"CRM is really a robust customer database and a foundational element of marketing. Yet, many marketers don't actually have a formal CRM solution. A recent study from Capterra, which connects buyers with software vendors through an online forum, found that only 18 percent of retailers surveyed use a CRM solution. This was nearly twice as high a percent as the next category, business services (10 percent). Interestingly, the study found that more CRM users work for B2C businesses (60 percent) than B2B firms (55 percent).
The study found that most companies invest in CRM early in their business life, but usually as a sales database (80 percent) as opposed to a marketing solution (46 percent) or customer service tool (44 percent). About half of the study's respondents adopted a CRM solution when they had fewer than 50 overall employees, and 65 percent had about 100 customers. Fewer than half (about 44 percent) in the study are integrating their CRM system with a marketing automation solution.
Marketers who do use CRM solutions want more. Capterra's report found that marketers are having an increased influence on which CRM solution is chosen. They are looking for a blend of marketing automation, segmentation management, social analytics, audience insights, and salesforce automation that tracks marketing qualified leads through the entire cycle. Firms like Infusionsoft, Marketo, and HubSpot are all moving in this "blended" direction."
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