Building strong relationships and prioritizing customer satisfaction are among the most essential factors in running a successful and profitable business. CRM software benefits companies across industries by improving process efficiency, boosting sales and helping provide top-quality customer service.

With different types of CRM solutions focusing on specific markets, it’s easy to second-guess your software selection. To make sure you’re confident in choosing the right software for you and your business needs, this article will take a deep-dive into CRM examples, top solutions across critical features and tips for choosing the ideal system for your business.

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Why Do You Need a CRM?

Growing client numbers increases your need for a comprehensive CRM solution. With an integrated, cross-functional CRM, you can implement strategies to spur business growth.
Here are some key benefits you can expect from a quality CRM:

Greater Productivity: CRM tools improve efficiency and streamline workflows by automating tedious processes. Reducing manual, repetitive tasks allows employees to focus on other critical responsibilities.

Targeted Communication: As clients expect a more personalized user experience, it’s vital to understand their needs and behavior to provide a superior customer journey. CRM tools offer personalization and automation to keep clients happy and sales reps productive.

Single Ecosystem: Having multiple solutions for each department makes it hard to stay organized and work at your full potential. You can improve collaboration between teams and build organizational focus with a single system.

Detailed Analytics: Built-in analytic tools study customer behavior and break down data, giving you powerful insights to make better business decisions. Identifying actionable opportunities allows you to implement and prioritize growth strategies for long-term organizational success.

Check out our article on the advantages of CRM for a more comprehensive overview of the benefits it provides.

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Top Five CRM Examples

These five CRM implementation success stories should clarify how a comprehensive CRM transforms your business. Let’s jump in:

Spotify

Spotify is one of the most popular audio streaming services in the world. With over 456 million monthly users, a CRM was essential to help advertisers reach the right audiences and promote collaboration between brands and listeners.

The challenges Spotify faced when building out its advertising business included inefficient processes, manual business processes and a need for a comprehensive overview of customers and ad inventory.

To overcome these issues, Spotify implemented Salesforce CRM to streamline operations and drive revenue growth and efficiencies. By leveraging Salesforce products like Marketing Cloud, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Tableau and Slack, Spotify has built automated workflows and increased collaboration, leading to a 40% increase in productivity.

With analytics tools that monitor customer behavior and track social media to identify promotional opportunities, Spotify can provide more targeted advertising. Over 60% of Spotify listeners say audio ads help them discover new brands and products.

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is the leading Coca-Cola bottler in Africa. With over 40 bottling plants, it has more than 11,000 employees serving 650,000 retail outlets across the continent. To manage its CRM needs, the company chose Microsoft Dynamics with Microsoft 365 and Azure integrations. Microsoft’s ecosystem has empowered CCBA to achieve the following goals:

• Reduce IT costs from 2.85 percent of net sales revenue to just below 1.4 percent of net sales revenue.
• Eliminate infrastructural redundancies and supply duplications to reduce overhead costs and improve business efficiency.
• Improve turnaround time and speed up decision-making with Microsoft Power BI’s data visualization tools.
• Upgrade finance operations, increase customer engagement and improve analytics capabilities simultaneously using Microsoft’s 3-in-1 solution.

Hershey’s Ice Cream

Founded in 1894, Hershey’s Ice Cream has grown from a small farmhouse operation to a $140 million a year business. Although the company innovated many new products over the years, its sales practices remained traditional, and employees relied on Excel spreadsheets to manage operations.

Implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP for enterprise resource planning was the first step to overhauling the company’s tech infrastructure. Realizing that a comprehensive CRM solution offers greater sales productivity and visibility across business operations, Hershey’s chose Creatio due to its intuitive interface and field sales capabilities.

Key areas where Creatio had an impact include:

• Easy ERP integration and customization capabilities allowed Hershey’s to retain legacy systems.
• Empowering sales teams to access information on account health, location and order history via mobile apps made it easier to plan and prioritize client visits.
• With automation, sales staff spent less time reviewing and updating account information and more time with potential customers.
• Shorter time-to-productivity for new sales employees thanks to Creatio’s simple interface enabled faster adoption.

Avison Young

Customer relationship management plays a critical role in Avison Young’s growth strategy. Headquartered in Toronto, Avison Young is a global real estate advisor with over 5,000 employees in 120 offices across the globe. As the business grew and acquired other companies, it also took over existing CRMs in place.

With different CRMs in place across the organization, it became difficult to maintain data accessibility with data silos. That made it challenging to track goals and employee performance throughout the firm.

To overhaul existing CRM solutions in place, Avison Young chose the HubSpot CRM platform. With the complete HubSpot ecosystem, including Operations Hub Professional, Sales Hub Enterprise and Marketing Hub Enterprise, the goal was to align sales and marketing, overhaul manual tasks and simplify reporting.

HubSpot’s easy-to-use interface with drag-and-drop functionality ensured adoption was a breeze. With a complete overview of client information, it’s easier to identify opportunities for growth and offer newer solutions to existing clients. The consolidation of data across the platform has enabled effortless sales activity tracking.

Avison Young has reported more accurate revenue forecasting and improved collaboration among global teams that have driven business strategies and data-informed decisions. After implementing HubSpot, CRM user adoption across their North American team jumped from 23% to 90%. With a simple implementation process that cuts down on documentation, testing and training time, it’s easy to see why.

EnviroGroup

EnviroGroup is a specialist business providing renewable energy products and systems for residential, commercial and government clients. Aiming to transition from its outdated CRM to a more user-friendly system offering easy integration, document management and communication tools, the company narrowed down on Zoho to meet its goals.

By implementing Zoho CRM and custom modules, EnviroGroup benefited via:

• An easy migration process while transferring data from their legacy system to Zoho CRM.
• Google Drive integration for easy document management. Customer quotes, site images and billing data are now securely stored in the cloud and accessible via Zoho.
• Improved efficiency and reduced data entry by automating, consolidating and integrating systems.
• Improved lead and customer tracking. Real-time tracking of project progress provided improved visibility to customers.
• Access to the same data throughout the organization, eliminating data silos and redundancies.

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Best CRM Software

With the sheer number of CRM systems on the market catering to multiple industries, it’s easy to get confused. To help you determine the right solution, we’ve compiled a list of essential CRM requirements to compare the top solutions on the market.

Here are our picks for the leading CRM systems:

Best CRM for Account and Contact Management: Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM centralizes your communication channels so your team can work more efficiently and improve sales numbers. It also comes bundled with additional lead and territory management capabilities, all at an affordable price. In addition to its robust CRM help center, Zoho’s customer support team is also available via live chat and toll-free calls.

Keep an eye on complete account details in one place. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Account Management — 100
• Appointment Scheduling — 100
• Account Hierarchy — 100
• Territory Management — 100
• AI-Based Sales Recommendation — 100

Top Benefits

• Centralize Communication: Access email, phone and social media channels to monitor interactions across every stage of the customer lifecycle without having to switch between applications constantly.
• Save Time: Automate repetitive, time-consuming contact management tasks to increase workflow productivity.
• Improve Performance: Get more done and work smarter with Zoho’s conversational AI assistant, Zia, to improve data accuracy and manage client communication intelligently.
• Support Mobility: Sales reps have immediate access to critical information on the go, with mobile CRM apps for Android and iOS.
• Customize Freely: Features a REST API, widgets and SDKs for web and mobile. Customize programs and apps to meet your unique needs.

Primary Features

• Account Management: Create accounts to store company profile information for a unified view of associated contacts, opportunities and billing information.
• Appointment Scheduling: Create a custom scheduling page and include calendar links in customer emails.
• Account Hierarchy: Link related accounts with their parent account to identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
• Contacts Recommendation: Identify contacts to prioritize based on preferences such as job title, company and areas of interest.
• AI-based Sales Recommendation: Present cross-sell, up-sell, retention and renewal offers to the right clients and prospects.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Organization Charts — Supported With Partner Integrations
• Email Verification and Suggestion — Supported With Partner Integrations

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Best CRM for Lead Management: HubSpot Sales

HubSpot Sales’s customizable, cloud-based system provides support throughout the sales funnel so you can track every lead in your pipeline and maximize revenue potential. With proven industry experience across verticals such as e-commerce, finance, healthcare, manufacturing and real estate, HubSpot’s software ecosystem brings together CRM tools in a single, powerful platform aimed to help you sell faster.

Create custom lead scoring criteria to maximize conversion. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Automatic Lead Distribution — 100
• Card Scanner — 100
• Data Enrichment — 100
• Email Parser — 100
• Leads Capture — 100

Top Benefits

• Better Lead Identification: Identify interested prospects, track their visits in real time and follow up via personalized emails using scheduled delivery.
• Enhanced Lead Connection: Increase lead engagement by scheduling emails or reaching out to prospects at a specific time. Ensure quick responses with instant notifications for email opens, clicks and downloads.
• Efficiently Managed Pipelines: Set up and manage pipelines easily with automated workflows to create and assign tasks and rotate leads. Track performance and sales activities through metrics like quotas, productivity and pipeline health with customizable reports.
• Unified CRM: Deploy HubSpot Sales with other HubSpot products to implement an ecosystem spanning sales, marketing and service. Remove department silos, facilitate seamless data flow and enhance collaboration across teams with interconnected hubs.
• Smooth Integration: HubSpot Sales integrates with over 230 apps like Salesforce, Google Contacts, Pipedrive, Mailchimp, Outlook and Zoho CRM.

Primary Features

• Automatic Lead Distribution: Define assignment rules to automatically match sales representatives to best-suited leads based on set criteria, such as location, industry and expertise.
• Lead Scoring: Score leads based on customizable rules using user data and interaction history.
• Card Scanner: Scan business cards to automatically push new contact information into the CRM with a mobile card scanner app.
• Data Enrichment: Identify email addresses, phone numbers and contact information about leads by scraping publicly listed information.
• AI in Lead Conversion: Capture insights from sales activity to identify those likely to convert into a deal using AI.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• LinkedIn Prospects Capture — Supported With Workarounds

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Best CRM for Quote, Order & Contract Management: Creatio

Creatio’s low-code interface combines marketing, sales and services efforts to manage the sales life cycle from quote to order. Combining a BPM engine with CRM functionalities, it provides integrations for unrestricted performance and is ideal for medium and large businesses looking to accelerate their sales process.

Keep track of order history and communications in a single window. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Automatic Creation of Orders — 100
• Contract Creation — 100
• Invoice Management — 100
• Order Generation — 100
• Order History — 100

Top Benefits

• Easy Customization: Creatio’s low-code environment and range of customization options allow you to refine the UI, data views and business logic to meet your needs without any coding or scripting.
• Better Sales Support: Use smart filtering to compare sales indicators across time periods and analyze the efficiency of sales reps based on targets met.
• Simplified Business Process: Automate business processes with modeling, execution, monitoring and analysis tools to implement dynamic workflows and optimize outcomes.
• Improved Customer Segmentation: Group customers according to industry, revenue or priority to improve communication. Dynamic segmentation leverages real-time data to update user status as they move in and out of target segments.
• Better Data Insights: Email reporting and bulk analytics track deliveries, open rates, spam and unsubscriptions to deliver actionable insights using pre-configured dashboards and reports.

Primary Features

• Automatic Creation of Orders: Configure order registration from your website and automatically create order records.
• Contract Creation: Create contracts manually or use templates to auto-populate necessary fields from a quote, order or opportunity.
• Contract Management: Manage contracts and agreements with electronic versions and keep track of contract details and amendments history using photocopies.
• Invoice Management: Issue invoices using customizable invoice templates and alert sales representatives when the payment due date approaches.
• Order Segmentation: Group orders by contacts, accounts, stages, budgets, products, services and owners.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Quote Generation — Supported With Workarounds

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Best CRM for Workflows & Process Automation: Dynamics 365 For Sales

Microsoft Dynamics 365’s process automation tools drive efficiency across sales, service & marketing teams. Designed for businesses of all sizes, Dynamics has proven industry expertise across the automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services and retail sectors in empowering sellers to build relationships and improve sales performance.

Customize and automate workflows according to your needs. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Approval Rules — 100
• Predefined Workflow Templates — 100
• Sales Process Editor — 100
• Validation Rules — 100
• Workflow Rules — 100

Top Benefits

• Streamlined Contact Management: Use interactive organization charts to track contacts and visualize relationships. Ensure your contacts are up to date with the built-in LinkedIn Sales Navigator widget.
• Accurate Sales Insights: Monitor daily actions and communications to receive tailored and actionable insights. Design personalized customer experiences with a 360-degree view to maximize customer lifetime value and make informed business decisions.
• Improved Relationships: Adaptive AI tracks buyer needs and trends changes to help sales reps react promptly to risks and opportunities. Recommendations on moving sales forward based on customer interaction data, profiles and insights help streamline your onboarding process.
• Improved Conversion Rate: With a business card scanner, sales reps can quickly gather information about prospective customers. Automated lead and opportunity scoring helps identify customers most likely to convert and buy.
• Mobility: Access data on the go with mobile and tablet apps supported on iOS, Android and Windows 10. Improve data accessibility throughout your business with bundled offline sync and Excel export tools.

Primary Features

• Approval Rules: Implement rules and automate the approval process for business requests, from deal discounts and document approvals to travel expense reports and contracts review.
• Predefined Workflow Templates: Set everyday sales actions instantly or at a scheduled date using templates to cut down on processing time.
• Sales Process Editor: Design multiple sales processes, set sequences and edit stages with a drag-and-drop sales process editor.
• Validation Rules: Define validation rules with condition checks across multiple criteria to prevent inaccurate data from entering your database.
• Workflow Rules: Set up custom workflows by automating processes that don’t require user interaction, such as scheduling, time tracking and reporting.

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Best CRM for Opportunity & Deal Management: Freshsales

Part of the Freshworks software suite, Freshsales provides lead, sales and customer management tools bundled with an intuitive, user-friendly interface. With a dedicated support portal including an FAQ repository, videos and extensive help articles, Freshsales is a good choice for small and medium businesses looking to convert leads into recurring revenue.

Identify best opportunities using AI tools. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Activity Management — 100
• Journey Designer — 100
• Opportunity Management — 100
• Opportunity Probability — 100
• Opportunity Rotting — 100

Top Benefits

• Detailed Data Insights: Manage and track deals to gather detailed sales pipeline information on different products. Create up to 10 custom pipelines, with the option to import pipelines from other CRMs.
• Personalized Communication: Establish personal connections with customers with customized voicemail messages. Record and upload the voicemail messages directly or use the text-to-speech features for added convenience.
• Save Money: Save on implementation costs with a free version that includes 24/5 email, chat and phone support. With unlimited access for your entire team, you don’t need to worry about the user count running over.
• Freshworks Ecosystem: Enhance capabilities and promote seamless data flow across multiple apps with integrations across the Freshworks product suite. With marketing automation, help desk and project management solutions, implement a fully unified solution for your organization.
• Accurate Tracking Reports: With Javascript, PHP, Ruby, Java and Python libraries, you can monitor website visitors’ activities in real time. Tracking calls each sales rep makes allows you to keep tabs on performance and take remedial actions.

Primary Features

• Activity Management: Keep track of customer communications to give your sales team real-time updates.
• AI in Opportunity Management: Leverage AI tools to identify best measures and close opportunities.
• Journey Designer: Create sales journeys with automated business rules and integrated workflows using a drag-and-drop interface.
• Multiple Sales Pipelines: Create and import sales pipelines from other CRM systems with easy integration.
• Opportunity Management: Create new opportunities and manage them using sort and filter tools across various fields, including type, status, territory and revenue.

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How We Choose Products

Our team of writers and analysts at SelectHub is committed to giving you the best recommendations based on our data. To make our list, products had to meet two criteria:

1. Closely match the topic
2. Earn a top-5 analyst score in our selection platform

Our analyst scores are based on an in-depth research process using primary and secondary sources. This includes SelectHub Analyst Briefings, direct communication with vendors, and reviewing materials such as user reviews, product brochures, specification sheets, case studies, user manuals, and technical documentation.

Our platform’s Scoring Engine processes the research and computes the analyst score. The score also factors in platform settings such as industry and company size.

Learn more about our research methodology and editorial standards

Tips for Selection

Throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks won’t get you far when selecting software. Switching to a new system can be costly, making it essential to conduct proper research so you can avoid costly mistakes. Our tips for choosing are an excellent place to help plan your selection journey.

And for a smoother, more comprehensive evaluation process, take a look at our nine-step Lean Selection methodology.

Establish Your Requirements

The first step to improving business processes is identifying the problem. Pick features integral to your business, not what’s fancy. A quality CRM excels at certain functions and falls short on others. Knowing your business needs better prevents buyer’s remorse.

Communicate and Collaborate

An evaluation and selection team comprising project managers, power users and stakeholders gives you a clearer idea of what to look for. By collaborating with department leaders to identify improvement areas, you cut down on project execution time.

Look for Customization

An easily customizable solution lets you add functionality, design templates and optimize processes according to your needs and goals. Make sure to identify customization costs in advance so you don’t exceed your budget.

Your business needs may change over time. A flexible solution is important to prevent starting the search over.

Review Vendors

Shortlist and review vendors according to your requirements checklist and priorities. You can focus on your top choices by scoring and ranking vendors before moving forward with demos and in-depth use cases. Vendors with industry-specific experience and a portfolio of industry use cases provide additional insights as you proceed to selection.

Rank Your Choices

You shouldn’t simply pick software with the most features or the highest scores across criteria. Consider the total cost of ownership and shortlist the solutions within your budget before you organize and rank them.

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Next Steps

The CRM examples above are just some of many businesses that have transformed their operations with mindful implementation. By leveraging your solution to build stronger relationships, your business can continue to grow and generate more revenue over time. We hope these CRM system examples have helped you understand the capabilities of today’s solutions.

Looking for more? Our free comparison report makes it easy to see how popular systems stack up side by side.

What problems are you looking to address with a CRM solution? Did we miss out on any key CRM examples? Let us know in the comments.