CRM trends in 2020: the most important developments in a row

In recent years, large companies have increasingly focused on their customers. Computer says no is in many cases largely a thing of the past and purple crocodiles can only be seen with governments. If you want to put your customer first, you have to pay a lot of attention to customer relationship management (CRM) and all the software that comes with it. Which CRM trends are waiting for us in 2020?

What is CRM again?

Here comes the term CRM (customer relationship management) you known for but lack the exact association? This video briefly explains what CRM is.

CRM trend 1: system reduction

Customer data record in one system, place orders in another system and send quotes through a third party? Many large companies develop a new tool for every new product or project. This proliferation of systems does little good for your customer relationship management. Processes take a long time (because before the systems have talked to each other, a nightly batch must first run) and once made mistakes continue to persist in underlying systems. In 2020, the fewer SMEs and the large business market, the better. However, that one system must immediately be extremely user-friendly, to prevent employees who have to work with it from doing so in the desired manner. Yes, the bar is set high in 2020.

CRM trend 2: AI 

Applications with artificial intelligence ensure that companies become better able to analyze and eventually predict the behavior of their customers. By smartly deploying big data in a CRM system to which AI has been added, you can surprise your customers with relevant offers at exactly the right time. Customers will get the feeling that such a company understands what they want and that increases the trust relationship. And every deal starts with confidence, of course.

CRM trend 3: Attention to the customer, not the product

The importance of a good product, however contradictory, will become slightly less important in 2020. It can prove to be of much greater influence to convince your customers that your products apply to them. Companies that can convincingly present the way in which their products add value to the lives of their customers are ultimately successful. For this it is necessary to run careful marketing campaigns - for example through recognizable stories on social media - in which you continue to link your products to the needs of your customers.

CRM trend 4: Mobile CRM

Especially important for account managers who visit customers at their office: having access to your CRM system from anywhere and any device is invaluable. Being able to check and enrich information immediately ensures that you maintain your CRM system optimally and feed it with the right data. If you have AI applications in use, they will function much better that way.

CRM trend 5: Social links

How many customers are now not using WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram in conversation with companies where they want to buy products or ask questions? In 2020 we will see more and more companies that want to add all those social contacts to their CRM system. The number of possible links will therefore also increase. A positive surprise is that a customer who contacts us by phone can check whether the Facebook complaint from two months ago has been satisfactorily resolved. Such a customer immediately gets the feeling that they are taken seriously and that they really take center stage.

CRM trend 6: Speech technology

Perhaps a bit too futuristic for mass application in 2020, but in the near future we will see that voice messages end up directly in your CRM system. Employees no longer need to log appointments and conversation content - the CRM can do that after all - and customers can start helping themselves via, for example, a speech robot. Not every customer is waiting for this, so introducing such an application requires military precision, but that the human link in maintaining your CRM is slowly disappearing, is a trend that is certain.

Are these all CRM trends or are you still missing a trend? Tell us below!