CRM Frequently Asked Questions

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a tool that helps businesses manage interactions with current and potential customers. It centralizes customer data, improves communication, and streamlines processes to enhance customer relationships and drive business growth.

A CRM system is essential for organizing customer information, improving communication, and automating tasks. It helps businesses track leads, manage sales pipelines, improve customer service, and personalize marketing efforts.

• Centralized data
• Personalized engagement
• Automated follow-ups
• Better team collaboration
• Reporting for smarter decisions

There are three main types of CRM systems:

• Operational CRM — automates customer-facing processes (sales, marketing, service)
• Analytical CRM — analyzes customer data for trends and insights
• Collaborative CRM — improves cross-team communication and service

CRM focuses on customer interactions and revenue-facing processes. ERP integrates core business operations like finance, HR, and supply chain. CRM is customer-facing; ERP is internal operations-focused.

1. Choose a platform
2. Import customer data
3. Customize to your process
4. Integrate email/marketing tools
5. Train your team

• Email: Gmail, Outlook
• Marketing: Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot
• Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams
• Accounting: QuickBooks, Xero

1. Open CRM → Integrations
2. Select ESP (Braze, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, SFMC)
3. Authenticate and map fields/lists

• Lead capture & follow-ups
• Drip campaigns
• Task reminders
• Behavior-based workflows

• Demographics (e.g., location, industry)
• Behavior (purchase/browse)
• Value (CLV tiers)

• Revenue & targets
• Conversion rates
• Pipeline progression
• Acquisition costs

• HubSpot CRM — generous free plan
• Zoho CRM — affordable & flexible
• Freshsales — intuitive for sales teams

Use personalized comms, proactive support, automated follow-ups, and targeted offers to keep customers engaged.