# WordPressers, should you build your own CRM?
*Published: 2014-04-16*
*Tags: wordpress, business-advice, product-work*
*Source: https://chrislema.com/build-your-own-crm*
---So the question I hear talked about a lot - around WordPress developers - is whether to build their own custom CRM directly inside of WordPress. It's a "eat your own dog food" kind of thing. And of course, many developers even think that maybe it's a product others would buy.

So I thought I would just answer the question right now.

No. Don't. And here's why.

In the end, the benefit of using real marketing automation is much better than using custom post types, a spreadsheet, or trello.

So no, don't build your own crm. It's going to miss out on all that you can get from marketing automation tools.

But I know what you're going to tell me. You'll say that it's a lot less expensive than the market leaders today:

- HubSpot
- Act-On
- Pardot
- SalesFusion
- Marketo
- Eloqua

What I'd tell you is to look at the **micro-market**, where players like these are.

- [Infusionsoft](https://keap.com/)
- [Ontraport](https://ontraport.com/)

But even that may be too expensive for right now. In that case, check out:

- [Hatchbuck](https://www.benchmarkone.com/)
- [ORBTR](https://orbiterproject.org/)

Either way, using systems like these will help you much more than building your own.