A CRM system, or Customer Relationship Management system, is a software system that helps businesses manage their interactions with customers and potential customers. It allows businesses to compile data from a range of different communication channels, including a companys website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials, and social media, and learn more about their target audiences and how to best cater to their needs, thus retaining customers and driving sales growth. The primary goal of CRM systems is integration and automation of sales, marketing, and customer support, and they typically have a dashboard that gives an overall view of the three functions on a single customer view, a single page for each customer that a company may have. CRM systems can be used to manage customer relationships across the entire customer lifecycle, spanning marketing, sales, digital commerce, and customer service interactions. Some key features of a CRM system include:

• Contact management: A CRM system provides a central place where businesses can store customer and prospect data, track customer interactions, and share this information with colleagues.
• Sales management: CRM systems can be used to track sales leads, add notes, schedule follow-ups, and organize the next steps that need to be taken, ensuring that opportunities to close deals or grow customer accounts won’t be missed.
• Marketing automation: CRM systems can be used to build, automate, and track marketing campaigns, including identifying targeted customer segments, providing real-time statistics, and using A/B testing to optimize.

CRM systems can help businesses optimize processes by streamlining mundane workloads, enabling employees to focus on creative and more high-level tasks. They can also be used to improve customer service relationships, assist in customer retention, and drive sales growth.