Why You Should Consider a Custom CRM for Your Business

Currently, 82% of businesses use CRM systems. Many of them — Custom CRM. 

What they noticed is that each dollar invested gives $8.71. Their customer retention rate has also increased!

With numbers like these, it’s little wonder businesses think if they should be investing in CRM. More to the point, should they be investing in a customized CRM — one that will be built exactly to suit their very unique needs? 

Well, it depends. It depends on the complexity of your business, your needs, features you want to add, and long-term goals. In this situation, the correct solution is worth its weight in golden value. Choose wisely.

So, why should you consider a custom CRM for your business? In this blog post, you’ll learn:

• What is a custom CRM, and who needs it? 
• The TOP benefits of custom CRM В чем отличие? 
• When to choose a ready-made CRM and when to benefit from an off-the-shelf solution? 
• Key features to look for in a custom CRM? 
• How much does it cost to build a custom CRM?

Let’s start the ball rolling!

What is a custom CRM? 

Let me begin with the very basics: what is a custom CRM? 

The CRM system is basically a place for centralizing all the important information related to your business processes. That could be your customer information, such as contact details, communication history, and purchase behavior. That could also be data related to sales leads, support tickets, and marketing campaigns. 

There are two types of CRM systems: out-of-the-box or pre-built ( such as Salesforce or HubSpot) and custom-built — for instance, those from Flatlogic. 

And you probably guessed it, but the difference is huge in the freedom and flexibility of each type. What is great about a custom CRM is you oversee the whole process. This means you know exactly what bottlenecks exist, and what steps should be taken in order to close your deals more efficiently.

Who needs a custom CRM?

Custom CRM can best fit:

• Businesses with unique, highly specific requirements

Businesses dealing in manufacturing, healthcare, or legal industries have quite specific requirements traditional CRM systems can be hard to accommodate. 

The golden rule is that the more specialized your applications are, the more likely you will be to end up well matched to a custom CRM.

Example: A medical practice may need a CRM that integrates patient records with appointment scheduling, billing, and lab results. Off-the-shelf CRMs often lack the complexity to handle healthcare regulations like HIPAA compliance, while a custom CRM can ensure both compliance and efficiency.

• Organizations with multiple systems that need integration

Relying on a suite of software tools (like ERP systems, project management platforms or accounting software) can be another factor to consider when choosing a custom CRM. In this case, CRM can serve as a central hub for all business operations. 

Example:  A retail company might have separate systems for managing its physical stores, online e-commerce platforms, and customer support. A custom CRM can integrate all these systems, providing a unified view of customer data, inventory, and sales. 

• Growing business that want to scale up

Scalability is critical for fast-growing businesses, and custom CRM could help overcome their limitations

Example: A SaaS company that starts small may outgrow a pre-built CRM as it expands to multiple regions and product lines. A custom CRM will provide the flexibility to add new workflows, track regional sales teams, and even adapt to regulatory environments in different countries.

• Enterprises with advanced data and reporting needs

Custom CRM helps businesses to go beyond standard CRM reports. The thing is that large organizations often require reporting tools tailored to specific KPIs. And custom CRM systems allow you to rely on your own metrics and create personalized dashboards (which demonstrate in-depth analytics). 

Example: A global financial services company might need a CRM that offers granular insights into customer transactions, risk management, and compliance reporting, with capabilities to run complex financial models based on customer data.  

Expert tip! If you are a startup in its early stage, with basic needs and a limited budget, the better choice is to start with a ready-made solution. Later, you can switch to a custom CRM. 

Now, let’s proceed to the benefits of choosing a custom CRM. 

TOP benefits & features of custom CRM

Dive into the main benefits custom CRM systems offer. 

Tailored for your business like a glove

A custom CRM is designed for your business processes and specific requirements. It allows your business to grow and scale more efficiently, 

The fact that 22% of businesses quit their CRM because of the complexity of use is clear evidence  —  a powerful and well-designed CRM is important. 

Remember: adjusting generic CRM to your needs is always a more time-consuming and expensive process. 

Benefits:

• You’re not paying for unnecessary features
• More intuitive for your team since it’s designed around your actual workflow
• Ability to grow and scale as your business does

Features:

• Custom workflows
• Custom fields and modules
• Custom permissions

Improved integration 

Stats show that companies today use over 1,000 applications, and 70% of them are poorly integrated. Businesses spend more than $4 million on average to solve this problem. 

You don’t have this problem with custom CRM. A custom CRM smoothly integrates with your marketing and accounting software, or email platform with no need to switch between tools and manually transfer data.

Benefits:

• Time spent on manual data entry and transfers is reduced
• You can assign specific dashboards to specific employees. This means employees have access to information essential to their work

Features: 

• Email integration
• Social media integration
• Third-party API integration

Enhanced user adoption

There is a common problem: people may be less eager to adopt new solutions, especially when these solutions are unintuitive or too complex. And what’s the sense of having a CRM when employees do not use it, even if it’s free? Right?

Benefits:

• Greater enthusiasm and adoption
• Higher overall productivity

Features:

• Mobile accessibility
• User-friendly interface

Automation and workflow

CRM automation is a powerful tool for monitoring and prioritizing leads, accelerating deals, improving decision-making, and much more. 

Imagine: You don’t need to track each interaction, spend hours updating user info, or send countless follow-up emails — all manually!

Leave boring and mundane tasks to the system and focus on what matters most — your vision and business growth. 

Benefits:

• Increased efficiency
• Reduced human error

Features:

• Email templates and automation
• Automated alerts and notifications
• Task automation

Interesting fact: The companies improved their sales by 14.5% due to automation. 

Data-driven insights

According to the report conductedt by McKinsey, companies that use data-driven analytics can make their decisions 5-10 times faster! Moreover, you also have a 23 times higher chance of getting new customers. 

We see this as a powerful competitive advantage. And this is where a custom CRM can really shine.

Benefits:

• Better decision-making
• Tailored insights

Features: 

• Customizable dashboards
• Data visualization tools
• Real-time reporting
• Advanced filtering and segmentation

Personalized customer experience

Speak to each customer individually. 

Brands that truly care about their customers to be happy with their experience bring 5.7 times more revenue. The chances that those customers come back also increase!

Benefits:

• Improved customer satisfaction

Features:

• Customer profiles
• Interaction history
• Behavior tracking

Now that we know what benefits custom CRMs offer, let’s explore the best fit: ready-made CRM or custom-built solution? 

Ready-made CRM vs. Custom-built. What’s the best option?

Earlier we’ve talked about the benefits of custom CRMs and who may need them. But let’s dive deeper and consider the most important factors influencing your decision. 

Each model has its own pros & cons. It all depends on your business needs. 

Criteria	Ready-made	Custom-built
Implementation time	Minimal setup and requires less time	Longer setup time due to custom development and integration
Cost	More affordable	Higher upfront costs. However, this solution can be more cost-effective in the long run
Customization	Limited customization options and only predefined features	Highly customizable and is able to meet unique business requirements
Business size	More suitable for small and mid-size businesses	Suitable for larger or rapidly growing businesses with complex operations
Integration needs	Basic integrations with popular tools	Can be built to integrate with any system or third-party software (ERP, custom apps, etc.)
Reporting & analytics	Standard reporting and dashboard	Can be customized for in-depth analytics, role-specific dashboards, and unique KPIs
Maintenance	Provided by CRM vendors with regular updates, but limited to vendor’s roadmap	In-house or outsourced development and maintenance, with full control over updates and features

Here is the opinion of the CEO at Flatlogic on how to make the decision:

“Most standard SAAS CRMs are very specific and work only for a limited set of use cases. Every business is ultimately unique and has its own nuances that are impossible to catch with a standard CRM available online. With modern tools, such as our code generator, it is possible to generate a custom CRM TAILORED to your specific use case, hence fitting you the way you are. Your CRM adapts to you, not the opposite way.”

What does a custom CRM from Flatlogic offer? 

Flatlogic has created a unique solution that helps you get highly customizable CRM systems for your business in minutes.  

With the help of our AI code generator, you can create CRM for any industry. Quickly and efficiently. Our solution is for business owners wishing to save both —  time & money, as Flatlogic’s CRM cost starts only from $33 per month. 

Our CRM is a skeleton that can be easily customized to suit your specific needs. We cover both the front and backend. The main changes you may want to make relate to the frontend, where you can tailor the user interface to create a personalized experience for your team and customers.

Features of our CRM systems:

• Modular architecture 
• Rapid deployment
• Highly customization
• Integration capabilities
• Robust security features
• User-friendly interface

Technical details:

• Both frontend and backend
• Three roles: super-admin, admin, general user
• Backend languages: Node,js, Lavarel
• Frontend languages: React, Angular, Vue
• Database options: MySQL, PosgreSQL
• Cloud-based system

One of the main advantages of CRM from Flatlogic is that you will have full control over its features and workflows. You can review and change the data entities, display types, and fields. The platform even shows how many hours you saved by using the code generator. 

When finished, your web-based CRM will automatically deploy to the cloud. The frontend and backend databases will be available in less than five minutes. 

Important note! Although even a child can generate a CRM with the help of Flatlogic, it would be helpful to have basic knowledge of programming to customize things. 

How much does it cost to build a custom CRM? 

Before proceeding to the final decision, it’s highly important to understand the costs and a potential ROI. 

Custom CRM is not a small investment, but, as we previously mentioned, sometimes, it is the best and only choice to make your company thrive. The options vary, and businesses can pay even $500,000 or more for custom CRM systems. Of course, there are much cheaper alternatives (they cost only a few thousand dollars). The more complicated your processes are, the higher the chances that you need a custom CRM. 

If the development team uses pre-built frameworks or code generators (like Flatlogic’s AI-based solutions), it can significantly reduce the time and cost of development, potentially lowering the price by 30% to 50%.

Remember: the cost of building a custom CRM is one thing. The cost of maintenance is another. Typically, companies pay up to 20% of the initial development cost per year. This includes bug fixes, feature enhancements, performance optimization, etc. 

Important factor	How much does it cost?	How much does it cost with Flatlogic?
Development cost	From a few thousands of dollars	From $33
Potential ROI	Depends on efficiency gains and customer retention	Potentially higher ROI with tailored solutions
Long-term investment	Significant upfront cost with long-term benefits	More affordable entry point with scalable solutions

Summing up…

Let’s recap the main points. 

As we’ve explored, custom CRM is the best choice for you if your business requirements meet one or more of the five important criteria. 

These are niche markets or specific workflows, the need to integrate multiple software tools, systems, or apps, planning for growth, complex reporting needs, or enhanced user adoption. 

The key to success is that only you can decide whether you need a custom CRM system. And Flatlogic’s code generator is a super-easy way to create a highly customizable CRM that fits your specific business needs within minutes. Try our code generator and see what it can do for you!