A few months ago I was looking for some software that was CRM-like. We are a bit non-traditional, and don't fit neatly into the typical CRM use cases.
Twenty was almost what we needed. It was extremely easy to set up, the customization is very promising, and the REST API worked ok.
The main issue is that it was pretty alpha-version, and I ran into quite a few small issues that just just made it not quite work for us. Either way, I'm keeping an eye on it, and will re-evaluate again at some point. Hopefully it keeps its customizability.
My startup [0] works with a lot of companies that are non-traditional, as you put it, and gives you the tools to design a CRM (and other business tools) that actually suit your business, if you want to check it out
We are academic group who is looking to increase collaboration both in industry and academia. While we have "products" (which we don't sell), we also have other initiatives like an education program. We also may want to set up a consortium with industry, which may include them giving us money, but not in a "buy a product or service" sense (but still needs to be thoroughly tracked).
So I'd really like a platform that holistically tracks people and our engagement with them. Some of this is done by traditional CRM, but the focus on selling products & services is too narrow.
Some desired features:
* Tracking our contacts, so we don't forget to follow through on something (CRM generally does this)
* Tracking people through time. If/Where they did their PhD, postdoc, are they in industry now. CRM I've looked at tend to be very fixed-point in time.
* What their research interests are and have been. Are they in an area we are looking to expand into? What conferences do they typically go to?
* How they have engaged with us before. Was it through an educational workshop? Did we mentor them in a mentorship program? Just someone we met sometime and seemed interested? People can be part of multiple groups.
* If they are using our projects, how are they using them? We are looking for good stories to give to our own funding agencies (and for general marketing).
* If they are interested in giving us money, what is the status of those talks?
If there's a better term for software that does this kind of thing, I'm very open to ideas. This isn't a strength in academia, as is pretty obvious, and I'm very new at this :)
You seem in a unique position with respect to needs and opportunity. So
many organisations go looking for a tool mainly to quench a vague
desire to systematise. The temptation is to think, "we can't be so
different, surely there's a solution out there that already solves
this problem". Reuse, not reinventing wheels, all fine and
good... but in fact the "problem" is ill-formed and before you know it
you end up fitting what you do, and your horizons, to a tool not of
your making, adapting what you do to someone else's paradigm.
So why not build it? Sounds like you have the academic and research
resources. It's just entities, relations and timelines. There's a
thousand ideas out there in games, logistics and asset tracking that
are so nearly what you want and can be adapted. Many now well known
tools only evolved as a side effect of another niche business need, to
scratch a singular itch.
I've been using https://clay.earth for this - it does #s 1-2 by default, and the rest can be done with notes on a particular contact. More people focused than lead focused so might work for what you need
What features were you missing? Currently Im part of a team making a CRM based on more niche kind of customer and were trying to retrieve more information about what other CRMs lack
Twenty was almost what we needed. It was extremely easy to set up, the customization is very promising, and the REST API worked ok.
The main issue is that it was pretty alpha-version, and I ran into quite a few small issues that just just made it not quite work for us. Either way, I'm keeping an eye on it, and will re-evaluate again at some point. Hopefully it keeps its customizability.
Never found anything more suitable, though.