Customer relationship management (CRM)

What is customer relationship management (CRM)?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is the system that records customers, contacts, deals and activity, so the whole revenue team works from one shared record. IBM describes it as a set of integrated technologies used to document, track and manage relationships with current and prospective customers. In practice, the CRM holds accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, quotes and the notes that explain them.

Why it matters to a revenue leader

The CRM is the evidence base for every number you put in front of the CEO, the board or the sponsor. If sellers keep the real story in their heads, spreadsheets or inboxes, the forecast reflects only what got typed in. In commercial services, the CRM often sits beside a field service or ERP system that holds agreements, work orders and invoices, and the gap between the two is where renewals and repair quotes go missing. Treat CRM use as a management standard and inspect it like any other.

A mechanical services company with 16 sellers tracks service agreements in its ERP and new projects in the CRM. Renewals worth $1.8 million come due next quarter, but only $1.1 million appear as renewal opportunities in the CRM, so the forecast understates the quarter by $700,000. Creating renewal opportunities from agreement end dates closes the gap and gives each renewal an owner.