What Is a CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) software offers tools and capabilities to manage a business’s lead pipeline and customer journey efficiently. It gathers personal data to form a holistic view of customers and leads, then makes this data visible to company teams like sales, marketing and customer service. Company reps can then use this 360-degree view of customers or leads to offer personalized experiences that close sales and build loyalty.

To begin, a CRM collects customer or lead data from website forms, emails, texts and meetings with your sales and customer service representatives, among other sources. It then offers visibility into that data to your reps. For example, if your website form indicates a lead is interested in a particular product, marketing can use that data to create targeted campaigns and sales reps can reach out to nurture a sale of that product.