integrated scheduling functionality allows teams and departments to work together more effectively
• The automation of manual processes
• Analysis of customer behavior and business performance quickly and in an insightful manner, increasing customer retention and profits
• Enhancing the productivity of teams and optimizing business operations
• Boosted conversion rates by 300%

CRM software market insights for 2023

• Customer Relationship Management Software spending will reach an average of $22.81 per employee in 2023, according to Statista.
• A Gartner study estimates that the market for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software will grow over 14% by 2025. In order to build a more relevant and successful engagement strategy, marketers need to understand businesses’ challenges and approaches to software investment.

As this data looks impressive, now let’s find out the different types of CRM software that are available in the market.

Different types of CRM software

Before analyzing the cost of CRM software, it is important to understand the various types of CRM systems.

1. Analytical CRM

With an analytical CRM, you can collect data, insights, and information, which will enable you to make informed decisions and drive business growth. Examples of analytical CRM include Zoho, Insightly, and Bitrix24.

Analytical CRM features:

• Online analytical processing: Organize large datasets simultaneously. Analytical CRM can also help you identify potential trends and opportunities, allowing you to forecast the future with it.
• Data Warehouse: It is a hub that collects and archives data from several systems. Useful for organizing data that can be used for company-wide reports.
• Data mining: Finding patterns and relationships in data is essential for solving business problems.

Is analytical CRM right for you?

Analytical CRMs are best suited for businesses that make decisions based on data. In databases with thousands (or millions) of contacts, analytical CRMs are commonly used by data analysts, accountants, and business intelligence managers.

2. Operational CRM

With an operational CRM system, you can accomplish more with fewer resources. The purpose of operational CRM systems is to automate and streamline business processes in order to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.

Is operational CRM right for you?

Businesses with limited resources and looking for sales and marketing automation can benefit from operational CRM. This type of CRM is most commonly used by customer-facing teams, such as sales and marketing.

HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce are examples of operational CRMs.

3. Collaborative CRM

It will be easier to communicate internally with a collaborative CRM. Additionally, you will improve your ability to communicate with distributors, partners, and suppliers externally by eliminating silos within your sales, marketing, and customer service teams.

Is collaborative CRM right for you?

Companies that want to improve their customer experience should use a collaborative CRM. A collaborative CRM is used by all departments in a company, not just customer-facing ones.

Sage CRM, Dynamics 365, and Copper are all examples of collaborative CRMs.

How much does it cost to build custom CRM software?

The cost of a CRM system varies greatly. Your business’s specific needs will determine the total cost. You should also take into account your CRM provider. It can even affect how your costs scale based on your projected growth.

You should expect to pay about $18,000 for a small or average CRM system. A more advanced piece of software will cost you approximately $50-70,000. Custom CRM systems can vary in cost depending on their functionality and your company’s needs.

Cost to build custom CRM software as per different modules

We’ll focus on operational CRMs to give you a more precise estimate of how much it costs to build CRM software. Here is a brief overview of the various modules of CRM software that greatly facilitate the three main departments in a company: Sales, Marketing, and Customer Support. Additionally, it includes must-have features of CRM software.

Sales module:

The automation of some sales processes improves the performance of the sales team, enables them to close more new deals faster, and helps them manage and track clients. Here are the main features of the sales module and their approximate prices:

Functionality	Cost
Accounts, pipelines, opportunities, contacts, leads, tasks, dashboard	25,000-40,000$
Sales analytics	7000-9000$
Sales planning & forecasting	8000-12000$

Marketing module

Automating marketing processes can facilitate the development of successful marketing campaigns, track their performance, and organize marketing activities in a more effective manner. Below are the approximate prices of three key features of this module:

Functionality	Cost
Marketing campaign management	8000-10000$
Customer segmentation	8000-9000$
Marketing analytics	8000-9000$

Customer support module

An organization that works to benefit customers cannot survive without a well-established customer support system. A customer support module automates routine tasks and improves client assistance quality by automating the department’s routine tasks. Following are the main features and approximate prices of the customer support module:

Functionality	Cost
Help desk and agent console	22000-30000$
Knowledge base	4800-6000$
Service analytics	7000-8000$

Additional custom CRM development costs to consider

1. Cost of developing a custom software system

CRM projects begin with a clear understanding of the software’s purpose and fundamental requirements. Each criterion defines a feature that should be provided by the CRM system. This service includes market research, marketing analysis, competitive analysis, and developer advice.

2. The cost of training staff to use the custom CRM system

The cost of staff training is directly related to the time and effort invested. Thus, an acceptable protocol is required for the procedure. The program is typically reviewed by certain staff members before it is made public. The rest of the workforce will then be provided with the essential information and capabilities.

Furthermore, training materials can assist staff with any CRM-related challenges they encounter. The recommendations should be written in simple English and include step-by-step instructions for resolving problems.

3. The cost of technical support for custom CRM development

Despite their complexity and cost, CRM systems can have faults and mistakes. Therefore, it is necessary for companies to have a technical support solution that responds to and fixes issues faced by their employees. Choosing a CRM developer for your project is as easy as hiring a full-fledged firm like OpenXcell.

4. The cost of updating and upgrading a system

Maintaining CRM software’s peak functionality requires regular updates. The best way to improve a system is through employee feedback on how easy and quick it is to use, how well it works, and how fast it runs.

Factors that determine the cost of CRM software development

A custom CRM’s total development cost is influenced by four main factors.

1. Taking into account the complexity

CRM developers will have to spend more time, effort, and experience on difficult tasks. This is all part of the cost of custom CRM development. A complex system will cost more to develop, so the more functionality you need, the higher the cost.

2. Developers’ skill levels

A skilled professional can provide you with the CRM you need, while a novice can’t. By hiring dedicated developers to work on your project, some companies increase the average CRM software development cost.

3. Considering the number of users

The more staff use the CRM, the more money will be generated. It takes into account both the cost of setting up CRM at the workplace and the training of basic staff members. Thus, it affects the cost of developing a custom CRM system.

4. Choice of platform

Your choice of platform will determine the cost of CRM custom software development. A CRM application developed on Android requires more testing than one developed on iOS. Development may be prolonged and costlier as a result.

The Summery – Custom CRM Development Cost

A definitive answer cannot be given to the question, “How much does custom CRM development cost?” It takes time and effort from both sides in order to answer this question. It is likely that the cost of a fully-custom CRM will start in the $30,000 – 150,000 range, depending on your business’s specific needs and the features you wish to empower your staff with.

One of the main reasons why not everyone chooses CRM software is its high development costs. We, at OpenXcell, know a few tricks for making custom CRM development affordable. It is primarily about hiring dedicated developers outside the U.S. Reviewing client portfolios can also help you avoid unnecessary expenses. Start with a minimum viable product, which is cheaper than a complete CRM system.

OpenXcell is an established CRM software development company. Learn more about our CRM development services.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is creating a custom CRM the right choice?

Your business should use CRM software since it improves customer relations, optimizes marketing strategies, and enhances upselling efforts. Additionally, these tools will help you use your customer data to improve your marketing and sales efforts as well as make adjustments to your operations.

2. What types of CRM software are on the market?

CRM is divided into three types: collaborative, analytical, and operational systems. 

3. What is CRM software?

The CRM software helps you manage your organization’s relationships with individuals – such as customers, service users, colleagues, or suppliers – throughout the lifecycle of the relationship with them, from acquiring new customers to winning their business to providing support throughout the process.

4. What is the market value of a CRM tool?

As reported by Fortune Business Insights, the global Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market was worth USD 64.41 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow by 12.0% from USD 71.06 billion by 2023 to USD 157.53 billion by 2030.

5. What are the factors that impact the cost of CRM software development?

Various factors affect the cost of custom CRM software, including the complexity of the software, its design, the size of the team, and the platform choice.

6. How do enterprise CRM solutions work?

CRM software is the operating system that streamlines the entire process of managing and maintaining great relationships with customers and potential clients. Every interaction with a customer is recorded, and using that data, pipelines can be monitored, tasks can be automated, reports can be generated, and real-time metrics can be displayed.

7. How much time does it take to develop custom CRM software?

The development will take around 470 hours if you only need basic must-have features. A complex project with unique features may require a development time of approximately 1100 hours.