Top 7 Advanced CRM Trends To Look Out For In 2021

There is no doubt that the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system has moved far beyond being just a technology tool, managing customer interactions in an organization.

As 2021 is coming, we are moving further into a new decade. We think you need to know some of the critical CRM trends for 2021, including the increased use of CRM in new markets, powerful functions and integrations, and the impact of different technology trends on CRM. 

Artificial Intelligence will be a crucial part of CRM. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) forms the basis for all computer learning; it affects all industries, in all aspects of life and work. AI technology has evolved far beyond our imagination. Gartner’s 2019 CIO Agenda survey revealed that 14 percent of global CIOs have already deployed AI in their organizations; it is believed that AI integration CRM is the future for all businesses and will significantly boost global business revenue by $1.1 trillion by the end of next year. 

There are many cutting-edge developments in CRM, like face and voice recognition. Salesforce’s Einstein is one of many examples of an AI-powered CRM. By combining AI with CRM, you’ll end up with more predictive and personalized customer information in all areas of your business. 

Fewer barriers for CRM new users

According to LinkedIn State of Sales 2020, 65 percent of sales professionals use CRM software, and 97 percent of the participants consider sales technology fundamental. The survey also reveals that there is one-third of sales professionals are not using CRM. Several common obstacles have bên stopping them from adopting a CRM, including the lack of support from experts, lack of CRM knowledge, and technology comprehension to implement a CRM system.

Recommendation: Hiring Salesforce Consultant can be helpful.

But as CRM software continue to be more affordable and more straightforward, these barriers are becoming irrelevant. As a leading software development company and IT service provider in Vietnam, we predict more companies adopting CRMs in 20201.

Consumers expect brands to know more about them

Now we don’t mean knowing all of their private information; we mean really understand what they want. As we all generate big data, we’re letting brands learn more about us. A business-to-customer relationship has become more like any other human relationship; therefore, consumers expect brands to understand their needs and expectations and communicate accordingly. 

87 percent of consumers believe that companies should provide a more consistent customer experience. As a part of a connected technological stack, CRM is the best way to resolve the issue because CRM allows different team members to store customer data about all previous customer interactions.

CRM is intertwining with IoT Technologies

The Business Insider projects that there would be around 41 billion IoT devices worldwide by 2027. According to Fierce Electronics, this also applies to the business world; 93 percent of enterprises are believed to adopt IoT technology. This includes the simplest IoT devices like energy meters and smart home appliances and even more advanced solutions to achieve greater efficiency, organizational capability, and supply chain visibility.

With CRM integrated with IoT, customer experience can be improved since most enterprises can leverage customer data generated from IoT solutions. With IoT, companies can manage and serve customers proactively.

Social CRM is rising

Social CRM is the use of social media services, techniques, and technology to allows organizations to engage with their customers. By integrating social media channels into CRM systems, companies can gain more insights about what people are talking about them online and gain a better understanding of their brand target audience.

Not to mention, organizations can use this technology to respond to customers’ interactions on social media quickly and thoughtfully, leading to a stronger business-to-customer relationship with existing and potential customers since they can take in the feedback into their roadmap.

CRM should help businesses to condense their sales and marketing tech stacks

With the proliferation of sophisticated CRM and core technology tools, sales and marketing departments can escape the hassle by using fewer tools than before.

As technology has continuously evolved, the team will start to wonder why should they pay for app A when app B can do the same and more? 

To get the best out of its technology, the team will create more integrations and two-way synchronization to make sure that data is up-to-date in all apps.

Voice and conversational UI starts integrating with CRM

One of the critical achievements of SaaS tools’ evolution is voice technology. It is fundamental for accessibility and makes CRM easier and more enjoyable to use. Adobe’s research on voice technology reveals that 94 percent of the users consider voice technology to be easy to use and time-saving.

Salesforce’s Einstein Voice Assistant is helping sales professionals to track, message, update and notify their teams regarding customer situations.

Conclusion

Knowing that CRM is a powerful tool for any enterprises if we have to make one general prediction about technology and CRM, it will be that more businesses will be using this technology to get rid of or automate the process that they don’t want to deal with, at the same time getting better results from the tasks they want to focus on.

TP&P Technology is a certified registered Salesforce consulting partner in Vietnam and a Big Data Consulting Services as well. We have a strong team with extensive knowledge who can help you with your CRM implementation journey. Talk to us know!