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CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM)

As your business evolves, its requirements for streamlining and integrating its core business processes will also evolve. 

CRM solutions help businesses manage and organise interactions with customers and potential customers. They centralise customer data, streamline processes, and provide insights to improve customer engagement and overall business performance. 

CRM systems may form a part of a wider ERP solution. 

Most CRM solutions we support on are provided on a SaaS  basis but we also support:

  • Local implementation
  • Implementations within your own cloud environment
  • Virtualisation 

Some CRM solutions are supplied and implemented directly by the technology provider (such as Freshsales), while others are licensed by the technology provider but implemented using an implementation partner  (most commonly here we see Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics implemented by a range of differing implementation partners who are specialised in a particular sector). 

Our CRM experience

Our CRM experience

We have worked with many CRM providers, including:

  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Salesforce
  • Freshsales/Freshworks
  • Monday

We have also worked with add-on and related solutions.

Navigating CRM documentation & negotiations

Navigating CRM documentation & negotiations

CRM providers tend to have complicated document suites which need an experienced hand to navigate.

Licences from technology providers tend to have no (or very limited) scope for negotiation, but it is important for businesses to understand their rights, the types of licences they have acquired and the limits of the responsibilities of the technology providers. 

On the other hand, it is common to negotiate in implementation activities, particularly with implementation partners, and we are very experienced in this regard. 

CRM legal expertise

CRM legal expertise

We can support with:

Off the Shelf:
Off the shelf licence management and support services.

Customisations:
Large scale implementations, where engagement with vendor and system integrators for set up of environment, installation, configuration, testing and ongoing support come into play.

Bespoke development:
Bespoke development across different methodologies and approaches to delivery, from common methodologies to hybrid approaches. We understand how to manage contract and legal engagement to fit the process.

Implementation partners:
We work for both implementation partners and customers appointing implementation partners, making us very knowledgeable in this area.

CRM implementation support

  • Selecting the right solution requires:

    Determining your requirements (all your required business functions and gaps in existing systems). These should be categorised as:

    • Essential
    • Future essential
    • Desirable
    • Nice to have

    Assessing potential systems against those requirements and in particular assessing whether they are met:

    • Out of the box
    • Through configuration
    • Through development
    • Through integration with a third-party solution

    We are often brought into negotiations with a supplier after this has been finalised, yet we can add significant value at this stage, not least by controlling the “terms and conditions” that will apply at contract award. 

  • Necessary for larger implementations

    This is the first activity with the selected supplier, which sets the expectations between the parties. The aim is to gain as much specificity as possible, acknowledging that the detailed design phase goes to a much greater level.  

    Key issues are:

    • To ensure the scope ties back to the requirements. See Specification vs requirements
    • Identify and document any agreed “gaps” against the original requirements (as time moves on and requirements change)
    • Confirming what is out of the box vs through configuration vs through development vs through integration with a third-party solution
    • This can and should form part of the main contract, but we do often see this phase started in haste without the right contractual protection. It is possible to pull it back under the wider arrangement, but this can be difficult
  • Detailed design is where the design of the new system is finalised. This essentially covers the contents of blueprinting/scoping, but to a much greater depth, enabling both parties to be able to understand their respective obligations.

    It is important to see a detailed and comprehensive RACI matrix (Responsible/ Accountable/ Consulted/ Informed). 

    A very common area of dispute comes from a lack of understanding on the part of the customer as to its obligations and “over-optimism” on the part of the implementer in this respect. 

  • This is where the solution is configured and developed (as applicable) in accordance with the detailed design. 

    This may include developing custom modules, integrating with existing systems, and configuring the system to meet specific business requirements. 

  • Once built, the solution needs to be implemented. This involves deploying the new system, migrating data from existing systems, and training users on the new system. 

    It is crucial to have a well-defined plan for data migration and user training to ensure a smooth transition. 

  • There are differing elements to testing, whether (for example): 

    • Functional testing
    • Load testing
    • Penetration testing
    • User acceptance testing 

    It is important, yet often overlooked, to ensure that:

    • It is clear which party is responsible for which elements
    • How the acceptance criteria are to be set
    • How testing will take place
    • How achievement is determined
    • What happens if there is a failure

    Following successful acceptance testing, a date is agreed for go-live.

  • Necessary for larger implementations

    This is a short period of support immediately after go-live where typically the original team who built and implemented the solution remain on the project to monitor and deal with issues. 

    We work with clients to ensure hypercare runs for an appropriate period of time, that the right people are made available for hypercare and that appropriate response and resolution targets are applied, together with appropriate consequences for any failures. 

  • Life isn’t perfect and systems never quite run perfectly!

    Ongoing managed support is therefore an important part of the contracting process.

    See IT services 

Overlooked concerns

Overlooked concerns

Key concerns you may not have considered:

Specification
Getting the specification right and ensuring it is contractually binding.

Licence type/extent
Ensuring your licence is adequate for your needs now and in the future.

System resilience
Ensuring the system is resilient, but also dealing with your internal business continuity should the worst happen.

Notable work

Notable work

Advising various retailers on implementations of:

  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Saleforce
  • Freshsales/Freshworks
  • Monday

Advising Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation partners on customer arrangements

Advising an implementation partner on intellectual property rights in customised Dynamics modules

 

Loving technology

Our IT lawyers live and breathe all things digital and data

Speaking technology

Acronyms fill this sector. Our lawyers know most of them and love learning new ones

Embracing technology

Technology is critical to our success and something that we embrace

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Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.

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