CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM is software and a set of processes a business uses to store contact and account data, log every interaction across sales, marketing, and support, and manage relationships through the entire customer lifecycle. It gives teams one shared, central record of each prospect and customer.
In practice, a CRM tracks leads, deals, activities, and pipeline stages so reps know who to follow up with and managers can forecast revenue. Marketing teams sync campaign and form data into the CRM so they can route leads, score them, and measure which efforts produce closed business. Popular platforms include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
The most common pitfall is poor data hygiene: duplicate records, stale fields, and inconsistent entry make reporting unreliable, so most teams pair a CRM with clear field standards and validation. A CRM is often connected to a Customer Data Platform (CDP) and Marketing Automation tools.
Last updated: 14 June 2026