In the past decade with the pace of time, the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software has evolved by leaps and bounds. It is no more a mere tool to manage contacts but more than that anybody could ever think of. Either b2c or b2b environment, CRM software proved out to be highly effective software helping brands to come closer to their customers in more than one way. With the arrival of 2021, some popular CRM software trends are coming into the picture that can shake up the industry as and when implemented. Here we are with some of the most popular CRM software trends to look for in 2021 that will urge marketers to use CRM more than ever before and make the most out of CRM’s powerful features and seamless integrations.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of CRM software now. It is one of the advanced technologies that is impacting the brands of various industries. We all are using AI immensely and unknowingly in our daily lives and at work more than we might think. Gartner’s 2019 CIO Agenda survey states that 14% of global CIOs have already deployed AI and it’s estimated that the usage of AI associated with CRM tasks will scale-up the global business revenue by $1.1 trillion by the end of the year 2021.
Increased CRM adoption by first-time users
According to LinkedIn State of Sales 2020, it has been found that 65% of sales professionals use CRM software and 97% consider it essential software to drive sales better. However, there are still some sales professionals not using CRM software due to restricted company budgets or due to lack of tech knowledge to implement it. But the good news is CRMs in 2021 are getting more and more affordable, easy to implement, and easy to use as well. Hence, as per the CRM trend of 2021, a higher percentage of brands will be adopting CRMs for the first time.
A rise in Social CRM
CRMs nowadays are capable of integrating social media channels, opening opportunities for brands in establishing stronger relationships with their past, present, and future customers. Brands by using Social CRM get the capability of understanding their customers and analyze what their customers like to view and post regarding their or any other brands’ products and services. It helps brands to personalize with their customers by resonating with their customers’ sentiments. 2021 is expecting a rise in the usage of Social CRM where brands can leverage it to address their customers instantly and can build strong & personalized relationships with them by incorporating their feedback.
More Automation & More power
Customers are way smarter now and with the pace of time customers are more tech-savvy these days. CRM software in 2021 needs to offer more advanced automation features to match the needs of tech-savvy customers. Most of the brands in 2021 are all set to invest in advanced automation features of CRM software, making their business processes efficient in connecting with their millennial customers. Automation is not only helping brands in marketing and sales but also in driving better customer service. In 2021, CRM is expected to be the synonym of automation helping brands in each of their business processes. For example, using chatbots is a unique automated way to address the customers’ queries instantly. It helps brands in communicating and resolving customers’ issues effectively. Not only this, but chatbots can also be used to automate email workflows to nurture sales qualified leads.
The arrival of more advanced CRMs
Most of the brands implement CRM to automate their contact management, sales, and marketing activities. Brands till now use CRM to automate their daily business workflows and track their sales and marketing campaigns’ performance. However in the year, 2021 more advanced features of CRM are expected to come that will offer a more advanced version of sales automation, cloud database, highly personalized email marketing, various customizations, and advanced reporting/analytics.
CRM software for new verticals
About 50% of CRM buyers in 2019 were basically from these four industries: real estate, consulting, distribution and insurance. However, with the end of the year 2020, the need for CRM raised in other industries too and it is expected that in the year 2021 CRM software will play a pivotal role in other industries as well such as Healthcare, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing and so on.
CRM software for all sizes of brands
The question, how large a company should be, to invest in CRM software? This question holds no importance in 2021. A company even with one employee can implement CRM software if it is facing issues and challenges in managing contacts, streamlining the sales pipeline and struggling to keep the customer data intact. So, in the year 2021, it is expected that CRM will be playing an equal and effective role in all sizes of brands.
CRM a more unified portal integrating 3rd party apps
CRM in 2021 will be more efficient when it comes to integrating 3rd party applications and tools. To run any business seamlessly, your CRM needs to be integrated well with your existing 3rd party applications. In the year 2021 CRMs will be offering more options to get integrated seamlessly with other applications making the job of your sales marketing professionals easy. Right from your email marketing tool to invoicing applications, CRMs in 2021 will be efficient enough to help you in maintaining perfect sync between two different applications seamlessly.
