Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"We implemented CRM at headquarters, but it didn't spread to our group companies or agencies"—I hear this story many times from medium-sized and large companies.

The reason is pretty much clear: "There was no design for how to deploy it."

The workflow differs between the head office and its subsidiaries. There is information that can be shown to agencies and information that cannot.
The franchise headquarters wants to see the situation of each franchisee across the board.
To accommodate all of these needs, a design that simply "puts everyone in one tenant space" has its limitations.

EMOROCO CRM Lite supports multi-tenancy. A tenant is an "independent space within the CRM."
It's possible to design a system where the head office, group companies, and agencies each have their own independent tenants, while only sharing the necessary information.

This article explains specific methods for designing a multi-tenant environment, categorized into three scenarios: group expansion, agency management, and franchise expansion.

1. What is multi-tenancy? — A design that incorporates multiple "independent spaces."

Limitations of single-tenant properties

Many companies, when trying to deploy CRM across the entire organization, adopt a single-tenant design, putting everyone into a single CRM system.
It's fine to start with something simple, but problems arise as the organization becomes more complex.

What can be solved with multi-tenancy

In a multi-tenant design, each organization has its own independent CRM space. Each tenant has its own fields, workflows, and dashboards, and information is shared only when necessary.

2. Reduce deployment costs to near zero by importing/exporting templates.

The most time-consuming part of a multi-tenant deployment is the initial setup of each tenant.
If we were to reconfigure a design created from scratch at headquarters for each group company and agency, the deployment costs would be enormous.

The template import/export function in EMOROCO CRM Lite resolves this issue.

Things that can be deployed using templates

• Definition of entities (data types)
• Field configuration and settings
• Form View Layout
• Workflow configuration
• Dashboard Configuration

Standard deployment flow

STEP 1: Complete the design at the headquarters (master tenant)

First, we will complete the "company-wide common design" in the headquarters tenant. Common fields, workflows, and dashboards used by all tenants will be consolidated here.

STEP 2: Export the template

The completed design will be exported as a template. The export can be completed in just a few clicks from the administration screen.

STEP 3: Import into each tenant

Import the exported template into the newly created tenant for the group company or agency. The same design as the head office will be instantly reflected.

STEP 4: Add tenant-specific customizations

After importing, each tenant adds their own necessary fields and workflows. This is a system where "location-specific designs" are layered on top of a "company-wide common platform."

[Template Deployment Time Comparison] Setup from scratch: 2-4 hours per tenant Template import: 15-30 minutes per tenant Difference in deployment to 10 tenants: Approximately 20-35 hours saved

3. Scenario-Based Design – Three Deployment Patterns

Scenario A: Group company expansion

Expected outcome: The system is already implemented at headquarters. We want to gradually roll it out to 5-20 subsidiaries and affiliated companies.

The core of the design: 3-layer structure

Designing information sharing

When sharing customer information among group companies, the cleanest approach is to establish a single "shared tenant" and integrate only the necessary data from each company's tenant. Using the external connector function, data integration from each company's tenant to the shared tenant can be automated.

Recommended schedule for group deployment

[Common Mistakes in Group Development] If headquarters tries too hard to enforce "company-wide standardization," resistance will arise from the field staff at each company. Clearly defining the distinction between "Layer 1 (common to the entire company) is standardized, and Layer 3 (unique to each company) is flexible" is key to successful implementation.

Scenario B: Agency Management

Scenario: There are 10 to 100 distributors selling our products and services. We want to monitor the activities of each distributor from headquarters, while keeping information isolated between distributors.

The core of design: Designing the "visible range" of information

The most crucial aspect of agency management is information blocking, ensuring that "Agency A cannot see Agency B's customer information." At the same time, there is a requirement that "Headquarters needs to have a comprehensive overview of the status of all agencies." A design that balances these two requirements is necessary.

Recommended configuration: Independent tenant for each agency

Designing as an agency tenant

• Project and customer fields to be entered by agents (standardized to headquarters format)
• Workflows used by agencies in-house (e.g., follow-up tasks for assigned personnel)
• Agency dashboard (shows only your own company's progress)

Designing for the headquarters tenant

• View all agencies' project listings.
• Sales and progress comparison dashboard by agency
• A knowledge base sharing best practices from top agencies.

Agency registration process

Using the customer portal function, it's possible to design a system where agents can register cases via web forms, and these cases are automatically registered in the headquarters tenant. This is an effective lightweight deployment method that uses only the portal, without requiring agents to have EMOROCO CRM Lite accounts.

[Designing the Emotional Temperature for Agency Management] We manage the emotional temperature of our agencies as the "temperature of our relationship with them." For agencies below the "cool" level, we design a system for proactive follow-up communication from headquarters. Preventing agency churn is even more important than with group companies.

Scenario C: Franchise Headquarters

Expected outcome: As a franchise headquarters, we want to manage and support the CRM for 50 to 500 franchise stores.

The core of the design: Balancing standardization and flexibility

In franchising, the constant challenge is balancing "standardization for brand consistency" with "the regional characteristics and managerial discretion of each store." The same problem arises in CRM design.

Three-tier design for franchises

Maintain a consistent brand base

Customer definitions, visit record formats, KPI definitions (number of visitors, repeat visit rate, average transaction value), and items for regular reports to headquarters will be the same across all stores.

Allowing stores to have discretionary power

Information varies by region and store, including local event information, personalized follow-up messages from the store manager, and staff shift management.

Designing a dashboard for franchise headquarters

The system will be designed so that headquarters can determine in 5 minutes which stores should be prioritized for support this month.

Store deployment: Self-onboarding design

It's unrealistic for headquarters to provide setup support for 500 stores one by one. We will design the system so that stores can operate independently using the following mechanism.

1. The headquarters provides templates, and new franchisees can complete the initial setup simply by importing them.
2. A 5-10 minute instructional video is provided so that the store manager can learn on their own.
3. For the first 30 days after launch, a CRM doctor from headquarters will remotely check the system once a week.

4. Designing Security Roles and Form Permissions

In a multi-tenant deployment, designing permissions across tenants is crucial.

Role-based permission design within tenants

Within each tenant space, the information visible is controlled according to each role.

Display control by form

Even with the same customer record, you can change the fields displayed depending on who is viewing it.

• Head office administrator form: Display all fields (including emotion temperature, ICX capture, and internal memo).
• Agent form: Only project information and activity records are displayed (internal memos are hidden).
• View-only form: Basic information only (price information is hidden)

[Consider self-hosting if security requirements are high] Companies with agencies serving finance, healthcare, or government agencies, or those handling highly confidential customer information, should consider the self-hosting option for EMOROCO CRM Lite. You can maintain a multi-tenant design while keeping your data in your own Azure environment.

5. Five things to decide before deployment

Before starting a multi-tenant deployment, clarifying the following points will help prevent major rework later on.

① How to define tenants: "By company," "by department," or "by region"—decide the unit of scope of deployment first. Changing it later will require data migration.

② Distinguishing between company-wide requirements and those left to individual tenants : Create a list of company-wide fields and define them in three stages: "These cannot be changed," "These can only be added," and "These are freely editable."

③ Decide which data to share between tenants. If sharing is necessary, decide whether to use an external connector or create a shared tenant. Choosing "not to share" is also a valid option.

④ Appoint a CRM Doctor (management specialist) for each tenant . One CRM Doctor will be assigned to each tenant to handle maintenance. Without this role, the settings will become outdated and the system will no longer be used.

⑤ Deployment Prioritization and Schedule: Attempting to deploy all tenants at once will inevitably fail. Schedule a pilot deployment with 1-2 tenants for verification before gradually expanding.

6. Summary—Designing a "system for deployment" is the essence of multi-tenancy.

The core of multi-tenant design is not the technology itself, but "designing how to deploy it within an organization."

Here are the three main points I wanted to convey in this article.

• Reduce deployment costs with templates: The design, created from scratch at headquarters, is templated and deployed to each tenant by importing it. This significantly reduces the setup time per tenant.
• Designing the "visible scope" of information: Achieving both information isolation between agencies and a cross-group view is accomplished through a combination of tenant partitioning and security roles.
• To achieve a balance between company-wide standardization and the autonomy of each organization: Clearly distinguishing between the "first layer that should be unified" and the "third layer that each organization can operate freely" is key to its successful implementation.

EMOROCO CRM Lite is a CRM that "grows to suit your business needs." The same applies to its multi-tenant design. Rather than aiming for a perfect design, start by running a pilot in one tenant, and gradually expand while learning—this accumulation of experiences will create a CRM that takes root throughout your entire organization.

[The first step you can take starting today] First, write down on a piece of paper "how you will divide the tenants into different organizational units." Regardless of whether it's a group company, agency, or franchise scenario, designing this "tenant division" is the first step.

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