1st February 2022 back to blog

The world is your Oyster when it comes to bespoke software solutions and how it can help your business both today and for your future growth plans. Let’s just recap on what bespoke software is. Put simply it is tailor made specifically to how your business works. So rather than ‘off the shelf’ solutions which require you to adapt your processes to fit around the pre-made software, with further bolt ons needed as your business expands.

Bespoke software is adapted specifically just for your business, providing improved efficiencies within your work processes and improved customer service to name just a few reasons. If you want more detailed information on this please refer to our previous blog post

In this blog post we are going to cover some examples of the types of bespoke software, sectors and business examples currently using bespoke software development companies to demonstrate what can be achieved for your business.

Work Processes

A software development company will work closely with you to understand exactly how your business operates both when dealing with your clients and how each process is managed among your employees.

So why is that important? Bespoke software development will provide greater efficiency by determining which processes within your business can be automated, limiting repetitive tasks. It allows for flexibility to easily assign tasks and projects in real-time among the team to increase productivity. Employees can easily see how far a project or customer order has progressed without needing to speak to anyone else in the team. This will enable your team to provide a quicker and accurate response to your clients. Along with freeing up their time to focus on other areas of the business.

An additional benefit is during the development process when working with a bespoke software development company, the work processes created for your custom software will be tailored to suit your existing processes and workflows. This is important as it saves training time for your staff as they are already familiar with the workflow. Whereas an ‘off the shelf’ solution will require your team to adapt how they work to suit how the software is set up, rather than being specific to your business processes.

Scalability

If this is the first time you are considering using a bespoke software development company, you may be thinking an ‘off the shelf’ solution will do the job and probably be cheaper. However the reality is many off the shelf softwares limit the number of users and require additional investment for including further business requirements in the future.

Therefore as your business grows and your team expands there will be limitations to using an off the shelf software solution. Whereas bespoke software grows with your business, with no need to pay for additional licenses or charges for additional applications and features.

Control the controllable!

Do you want to have a competitive advantage? A huge advantage of bespoke software is the control it provides your business to be developed down to the smallest detail of your business. At each step of the development process you will have as much involvement as you wish to make sure your bespoke software solution is tailored to your business for employees and customers.

Along with being easier to make changes in the future as your business grows and expands. Your bespoke software is your intellectual property, so you have control of how it is adapted in years to come to stay competitive. In comparison, if using off the shelf software solutions you will have no control over the changes they make to the software. Potentially deeming it no longer fit for purpose.

With bespoke software giving your business improved efficiencies and better customer service, ultimately your business will have a higher customer retention rate and potentially higher customer value. Your end users and your expert team within your business are fully understood when it comes to creating a bespoke solution. It is developed just for them!

Safety

The unfortunate reality is off the shelf software is prone to attempted hacks on a regular basis to gain customer information. This is the last thing you want for your business! Bespoke software is the safest solution. Firstly with it being specific to only your business, there is reduced probability to be a target from hackers and bespoke software is incredibly difficult for a hacker to attempt. So you can rest assured that your technology and digital transformation you have invested in is secure and protected.

If you are still wondering if your business is right for using bespoke software development services. Here are some industry and business examples to demonstrate what they have achieved using custom software development. Hopefully inspiring you to see what can be achieved for your business.

Construction

The construction industry has hugely benefited from software development solutions. This has been by reducing potential human errors that could have a negative impact for their clients and improved efficiencies within their team. This has been done by reducing or completely eliminating the need for pen and paper. This is important as paperwork can become lost or not completed correctly or delayed getting to the next employee to complete the project. User requirements can be adapted for each employee to ensure the full details are completed for each process and assigned with the touch of a button to the next employee.

Construction companies have used bespoke software packages to know in real time the location of equipment to ensure this is accurate when communicating with their clients and colleagues. Bespoke software allows for multiple departments to be easily integrated. For example the admin and accounting department save vital time with data entry of client information already entered from earlier workflow processes built into the custom software, saving the avoidance of double entry of data.

Manufacturing

Bespoke software has been a game changer for the manufacturing industry. With the ability to easily manage scheduling of projects for their team. The management team can easily manage each project, right down to each individual process along their project timeline. Accessing from either web applications or mobile applications to see the status of a project, assign new tasks or edit existing tasks. Each user can have different access levels across the software developed to suit business models.

Another advantage of custom software is the ability to enter and monitor stock movement within multiple warehouses in real time. This is vital for manufacturers to easily know their stock levels. Tailored software can also automate when a business requires to place their next order, ensuring stock levels are never too low or worst of all out of stock unexpectedly. Financial planning is another great bespoke web development to provide the management team with live data on their business, with reports easy to access. Features such as this save many businesses vital time with no need to manually create financial reports.

Property

Estate agents and letting agents are a growing trend of companies who want to streamline their services and in a competitive field with the need to position themselves as the best agency. Developing bespoke software enables them to do just that. The features that can benefit their company brand are endless from automating reminders for landlords and tenants of vital legalisation and paperwork to complete, such as electrical and gas certification, property annual checks, remortgage reminders. All before a competitor approaches their existing client.

This isn’t limited to property. Any industry and business can benefit from automating tasks for your employees. Not only improving employee satisfaction by freeing up time in their day. Also with the process being automated it gives you quality assurance that the process will always take place, regardless of staff changes, sickness etc. The technology gives you a proven track record to keep your business running smoothly and efficiently, delivering your clients with the highest level of customer service.

Hospitality

Bespoke software development projects have dramatically helped the hospitality industry which is typically extremely busy with bookings made, changed or cancelled at the drop of a hat. A software development company working with a hospitality business enables them to have full control of their guest bookings and easily manage customer contacts. The last thing a business wants is their client to call and their is an inaccurate record or out of date booking made, for a services industry keeping an impeccable level of customer service is essential to keep clients coming back again and again.

Similarly to other industries referenced, the ability to automate regular processes is a major advantage of using bespoke software to improve efficiencies. One of these processes which is a perfect solution for being automated is invoicing. Ensuring your clients receive their invoice promptly with the correct branding and information for your business, along with a timely reminder if needed to chase payment to save vital admin time for your team. In fact, this can enable businesses to achieve reduced costs due to the level of admin time saved for automated processes within their business. Thanks to their bespoke software solutions.

E-commerce

When it comes to E-Commerce it is a competitive world out there and you want the experience for potential and returning customers to be as seamless as possible, enabling them to quickly find the right product for them. Not forgetting the importance of easy to use payment options built into the bespoke solution to ensure no carts are abandoned unnecessarily. Equally is the need for an efficient back office to ensure orders are processed efficiently so your business can grow successfully, without the level of customer service being impacted.

Tools and features which can be included for an E-Commerce business include providing an instant message facility so a customer can easily speak with a member of the team without the need to call or email. In the modern day this is becoming an expected feature to keep up with competition.

When detailing the development roadmap with a bespoke software development company, it is achievable to provide a personalised experience for your target audience. Providing your customer with product offers tailored just to them accounting for their previous interaction, likes and dislikes. This allows for for the life value of that customer to be maximised, delivering the highest profit level.

Also bespoke development allows for easily updating customers regularly on products they may like and to keep them up to date with their current order. With the ability to manage stock in real-time this allows the team to easily keep a track of inventory and address any potential stock issues before they happen.

Company examples who have thrived from their bespoke software development

Perhaps you have been wondering if you know of businesses using bespoke software development services. There are many businesses from small to large who have achieved huge growth milestones and improved processes and customer service for their company.

You do not need to be a huge company to benefit from investing in custom software development. However we want to give you examples you will be familiar with and come across in your day-to-day life.

Amazon

You may know them now for being a regular visitor to your front door! But originally they began their business to just sell books. Their bespoke software allows for each customer to receive personalised recommendations, easy and quick tracking of their order and simple pain-free returns. It has enabled their business to go from strength to strength and expand into new areas of business.

Airbnb

They changed the landscape for booking guest accommodation. Their custom software allows both hosts and guests to provide ratings. Along with hosts being able to approve a guest booking first. Providing a win win service with hosts booking the right type of guest or family for their accommodation, and guests being able to easily read other guest reviews and deep dive into a host before booking their stay.

Uber

A similar example to Airbnb with the ability to rate both the driver and the passenger is Uber. Another advantage for Uber with the use of bespoke software is the ability for passengers to quickly see which drivers are available in their area. As well as the pricing updating in real time to reflect the drivers available at any given time. Not only this! Uber provides the option to track your driver in real time so you always know how much longer they will be. No more waiting in the cold because the taxi firm told you they were round the corner! You know their exact location, delivering customer service excellence.

Conclusion

We hope we have been able to give you a broad range of examples of what can be achieved for your company with bespoke software. Bespoke software can provide multiple benefits to any business to improve their business processes, workflow processes, and customer service. Ultimately achieving a competitive advantage in your industry. Not only working more efficiently today, bespoke software is adaptable as your company continues to grow and expand. Making it a worthwhile investment.

Want to learn more?

We work closely with our clients to fully understand inside and out how your business operates so we have a deep understanding of your workflows and focuses so we can develop a bespoke custom CRM tailored just to you and your business. We would love to discuss in more detail how a bespoke custom CRM or software can help your business, get in touch today to speak with one of the team.