
Small businesses, as well as large corporations, can both benefit from CRM solutions.
Companies must manage their existing and potential customers more carefully than ever.
We have analyzed and spoken to over 500 businesses about their CRM requirements. As a result, we know the many features and functions you should consider when buying and installing a CRM.
This and much more will be covered:
What is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management)?

Lets first look at the definition of CRM before diving deeper into its selection process. CRM is any tool, strategy or technology enterprises use to retain, acquire and develop customers.
They can be used by sales and marketing representatives to automate and manage the entire customer lifecycle.
The solutions help with critical CRM functions by storing customer data in one central location. This allows for automated processes, improved relationships, and closely monitored performance.
Who Uses a CRM System?

The CRM system is suitable for almost all business segments. From customer service to sales, recruiting, business development and marketing, CRM can help manage relationships and interactions with external parties.
Create a database of contacts using information about customers and prospects, track marketing campaigns, and address service issues.
Anyone in the organization who needs to know about customer interaction can have it. Sales reps with easy and constant access to information can work together more efficiently, boosting productivity.
The Benefits of Primary Care

In 2022, the CRM market was worth $58.82 Billion. It is expected to grow at a 13.9% CAGR from 2023 until 2030. It is because CRM software tools are one of the best tools for acquiring and retaining customers.
You should invest in ERP and CRM development to know your audiences location, preferences, spending habits and demographics.
A CRM will help in the following ways:
- Automate and Streamline Processes: Standardize processes and workflows associated with customer service, sales and marketing to improve coordination.
- Smarter Offers: Identify and focus on promising leads to increase conversion rates. By staying in touch with prospects, you can better understand their needs and make more targeted offers.
- Enhance Customer Service: Happy Customers will be loyal and return more frequently. Its important to find out if your clients are happy. Find out why and correct the problem. The CRM platform can be used to collect data about customer satisfaction. Customers can also be supported by some products that include customer service features.
- Increase Sales: Software features allow you to know key customer information such as birthdays and locations. You can also personalize your communication. You can improve your ROI by making the best offers to the most appropriate customers at the perfect time.
- Remote Work: Maintain all users in the loop with a cloud CRM system. Sales reps can work remotely and check data while on the move.
- Reducing Costs: By implementing a cloud CRM platform quickly, you can reduce IT costs by eliminating version control requirements and the need to schedule updates. The ERP and CRM solutions are priced based on users and the required features, making it an affordable option.
- Increase Customer Lifetime Value by identifying cross-selling and up-selling opportunities and better understanding your customers.
Selecting Software

The success of your business depends on choosing the best CRM. It comes down to just two things. You need to know two things to select the best CRM: first, familiarize yourself with CRM features to choose the one that suits your needs.
Second, determine what CRM capabilities are needed by your team.
Below is a list of all the CRM features. You can also use our CRM checklist to determine what you need. You should know that all CRM platforms will have a partial set of features.
Therefore, you must define your needs and conduct some research.
Please note that this CRM feature list does not follow any particular order. This list of basic CRM features is available on dozens of top CRM platforms.
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The Key Features

These 36 features are the most important of all CRM software:
- Contact Management
The most crucial CRM function is contact management. This element, sometimes called customer management software or CRM, can be found in CRM.
Users can segment their contacts to organize them better and cater to them.
This CRM feature will allow you to collect vital customer information and improve your marketing strategy when introducing a new product.
This CRM also allows for a more personal touch in all customer contacts, making customers feel valued and important. This factor greatly influences customer satisfaction!
2. The Sales Team and Customer Management
A CRM feature that is relatively commonplace involves quantifying the sales opportunities your team can have with clients.
Lead scoring allows the user to determine which customers are likely to convert. It helps to streamline your marketing and sales teams, increase efficiency, and optimize the sales process.
Source CRM Infor offers sales and opportunity management as part of its CRM capabilities. Source
3. How to Manage Leads for High-Quality Leads
Lead management is a feature that should be included in any CRM list. Lead management allows businesses to identify the most suitable customers for follow-up based on demographic and psychological factors.
It improves your sales teams efficiency by focusing on the best leads at the right moment.
4. Reports and dashboards
Reporting, dashboards and BI were once relegated to business intelligence features. Now, they are among the most popular CRM tools.
Customized dashboards and reports allow users to view data in an engaging, highly visual way. These tools offer data that is updated in real-time and can be accessed through various portals. This makes it easier for different personnel to access.
These reports can be used by management to drive data-driven decision-making. An investment in CRM Business Intelligence is an investment for the future.
5. Sales Analytics
Sales analytics are one of the best features in a CRM when it comes to reporting. Users can develop better future sales campaigns by analyzing hard data from past drives.
You can collect and analyze data using CRM from polls, social media sites, website traffic or other sources.
6. Mobile CRM
Its a given that everyone has a phone these days. So, it only makes sense to use the incredible technology in them for your business.
Mobile CRM apps and programs allow you to manage customer relationships from a mobile device. Mobile devices enable staff to view campaign data and get helpful notifications.
7. Sales Force Automation
One of the features CRM offers is its ability to automate your sales process. It includes outgoing call campaigns, follow-up campaigns, and data organization to make future campaigns more effective.
Automating these repetitive tasks will allow your staff to focus on more complex work.
8. Sales Forecasting
Determining a success metric is an important part of managing customer relationships. You can create benchmarks to determine if your results match your efforts by forecasting.
This data can be used to decide where to focus your future endeavors.
9. Email Client Integration
Now you can have all the automation, organization and functionality of an email client within your CRM interface.
Find a CRM which will perform double duty for you. When a client calls for support, you can quickly pull up their past interactions to provide the best possible care.
10. Workflows and Approvals
Optimizing your workflows is one of the best ways to improve efficiency in your business instantly. CRMs facilitate optimization by automating tasks that used to be done manually, like data collection and analysis, marketing campaigns, etc.
The reporting and analysis features of this CRM feature help identify problem areas to be improved.
11. Sales Data
The ability of CRM to break down your customer and sales data into smaller chunks is one of its best features. After stratifying raw data, you can create visualizations to help make your decisions.
The users can quantify key performance indicators, pinpoint pain points and make data-driven decisions.
12. Store CRM data/files
To maximize the datas usefulness, the information must be stored properly. A proprietary data storage method is one of CRMs key functions.
This allows users to retrieve data quickly and efficiently. CRM manages and keeps all of your files related to sales, such as proposals and quotations. This software offers protection and backups of this data to avoid loss and security breaches.
13. Files Synchronization and Sharing
The CRM platform is a synchronization tool for many programs. You can import and sync spreadsheets and upload emails directly from Outlook or Google Drive.
You can access all your features from CRMs sharing feature.
14. Inside Sales Console
The inside sales console is a platform that increases sales through an efficient user interface. The CRM system offers a data-driven UI optimized to improve customer service.
15. Sales Performance Management
Sales performance management is one of the many CRM features that can benefit sales teams. The managers can see which aspects of their sales teams are doing well and which need to be improved.
Reps or other quantitative factors can sort the data. From the platform, you can monitor your partners sales performance to ensure that everyone is working at their best.
Problem areas can be identified more effectively with data.
16. Market Automation Integration
With marketing automation, you can target more effectively and strategically audiences who are most likely to buy what you sell.
You can automate parts of your program using a CRM that allows you to control terms selectively.
17. Chat Integration
Chat is a valuable feature for a user of today. You can integrate a chat application like Olark or LivePerson into your CRM to chat with customers, employees and partners.
18. Call Center Automation and Integration
One of its key features is integrating third-party programs into CRM and controlling the call center directly from the CRM interface.
Youre less likely to be confused or lose data via translation and transfer if you only use a few different systems.
19. Web Analytics Integration
Its not just about collecting data. This tool analyzes data and identifies problems, offers suggestions for improvement, and provides insights into how your users interact with your site.
The CRM provides a simple way to access and collect these statistics directly from the UI.
20. Support Automation
AI is improving and enabling more automated customer support tools like chatbots, FAQ pages and emails. Your UI allows users to control your customer service features.
21. Cloud CRM or On Premise CRM
There are several formats of CRM -- on-premise, web-based (also known as SaaS, online CRM or SaaS), or SaaS. In-house CRM systems are a combination of hardware and software that can be customized.
Software licenses must be purchased to access customer data. Cloud CRM systems are hosted on remote servers, where the service provider manages software upgrades, hardware updates, backups, and security.
Each has its pros and cons that you should consider when choosing.
22. Product Level Quotes
Your CRM acts as a database of your product inventory. Maintain quotes on the individual products you sell. Discover which products sell well and what sales you are losing.
You can access this data from handhelds, desktops, and other devices.
Read More: 6 CRM Software Trends
23. Role Based Views
You can limit employee access to your CRM based on their role in the company. This will increase security. You can control what users see in your CRM, preventing data leaks or security breaches.
The CRM allows you to manage your employees activity by level while keeping your customers data secure.
24. Testing Environment
The CRM feature allows users to test new features, such as multivariate or A/B tests, before implementing them. You can train your employees to handle the recent changes.
Customers can also explore them and provide feedback. It helps prevent customer frustration, increases conversion rates and allows you to make informed decisions.
25. Third-Party Integrating Integration
Integrations are a must-have feature for any CRM. Youll need to integrate your CRM with any software you use, such as ERP, BI or HR.
Incorporating other software into your CRM can add functionality to the system and streamline its operation.
26. Campaign Management
You can manage all aspects of your sales campaigns from one UI. It includes analytics, campaign ROI and scheduling.
The CRM software combines data collection and analytics, giving you multiple access points for your staff.
27. Customization Options
The customization feature is one of CRMs most basic features. However, it can have a wide range of implications.
Customization increases CRM flexibility. Before making any purchase, its important to understand your customization needs.
Does the software have the ability to grow along with your company? Can it integrate and adapt with the existing software in your company? Can it integrate desktop productivity tools into the system? Can it be changed when needed? You may want to look for more flexible software if you have answered "no" to these questions.
28. Email Marketing Integration
Others may need the additional power that a standalone email marketer can provide. You can integrate your email marketing software.
This is a better option than importing the information into CRM. This type of integration is available in most CRMs, but you should double-check.
29. Social Media Management Integration
The CRM UI can manage SMM-specific efforts. Integrate platforms into your CRM to simplify social media management.
This will allow you to have multiple members of the team working together using different interfaces.
30. Case Management
Online case management is another popular CRM feature allowing you to manage sensitive information securely. Keep sensitive data of customers and prospects away from curious eyes who might steal their information for identity theft or engage in other damaging activities.
It is important to do this to prevent cybersecurity problems and data leaks. Data security problems are the last thing that any company wants to happen!
31. Automated Customer Service
The name CRM stands for managing your customer relationships. The user can track and close existing cases and address individual customer issues to increase customer satisfaction.
The automated service personalizes client communication. Create a knowledge base for support to make it easier.
32. Tracking
You can track customer interactions from first contact through to the purchase of products and services. Monitor business metrics such as lead source, customer lifetime value and win rate.
33. Project Management
Its a real bummer to miss a meeting. The CRM project management features make managing client meetings easy. Instead of writing down dates on an Excel sheet, you can use the capabilities to keep track of important dates.
You can stay informed about upcoming events and any document modifications made by team members. You can quickly view your projects with this CRM feature so that you never miss a deadline.
34. Territorial Management
Leads and customers can be routed according to their location. CRMs allow you to segment your accounts by "territories", such as geographical location, product type or industry.
The CRM feature will enable you to create hierarchies using zip codes, countries, states and cities.
Organizing accounts into territories allows you to see which reps have been assigned to each region easily. This makes tracking easier and will enable you to compare performances based on locations.
35. Pipeline Management
Pipeline management is one of the key CRM features. It gives you complete visibility of your funnel and lets you see where a client stands in the sales cycle.
This information can be used to identify weaknesses, predict revenue, and evaluate sales representatives performance.
36. Quote Management
You can only sell by sending a quotation to your prospective customer. This CRM feature streamlines the quote process with pre-designed templates.
You only need to enter the relevant data about your customer and then send them a copy!
Questions to Ask Vendors

Create a feature-specific list of questions you can ask vendors to narrow your search. It will also help you clarify any confusion or questions and enable you to make the best choice.
- Can the system hold a large number of leads? Can leads be analyzed and viewed?
- Which features of the reporting and analytics are included in the free edition? Are there drill-down features in the reports?
- How much contact can you store? What are the charges for exceeding that limit?
- Can the templates be customized? Can I auto-fill templates with digital signatures or add them to my quotes?
- Are marketing tools included in the standard version? Or are they available through integrations only? Is the platform compatible with other marketing tools or platforms?
- Can you customize the email templates? Is the program compatible with Gmail and Outlook?
- Can I use custom colors for the pipe? This function offers what interactive features and drill-down options?
- What is the policy on data retention? Is the document management platform compatible with other applications for document storage?
- Can you build your forecasting models? Does it use machine learning and AI?
- Is there a way to log in multiple users?
- What metrics can be tracked with this solution?
- Does it allow for cross-team access to sales data and documents?
- Is there a mobile native app included with the system? What are the mobile functions?
Evaluation of Market Demand

Over 500 CRM vendors were asked what functions and features they wanted to see in their platforms.
Demographics
The companies that we surveyed are listed below.
The CRM Status
Each company either purchased their first CRM software, updated to a CRM application or reduced the size of a CRM system.
Most companies who purchased their first CRM system cited issues related to organization, efficiency, and communication as their motivation.
The company is growing or changing, ready to move its business into the 21st Century.
Companies looking to upgrade were working on outdated platforms, or their data was spread across multiple systems.
The buyers were looking to organize data, consolidate their disparate systems and bring everyone up to speed.
The companies that were downsizing felt the CRM needed more features. These users also mentioned affordability, believing the CRM had overcharged them for parts and services they did not use.
Wanted Price Range
A CRM can range from $50 per user/month up to $250 per user/month. We divided the companies into three categories based on their preferred price range.
Price was not a major concern for the overwhelming majority. The overwhelming majority were not concerned with the price point.
Real users have many options in the $50 to $200/user/month range. Twelve percent of buyers were happy to spend between $50-$100/user/month, and 16 per cent with $100-$200/user/month.
They value the balance of features and affordability.
Users who wanted to reduce their monthly costs below $50 per user were typically small businesses or non-profit organizations.
The users in this group described their CRM needs as simple and valued practicality above versatility.
Deployment Priority
On-premises, cloud-based or hybrid CRM platforms are available.
Most people prefer cloud-based solutions. They are available from anywhere, cheaper, and provide full IT support.
A web-based CRM allows users to save space and money. Users can save money and space by avoiding IT-heavy servers required to run an on-premises system. Cloud-based software can be expensive if your company needs more features or the host increases the subscription fees.
Around a third of it said they would be interested in cloud-based or on-premise CRM. They want to explore their options and find out more about the specific functions that CRM vendors offer.
Security concerns were cited as the main reason for three per cent of respondents who preferred on-premise solutions.
On-premise solutions allow for greater security control. Cloud-based systems are not less secure, but this is a misconception. These both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on your company.
Some users had a curiosity about hybrid systems. Who can blame these users for wanting the best of both approaches?
Despite their different sizes, budgets and situations, these companies agreed that certain features are essential in any CRM.
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The Next Steps
The CRM is used to help buyers manage the relationship they have with their customers. The most requested CRM features revolved around improving customer relationships and streamlining processes.
They need features that manage contact information, interactions, and the movement of clients through their lifecycle, such as tracking interaction, pipeline management and contact management.
Automating sales processes, marketing, and salesforce activity will help them achieve higher automation rates. They want a system with a single interface that is easy for their customers and users.
Takeaways from the article:
- To avoid confusion among buyers and give them exactly what they want, CRM vendors need to focus on outreach and education. The buyer needs to gather information about the CRM features they need to match correctly with the best CRM system.
- The market is moving towards buyers wanting a single, comprehensive software solution. Buyers wish all their needs -- including marketing automation, customer management, email campaign, analytics, and reporting -- to be handled on one platform. Vendors should remember that integration and centralization are two of the 11 most requested CRM features.
- Automatism is the future. Buyers know they can run better businesses, from more consistent branding to efficient workflows. Automating marketing tasks and those of the sales force is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Any CRM that does not offer some marketing automation or sales force automation functionality will be forgotten in a few short years. Businesses that dont use a CRM system with these features will also be left behind.
Buyers want a CRM development company that will help them improve their business.