A good CRM gives the company a clear overview of its customers. Sales, marketing and customer service representatives can see everything in one place — a simple, customizable dashboard that tells customers’ previous history with the company, the status of their orders, any outstanding customer relation details, and more. It eases engaging potential customers and increasing the loyalty of the existing ones.
From this definition of a good CRM, you can already see how complex this type of software is. CRM brings tons of information under one roof, and thus often balances between being useful and overwhelming for customers. Product design can help a CRM platform to get to the useful side.
Why does a good CRM user experience matter?
CRM is meant to be a substitute for spreadsheets. And as such, its primary function and value for the users is to make their lives easier.
Alas, that's not always the case in reality. And that's a problem as you can't very well expect users to be satisfied with your CRM (and keep paying for it) if they find it more difficult to use than the good old Excel.
A typical CRM is data-heavy, featuring complex workflows, multiple features, roles, and permissions. This complexity can sometimes make CRM systems challenging to use. Because of this, it detracts from the value the users are supposed to be getting out of it.
Case in point: one of the CRM design examples we worked on, Ricochet 360. When they came to Eleken for redesign, their user onboarding process was extremely lengthy. It took over a month.
When a CRM becomes too complex, users may abandon it for simpler alternatives, given the abundance of competitors in the market. Ricochet 360 was right to approach improving its functionality from the UX design perspective. Complexity is precisely the issue that UX designers can help tackle. As the name suggests, their job is to enhance the user experience of applications, making them more intuitive and user-friendly. At Eleken, we have a vast portfolio of designed and redesigned CRM systems, and in this article, we will share insights into our design process and the common mistakes to avoid.
CRM design process: main steps
Let us illustrate the CRM software design process using the example of Gridle, one of our recent clients. Gridle (now Clientjoy) is a CRM for freelancers and small agencies. It was launched back in 2013, so when Eleken joined a project in 2020, the design already needed significant improvements.
1. Baseline analysis
Since the task was to redesign the app, our first step was to analyze the original design.
Gridle was a complex app with a steep learning curve. It had a rich functionality for users to manage their leads, proposals, invoices, and email templates. Luckily for us, Gridle used the Inspectlet app to register everything their users did in the app. So we could review the recordings to understand which features get used more and which are completely ignored.
To figure out how each feature worked and why it was even necessary for the app, we made a detailed site map of the original product. Then we moved on to the next step:
2. Competitive research
To determine the features needed to make our client’s app more competitive, we ran a comparative study of eleven top players in the CRM market. The research gave us insights into worthy features we could implement. Yet those were only assumptions. To verify them, we had to talk to active users.
3. User interviews
Next, we conducted six in-depth interviews with Gridle users to understand what features they were actually lacking. Since no one from the product team was present on those calls, respondents didn't hesitate to tell about all the app's shortcomings they faced. Thus, we found some insights and places that could be improved.
To structure the information, we used empathy mapping.
4. Information architecture
After the research phase, we were ready to move to the design itself. First, we defined the scope of the app’s future features. Next, we needed to understand the relationships between the old and the new functional units. To visualize the new app structure, we’ve created a high-level information architecture.
5. Wireframing and prototyping
From there on, we’ve been moving step by step, designing the new functionality and improving the usability of existing features.
Clientjoy’s initial goal was to boost the company’s growth with the redesign. Given that the renewed app recently raised $800,000 in pre-series funding, the goal was achieved.
CRM design examples
After exploring the importance of thoughtful CRM design, let's examine how different platforms tackle the challenge of balancing complexity with usability. From minimalist layouts to AI-powered systems, these examples show how CRM design can work at its best.
Folk CRM – Minimalist Spreadsheet-Style for Simplicity
Folk CRM offers a clean and familiar spreadsheet-style layout, making it intuitive for users who prefer a table-based data organization.
The design focuses on simplicity, with customizable columns like name, email, and job title that can be easily sorted and filtered to suit user workflows. With a light color scheme and ample white space, Folk ensures a clutter-free interface, while a left sidebar facilitates easy navigation between different contact groups. The pop-up detail view maintains focus by displaying relevant information without taking over the entire screen, making it an ideal solution for teams seeking straightforward contact management.
Attio – Modular Design for Maximum Flexibility
Attio stands out with its modular approach, offering templates and customizable workflows for various use cases, from sales to customer success.
The table view uses color-coded tags and custom fields, which allow for a highly personalized setup. Attio’s flexible design accommodates different business needs without overwhelming users with features, providing just the right tools for each task. Reporting capabilities further enhance the experience by offering visual insights, like bar charts, that can be easily configured to track key metrics and gain data-driven insights.
Intercom – Streamlined Support with AI Assistance
Intercom’s CRM is optimized for customer support, featuring a multi-pane layout that categorizes conversations to streamline ticket management.
The interface is designed to help teams prioritize tasks quickly, with sections dedicated to support requests, bug reports, and other ticket types. Its AI-powered assistant automates responses and suggests actions, boosting team productivity. Additionally, performance metrics such as answer rates are prominently displayed on the dashboard, making it easier for teams to monitor support efficiency and improve response times.
Zendesk – Ticket Management Focused on Efficiency
Zendesk emphasizes ticket management with an interface that organizes support requests by priority, providing a clear overview for agents to tackle urgent issues first.
The left sidebar displays ticket updates, and the main view presents detailed information about each request, facilitating efficient case handling. Zendesk also offers robust reporting tools that visualize support metrics, helping teams track performance trends and identify areas for improvement. The design is tailored for organizations handling high volumes of support tickets, focusing on clarity and organization.
Gridle – Visually Engaging Kanban for Sales Tracking
Designed by Eleken, Gridle utilizes a Kanban-style layout for organizing leads across different sales stages, such as "In conversation" and "Closed won."
The color-coded cards and visual hierarchy provide a quick overview of lead statuses, making it easy for sales teams to track progress. The dashboard complements this with clear visualizations of funnel stages, lead sources, and conversion rates, ensuring essential sales metrics are always visible. Gridle’s design balances visual appeal with functionality, making it a solid choice for sales-driven teams seeking an intuitive CRM.
Favorably – Relationship-Centric Interface for Managing Connections
Favorably’s CRM, also crafted by Eleken, focuses on relationship management, offering a structured layout that emphasizes key metrics like relationship strength and last contact date.
Tags for interests and activity tracking make it easier to personalize outreach efforts. The interface includes both individual and team dashboards, showcasing important statistics like outreach frequency and referral performance. Favorably’s clean design and user-friendly navigation help teams keep track of connections and measure progress, enhancing relationship-driven sales management.
Top mistakes to avoid in building a CRM system
There are some common mistakes you should try to avoid when trying to build a custom CRM.
1. Confusing navigation
The simpler the user flow is, the quicker users can find necessary features or information. The data says that employees spend around 8% of their time searching for information they need to proceed with the tasks. The good CRM UX is called on to decrease this percentage (ideally, to zero!).
2. Chaotic forms & elements
To collect and systemize the customer data, the users usually need to fill out a lot of forms. When they are complex or unclear, it can become a huge problem. Text on buttons and input fields should make it obvious what the button does or what data one should enter.
When our designers started working on Ricochet 360, they analyzed the reason for the users' long learning curve. Adding new leads was one of the most used functions, and the screen had lots of troubles. For example, there were no cues on the data format for adding a phone number. Because of this, the users were far more likely to skip a figure.
On its own, when it comes to various CRM features, it might seem like a minor issue. But when you need to enter a lot of data manually, and there are no proper format cues and error alerts, making a mistake means the users must start it all over again.
When redesigning the "new lead" section for Ricochet, we started with adding clear cues (the light gray text examples in the fields) and alerts.
This way, the users could easily see if they entered the wrong data.
3. Poor usability
In CRM application design, this can include a range of issues, from broken links to a confusing sign-up process and uncoordinated brand colors.
In the case of Ricochet 360, one of the major usability issues, in addition to what we discussed above, stemmed from the fact the input forms asked for a lot of unnecessary information.
So, after fixing the labels of cues, in the end we simplified the screen to this:
You should always opt for collecting the minimal necessary information, whether it comes to filling such a form or, for example, a sign-up form. The option to add more data on this screen is hidden under the drop-down menu. Marking it blue makes it easy to find, but hiding it makes the screen less cluttered.
Pro-tip: consider whether your CRM is mobile-friendly, or at least works with different browsers and platforms. For complex SaaS products, it's still quite common to be desktop-only. However, you still should consider making the product as versatile as possible. That may be the competitive advantage you need.
4. Limited accessibility
You should make sure your CRM is accessible to people with disabilities. The easiest way to make your product more accessible is to keep the proper contrast ratio of text and background colors. Quite often, CRM system design requires a white label approach so that users can change the colors and logos according to their company's brand colors. However, even when designing such customization options, you should always keep in mind whether the chosen color scheme will end up readable.
For TextMagic, we included the option of customizing chats to align them with brand colors. However, allowing users to change the font size also makes the app more accessible, and when possible, you should allow this.
5. Outdated visual design
CRM app UI design impacts user engagement as well. Many established CRMs have over a decade-long history, and their visuals still send nostalgic Windows XP vibes. Some owners are reluctant to introduce more modern looks so as not to alienate the established users. However, seeing a modern design immediately signals to users that the product is up-to-date and doesn't lose to competitors. Redesigning Data Streams products involved both UX and UI rehaul to bring the product up-to-date.
While SaaS design does tend to focus on usability rather than aesthetics, you should still look for CRM interface design examples that look modern and fresh.
To sum up
Developing and designing a custom CRM is a complex, multi-faceted process that requires a thoughtful and knowledgeable approach. A well-designed CRM streamlines business processes and enhances customer relationships significantly. At Eleken, our team of experienced UI/UX designers is dedicated to creating CRM systems that are both functional and user-friendly, ensuring they meet the diverse needs of businesses and their customers. Whether you want to build your own CRM or looking to improve an existing one, our expertise in CRM UX design can provide the edge your business needs to stand out in a crowded market. Drop us a line to see how we can boost your product!
