Customer relationship management systems have been in use by organisations – large and small alike – for over four decades. This span has seen consistent progression of technologies that have been implemented with various degrees of success. But one thing that has remained steadfast is the effectiveness that CRM systems have brought to business processes while serving as an effective medium of communication with their most valuable asset – the customers.
The nascent days of CRMs saw businesses addressing basic necessities through technological means without being too ostentatious, which included features such as contact management and other aspects. With increasing technological means enabling easy assimilation of newer, more powerful features, businesses understood the importance of being first movers in this highly volatile segment where consumers veer towards brands & organisations that provide better service.
CRMs offer powerful solutions that make life easier, faster with more and more automation of processes. In today’s environment, the blueprint for running a successful business has changed dramatically. Gone are the days when having just the best products would ensure a competitive edge. Organisations nowadays have to foster relationships with customers continually to enable customer retention, which puts CRM systems at the front and center to achieve business goals.
The worldwide CRM market was valued at $47.79 billion in 2019 and is estimated to reach $113.46 billion by the year 2027, at a growth rate of over 11%, which highlights how lucrative this business is. The unceasing evolution in technology as well as human expectations will see a seismic shift towards customer centric features and the next few years will see sustained innovations in CRM software development.
New and improved features mark the progression of technology every year and keeping current with these trends will help businesses plan better and meet the ever-changing business needs. Here, we look at three such trends that the year 2021 is bound to see in CRM software development.
1. Mobile Device Optimization
The ever-evolving end user needs have led to most CRM systems now going digital and almost every CRM software company now builds similar features for portable devices. Advancements in mobile technology combined with the widening reach of mobile networks have been able to meet the customers’ needs for constant connectivity that have resulted in the development of CRM platforms with more mobile functionalities.
Mobile devices (phones as well as tablets) have become an integral part of people’s lives, which is why optimizing CRM software for mobile devices is a no brainer.
2. Integration of conversational UI with CRM
Research suggests that over 90% users find it easy to use voice technology which saves time and improves the quality of life. Voice search is expected to be a major CRM feature in 2021. Statistics indicate that as of 2018, there were around 1 billion voice searches every month and every CRM software development company is increasingly implementing this popular feature in their product.
These CRM software development company(ies) are investing significantly in voice search technology, and major players such as Microsoft have funded tact.ai, an enterprise that owns voice assistant technologies for B2B entities.
The coming years will notice a normalization of voice search and conversational UI with organisations looking to hire a CRM software development company that has specific expertise in these areas. Voice technology is also critical for evolution of SaaS tools that makes technology easier and the entire experience more pleasurable.
3. Customer Self Help
With the increase in deployment of bots that are fast becoming the first point of customer contact in support processes, organizations are now able to save significant amounts of time and resources otherwise directed to human interactions. The exponential maturity in bot interactions has led to a drastic increase in first point resolutions in many enterprises without the need for customers to talk to a human agent.
In the coming year, the mark of any established CRM software company would be their expertise in implementing such decisive features in their solutions.
If you are looking to hire a CRM software development company to create a world class CRM system for improved customer experience, contact Smart Sight Innovations for a free quote.
