Why weight the criteria
Most CRM comparisons are tick-counting exercises: whichever system has more features wins. That method misleads, because features do not carry equal weight. Missing Instagram DM integration is disqualifying for a company where 60% of enquiries arrive there, and completely irrelevant for one selling only through partner hospitals.
So weight the twelve criteria below from 1 to 5 for your business, score each candidate 1 to 5, and sum the products. The result is far more reliable than counting ticks.
Channels and integrations
- Instagram DM. Native integration or a third-party bridge? A bridge means latency and dropped connections. See Instagram DM CRM.
- Official WhatsApp API. Meta-approved, not WhatsApp Web automation — the risk of losing the number depends on this. See WhatsApp for clinics.
- Ad lead forms. Does a Meta lead form land in the CRM instantly, or do you download a CSV? The gap between the two is your response time.
- Telephony. Call centre integration, calls logged to the patient record, recordings available.
Process and data
- Multiple treatments. Can one patient carry several treatment requests and several quotes?
- Quote quality. Line items, patient's language, your branding, and a notification when it is opened. See quotes.
- Lead routing. Automatic assignment with rules you can write — see lead distribution.
- Follow-up discipline. Can follow-ups and reminders be made mandatory rather than optional?
- Reporting depth. Conversion broken down by channel, campaign, consultant and treatment. See reports.
Security, commercials and exit
- Sensitive data. Role-based access, field masking, audit logs. Health data is a special category under GDPR and KVKK; this criterion is not negotiable. See security.
- Pricing and growth. Per user or per package? What is the bill when the team doubles? See pricing.
- Data portability. In what format and how quickly can you take your data out? An easy exit makes staying a comfortable decision.
The scoring table
Copy this and fill one column per candidate. Set the weights for your own business; the sample values suit a facilitator whose leads come mainly from social channels.
| Criterion | Sample weight | Vendor A (1-5) | Vendor B (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram DM | 5 | ||
| Official WhatsApp API | 5 | ||
| Ad lead forms | 4 | ||
| Telephony | 3 | ||
| Multiple treatments | 4 | ||
| Quote quality | 5 | ||
| Lead routing | 4 | ||
| Follow-up discipline | 5 | ||
| Reporting | 4 | ||
| Sensitive data handling | 5 | ||
| Pricing model | 3 | ||
| Data portability | 3 |
If two candidates land within 10% of each other, the decision is no longer about features — it is about implementation support. At that point, ask for references from companies your size.