Customer relationship management systems have evolved significantly over time into more than contact management solutions, becoming a much wider range of features than simply managing contacts.
Key trends expected to disrupt this industry over the next ten years include using CRM in new markets with powerful features and its effect on wider technological trends. Some predictions for CRM include its usage by new markets with powerful offerings and its influence on wider trends within technology itself. Our top predictions include that CRM use could expand into new technology areas like artificial intelligence (AI).
CRM Trends for 2023
AI has become a Major Component of CRM Systems
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized all industries. We use AI daily in our everyday lives and at work more often than we realize - from conversational intelligence platforms to sales analytics; AI-powered resources can be found within nearly any SaaS industry, and several CRMs use this technology as part of their functionality.
First-time Users of CRM face Fewer Obstacles
LinkedIn's State of Sales 2023 report indicates that 65% of professionals working in sales use CRMs, and 97% consider them "very important" or "important." Of those not using a CRM yet, one-third are salespeople who remain non-users due to concerns around costs or resources available - these issues become less of an obstacle as CRM solutions become cheaper, easier to use and user-friendly over time - we expect more business to adopt CRM solutions by 2023.
Social CRM keeps Rising
What is Social CRM? Social CRM is the integration of channels from social media into CRM platforms. Social media and CRM can be viewed together to give companies a better understanding of the sentiment of brands as well as what is being posted on social media. Social CRM can help organizations build better customer relationships by responding to them quickly.
You Can Choose From A Wide Range of CRMs
Over 650 different CRM systems are available to customers, each with its tools and features that can be tailored for both specific and generalized needs. Currently, Arion ERP's CRM system that is leading in user satisfaction.
You Can Reduce The Number Of Sales And Marketing Technologies You Use
Since more advanced CRMs are becoming mainstream, sales and marketing teams can reduce the number of technical tools they utilize. 2023 promises another tech trend as teams ponder why they pay so much for App A when App B can do the same task more cost-effectively. In order to optimize their tech stacks for maximum effectiveness, teams will build more integrations while employing two-way synchronization to keep customer information consistent across apps.
The Integration Of Voice And Conversational UI with CRM will begin
The evolution of SaaS is dependent on voice technology. This is a crucial factor in accessibility. It also makes technology easier to use. The technology makes it easy for salespeople and their teams to update customer information, track data, send messages, or notify them. In the coming years, we expect many CRMs to adopt voice assistants and hardware for operational processes.
More Businesses Are Automating Processes With Their CRM
Top CRMs must offer automation features to remain relevant among tech-savvy clients, which many leading players like Arion erp, Salesforce and ActiveCampaign have invested heavily in recently.
CRM and automation will become synonymous in 2023, thanks to chatbots that communicate automatically with clients or resolve help desk tickets; email workflows help sales prospects navigate their sales cycle; automation allows businesses to provide excellent customer service while cutting operational costs. More and more businesses recognize the value of automation, while CRMs continue supporting it with new tools and innovations.
The CRM Will Provide A Detailed View Of The Customer
An effective CRM provides an ideal means of getting an in-depth view of customers by offering numerous features and securely storing reliable data. LinkedIn's State of Sales Report for 2023 shows that top performers have greater trust in CRM data; 53% have greater assurance in top groups, while 32% in lower ones share this belief - this shows a correlation between high-quality sales data and maintaining its integrity and cleanliness.
IoT and CRM Are Becoming Increasingly Intertwined
93% of companies had already adopted IoT, which Fierce Electronics estimates will continue over time - from basic appliances like energy meters and smart appliances through advanced solutions that help increase cost efficiencies, organization capabilities and supply chain visibility - many enterprises use data derived from IoT technologies to enhance customer experiences in ways previously impossible before.
Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!
The CRM System Will Be Utilized By All Departments, Not Just Those Dealing With Customers
CRMs were once seen solely as tools designed to aid sales teams and customers to succeed. Yet, today CRM software is integral to an organization's tech stack. By 2023, more organizations will realize CRM's importance across departments; marketers using it to understand contacts better and track how CTAs convert, customer success teams using it to provide tailored experiences to each of their customers, and managers gaining access to data for performance monitoring purposes.
The Sophistication of CRMs Continues to Increase
CRM features most often requested are contact management (94%), interaction tracking (88%), and schedule/reminder creation. About 25% also wish to track sales funnel and pipeline activity.
One-fifth of users seek more complex features, such as email marketing, reporting and analytics, customization, sales automation and central database features. Mike Richardson from Maximizer Software shared with MyCustomer his insight about finding an appropriate balance between sophistication and centralizing customer views.
Best-in-breed systems have rapidly entered the market. Offering ever higher levels of sophistication and meeting specific customer needs effectively, these sophisticated platforms need to be centralized into one system to offer a consolidated customer experience view.
The Customer Experience of a CRM is as Crucial as its Features
Customers say the customer experience is as important as their products or services. You can use the CRM to help meet customer expectations in several different ways:
- Instant support with live chat
- Data enrichment to display the entire customer journey, including previous tickets and support requests
- Accessible customer data across departments
- Knowledge bases that are automated
- Data synchronization between apps for a 360° view of the customer
Other organizations must also improve their service to customers. Customers expect more from other businesses after a positive experience. 79% say this.
Customers Will Demand That Companies Know More About Their Customers
Business-to-customer relations have evolved much like any interpersonal connection; therefore, a company needs to recall prior communications with their customers, their expectations and needs, and adapt communication according to them. All required data about customers must also be accessible easily.
Consumers expect companies to provide customers with a consistent experience. A CRM integrated within an integrated tech stack may help address this challenge as its members store customer conversations and preferences data for each other team member to access later.
New Markets will drive CRM Growth
In the past, CRM customers have been grouped into four main markets: Real Estate, Consulting, Distribution, and Insurance. In the coming years, CRM will grow primarily in other verticals. They include:
- Healthcare
- Financial Services
- Manufacturers
The Younger Generations want to use CRM
CRM applications are extremely important to 28% of millennials, compared to only 18% of Generation X and 9% of Baby Boomers. As more millennials, Gen Z, and other generations gain purchasing power and enter the workforce, this trend should only intensify over time, as more tech-centric teams demand intelligent CRM technology to maximize performance for maximum team output in future decades.
One Company is Big Enough to Need a CRM
What size business needs a CRM system? By 2023, businesses with one employee will be considered large enough for CRM usage. You should utilize CRM if you require managing contact information and tracking customer data - pain points well-known among freelancers due to using Bonsai freelancing software; freelancers also often prefer CRM tools designed specifically to manage clients.
Standardization of Self-service CRM
Bots automate more tasks related to contact management, saving the team from lifting a finger. Platforms like Arion ERP offer chatbots that guide prospects through marketing and sales funnels, collecting data and asking questions while delivering personalized content. Self-service allows customers to get answers faster and with less effort from providers. This is a win for both parties.
The CRM Must Have A Strong Analytics Feature
Companies benefit greatly from sophisticated analytics, allowing them to recognize problems, opportunities and solutions quickly. Many organizations have noticed, searching for powerful tools to analyze and present real-time data analysis capabilities.
Advanced analytics are also vitally important to CRMs. Organizations want to know how accurate their view is of the sales pipeline's performance, customer happiness levels and factors contributing to customer churn. While not every organization is ready or prepared to implement sophisticated CRM analytics measures, more SMEs see CRM analytics as essential rather than luxurious.
Everything as a Service (XaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS) has long been recognized, yet what about Everything as a Service? This model extends far beyond software offerings and into other products and services.
Through XaaS, any IT service can become an innovative business offering - from infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to Platform as a Service (PaaS). In essence, XaaS services include any that deliver computing via the Internet and charge monthly subscription fees instead of one-time costs; we anticipate more companies using cloud solutions, either standalone systems or integrated as part of CRM, to expand their businesses and increase profitability.
The CRM System Must Be Integrated With All Other Parts Of The Business
More and more companies recognize the significance of CRM as a component of business success. Still, for it to truly work effectively, it must be properly integrated with all processes and tools in your company. Make sure all tools - such as invoicing software or email marketing systems - sync two-way.
Maintain accurate data to reduce human errors, eliminate tedious manual entry processes and form an accurate picture for all team members about your company in 2023. There should not be any reason for doubt regarding the accuracy of data or lengthy lists of duplicate emails and inaccurate records in 2025.
Read More: CRM Software System Types: Features and Benefits Comparison
The Importance of CRM
CRM systems allow you to collect, organize, and store customer information so you can monitor each interaction you have with each one. They streamline communication channels between employees and clients and enhance the customer experience by streamlining communications channels and improving experiences while managing data more effectively. In our 2023 Sales Strategy and Trends Survey, we asked salespeople why and how a CRM benefits them; results indicated those with higher performance more frequently use their CRM in their sales process than those who didn't perform as well or failed to meet targets.
Salespeople report many advantages to using CRMs for managing leads as a central database, increasing customer retention rates and sharing data internally within an organization. We will explore some of these key reasons in depth in each section - with Arion ERP being used as an example system demonstrating its usefulness in each case.
Focus Your Business On Customers To Grow
As your business experiences rapid expansion, leads may slip away as friction arises within business relationships. Arion ERP provides an all-in-one CRM platform designed with customer needs in mind that can help manage this friction more easily than traditional methods can.
Arino ERP allows you to visualize how your company will appear to customers and audiences. Its CRM combines all efforts of marketing, sales and customer service teams by using built-in tools and integrations for optimal effectiveness.
Aligning Your Marketing, Sales And Customer Service Teams
Any company's success depends on proper coordination between teams - particularly between marketing and sales departments - who work cohesively, sharing data such as customer information so they can work seamlessly as one cohesive unit to provide consistent, seamless experiences to all of your customers. By aligning both departments properly, customer experiences become smooth and pleasant from beginning to end, and they remain loyal customers to your brand.
Arion ERP streamlines this process with its Platform offering various natively built tools, like Sales Hub and Marketing Hub, plus numerous integrations. According to research from 2021-2023 salespersons polled for this article, sales-marketing alignment became more imperative than ever. 79% believe their CRM has moderate to extreme effectiveness at improving this alignment.
Share and Synchronize Data Easily
Arion ERP and other CRMs automate time-consuming processes like sharing, synchronization and updating contact records in real-time regardless of who speaks with a customer (i.e., service representative, salesperson or marketer).
Your team can access accurate data by syncing all customer interactions to Arion’S CRM and sharing this record on its Platform. Your CRM becomes a reliable source for customer-oriented experiences created by your team. At the same time, Arion ERP automates additional tasks on behalf of its team members. What other tasks could it assist with?
Automate Your Daily Routine
The CRM automates other tasks that are time-consuming but essential. As mentioned, CRM automation can include:
- Following up communication
- Email sequences
- Workflows for sales (e.g., unenrollment, deal, and quote workflows).
- Chatbots
- Lead to rep assignment
- Lead nurturing campaign
- Campaign Analytics
Create Workflows
Let's dive deeper into workflows. All top CRM system offer workflows to save you time when organizing sales, marketing and service processes. Arion ERP allows you to set criteria, automatically enroll records or take actions of your choosing using workflows - or create them according to your CRM plan.
- Contact us
- Companies
- Deals
- Quotes
- Tickets
- Custom Objects
Simplification Customer Interaction
Arion ERP and other CRMs have evolved to meet the needs of teams that engage customers directly; these solutions integrate easily with multiple services and channels for engagement with your target market.
Arion ERP, for example, has the following:
- Call tracking allows you to place and track calls directly from your CRM, then record them and log the call with its associated contact.
- Chatbots and live chat to answer questions and provide FAQs.
- You can use email tracking to determine when your leads have opened emails. Automated campaigns and timely sales messages are also possible.
- Arion EP's social media tools allow you to track brand mentions, comments on social media, and questions and answers. You can then directly respond from Arion ERP.
- Vidyard is a video integration that allows you to create and send personalized and memorable sales videos and track engagement.
Create Custom Dashboards To Track Metrics Important To Your Business
Reporting and analyzing your pipeline and processes with CRMs are easy. Their reporting features, like dashboards, can be tailored specifically for you to analyze metrics to reveal growth areas that may enhance customer experiences.
Arion’S CRM makes creating custom dashboards or reports easy; select pre-made templates to save time or create your reports from scratch. Live preview the report while visualizing CRM data exactly how you prefer, then share by emailing each team member individually with individual reports.
What are the Benefits of CRM for Sales and Marketing?
The CRM platform can boost your marketing and sales without hiring large teams or spending a lot of money on advertising. When your CRM platform is combined with marketing and sales automation software (like Keap), it can be used to create an engine for growth.
Sales
The sales CRM streamlines your entire process by improving visibility, prioritization, and follow-up.
Increase Visibility
Your sales team can become more effective if they utilize a CRM. Centralizing all lead and customer information makes data transfer between teams simpler; personalizing conversations with prospective leads; suggesting next steps when an account owner changes; viewing leads who have watched video overviews or read case studies can inform conversations; you could then encourage those leads to attend webinars or arrange consultations to learn more.
CRMs used with VoIP phone systems help improve inbound call reception by instantly updating a sales representative's computer whenever someone calls, and their number appears on screen. CRM also gives sales managers more visibility, as they can monitor each sales rep individually and keep an overview of overall sales activity.
Lead scoring helps sales teams prioritize outreach by measuring leads' interest in your service or product and prioritizing those leads with high lead scores as tasks for follow-up and outreach activities in CRM systems. Sales teams may flag contracts with an expiration date coming due or those likely to show interest in new offerings for faster follow-up.
Better Follow-Up
A CRM makes it possible to do amazing follow-ups and increase sales. You no longer need to keep sticky notes in your office or send the same message to each new lead. The system will initiate follow-ups at the appropriate times to create a consistent client journey and convert more leads into customers.
Marketing
The CRM marketing tool can be a game changer, offering powerful insight, personalization, and testing options that lead to increased sales.
Insights
Data organized into a CRM makes identifying patterns relatively simple, providing opportunities to increase insight and profitability for any business. A business, for instance, could identify which traits their best customers share that provide high lifetime value; then spend their budget more wisely while eliminating leads who won't likely show interest in what you provide.
Your data insights can help increase revenue. Package and bundle sales could rise if, for instance, you identify the most frequent combinations of purchases; furthermore, data insights reveal when customers repurchase items so that offers can align with anticipated reordering times and messages can be tailored appropriately to address likely times for repeat purchases.
Segmentation
CRM makes it possible to deliver timely, relevant messages at exactly the right time. Your CRM enables you to send email and SMS notifications in response to customer actions; for instance, if a recent lead who hadn't engaged recently clicked a link within an email that announced a promotion, they could be identified as having "reengaged," followed up by receiving testimonial email with call back task attached as "reengaged leads."
Personalization can be an effective strategy to attract more customers. According to their findings, 76% of respondents indicated that customizing content increased their likelihood of purchasing. 78% also responded that personalized communications increased the likelihood of purchasing, and 78% stated they were more likely to do so when personalized with data pulled directly from CRM systems or marketing automation technologies like Mailchimp, which automate this process with emails that pull information directly from CRM databases or trigger messages upon certain actions such as signing up for a consult.
Test for Improvement
The key to marketing success is testing. With a robust CRM, you can test anything: text messages, advertisements, different promotions, or even how often to contact a prospect. Test data proves that the most profitable option can be chosen based on data, not just gut instinct.
Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!
Conclusion
CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) software provides businesses with essential assistance for sales, marketing, and customer service teams. A CRM allows your marketing teams to improve marketing initiatives, expand audience outreach, and more effectively serve existing clientele by creating detailed profiles for leads and customers. If your organization would benefit from organizing communications more effectively while uncovering key customer and lead insights, consider adopting one today. Get intouch with the best and most reliable CRM software solution.
