Why “How do other companies do it?” is not the right question

Companies entering CRM and marketing automation projects often want to hear how other companies solved certain processes.

That is completely expected, because real-world experience can be a valuable guideline and help make decisions more easily.

However, this is exactly where one of the biggest misconceptions of digital transformation often arises: the idea that there is a universal solution that works equally well for everyone.

“Best practice” does not automatically mean the “same practice” for every company.

What delivers excellent results in one business environment, team, or industry does not necessarily work in another. That is exactly why CRM and marketing automation should not be copy-paste projects, but carefully tailored solutions created according to the company’s specific processes, goals, and way of working.

Through work on various Salesforce Marketing Cloud projects, from retail and the financial sector to complex enterprise systems, our team has repeatedly seen that two companies with similar goals can require completely different approaches, processes, and levels of automation.

In the following text, Maja Karanović, our Head of Marketing Cloud Consulting, explains why the question “How do other companies do it?” is often not the right question, and what a custom-made approach in CRM and marketing automation projects actually means.

Marketing automation is not a copy-paste project

When working with clients, especially during the implementation of new functionalities and processes, we often receive questions such as:

“How do other companies do this?”

“How did you solve this for other clients?”

“What did company X decide to go with?”

And that is completely understandable. It is natural to want a solution that has already been proven in practice and has already delivered results.

However, in CRM and marketing automation projects, mistakes often occur when companies try to copy solutions from other businesses without fully understanding their own needs, ways of working, and organizational structure.

The same functionality does not mean the same solution

Two companies can have exactly the same goal:

• automating marketing activities,

• increasing conversion rates,

• improving personalization,

• standardizing processes,

• improving the organization of sales or customer support.

But that does not mean the same solution will be good for both companies.

Very often, companies differ precisely in the things that are not so visible at first glance:

• the number of team members,

• internal organization,

• decision-making processes,

• target audience,

• level of digital maturity,

• quantity and quality of data,

• communication between teams,

• or existing internal procedures.

Something that works perfectly in the retail industry may not make sense in the banking sector. Even two companies from the same industry can have completely different processes, different communication styles, and different approaches to data.

In marketing automation, one company may successfully use complex customer journeys with extensive segmentation and automation. At the same time, another may benefit much more from a simple, stable process that the team can easily maintain.

Similarly, in CRM implementations, some companies have very complex sales processes and a large number of approval steps, while others operate much more efficiently with a simpler model and fewer automations.

And both approaches can be completely correct.

Why we ask “simple” questions during discovery workshops

During discovery workshops, we often ask questions that may initially seem too simple or unimportant to clients:

“Who sends the communication?”

“Who has access to the data?”

“Which KPIs do you track?”

“What is considered a lead in your company?”

Although these questions may sometimes seem trivial, they are exactly what help us most in understanding how a company truly operates in practice.

It is surprising how two very similar companies can give completely different answers to the same questions, because even companies within the same industry:

• do not organize teams in the same way,

• do not have the same internal procedures,

• do not make decisions at the same speed,

• do not have the same level of automation,

• nor the same relationship between marketing, sales, and IT.

What is a simple process involving two people in one company may involve multiple teams and several levels of approval in another.

That is why discovery is not just about gathering requirements, but a process of understanding how the company works and how the team functions daily, so that we can propose a solution that will truly work in a specific environment, not just look good on paper.

The best solution is not the one that sounds the most advanced, but the one that will truly be useful to the company and its team.

The role of a consultant is not to copy, but to understand

Quality consulting does not mean: “Here is what worked for another company - do the same.”

An experienced Salesforce consultant:

• understands the business goal, limitations, and possibilities,

• recognizes risks,

• suggests best practices,

• and adapts solutions to the specific client and the problem they want to solve.

Of course, experience across different industries and projects matters a lot. It helps identify what generally works well, where potential risks exist, and which mistakes should be avoided.

But the goal should never be copying someone else’s solution.

The goal is to create a solution that:

• makes sense for a specific team,

• can realistically be maintained,

• supports business goals,

• matches the company’s way of working,

• and delivers long-term value.

The best solutions are the ones the team can actually use

Sometimes a “simpler” solution is actually the better solution.

Not because the system cannot do more, but because technology should serve the business, not the other way around.

The most successful projects are not the ones with the highest number of functionalities and the most complex appearance, but the ones that fit well into the company’s way of working and market presence, and truly support the team in everyday work.

And that is why the real question often is not: “How does someone else do it?”

But rather: “What is the best solution for us?”

Author: Maja Karanović