As we saw in Chapter 1, CRM customizations fall into several classes. They are as follows:

Minor cosmetic changes will need the skills of someone who uses computer graphics software and likely some simple HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)—the code used to generate and format web pages. If none of your employees possess these skills, you will need the services of a local web development and graphical design organization. If you already have a company logo and accompanying color scheme, the costs to customize the look of your CRM should not be significant, but do expect to pay for additional services if you wish to create a new logo, or modify your existing one or color scheme.

Minor User Interface (UI) changes can often be accomplished by using customization tools built into the CRM package. In SugarCRM, for example, the administrative functions allow system administrators the access to a design studio where they can add new fields to a module, modify screens, rename field labels, and other related actions. Drop-down selection lists may be customized, menu options may be renamed or suppressed, and external websites may be linked into new menu items.

You are free to explore these features and use them to make all the minor UI changes you want. Alternatively, some businesses opt to hire a firm that specializes in the customization of CRM systems to perform this and other, more advanced customization work. Note that even if you hire an outside firm to apply the customizations, you or another appropriate individual from your organization will need to provide input to help steer the customizations.

As a precursor to this work, you should document the changes that you want applied, including the text for labels, type of fields that are required (based on your data input needs), field lengths, and other relevant information. It is best to assume that the person receiving your requirements is completely unfamiliar with the manner in which you conduct your business, even if the contrary is true. Remember, while a person customizing your system is able to provide guidance pertaining to the development of your customization, it is still critically important that your requests be as descriptive as possible, thus leaving little room for misinterpretation.

For the vast majority of organizations, major application changes and application integration work will require the use of professional CRM development and customization firms. This type of work can be expensive and as such, some diligence is required in identifying a well suited provider. Some of the key pointers that will help make your decision include the following:

You may wish to make your customizations in a step-wise fashion, to ensure that each step is affordable and yields measurable real-world benefits, as well as to test the supplier. Take care not to get into a front-loaded agreement that has you shelling out most of your budget for customization before you see changes that give you some level of comfort with the supplier.