TL;DR – This blog article covers how a new OpenCRM feature comes to life through our ideas board, customer and staff suggestions, and direct chats with our OpenCRM users.
In this blog, we will explore the essential crm features that every business should consider.
Among the numerous crm features, tracking customer interactions is paramount. Understanding crm features can help streamline your business processes. Utilising the right crm features can enhance customer satisfaction.
For example, automation is one of the most sought-after crm features. These crm features are designed to improve efficiency and productivity.
Key crm features to consider include customisation and integration capabilities. Many companies find that the reporting crm features are invaluable for decision-making.
We update OpenCRM with new features all the time. This means you and your team will always have the best, most up-to-date features we can offer you. Understanding these crm features can set your business apart from the competition. In the context of crm features, customer feedback can drive improvements.
As we explore the strategic roadmap, crm features will be at the forefront. We are committed to evolving the crm features that matter most to our users. With updated crm features, OpenCRM can adapt to your business needs.
These improvements are a direct response to user demands for enhanced crm features. With a closer look, you can discover which crm features can transform your workflow. We are always looking to add innovative crm features that enhance the user experience.
Collaborating with users helps us refine existing crm features and introduce new ones. Through feedback, we identify the crm features that deliver the most value. Knowing the key crm features can help you leverage OpenCRM to its fullest potential. But where do these features come from?
And how do they make it into your system? This blog is here to talk about exactly that: the OpenCRM features process.
Ideas for New Features
Key CRM Features
New features are introduced into the main process in one of two ways:
- As part of our strategic plan/roadmap for the system
- A suggestion from a customer or member of staff
Strategic Roadmap
It’s a bit of an understatement to say we have a plan for OpenCRM… both as a system and as a business.
When it comes to the system, both Phil (our technical director) and I know what we want it to do and what it will take to get it there.
This includes everything, from general functionality to integrations.
Quite often, we’ll develop a new feature as part of this roadmap and then spend several years expanding on it. This is especially true of our integrations.
Idea Suggestion
Although I have a picture in my head of what OpenCRM as a system will look like in the future, I know that I’m not the only one using it…and I’m certainly not the only one with ideas about how it could be improved.
Many of our best features started life because one of our customers (or members of staff) made an observation or suggestion.
Recognising this, we added an Ideas Board to our website, where people can go to suggest new features and vote on other people’s ideas.
Do we have what it takes?
We don’t restrict which features you have access to in OpenCRM based on how many users you have. You get everything right out of the box. Click to find out if we’ve got the features you need. find out more
Reviewing and Deliberation
Any feature suggested by someone other than Phil or me must be reviewed to ensure it aligns with the system’s overall strategic plan.
This review process takes place during board meetings but is quite informal.
We look at the idea, assess how much interest it has had, and then discuss how long we think it will take to develop and whether it is right for us.
If the answer is positive on both questions, it gets added to our Roadmap. The development time (and popularity) of a suggestion will help decide how soon we can start working on the new feature.
The Development Process
Once a feature makes it into the Roadmap, its next stop is with one of our development teams.
They’ll work with Phil (and others) to fully flesh out the idea, which includes:
- figuring out how it’s going to work,
- what settings it will need,
- how it will impact other areas of the system,
- whether there are any security or permissions questions around it,
- and a whole host of technical questions.
And then the work begins…time for code, code, code.
I’m sure Phil could tell you all sorts of interesting stuff about this stage of our new features process…but he’s not writing this blog.
Quality Assurance
The final stage in the development process is Quality Assurance (QA).
Proper QA is essential for software development. At the highest level, it involves testing that the new feature does what it is intended to do.
In reality, it also involves ensuring that the language is clear and understandable, that the appearance is consistent, and that all necessary guidance documents are in place before it goes live.
It also means checking that other areas of the system aren’t being affected unexpectedly.
Let us take you on a tour
You’ve had a look around and are starting to think OpenCRM might be the system for you and your business. Why not chat with one of our team (and ask your burning CRM questions) as they take you on a tour of the system? find out more
Releasing into the Wild
Once the new feature is written, tested, and documented, it’s time to release it to our users.
And this is my favourite part.
We get to write articles and social media posts about it, and I get to talk to customers and prospects about it, showing off all the hard work of the team.
In cases where specific people have expressed interest in this feature, I get to let them know it is ready to use in their system. Some of these features really will make a huge difference in their business processes, so it really is the fun bit.
Then the process starts over. Extending and building on a system that I’m so proud of and that I’ve seen grow from day one.
So if you’ve got any ideas…I’d love to hear them. Or if you would like to dive straight into an OpenCRM system and take a look around, click the free trial button in our top menu or directly below.
Want to take it for a test ride?
Nothing compares to trying out a piece of kit for yourself. Click to sign up for a free trial and see if OpenCRM has the look and feel (as well as the features and functionality) that you’re looking for. try it out
