Should you buy or build a CRM software for your moving company

There should be little question that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can offer immense value to any business. There are a plethora of CRM features that every business can use, each according to its own needs. This is particularly true for moving industry growth, as we at MoversTech have argued manifold in the past. However, when researching which solution fits one best, some reasonable concerns often arise; mainly, costs, integration, and personal criteria. Thus, the question that naturally follows is, “should you buy or build CRM software for your moving company?” While this question has a clear-cut answer for many, it is indeed a subject worth exploring in some depth.

Buying vs building CRM software

Building one’s own CRM software is, admittedly, quite a frequent option, much more so than one might assume. Buying such software is simple and efficient, but building home-grown solutions can be particularly alluring. This is especially true for businesses that possess web development manpower and resources to afford such ventures.

However, such homegrown solutions don’t simply offer a unique, tailor-made CRM; there would be no dilemma if that were the case. Instead, they also entail some often overlooked drawbacks and caveats as well. By the same token, simply buying standard CRM may appear to be insufficient to meet the unique needs of one’s company, despite the conveniences. Thus, you should carefully consider all factors when deciding whether you should buy or build CRM software, for your moving company or otherwise.

Reasons to build CRM software?

Initially, let us consider the most frequent reasons why companies, in the moving industry or otherwise, consider building CRM software themselves.

Homegrown CRM is tailor-made

Arguably the very first factor that comes to mind, homegrown CRM software is tailor-made to suit your moving company’s needs. From dashboards to functionality and everything in-between, building such solutions from the ground up ensures it facilitates your operations. Furthermore, the absence of functions that are unnecessary for you can help your employees adopt it more easily. Whether you buy or build CRM software for your moving company, adoption rates are indeed a noteworthy factor to consider.

Custom CRM may be cheaper at the user level

The next factor many consider is operational cost. Custom-built CRM can indeed be cheaper per user since it’s not subject to pricing based on user numbers. Furthermore, moving companies tend to differ significantly in size and scope, so they may not use CRM with similar frequency. Adding users who don’t need to use it as often can make pricing feel unwarranted. However, it’s noteworthy that the total costs of creating and maintaining CRM extend much further than user pricing alone.

Homegrown CRM is easier to integrate with existing homegrown assets

Finally, a reasonable concern lies in integration with existing homegrown assets. Many companies across various industries already rely on homegrown solutions for other workflows before considering CRM. As such, they need to ensure proper integration, to avoid disrupting workflows and incurring potential damages during the adjustment period. That’s particularly vital in cases where different departments use different solutions, and custom CRM seems like an ideal solution.

Why should you buy CRM software?

Then, let us examine what simply buying CRM software offers – and how it measures up to the aforementioned factors.

Existing CRM software can instantly meet your specific needs

Every company is unique; one can hardly deny this fact. But nonetheless, most companies across most industries share similar needs and goals – and how the moving industry benefits from CRM is no different in this regard. Namely, one could likely identify the following reasons for using CRM;

• A consolidated database for customer management and performance insights
• Automation tools for streamlining non-creative processes
• Marketing, sales, and internal communication tools

The benefits of CRM extend much further than those 3 key points, but those are arguably the most vital. Thus, if you’re wondering if you should buy or build CRM software for your moving company, those should meet your related needs. The core features of most CRM solutions in the market today can provide such functionality, be they basic or specialized solutions. Should your needs be even more specific, you can consider whether specialized operational, analytical, or collaborative CRM can best fit your company’s goals.

Commercial CRM is more likely to cost you less as a whole

While pricing may be a deterring factor for many, simply buying CRM software should be cheaper on the whole in most cases. Case in point, consider the potential costs of custom CRM;

• Development costs
• Server costs
• Maintenance costs

When debating whether you should buy or build CRM software for your moving company, you’ll need to consider all such costs – especially if you own a smaller moving business. Commercial CRM offers a solution that won’t drain your resources and time to create. Tech support will not be your responsibility, and commercial servers can likely guarantee uptime more confidently than in-house ones.

Existing CRM solutions offer integration with market-leading assets

Finally, the concern over integration with homegrown platforms and assets is a challenging subject to tackle. Many companies, moving or otherwise, have such conditions to worry about. However, building more homegrown solutions on top of these assets is likely not a viable long-term strategy. It can be very prohibiting to start the transition away from such solutions and toward up-to-date, commercial ones, but it is arguably the wiser choice.

Furthermore, most commercial CRM solutions already come with considerable integration options. If you need to temporarily integrate it into legacy assets, many developers offer customization options that may suffice. But should you transition into new platforms and software for long-term longevity, commercial CRM will most likely integrate seamlessly.

Should you buy or build CRM software for your moving company?

In conclusion, then, buying commercial CRM should likely be a safer, cheaper, and a more future-proof option for most companies. Of course, if your company happens to be an exception that can overcome the aforementioned challenges, you may still consider building custom solutions. But in the vast majority of cases, the safer answer to whether you should buy or build CRM software for your moving company should simply be, “buy”.