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Core CRM software: Introduction

Over the past few years, the need for companies to have a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system has become increasingly important.

Core CRM software, in particular, has emerged as a vital digital tool for businesses seeking to streamline their customer management processes.

Within any digital ecosystem, this can be one of the key components for high-quality customer service delivery and overall engagement.

Our buyer’s guide has been researched, written, and designed to assist buyers and professionals looking to find the right Core CRM solutions for their organisation and customers.

As well as offering valuable insights into what to look for when searching for the ideal system, we delve into the technological advances and outline considerations and potential suppliers.

Understanding Core CRM software

Core CRM software is a comprehensive system that manages all aspects of a business’s interactions with its customers. Within this software, both lead generation and customer service are controlled and delivered.

In addition to providing a streamlined and centralised platform for storing customer data, it is also used to track customer interactions and analyse customer behaviour.

All of this provides companies with invaluable data that can drive customer engagement and ensure data-driven decisions can be made.

Core CR software solutions can be particularly beneficial for industries such as retail, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, where customer relationship management is crucial and enhanced customer engagement is vital.

Key features for consideration with Core CRM software

With a wide range of core CRM software now available, identifying the best provider can be complex.

During this process, there are several key features that buyers should always consider:

Long-Term Scalability

Business growth is something all companies prioritize, making scalability a key component to consider when researching Core CRM Solutions. 

Software that offers full and long-term scalability can save time and money, removing the need for new platforms and ensuring continuity during any growth in required platform usage.

Initial Training and Ongoing Support

As with any new software or digital platform, the initial learning curve and how long it takes to train users is important and impactful.

Having a more intuitive and easy-to-use interface ensures that this training can be necessarily minimised and that ongoing use is maximised.

In addition, any service provider to be considered should offer robust customer support that is consistently available and easily accessed.

Overall Cost

Any Core CRM solution service should be cost-effective and offer a good return on investment.

It may seem obvious, but this is something that all businesses should establish before buying.

User-friendly Interface

Core CRM software should be easy to navigate, with intuitive controls and a clean layout.

As well as allowing users to maximise their usage, a high level of usability provides time and resource-saving benefits such as easy adoption and swift navigation.

Customisation Capabilities

Having the ability to customise the software to suit your business’s unique needs is essential.

Each company will have bespoke requirements that need specific functionalities and the ability to customise Core CRM software is a key part of this.

Seamless Integration

Core CRM solutions software should be quipped to easily integrate with other business systems.

Buyers should establish that any considered option has the ability to seamlessly integrate with digital ecosystem elements such as email marketing tools and social media platforms.

Reporting and Analytics

Detailed reports and analytics are important for companies, specifically in their ability to help stakeholders understand customers better.

Many CRM solutions will offer a range of reporting and analytics options. Buyers should identify how far-reaching and granular they would like these reporting and analytics functionalities to be.

Mobile Access

With the rise of remote working, accessing the CRM system from mobile devices is increasingly important.

Industry-leading Core CRM solutions

With the increased usage by a range of companies across a wealth of industries, it is not surprising that there are now numerous core CRM solutions available.

Some of the current industry leaders for Core CRM Solutions include, but are not limited to:

  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365
  • HubSpot CRM
  • Zoho CRM
  • Pipedrive
  • Freshsales
  • SAP CRM
  • Oracle CRM
  • SugarCRM
  • Insightly
  • Nimble
  • Apptivo
  • Copper
  • Agile CRM
  • NetSuite CRM

Latest technological advancements in Core CRM solutions

CRM software is constantly evolving.  With each new technological advancement, platforms are offering enhanced capabilities and functionalities.

Some of the latest advancements include:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into CRM solutions, enabling predictive analytics and automated customer service.
  • Big Data is allowing businesses to gain deeper insights into customer behaviour, while cloud-based CRM solutions are providing greater flexibility and accessibility.
  • Increased use of Machine Learning within CRM solutions

Core CRM solutions: Our conclusion

CRM software has quickly become an invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes and across various industries.

Our buyer’s guide has outlined and discussed some of the key features buyers should look for, though each company will of course have individual considerations and requirements.

As we detailed, staying informed about the latest technological advancements is important, as this can help businesses leverage CRM systems to optimise their customer relationship management and drive business growth.