Are You Sure You Want To Do That?
As we think about Memorial Day Weekend and the official start of summer here the states I have to reflect back on Labor Day Weekend last year, the official end of summer, and the official end of our boat of 19 years. We gave it a proper burial over the winter and then followed the rite of spring by shopping for a replacement. Having narrowed it down to two previously skippered vessels, we set out one Saturday morning in late March to examine the finalists up close. We had looked all winter long, made a number of flip flops, and finally settled on a particular model that seemed to fit our needs. Within a couple hours radius of our place there were two that seemed to stand out.
The first was waiting for us lakeside, just having been unwrapped from its winter blanket. It was spotless and gleamed in the early spring sun even while there was still a bit of rogue snow on the hillside overlooking the marina. Nevertheless, the prospect of summer enjoyment exuded from this candidate. It had everything we wanted and was in pristine condition as if just from the factory.
Our second visit was to the sister ship sitting curbside a few towns away - the exact model and color, just in a different setting. However, immediately there was an obvious difference. The proud owner offered up a tour and explained every critical customization that lurked around each corner. We were flabbergasted. Why had he done these things? It was like having your teen come home with a nose ring or a tattoo covering an entire limb. We ran from this boat as fast as we could politely end our inspection.
Certainly one of the most significant learnings about CRM we have reached as a company is that customization can be fraught with danger. For many of our clients it really seemed to make sense at the time - building a cozy little addition to the code that made something easier or made it seem a bit better of a fit to an existing work process. But the dangers lurk and eventually emerge with time. Something changes, most likely a process, and you want to use the system a bit differently. However, that nifty little customization is now in the way. Your flexibility has been reduced and the repair will include a huge price tag – if it can be undone. When we stepped on that second boat, this was all I saw – those small changes that were irreversible and made the boat seem tainted.
This CRM technology snag seems to catch our SaaS customers most often. These systems can be appealing for their ease of administration, but there is a risk that too much is modified. Many of my clients wish they had not made some of the changes that seemed like such a good idea at the time. The system gets clunky and the costs add up. Ironically, these same packages often come with a boat load of applications readymade to satisfy those needs that otherwise would have required some custom bit of coding. Want to capture training requirements within your CRM platform? Would it be great to include expense tracking? Feel the need to do something really fancy regarding territory assignment? You will most likely be better off with the app that somebody else already built and tested. Some of them are even free!
Yes, we are back on the water again, and, yes, we went with the un-customized watercraft. There is one change we did choose to make, although there is a bit of a risk associated with this particular customization. Folklore dictates that changing a boats’ name brings bad luck, unless you through a coin in the bilge. With my luck, I should probably use a Krugerrand.
