While most look to CRM software as primarily a sales tool, it's moved beyond that space. This revenue impact is possible because AI-enhanced CRM is a quantum leap ahead of what many companies still call customer relationship management.ĬRM software isn't just about tracking and maintaining contact information. The Revenue Impact of AI Adoption in CRM (Image courtesy of Statista) That directly impacts CRM revenue, as market research firm Statista shows us details are below. This will significantly impact any CRM's ability to parse data and draw new insights from all kinds of customer interactions. Others are partnering with the likes of IBM's Watson and similar players to integrate AI's benefits into their offerings. Vendors including Salesforce and Microsoft are building their own AI engines to enhance their CRM capabilities. A key area for CRM growth in 20 will be the addition of artificial intelligence (AI) to leading CRM platforms. In addition, the CRM market's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will be 6 percent between 20. In its report, " CRM Software Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2023," market research firm Market Research Future forecasts the CRM market to grow up to 35 billion by 2023. It lets you identify prospects for up-sell or cross-sell, convert existing customers to new products or services, target new marketing, or even track invoices. The software is also a fail-safe because it prevents multiple salespeople from chasing the same prospect. Choosing the right CRM software can dramatically improve your team's collaboration and productivity at the same time that it's increasing sales. This information is a goldmine of opportunity. That includes phone, email, and, increasingly, communications across other channels, such as social media or your help desk. It remembers the details of your relationship at every interaction. What makes that possible is integrating your other customer-facing data so the CRM can access it.Ī good CRM solution doesn't simply record your customers' contact information. They can even rank them by likelihood of success. They also automate processes, such as dynamically creating calendar events, setting appointment reminders, prioritizing the sales pipeline, and automatically identifying new sales opportunities. The best CRM solutions are not only easier to use than spreadsheets, but they also do more than just retain user and contact information. But this type of homebrewed solution delivers but a tiny subset of the features you'll get with a CRM, and it's also cumbersome enough that you'll be frustrated once your customer list grows much beyond 100. Some very small businesses might try to use a spreadsheet to mimic what a CRM can do. To succeed at that, CRMs need to be both smart and agile, and at the same time, easy for salespeople to use. In this way, CRM becomes the epicenter of how you manage your customer's journey, from the first marketing touch, to a closed sale, and on to the next engagement. A good CRM will also make the information it gathers accessible to other business platforms via smart software integration. What Is CRM Software?ĬRM software helps you track contacts and nurture them to build customer loyalty and repeat sales. We tested and weighed 17 of the top players for this roundup, then whittled down our list to the 10 we see leading the pack.
A CRM system allows you to track, analyze, and surface this data when it's needed, often including integrations with other software systems.Įven if you already have a CRM in place, it may be time to upgrade to one that is better suited to the modern style of business. This can include everything from the customer's initial purchase, to support calls and what they were about, to a regional sales rep's notes from a meeting or call, and so on.
A proper customer relationship management (CRM) system goes beyond simple contact tracking by keeping a complete audit trail of every interaction your staff has with each customer. Keeping track of these new styles of interactions can be challenging. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software.