Converting to a B2C CRM Model

[JoeFolsom]

We just bought SugarCRM and want to create a B2C model rather than the B2B model that comes out of the box with SugarCRM.

Problem: We don't have Accounts. All our contacts (except vendors) are individuals, consumers not companies.

My question is how do we alter the SugarCRM interface to eliminate the "Accounts" schema without negatively impacting the current work-flow & relationship schema. Is there a quick solution to this without having to rebuild the schema? I have reviewed "Sugar 5.5.0 Pro Schema Diagrams.pdf" found in the doc downloads.

At first glance, it looks like we could do one of the following. Your thoughts?

Option One - Simply hide the Accounts tab and not use it. Problem here is SugarCRM will not allow me to create a lead without first assigning it to an Account.
Option Two - Rename the Accounts Tab & modify the Accounts screen to reflect "Contact" interaction. Challenge with that approach is what to do with the existing "Contact" tab & screen. Don't want to have to enter the same data twice.

We have the following:

* Contacts - These include all contacts such as prospects, leads, vendors, competitors, associates, etc.
* Leads - These include prospects that have not be qualified yet. Leads we receive from the web, walk-ins, partner leads, shows, etc. We intend to apply work-flow criteria here.
* Opportunities - These are qualified leads and those we are actively engaged with. We intend to apply specific work-flow criteria here.
* Clients - These are our past customers with whom we want to stay in touch as they are a major source of leads and referrals. We intend to apply a trickle campaign to keep in touch with these clients.

Suggestions on an easy way to address this?

Thanks,

Joe

[glipoth]

Hey Joe,

I just wrestled with this one. The major difference however is that I do at times need Account Functionality. (key being only sometimes) What I have decided to do is create what I call a place holder Account to "house" my Contacts. You can still disable the accounts tab if you wish, but I would reconsider -

It is one extra step that would look like this -

(I see that you build log homes - nice)

1. Bill and Sue Smith contact you and inquire about having a log home built. They are not yet clients, just kicking tires.

- Assuming it is Bill that has contacted you, create a Lead named Bill Smith (or Sue Smith depending on who you are in contact with mostly at this point)
- When you create this lead, simply type "Smith, B&S" under Account name - this will come in handy later.

2. Now they want a quote and plans to build.

- Convert the lead to an Opportunity. In doing so, it will automatically create the Account ("Smith, B&S") and a Contact under that Account. (Assume the created Contact to be "Bill Smith")
- At this point I would also create a Contact for the other spouse attached to the "Smith, B&S" Account. This might come in handy down the road: as the project matures, some of the inquiries might need to be directed at Bill, and some at Sue, and so it may be handy to have two separate contact records for them. This architecture will facilitate this without causing too much work to set up.

I just think you should reconsider not using "accounts" - this can add some functionality down the road that may not be obvious now.

Greg

[JoeFolsom]

Thanks for the feedback Greg. I can see how this would work, but there are still some redundant data entry that will be needed under this scenario. Since Bill & Sue most likely live together as husband and wife, it would be nice to have them under one contact. I was thinking of adding a spouse field to do that.

Let me ask you about another scenario:

We actually have 5 distinct lines of business:
1. Design - We do a lot of custom design for mid to high end homes.
2. Custom Home Project - To build what we designed
3. Modular Home Project - Our economical alternative to a custom home
4. Real Estate (Land Purchase so they can build a home)
5. Real Estate Home Purchase (buy a home already built)

(See link here for an example of an estate size home we just finished.

What if I set up the "Accounts" to be one of these types of engagements? Understand we will have clients that move from one type to another. For example,we may sell a lot to a client (#4), after months or even years with some clients they move on to the Design Stage (#1), then to building (#2 or #3). I know I can do all this with work flow and intend to do exactly that, but would creating these separate lines of business under the Accounts category work? I would want to strip out a lot of the fields on the Accounts Screen since phone, address, etc. would not apply in this scenario until you got to Contact, Lead or Opportunity.

Your thoughts????

I just talked our company into buying Sugar (we have only had it for a week) and I have to find a workable solution to this to save face. Thanks for your help here.

Joe

[agcopley]

Hi Joe,
Just to reiterate the advice given earlier that Sugar has an account based structure and accounts are essential for all sorts of modules such as Quotes, Projects, Cases. In my experience, with oracle and with Sugar, is that you will only be postponing the problem by not using them from the start.

Rgds
Andrew

[JoeFolsom]

Understand, but our business is not Account based, it is client based, so I need to determine a viable solution to make this work. In fact quotes, projects or Cases are of secondary if any importance to us. All I want to do is manage my B2C contacts, leads & Opportunities with the significant work flow capabilities SugarCRM has. There has to be a way to work around this. I accept the "Account' based structure within SugarCRM, now how do I make this work for a B2C model? This other company has incorporated this capability into their SugarCRM solution. I'm not a programmer and we are a small company. Any suggestions to make SugarCRM work for my B2C application?

Thanks,

[agcopley]

Understand, but our business is not Account based, it is client based, so I need to determine a viable solution to make this work. In fact quotes, projects or Cases are of secondary if any importance to us. All I want to do is manage my B2C contacts, leads & Opportunities with the significant work flow capabilities SugarCRM has. There has to be a way to work around this. I accept the "Account' based structure within SugarCRM, now how do I make this work for a B2C model? This other company has incorporated this capability into their SugarCRM solution. I'm not a programmer and we are a small company. Any suggestions to make SugarCRM work for my B2C application?

Thanks,

Given that you really dont want to use accounts, then you will need to configure (program) Sugar to accept Leads conversions without accounts. If you place an ad in the Classifieds, you will receive interested parties.

Rgds
Andrew

[dtokeefe]

Hi,

As noted above, Accounts are really an integral part of SugarCRM. Modifying the system to disable them is likely to cause trouble down the road. The best solutions for B2C are:

a. Create a placeholder Account AND / OR

b. Use Account to represent Family. E.g. John and Jane Doe are Contacts in the Doe Account. Since there are many common last names, you might make the Account names = Last Name + dash + phone number (e.g. Doe - 908 998-2278).

Best regards,

David

[jjwdesign]

I have to chime in on this one. Don't not avoid using accounts. It will only make your life much more difficult. With SugarCRM, it's best to stick with the intended use of it. It may become more clear as you develop experience with the system. We have a CRM that is mainly has Residential system sales and we still have an account which represents the 'location' or 'address' - nothing more.

[mangesh1757]

Just to add some technical support to the whole conversation .... if one require to convert lead with a functionality of not to create account can be achieved as follows...

edit config.php file, location of this file is at root directory ..search for require_accounts and modify as under,

'require_accounts' => false,

Thanks

[datamerc]

I am new to SugarCRM and, like Joe, would like to use it in a B2C environment.

Is it reasonable to just add fields to the Account module (for items that exist in the Contacts module such as first name, last name, spouse) and not use the Contacts module at all. This would allow us to still utilize the Opportunities and other modules that rely on Accounts.