What are some next big things in CRM?

The future of CRM is here. It has become a critical component of how businesses are run today, and it will only grow in importance. Technology is the driving force behind the use of CRM, which means that it is up to us to not just adapt to new technologies, but be innovators ourselves.

Customers expect a personalized customer experience with a company. This can be achieved through CRM. CRM is a system that the company uses to track and analyze each customer's relationship with the company.

In today’s world, customers are becoming more demanding and they expect companies to be able to provide a personalized experience.

One way to do this is through the use of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence can process data, learn from past interactions, and help devise the best course of action for handling future interactions with customers.

CRM and Analytics - What's about it?

Every industry is using analytics to help make better decisions. Analytics tools are increasingly being used in CRM systems to help make these decisions more efficient and effective. With the increasing popularity and adoption of data analytics, there is a plethora of data that can be analyzed by companies. As a result, many analysts and developers are developing new, innovative tools and applications that could revolutionize the future of analytics with CRM.

With the ever-increasing use of data collected from all sources, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage and optimize insights from various sources. Over the last few years, the development of large data warehouse solutions has allowed companies to efficiently store and analyze collected data in one central location.

With the market flooded with CRM solutions and the industry-changing so rapidly, it is difficult to say what the future of Analytics will be. However, we can take a look at trends and see what might happen in the near future. For example, we might say that in the coming years more brands will be moving to omnichannel retailing - meaning that consumers can buy via phone, chat, social media, and e-commerce channels, at least after the Covid 19 - online presence and digitalization has boomed.

?CRM and AI - What's about it?

Companies such as Zoho , Oracle and Salesforce are using artificial intelligence to make CRM more human with the use of chatbots and predictive analytics.

Zoho CRM? with ZIA can answer simple questions, like?

• Get me the number of deals created in the last week.
• How many accounts were created last month?
• Leads created today.
• Open activities.
• Show me calls scheduled this week.
• Upcoming events.
• Show me touched records of deals.
• Emails sent today and bounced.
• Leads this month.
• Revenue this month.

Automating things in Zoho CRM has become super easy . On the other hand, Salesforce with its new Einstein AI-powered CRM, Salesforce is utilizing machine learning to answer complex customer questions like: “What type of marketing campaign will help me reach my quota?” and “How many leads did we generate this month?

AI has been integrated into CRM in order to increase customer satisfaction. AI will be able to take over the cognitive processes of CRM, freeing up time for the human staff to focus on more high-level analysis. As AI is developed further, customers will be able to use bots for CRM purposes, even with complex needs. This allows for customers with any type of question or requests to have their needs met without human intervention.

A recent study found that by 2022, 50% of all customer interactions will be handled without a human agent. This means that companies will need to take steps in order to ensure that their customer retention rates stay high and that customers are happy with the quality of service they receive.

CRM and Machine Learning - What's about it ?

With the business world evolving, organizations are looking for new ways to analyze and predict sales. Among the most popular methods available is machine learning. In a nutshell, machine learning is a branch of computer science that studies how algorithms can be used to identify patterns in data, including classification and regression analysis.

The future of CRM is in machine learning because it will allow CRM to be more predictive. CRM has developed into an industry that strives for automation, which is the next evolution in the CRM industry. Machine Learning will allow CRMs to predict important events in customer’s lives, such as when they are nearing retirement or when they are at risk for diabetes, these are easily few possibilities. Machine Learning will also give customers a better experience by automatically filtering out irrelevant emails and calls.

Machine Learning algorithms are already being used to identify sales trends and predict sales volume. They can be used to analyze customer data and identify potential new customers who may want similar products as those who have recently purchased from you.

CRM and? Remote Tools - Digitalization? - What's about it?

We all went through a rough phase in 2020 - Covid situation and still the situation continues. The market has behaved randomly and dealt with quick changes. Some of us lost businesses, some of us survived somehow and some utilized the opportunity that laid within the crisis. As soon as most organizations realized the importance of being present online the emergency of digitalization took over . People are consuming content like anything now. Email marketing has suddenly picked up, people are opening and reading emails now. So the requirement of Remote Working tools emerged.

The future of remote tools for CRM is very bright. It's not uncommon to see businesses using one to save time and money. Remote tools can be a great asset for a business as they offer a number of advantages that keep on growing every day.

There are some aspects that are more likely to come into play in the near future, Considering the technological trends, one potential requirement may become security. The recent news about data breaches at major companies has made people much more aware of how important it is to protect their information.

Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and CRM systems are no exception to this rule. Remote tools allow for remote access to an organization's databases without the need to be physically present. As CRM continues to evolve, remote tools are becoming more sophisticated with integrations into other technologies such as Zoho Meeting, Zoho Remotely, Salesforce, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google App suite, Skype, FaceTime, and Dropbox.

The workplace is changing and with this change comes new challenges. We now find ourselves in a world where we are constantly connected to the internet and our co-workers; we no longer need to be physically present for work to be done. This new way of work has given rise to new tools and platforms like Slack, Trello, and Google docs, Zoho Docs that allow us to more efficiently communicate with those outside of our immediate vicinity.

CRM and Social Media - What's about it?

The use of social media marketing has increased over the past years and consumption went very very high from last year due to the Covid situation. There are many organizations that have seen the power and potential in utilizing Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram to grow their customer base and connecting with their customers.

However, the question remains: does social media marketing make any difference for people/ organizations using CRM??

The answer is YES. The future of social media depends on how it is used, but there will always be a need for CRM systems along with Social Media. Every business will still require some type of system for capturing customer information.

There are many ways that social media interfaces with CRM, but the two are really on different levels.

A recent study found that less than 10% of marketers use social media to influence customer relationships. The study also found that more than 90% of marketers think social media is important for branding.?

The existence of Social CRM was already there for few years as of now, it was already in traction before the pandemic and after 2020 the importance went higher.

As new platforms emerge in Social Media, businesses need to adapt. Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Youtube shorts are changing the way companies talk with their customers, but they also pose challenges related to data privacy and analytics. One of the most important considerations for Social CRM is the balance between protecting customer data and using it to understand what people want.

So there will be requirements like Automated Lead Generation from social media, Social interaction with Leads/Contacts modules of CRM. Companies like Zoho are already doing this by integrating Zoho CRM with Zoho Social which helps to set up rules to automatically push Leads and Contacts from your social media channels to Zoho CRM. Generate leads from Facebook Lead Ads and sync it with Zoho CRM or Know the type of posts that are working for you to sell your product, measure the revenue you're generating from the Social Media channels with CRM Reports etc.?

As technology advances, marketing strategies will need to change in order to reach potential consumers. Social CRM is the way that businesses can engage with their customers on different levels and gather feedback that will allow them to better serve their customer needs.

Conclusion -?

In the past, a CRM was considered a sole system for managing customer relationship management, the traditional CRM was just that. Nowadays, these tools have been integrated with other software to provide an omnichannel experience. We have seen this integration in the form of video chat, text chat, social media messaging, AI-enabled, and flawless automation.

In today's digital world, a CRM is no more just a CRM. More and more integrations are coming, and it has become more like an Omni-Channel ecosystem.?

The CRM is no more just a CRM, more and more integrations are coming, it has become more like Omni - Channel ecosystem or BOS - Business Operating Systems.

There are so many aspects left to discuss on the possibilities of the CRM evolution. However, at the moment above mentioned were a few broad categories that came to my mind. What do you think will be the next big thing in CRM after 2021? Please do mention.

--- Tuhin Kumar Kar