SEO glossary · C

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is how a business manages its relationships with customers and prospects, and the software it uses to do so. A CRM system stores contacts, companies, conversations and deals in one place, so that sales, marketing and service teams can see the whole history.

What a CRM system does

  • Stores contact and company details, and every email, call and meeting
  • Tracks leads and deals through the stages of the sales pipeline
  • Schedules tasks and reminders for follow-ups
  • Captures leads from website forms, chat and ads automatically
  • Reports on sales activity, pipeline value and forecasts
  • Connects with email marketing, marketing automation and support tools

HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are widely used, ranging from free starter plans to enterprise systems.

Why a CRM matters for marketing

A CRM shows which channels and campaigns bring customers, not just leads, by connecting marketing data to closed deals. That lets you measure customer acquisition cost and lifetime value, and send the right follow-up to each lead.

Getting started

  • Map your sales process first, then set up pipeline stages to match it.
  • Keep the data clean, with one owner per record and required fields that matter.
  • Connect your website forms, so no enquiry gets lost.
  • Store personal data in line with the GDPR.

CRM example

A small web design studio gets enquiries by email, phone and a contact form. It sets up a CRM so each enquiry becomes a contact with a deal in a pipeline: new, call booked, proposal sent, won or lost. When a client calls, the owner sees every earlier email and note. Weekly, the owner looks at proposals not answered in seven days and follows up.

How to choose and set up a CRM

  1. Write down your sales process in five or six stages.
  2. List the integrations you need: email, calendar, website forms, accounting.
  3. Check the cost per user, plus add-ons, and what the free plan limits.
  4. Import existing contacts after cleaning duplicates.
  5. Train the team and agree what must be recorded for every deal.
  6. Review the data monthly and remove fields nobody uses.

CRM mistakes

  • Choosing a complex system for a team of two.
  • Letting people keep their own spreadsheets, so the CRM is never complete.
  • Storing personal data with no legal basis or retention rule.
  • Measuring activity, such as calls made, rather than deals won.

CRM FAQs

Is a CRM only for sales?

No. Marketing and support also use it. See customer data platforms, marketing automation and our guide to CRM software.

Which CRM is best for a small business?

The one your team will use every day. Compare prices and features in our CRM software list.

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