The year 2017 is expected to bring a whole lot of changes in CRM software. More importantly, the tool will no longer be used just for gathering contact information. Now CRM software will be developed keeping the specific user in mind, leaving hardly any scope for standalone CRM.
Following are the top CRM trends that are becoming the wave of the future:
Rising Focus on Mobile CRM Mobile applications are going to be the ‘next big thing’ in CRM. With mobile CRM, users can access relevant customer information, irrespective of their time and location. Since sales is not a desk job, a mobile CRM system for small business can be a valuable addition for sales people who travel a lot. No wonder, use of cloud-based mobile CRM has shown to improve productivity of sales reps. So companies selling CRM product will have to ensure that their software is also available on mobile platform. The future of CRM, particularly in 2017 lies in mobilefirst technology.
CRM Predictive Analytics will gain more Importance For better targeted marketing, it is crucial to understand and predict consumer behavior patterns. This is what you can achieve by incorporating CRM predictive analytics into your business. In 2017, predictive analytics will have a lion’s share in attracting new customers as well as improving customer retention. It will help to optimize marketing campaigns and contribute in closing more deals. More and more sales reps will be depending on predictive analytics tools to know which prospects are more likely to buy.
Emergence of industry-specific CRM Software Every industry be it ecommerce, real estate, healthcare, insurance etc., have their own specific needs when it comes to managing customers. For instance, a standard CRM software that come with a set of features may not suit a particular industry. 2017 is expected to see more development of specialized CRM systems for industry-specific applications.
Growth of Social CRM Market With increasing number of customers using social media to know and discuss about a company’s products, social CRM market is poised for phenomenal growth with companies in 2017 focusing more on developing CRM software applications that come with social media monitoring capabilities. As far as usage is concerned, preference will be given more to CRM with built-in social tools.