CRM.COM offers a simple and straightforward way to launch a branded web portal and mobile app across major app stores.

Our ready-made portal and app can be fully customised to reflect your business brand and requirements, then published on popular platforms such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, making them easily accessible for your customers to download and use.

This guide will walk you through all the required steps, from configuring your App in the back end to publishing it.

By the end of this guide, you will have a clear understanding of how to:

Create and configure the Consumer App in the back end.
Set up and use CRM.COM’s features within your App.
Request and review a version of the web portal prior to publishing.
Complete the necessary steps to publish your mobile app on the app stores.

Throughout this document, the term ‘App’ refers collectively to both the web portal and the mobile app.

Let’s Get Started

Step 1 - Create the Consumer App

Create your Consumer App via the CRM.COM back-end. This step includes:

Branding your App by uploading images, specifying colours, embedded browser links etc.
Enabling the CRM.COM features that your customers will access when self-managing their account through the mobile app.

For detailed information on how to create and set up your Consumer App, refer to the How to set up the CRM.COM App.

Step 2 - Request a version of the App for review

Once you have completed your App's configuration, click the Request Portal for review button found on the Publishing tab. The CRM.COM support team will receive your request and prepare a version of your portal for you to review.

Important

The portal has the same look and feel as the mobile app. We provide a portal for review, and if the business so wishes, they can proceed to publish the mobile app to the stores with the same features and settings as the portal.
The mobile app will not be submitted to the stores at this stage, that will only happen once you give us final approval (in step 5 below).

If you choose to proceed with the mobile app publication, we will need additional information from you to help us build your mobile app and send it to you for review. Please send the details below to support@crm.com:

A splash screen - Appears when the mobile app is launched, before the main content is loaded.
It typically features your business logo, app name, or branding image, helping to establish the tone and visual style of your app from the very beginning. If you’re unable to provide a custom splash screen, we will apply a default one based on your Primary Colour setting. You can replace it later if needed, however, doing so will require rebuilding the app, which may incur additional costs.
For the iOS version of the app:
1. Provide the iCloud email for a maximum of 2 people.
2. Download the TestFlight app on your iPhone.
3. You will receive an email invitation to review your app, which you can download from TestFlight.
For the Android version of the app:
1. No additional steps are required. We will provide you with a link to an .apk file to download, install, and review your mobile app.

Step 3 - Review the App

You will receive a URL to review the web portal, as well as Android and iOS versions of your mobile app to review before submitting them to the stores (if you have requested the mobile app). This is a great opportunity for you to:

Review your App’s look and feel.
Revisit your App settings, explore additional features, and see how they appear in the App.
Manage and enhance your App by enabling additional CRM.COM features. Easily set up or change these features through the back-end system and instantly see how they enrich your App’s content and functionality. For example, you can review how product images are displayed, highlight Reward Offers as ‘featured’ to increase visibility, and explore other ways to optimise your customers’ experience.

If you make any changes to the App settings in the back-end, be sure to save them, then close and relaunch the App to see the updated settings applied.

Step 4 - Request to publish to stores

If you wish to publish the mobile App on the stores, you will need to provide us with some extra details so we can submit it to the Play Store and the App Store.

Please download, read carefully, and provide the additional information included in this document

.

Once you have completed it, return it to us at support@crm.com, and we will take care of the rest!

Please note that stores typically respond within 2-4 days, although the timeframe may occasionally be shorter or longer.

Step 5 - Ready to Go

When you are satisfied with the App, you can distribute the URL to your contacts so they can register and access it via the web.

When the stores approve the mobile app, we will notify you, and upon your instructions, we will release the app to the stores. Only then will the mobile app be available for your customers to download!