Enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) systems aren’t just an upselling gimmick from your standard CRM. Larger (enterprise) companies have different digital asset requirements compared to smaller companies, including their CRM.
As companies grow in employee size, revenue, and strategy, their resource needs increase — but they come with limitations.
Technology is obligated to evolve with those company necessities, from micro-businesses to major corporations. In other words, if your organization experiences this growth, your tech stack should advance with it.
Today we’re continuing our insights on the future of CRM, and how enterprise CRM systems fit into company growth strategies.
What is Enterprise CRM?
Enterprise CRM systems are precisely like standard CRM systems, but tailored for larger organizations. Their engineers take typical features in your average CRM and expand them to fill in enterprise operations’ numerous roles.
Regardless of a company’s tech stack size, CRM systems are a staple for sales and marketing teams. Enterprise CRM systems improve workflow management with their complex data organization for much-needed accessibility.
Larger organizations have multiple departments serving as an umbrella for several specialized teams. And all of those individual team members need a robust CRM — one that wears enough hats to assist day-to-day demands, and store enough data.
Enterprise vs. SMB CRM Systems
Company growth yields campaigns that become increasingly granular. For instance, your social media strategy that your marketing manager ran five years ago looks different today — with multiple social media specialists running more channels.
CRM systems must reflect these evolving strategies while cross-functioning in one centralized system.
Small to mid-size companies typically operate in a single geographic region, while enterprises reach across the globe with multiple locations. And new territories come with the responsibility of understanding customer behavior by region.
Enterprises also possess more product and service lines, sometimes under the guise of different brands. More product options mean more customers — so robust contact management and complete profile views are a must for CRM systems.
Enterprise CRM System Features
Enterprise CRM systems need to handle a wide range of complex tasks, functioning as a quasi-database and workflow manager. Whatever a business requires, these systems must deliver.
The following are features to look out for in an enterprise CRM system:
- Email campaign management
- Lead segmentation & scoring
- Deep analytics with reporting
- Omnichannel management
- Customer data management
- Workflow integration
Along with these features, automation is essential in a CRM system to keep up with task loads. Call logging, email management, touchpoint tracking, and campaign maintenance all take up precious time from sales and marketing professionals.
Enterprise CRM Future Vision
With a pinch of optimism, increased revenue, customer engagement, and innovation live in the minds of B2B professionals. And In the technology realm, artificial intelligence (AI) is making all of it a reality with these trends:
APIs
Application performance interfaces (APIs) are customary for digital system integration. And with cloud platform usage growing, APIs increasingly play a huge role in CRM usability.
In CRM systems, APIs help make customer data more accessible and organized. When separate teams need to access the same information across different applications, APIs hold them together.
To achieve customer-centric design (which employees also need), streamlining workflows and improving usability with CRM systems is essential.
IoT
Modern households opened their homes to internet of things (IoT) devices with wide arms — business offices have followed suit. Because of its cost efficiency, businesses use IoT in device management, facilities, smart assistants, asset tracking, and digital signage.
Integrating IoT functionality into a CRM system streamlines communication responses and monitoring. Instead of checking calls, emails, and touchpoints manually, IoT devices connect hardware, applications, and internet.
Self-service
In B2B, plenty of customers prefer face-to-face interactions with sellers, but you can’t forget those who prefer to buy without rep interference. As communication methods evolve, B2B professionals see a future in self-servicing for enterprise CRM systems.
Along with software as a service (Saas), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), anything as a service (XaaS) is rising in popularity to fit new buying needs.
XaaS is ‘self-servicing’ — giving flexibility to purchasing, subscriptions, and contact methods. So if you have a B2B customer that likes to purchase your product on their own, your CRM can track and note those behaviors.
When Your Company Grows, So Should Your Tech Stack
Company growth for enterprises looks different than that of smaller organizations. But CRM systems are indispensable for companies of all sizes.
CRM systems have a place as long as revenue growth is a goal for a company. For enterprises, larger growth relies on a more robust system — the enterprise CRM.
As a part of your CRM strategy, consider which of your digital tools grows with your enterprise, and which ones act as a ghost of your company’s smaller self.