CRM Statistics to Help You Reach Your Growth Goals

Written By
Julija A.
Updated
July 07,2023

The pandemic transformed consumer behavior and preferences, and today it’s more important than ever for businesses to sell smart by nurturing customer relationships and improving productivity. This is where customer relationship management or CRM systems come in.          

These revolutionary tools are designed to help businesses implement agile and customer-centric services while promoting loyalty and retention. Learn about the scale of adoption, market growth, and benefits of investing in a CRM system in this collection of CRM statistics.

Must-Know CRM Statistics For 2024 - Editor’s Choice

  • The global CRM market was valued at $47.6 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit $96.5 billion by 2028. 
  • 91% of companies with more than 10 employees use CRM systems. 
  • The retail, BFSI, and healthcare sectors have the highest CRM adoption rates.
  • 78% of salespeople using social media are outselling those who don’t use the technology.
  • Over 80% of users are operating their CRM software on multiple devices. 
  • 32% of users say their CRM system can support the entire customer lifecycle.
  • AI-enhanced CRM is expected to boost global business revenue by $1.1 trillion. 

CRM Market Statistics - An Overview

There is no shortage of surveys showing that the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by businesses. In many companies, the crisis actually removed barriers that were preventing the implementation of these changes - some of which are certain to remain in place long after the pandemic is over. 

An important part of these digital transformations involves putting the customer experience at the heart of your business. And some of the key tenets helping businesses achieve this include customer service software, and of course, CRM systems. The following general CRM statistics highlight the growing demand for CRM, which is being fueled by the need to gain insights into changing consumer preferences to ensure continuous improvements. 

The value of the global CRM market was $47.6 billion in 2021, and it’s forecast to grow to $96.5 billion by 2028. 

(Grand View Research)

CRM systems are taking over from spreadsheets and databases, offering salespeople and business owners the ability to digitally and effortlessly manage their customers. 

Thanks to the increased digitization of businesses, rising demand for automated interactions, and the need to improve the customer experience, the CRM market size is extracted to expand ​​at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% between 2021 and 2028, with revenue reaching $96.5 billion.  

Salesforce had a CRM software market share of nearly 20% in 2020, with over 150,000 businesses using this cloud-based system.

(Statista)

There are several important players within the CRM landscape, including Oracle and Zendesk. However, the most famous and fastest-growing CRM provider is Salesforce, which holds a market share of 19.5%. 

The company generated over $21 billion in 2021 and has a workforce of over 56,600  employees. Over the past few years, Salesforce has been growing at an impressive rate, increasing its revenue by over 24% between 2020 and 2021.

The cloud-based SaaS CRM market reported record-breaking growth of over 14% in 2021.

(PRNewswire)

CRM systems have been developing more advanced capabilities in recent years, and they can do a lot more than just streamline sales reports and automate data collection. Following the advent of remote work and remote teams as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, on-premise CRM systems have moved towards cloud-based options. This is part of the software as a service or the SaaS CRM market, which is set to grow by over $44 billion in the period 2020-2025.

The pandemic accelerated the investment in SaaS and cloud-based solutions to meet changing customer needs.

(McKinsey & Company)

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused drastic changes in many aspects of business, and CRM statistics are a useful indicator of these transformations. Today, salespeople are three times more likely than before the pandemic to say that 80% of their communication with customers is digital in nature. These changes are also helping advance SaaS technologies and cloud-based solutions.

Surveys show that the pandemic caused changes that were expected to unfold over 10 years to happen in a few months. Such an acceleration has caused organizations to invest more in digital technologies.

CRM Adoption Statistics: How Are Your Competitors Doing?

As seen above, CRM is becoming increasingly popular and has established itself as a key ingredient for developing a competitive edge in business. Personalized CRM software allows you to save resources, limit waste, automate processes, and increase customer service standards and customization. 

And if your competitors are adopting this technology, you cannot afford to ignore the long list of benefits. Find out about the CRM adoption rate below.

91% of companies with a workforce of 10 or more employees use a CRM system.

(Grand View Research)

CRM solutions have grown in popularity across all industries thanks in no small part to their new and improved features. The departments integrating this technology into their daily operations include sales and marketing as well as customer services and support. 

One of the reasons behind the optimistic CRM market size forecasts is that smaller businesses are finding affordable and convenient CRM solutions for their needs. And with over 400 million small businesses around the world, they certainly represent an opportunity for growth for CRM providers.

Retail, BFSI, and healthcare are the sectors registering the highest rate of CMR adoption.

(Grand View Research)

The use of CRM systems in businesses is not equally spread across all industries. In particular, the retail sector (32%) is the one leveraging CRM systems the most. Other sectors using cloud-based customer relationship management software include:

  • Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)
  • Healthcare
  • IT & Telecom
  • Manufacturing
  • Government 
  • Education

The average CRM adoption rate among sales representatives is 73%.

(HubSpot)

All of the aforementioned stats clearly point to a rise in the adoption of CRM systems across the board. However, more than 20% of sales reps still don’t use CRM systems and prefer spreadsheets, databases, and emails when managing their clients. 

Ease of use is the most important consideration among those adopting CRM software.

(SuperOffice)

CRM software statistics tell us that executives, salespeople, and business owners have certain expectations when adopting this technology. Ease of use is at the top of the list, with 55% describing it as the most important feature. 

Meanwhile, schedule management (27%) and ease of data plotting (18%) are also among the most sought-after features.

What to Expect from CRM Software: CRM Benefits Statistics

CRM software can help you manage your relationships with your customers as your business grows. But there are many more perks associated with using these systems. Check out the stats below to find out more about what you can expect. 

CRM applications such as Salesforce can increase sales by nearly 30% and refine the accuracy of forecast reports by 42%.

(Salesforce)

CRM system applications can deliver a range of benefits, including:

  • Greater customer visibility
  • Increased personalization of service
  • Immediate access to data and details
  • Improved time management
  • Streamlined tasks
  • Minimized downtime
  • Efficiently managed sales pipeline 

When all this is accessible from a single dashboard, it is easy to see how CRM systems can truly improve sales, productivity, and forecast accuracy.

In 2014, the ROI of CRM was $8.71 for each dollar spent. With the forecast growth rate, this figure could now be as high as $30.48.

(Nucleus Research, Dynamic Consultants)

CRM systems are a notable business asset and an important investment. Over time, the return on that investment has continued to grow. The research shows the ROI rate increased by 1.5x per year between 2011 and 2014. 

76% of employees spend between one and three hours on data entry each day. 

(Zapier)

That means that cloud-based and automated CRM can improve productivity by 34%. CRM software can also help your team minimize human error. Furthermore, information is easily accessible to all your employees, which saves them valuable time when retrieving information.

CRM can increase your customer retention rate by 27%. 

(YokelLocal)

One of the must-know CRM stats is that tailored software for your business can increase your customer retention rate and loyalty by 27%. While this might not seem like much, keep in mind that improving customer retention by as little as 5% can significantly increase your profits. 

Social CRM Statistics

Customer interactions on social media is definitely one of the consumer trends to keep an eye out for in 2022 and beyond. Whether we’re talking about people scrolling the TikTok feed or browsing Instagram, today’s consumers have unprecedented access to shopping channels. 

Modern CRM software is designed to tap into these platforms’ potential. Learn more about mobile and social CRM facts below.  

65% of companies using mobile CRM were able to achieve their sales quotas.

(SuperOffice)

It goes without saying that the growing global dependence on mobile technology affected the CRM market. Companies that use this technology are reporting higher productivity and sales figures. In fact, only 22% of the sales reps using non-mobile CRM are able to meet their quotas. 

78% of salespeople using social media are outperforming their counterparts who aren’t using this technology.

(Optinmonster)

There are nearly 4 billion users engaging with social media platforms every month. If you are looking to outperform the competition and increase your business sales, you might consider using your CRM system to connect with social media users.

Over 80% of users are operating their CRM software on multiple devices.

(Algoworks)

There was a time when most sales teams had to spend a certain amount of time at the office glued to their desktop. 

However, today, they can connect with customers and interact with them through their mobile phones, laptops, or tablets. Investing in a CRM software that can be accessed from multiple devices can increase their productivity and streamline your sales funnel.

78% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand as a result of positive social media interaction. 

(Sprout Social)

Mobile CRM statistics show that investing in software that can be accessed through multiple devices is almost certain to pay off in the long run. But don’t forget that finding the right channels to interact with consumers is just as important. A recent study found that positive social media interactions drive consumers to buy from a brand (78%), choose a brand over the competition (77%), increase their spending with that brand (72%), and develop a stronger bond with the brand (70%). 

The Future of CRM: How CRM Technology Is Changing

Relationships between customers and businesses are always changing, and today, a customized CRM system is an essential tool for any growing business. Peek into the future of this technology with the latest CRM facts and statistics. 

58% of salespeople don’t see the overall picture because of the absence of a centralized customer database.

(Salesforce)

Many businesses are still collecting data and customer information from a variety of sources, which makes it hard for salespeople and marketers to see the overall picture and make quick decisions. Thanks to CRM data plotting and visualization features, CRM systems are increasingly seen as the single source of truth that can help a company make the most of the data collected.

32% of users say their CRM systems can support the entire customer lifecycle. 

(Forrester)

At the moment, CRM systems focus on refining the sales funnel. However, with the constant integration of new features, a growing number of CRM software users feel that the systems can support the whole customer lifecycle from discovery to engagement.   

The first blockchain platform for CRM was launched in 2019.

(Salesforce)

In May 2019, Salesforce unveiled the first blockchain platform for CRM software. Thanks to this emerging technology, transactions can be recorded safely, which is an essential feature when looking at the increase of cyberattacks and data theft incidents over the past two years.  

AI-enhanced CRM is expected to boost global business revenue by $1.1 trillion.

(Xperience)

Emerging technologies such as AI are revolutionizing many industries. In the case of CRM systems, this technology could streamline most processes, boost automation, and improve operations. 

In Conclusion

So far, we have looked at the key CRM statistics that can help you understand the importance of investing in CRM software. But business owners shouldn’t forget that the relationship between an organization and its customers is always evolving. 

So, don't forget to continue checking for the latest CRM statistics and working towards closing your company’s technology gap.

FAQ

What percentage of businesses use CRM?

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According to a 2021 Grand View Research Report, an estimated 82% of organizations use CRM systems to streamline and automate tasks such as sales reporting. The percentage of companies using CRM to make data-driven executive decisions is lower but growing.

How is CRM measured?

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There are several key performance indicators or KPIs that can be used to measure the results of implementing a CRM system. These include churn rates, product usage, customer retention percentage, sales closure rates, upsell rate, customer lifetime value, and customer acquisition costs.

How much does a CRM increase sales?

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CRM increases sales by lowering the customer acquisition cost, improving customer loyalty, and boosting forecast accuracy. Moreover, data-driven systems can automate the sales process and reporting, thus helping a company close more sales faster and with fewer resources.

What does a CRM do?

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While CRM systems are designed to help manage relationships with customers, today’s CRM software offers a range of features, including automating processes and delivering customer data. The CRM statistics above show that as the CRM adoption rate increases, systems become more advanced and sophisticated. 

Sources

About author

Albert Einstein is said to have identified compound interest as mankind’s greatest invention. That story’s probably apocryphal, but it conveys a deep truth about the power of fiscal policy to change the world along with our daily lives. Civilization became possible only when Sumerians of the Bronze Age invented money. Today, economic issues influence every aspect of daily life. My job at Fortunly is an opportunity to analyze government policies and banking practices, sharing the results of my research in articles that can help you make better, smarter decisions for yourself and your family.

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