CRM Software Maintenance - Is It Worth It?

When you get that friendly letter from your CRM software vendor each year with the word “Renewal” in it, what do you think? Many people are conditioned to paying software maintenance as a way of life and don’t give it a second thought. Others kick and scream at the apparent “injustice” of it. But really, what does CRM software maintenance get you?

Why, it gets you software updates for a year, of course, and most likely technical support as well. Here come the common objections. “I only call a couple of times a year – I’m not getting my money’s worth.” Or, “I don’t even implement half of the new functionality those updates give me because I don’t need it.” Yes, it can seem like we (and I say we because our company pays maintenance too) shell out lots of money and may not have a lot to show for it. But let’s take a look at what’s behind the standard CRM software maintenance fee.

The first thing to realize is that the technical support/software maintenance side of a CRM software vendor is typically a self-sustaining entity. That means it isn’t considered a cost center, but a profit center. Many manufacturing companies have taken the same approach with their customer support departments. The idea is that part of the business is funded entirely on the income received from maintenance contracts. Is that a good thing? Well, think of it this way – it makes sure your maintenance money is being used for what it is intended, rather than paying the CEO’s salary or funding a new-customer marketing campaign.

So if the maintenance money is kept in that department, what is it used for? Certain percentages of it will be allocated to areas such as technical support, bug fixes, and research & development of new features.

Technical Support – Part of your maintenance fee pays the salaries of the technical support personnel. It helps keep the head count at a level needed for acceptable response times. So you hardly ever call them? Some CRM companies offer the choice to separate phone support from software maintenance, and if yours does then you have some options. But many only offer maintenance and support as a bundle. In that case, think of it as an insurance policy that is there when you need it, with the cost of maintaining a support staff being shared by all the other software customers. The Big Catastrophe could be just around the corner, and there is nothing worth the money so much as tech support that gets your CRM system up again with minimum damage, and with minimum freak-outs from managers and users.

Bug Fixes and Compatibility Updates – Hey, those should be free, right? Well, there is usually an entire group of people dedicated to fixing problems, releasing service packs and hot fixes, and making sure the software doesn’t break after installing Microsoft’s latest enhancement. They have to be funded somehow. Again, not such a big deal until you really need it. But a hot (bug) fix can have a huge impact on your daily life if it takes care of a major process-disrupting problem, or even a frequent small annoying one.

New Features – A portion of the maintenance fee will go to R&D to fund the development of nifty new features. These features show up as either code enhancements or CRM functionality enhancements. Code enhancements are improvements to the program itself, such as performance improvements, better synchronization or new customization / admin abilities. CRM functionality enhancements are improvements to the CRM screens and processes you get out of the box, such as a new field on the Contact screen or a new Territory Realignment wizard. The issue is that while code enhancements are relatively easy to apply and are typically a benefit to most users, the CRM functionality enhancements are beneficial to a smaller group. The new feature must be deemed valuable and worth the effort to implement, and that tends to be dependent on each customer’s situation. For example, a CRM software vendor that releases an enhanced ordering module brings little value to a customer who has already written their own ordering module that does all they need, or it will at least be more work than it is worth to implement. But maybe some other new feature will be of interest. As long as the CRM vendor is good at listening to feature requests of existing customers, chances are there will be something for everyone in each update. So make your wish lists known - not just your bug discoveries.

So, is CRM software maintenance worth the money? I don’t expect anybody to write their checks more enthusiastically or think they’re getting a bargain, but maybe those fees will at least be a little easier to swallow. I have certainly had major problems solved by both tech support and bug fixes, and have my eye on some new features coming down the pike. While it is hard to be a “fan” of CRM software maintenance, I definitely appreciate the benefits.