Software Advice surveyed CRM users to determine the top benefits and challenges of their system, as well as future areas of CRM investment.

1. Software Advice UserView:
CRM Software Report
Lessons from real software users

2. Software Advice conducted an online survey of 304 customer relationship
management (CRM) software users representing businesses across a range of
industries and sizes in order to determine the following:
• How businesses are planning to invest in key areas of CRM technology
• How satisfied they are with their current CRM solution
• What they feel are the greatest benefits and challenges of implementing their
system.
Abstract

3. Level of Future Investment by CRM Application
Help desk and marketing automation were top areas for future investment, with 47
and 42 percent of users, respectively, saying they planned to increase spending.
Percent of sample
Help desk/customer service
Marketing automation
Social media monitoring
Sales force automation
Social media platforms
Knowledge management
Field service
Channel management
Call center
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Increase Stay the same Decrease Don't know

4. User Satisfaction With CRM System by Business Size
Respondents representing small businesses were most likely to say they were “very
satisfied” (37 percent) or “somewhat satisfied” (33 percent) with their CRM system.
Percent of sample
Small
Medium
Large
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied
Somewhat unsatisfied Very unsatisfied

5. How Well CRM System Delivers on Key Benefits
Most users (74 percent) said their system offered improved access to customer
data, with 64 percent saying it delivered improved relationship management.
Percent of sample
Improved access to customer data
Improved relationship management
Improved interaction tracking
Improved lead management
Improved customer satisfaction
More efficient customer service
Improved sales forecasting
Increased customer retention
Workflow standardization
Lower customer acquisition costs
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Very Well Well Poorly Very poorly

6. Challenges With Current CRM System
Users cited system customization and integration as top pain points, with 56 and
49 percent, respectively, saying they were “major” or “moderate” challenges.
Percent of sample
System customization
Integration with other systems
End-user adoption
Decreased user productivity
Data import
Deficient functionality
Learning to use the system
Instability/bugs/latency
Support costs
Security or privacy issues
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Major challenge Moderate challenge Minor challenge Not a challenge

7. Devices Used to Access CRM System
Percent of Sample
Nearly half of our respondents said they used smartphones (48 percent) and/or
tablets (45 percent) to access their CRM system.
Laptop
Desktop
Smartphone
Tablet
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

8. Number of Devices Used to Access CRM System
Nearly all users (81 percent) say they access their CRM using multiple types of
devices, with 29 percent using laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets.
29%
20%
33%
19%
1
2
3
4

9. Demographics: CRM User Size by Number of Employees
Our survey respondents represented a range of businesses of varying sizes, with
most (67 percent) representing smaller businesses of 100 or fewer employees.
10%
5%
18%
11%
13%
8%
12%
18%
8%
1
2-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
101-500
501-1,000
<1,001

10. Demographics: CRM Users by Industry
Respondents represented businesses from many industries, with manufacturing,
technology and real estate being the most common at 21, 14 and 11 percent.
25%
3%
4%
5%
6%
6% 7%
11%
14%
21%
Manufacturing
Technology
Real estate
Sales
Consulting
Financial services
Healthcare
Distribution
Accounting
Other

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12. Software Advice™ is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's
website, www.softwareadvice.com, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and
research to help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company’s
team of software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each
software buyer identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software
Advice connects software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities
for software vendors.
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