Before going bespoke: What membership organisations need to know
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A custom-built CRM sounds perfect. Until it isn't.
You've decided it's time to replace your CRM. You meet with your team to understand their needs and compile a comprehensive list of requirements—covering every challenge, frustration, and dream scenario. It feels like the responsible first step.
But what begins as sensible preparation can quickly spiral into an overwhelming wish list, disconnected from practicalities like budget, timeline, and ease of use.
Suddenly, your carefully considered plan looks overly complex, expensive, and unique enough to demand a custom-built CRM solution.
So you start thinking: maybe we should just build our own. Something bespoke.
Here's what you need to know before you take that step.
Defining what we mean
Before we dive deeper, let's get clear on what we're actually talking about when we say 'bespoke' or 'custom' CRM.
We are not just referring to systems built completely from scratch. More often, we mean widely-used platforms like Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce, which require extensive customisation to meet specific membership needs.
In short:
Generic CRM (Custom/bespoke): Platforms like MS Dynamics or Salesforce, heavily customised for your needs.
SaaS CRM (Off-the-shelf): Platforms like sheepCRM, purpose built for membership organisations with proven best practices incorporated into the platform.
Defining these differences matters more than you might think.
Numbers you should be aware of
Forrester research shows that 47% of CRM strategies fail due to a "lack of knowledge", while lack of business strategy (48%), lack of process change (45%), and lack of executive support (40%) are other top reasons for failure (FounderJar, 2023).
If we were to look at the broader picture of custom software development, BCG's recent survey found that nearly half of all respondents say that more than 30% of their technology development projects from from delays or budget overruns (BCG, 2024).
Here's the statistic that should make every membership manager pause: Beata Breakers (2024) found that 19% of software projects result in complete failure, with 49% facing budget overruns, and 17% of IT projects risk collapsing the company itself.
For membership organisations, these aren't just statistics— they represent lost member data, frustrated staff, and resources that could have been invested in your growth instead of firefighting technical problems.
Why bespoke CRMs can backfire
Your needs aren't as unique as you think
Some memberships organisations might think their needs are more unique than they actually are.
Yes, you have members instead of customers, Yes, you have renewals and events. But the core relationship management challenges, they're remarkably similar across organisations.
The biggest reason software projects fail is "inadequate and incomplete project specification" (Alabama Solutions, 2024). When you try to accommodate every part of your member journey, projects quickly spiral into over-engineered systems that take years to build and months to learn.
When the goal posts keep moving
Your board changes priorities. Funding shifts. New compliance requirements emerge. BCG's research shows that the top causes of IT project failures include "lack of alignment between the technology and business sides" and "unrealistic timelines" (BCG, 2024).
By the time your bespoke system launches, it's often solving yesterday's problems with tomorrow's budget.
When the goal posts keep moving
Your board changes priorities. Funding shifts. New compliance requirements emerge. BCG's research shows that the top causes of IT project failures include "lack of alignment between the technology and business sides" and "unrealistic timelines" (BCG, 2024).
By the time your bespoke system launches, it's often solving yesterday's problems with tomorrow's budget.
Costs that deplete budget
50% of software project budgets are often spent on resolving errors post-implementation (Beta Breakers, 2024). Custom software development costs range from £100,000 for basic projects to over £250,000 for complex systems, and that's just the starting point.
For some membership organisations operating on tight budgets, this can be devastating.
The advantages of SaaS
Tested and proven to work
Off-the-shelf SaaS solutions, like sheepCRM, have been refined through thousands of implementations. Every edge case you think is unique? We've probably seen it. Every workflow you're worried about? We've solved it.
As ProAptivity (2022) notes: "Working with an established application that has put millions of development hours into a product will provide a more cost-effective solution out of the box than a bespoke solution ever will".
Faster time to value
While some bespoke projects drag on for months or years, you can have an off-the-shelf solution working within weeks. Your members start benefiting immediately, and your team can focus on what matters—engaging your members, not debugging software.
Built-in changes
Reputable CRM providers continuously improve their platforms based on feedback from hundreds or thousands of organisations. You benefit from these improvements automatically, without paying for additional development.
An easy to understand comparison
A table comparing factors of Bespoke vs Off-the-shelf CRM’s.
When a customised CRM might be right for you
Don't get us wrong—there are legitimate cases for bespoke development. But they're rarer than most organisations think.
You might need bespoke if:
You're a very large organisation like the Royal Aeronautical Society with truly unique regulatory requirements.
You have highly specialised data structures that no existing system can accommodate.
You have significant budget and 1+ years to wait for implementation.
Your core business model is fundamentally different from any other organisation.
However, we know from working with hundreds of ambitious membership organisations, that for the vast majority, these conditions don't apply.
Why choose sheepCRM over a bespoke CRM
This is exactly why sheepCRM was built specifically for membership organisations. Instead of building from scratch, we've refined our platform through years of real-world use by membership organisations just like yours.
Take the Biochemical Society, for example. They were struggling with an overly complex Salesforce solution that simply wasn't working for their membership needs.
What should have been straightforward member management had become a daily frustration for their team. After switching to sheepCRM, everything changed—and quickly. As Lorraine Reese from the Biochemical Society puts it:
“Now we can see everything we need to see when we need to see it. Our data is reliable, our processes are streamlined, and our members are happier. It’s like a breath of fresh air.”
Their story perfectly illustrates why purpose-built beats customised. While Salesforce required extensive (and expensive) customisation that still didn't quite work, sheepCRM delivered exactly what they needed, out of the box, in a fraction of the time.
Remember that you get:
Member-focused features built for your specific needs.
Proven reliability from thousands of successful implementations.
Continuous improvements without additional development costs.
Expert support from people who understand membership organisations.
Predictable costs that protect your budget.
Ready to make a choice?
Before you commit to the expense and risk of bespoke development, explore what's possible with a proven solution designed specifically for membership organisations.
Take our free CRM health-check to see where you stand today and what practical steps you can take next.
Or book a call with our team to see how sheepCRM can meet your needs without the cost, complexity, and risk of starting from scratch.
Your members—and your budget—will thank you for choosing proven over perfect.
References
Alabama Solutions (2024) Why Software Development Projects Fail In 2024. Available at: https://alabamasolutions.com/why-software-development-projects-fail-in-2024 (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
BCG (2024) Software Projects Don't Have to Be Late, Costly, and Irrelevant. Available at: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/software-projects-dont-have-to-be-late-costly-and-irrelevant (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
Beta Breakers (2024) Software Survival in 2024: 2023 Statistics and Quality Assurance. Available at: https://www.betabreakers.com/blog/software-survival-in-2024-understanding-2023-project-failure-statistics-and-the-role-of-quality-assurance/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
Creole Studios (2024) 'How Much Does Custom Software Development Cost in 2024?', Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@creolestudios/how-much-will-custom-software-development-cost-in-2024-a1991203f5d7 (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
FounderJar (2023) The Ultimate List of CRM Statistics for 2025. Available at: https://www.founderjar.com/crm-statistics/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
ProAptivity (2022) Off the shelf CRM vs bespoke CRM. Available at: https://www.proaptivity.com/off-the-shelf-crm-vs-bespoke-crm/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
Raygun (2023) How much could software errors be costing your company? Available at: https://raygun.com/blog/cost-of-software-errors/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025).
