CRM
Customer Relationship Management – software for central management of customer relationships, sales processes and marketing campaigns for better retention.
A CRM is the heart of sales and customer care. It brings all customer information into one place: from first contact through quotes and negotiations to long-term support. Companies that use a CRM consistently often see higher revenue and better customer satisfaction.
What is CRM?
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) refers to both the strategy and the software for managing customer relationships. A CRM stores all customer-related data centrally: contacts, communication history (emails, calls, meetings), opportunities, quotes, contracts and support tickets. It supports three areas: operational CRM (sales, marketing, service), analytical CRM (reporting, forecasting, segmentation) and collaborative CRM (cross-team work). Well-known systems include Salesforce, HubSpot, Odoo CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Pipedrive.
How does CRM work?
At the centre is a contact database with full interaction history per customer. Sales manage opportunities in a pipeline with stages (Lead, Qualified, Quote, Negotiation, Won/Lost). Automations trigger actions: follow-up email after 3 days without reply, task for account manager on renewal, alert on support escalation. Dashboards and reports show pipeline value, conversion, average sales cycle and satisfaction. Integration with email (Outlook, Gmail), marketing and ERP keeps data in sync.
Practical Examples
Sales pipeline: A B2B company tracks 200 opportunities in different stages, forecasts quarterly revenue and spots at-risk deals.
Marketing automation: HubSpot segments contacts by behaviour (visits, downloads) and runs personalised email campaigns.
360° view: Support staff see purchase history, open tickets, last contact and account manager on each call.
Odoo CRM + ERP: Sales, quoting, invoicing and inventory in one system – no handoffs.
Typical Use Cases
Sales: Pipeline management, lead scoring, quoting and forecasting
Marketing: Campaigns, lead nurturing and automation
Customer service: Ticket management, SLA tracking and self-service
Account management: Retention, upsell and churn prevention
Management: Revenue forecasts, sales performance and resource planning
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- Single source of truth: All customer data in one place instead of spreadsheets and tools
- Revenue: Structured sales and pipeline management improve conversion
- Service: 360° view enables personalised, fast support
- Automation: Follow-ups, reminders and workflows run automatically
- Decisions: Reports and dashboards give visibility into sales and customers
Disadvantages
- Adoption: CRM projects often fail because sales does not use the system
- Data quality: CRM is only as good as the data entered (garbage in, garbage out)
- Cost: Enterprise CRM (e.g. Salesforce) can be €100+/user/month
- Implementation: Data migration, customisation and training need real effort
Frequently Asked Questions about CRM
Which CRM is right for my company?
What does implementing a CRM cost?
Cloud or on-premise CRM?
Related Terms
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