7 Reasons Why You Need a B2B CRM Software for Your Business

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a tool that helps businesses manage their interactions with current and potential customers. CRM software can help you improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, and streamline your workflows. But not all CRM software is created equal. If you are a business that sells to other businesses (B2B), you need a CRM software that is designed for your specific needs and challenges. Here are seven reasons why you need a B2B CRM software for your business.

Key Takeaways

A B2B CRM software can help you improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, and streamline your workflows.

A B2B CRM software can help you track and manage every stage of your sales pipeline, from lead generation to closing the deal.

A B2B CRM software can help you build long-term relationships with your customers and provide them with personalized service and support.

A B2B CRM software can help you deal with multiple decision-makers, and tailor your messages and offers to their specific needs and pain points.

A B2B CRM software can help you manage multiple accounts and projects, and coordinate with various teams and stakeholders.

A B2B CRM software can help you cross-sell and upsell to your existing customers and increase their lifetime value.

A B2B CRM software can help you comply with various regulations and standards and protect your reputation and trust.

A B2B CRM software can help you monitor and compare your competitors’ activities and create a unique value proposition that highlights your competitive advantage.

1. You have longer and more complex sales cycles.

Unlike B2C sales, where customers often make quick and impulsive decisions, B2B sales involve multiple stakeholders, longer negotiations, and more approvals. This means you need a CRM software that can help you track and manage every stage of your sales pipeline, from lead generation to closing the deal. A B2B CRM software can help you automate tasks, follow up with prospects, and keep track of your progress and performance.

2. You need to build long-term relationships with your customers.

B2B customers are not just looking for a one-time transaction, but a long-term partnership that can provide them with value and solutions. This means you need to nurture your relationships with your customers, understand their needs and goals, and provide them with personalized service and support. A B2B CRM software can help you store and organize all the information about your customers, such as their contact details, communication history, preferences, feedback, and more. This way, you can easily access and update your customer data, and deliver a consistent and relevant experience across all touchpoints.

3. You have to deal with multiple decision-makers.

B2B sales often involve multiple people from different departments and levels of authority, who have different roles and interests in the buying process. This means you need to identify and engage with all the key decision-makers, influencers, and gatekeepers in your target accounts, and tailor your messages and offers to their specific needs and pain points. A B2B CRM software can help you segment your contacts based on various criteria, such as their role, industry, company size, location, etc. This way, you can create targeted campaigns and content that resonate with each segment, and increase your chances of converting them into customers.

4. You have to manage multiple accounts and projects.

B2B sales are not only about selling products or services, but also about delivering projects and solutions that meet your customers’ expectations and requirements. This means you have to manage multiple accounts and projects at the same time, and coordinate with various teams and stakeholders internally and externally. A B2B CRM software can help you create and assign tasks, set deadlines and reminders, track progress and status, and collaborate with your team members and customers. This way, you can ensure that every project is completed on time, on budget, and on scope.

5. You have to cross-sell and upsell to your existing customers.

B2B sales are not only about acquiring new customers, but also about retaining and growing your existing ones. This means you have to identify opportunities to cross-sell or upsell your products or services to your current customers and increase their lifetime value. A B2B CRM software can help you analyze your customer data, such as their purchase history, behavior patterns, feedback, etc., and identify their needs, challenges, goals, and potential problems. This way, you can offer them relevant solutions that can add value to their business and increase your revenue per customer.

6. You have to comply with various regulations and standards.

B2B sales are often subject to various regulations and standards that govern how you collect, store, use, and share your customer data. This means you have to ensure that your CRM software is compliant with the laws and rules of the countries or regions where you operate or sell to. A B2B CRM software can help you secure your customer data, encrypt your communications, audit your activities, generate reports, and more. This way, you can protect your reputation, avoid legal issues or penalties, and build trust with your customers.

7. You have to compete in a crowded market.

B2B sales are highly competitive, as there are many other businesses that offer similar products or services as yours. This means you have to differentiate yourself from your competitors and convince your prospects why they should choose you over them. A B2B CRM software can help you monitor your competitors’ activities, such as their pricing strategies, marketing campaigns, product features, customer reviews, etc., and compare them with yours. This way, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and create a unique value proposition that highlights your competitive advantage.

Tip

A B2B CRM software can help you save time, money, and resources, and boost your business growth.

B2B CRM Software: Global Demand and Trends

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a technology that helps businesses manage their interactions with current and potential customers. CRM software can improve customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty, as well as increase sales and revenue. In this report, we will examine the global demand and trends for B2B CRM software, based on data from various sources.

Global CRM Software Market Size and Growth

According to Gartner, the global CRM software market is expected to grow over 14% through 2025, reaching 79.4 billion U.S. dollars in size. This is driven by the increasing need for businesses to scale customer-centered decisions and actions across functions, channels, and devices. CRM software can help businesses achieve this by providing real-time customer analytics, personalized engagement, and seamless integration with other systems.

Another source, Statista, forecasts that the global CRM software market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% from 2021 to 2025, reaching 57 billion U.S. dollars in size. This is a more conservative estimate than Gartner’s, but still shows a positive trend for the industry. Statista also projects that the market will continue to grow at a CAGR of 10.68% from 2023 to 2028, reaching 131.9 billion U.S. dollars in size.

Global CRM Software Market Segmentation and Competition

The global CRM software market can be segmented by deployment type, application, industry, and region. According to Gartner, the cloud-based CRM software segment accounted for 75% of the total market revenue in 2018, and is expected to grow faster than the on-premises segment. The cloud-based CRM software segment benefits from lower upfront costs, faster implementation, and greater scalability.

The main applications of CRM software are sales force automation, marketing automation, customer service and support, e-commerce, and social media management. According to Statista, the sales force automation segment had the largest market share in 2018, followed by marketing automation and customer service and support. These segments are expected to remain dominant in the future, as businesses seek to optimize their sales processes, generate more leads, and enhance customer satisfaction.

The CRM software market also varies by industry, depending on the specific needs and challenges of each sector. According to a survey by Capterra France, the most common industries that use CRM software in France are IT and services, consulting, marketing and advertising, construction, and education. These industries may have different preferences for CRM software features, such as customization, integration, mobility, security, and analytics.

The CRM software market is highly competitive, with many vendors offering different solutions for different segments. According to Gartner, Salesforce is the leader in the CRM applications market, with a share of 16.8% in 2018. Other contenders in the market include Oracle (5.7%), SAP (5.6%), Adobe (5.1%), and Microsoft (2.7%). These vendors compete on various factors such as innovation, functionality, pricing, customer service, and brand reputation.

Frequently Questions

Q: What is a B2B CRM software?
A: A B2B CRM software is a tool that helps businesses that sell to other businesses manage their interactions with their customers.

Q: What are the benefits of a B2B CRM software?
A: A B2B CRM software can help you track and manage your sales pipeline, build long-term relationships with your customers, deal with multiple decision-makers, manage multiple accounts and projects, cross-sell and upsell to your existing customers, comply with various regulations and standards, and compete in a crowded market.

Q: How to choose a B2B CRM software?
A: To choose a B2B CRM software, you should consider factors such as your business goals, budget, team size, industry, features, integrations, security, scalability, support, and reviews.

Q: What are some examples of B2B CRM software?
A: Some examples of B2B CRM software are HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Freshworks, and Insightly.

Q: How to use a B2B CRM software effectively?
A: To use a B2B CRM software effectively, you should follow best practices such as setting clear and measurable objectives, defining your sales process and stages, training your team members, updating your customer data regularly, segmenting your contacts, personalizing your communication, automating your tasks, measuring your results, and optimizing your performance.

Reference:

https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21171/1/Chapter%209%20-%2010%20Dec%202014%20-%20ANA-ACT%5B1%5D.pdf

http://www.hcltech.com/sites/default/files/CRM_Trends_Insurance.pdf

https://www.b2binternational.com/publications/b2b-marketing/