Post summary:
- CRM software is now the biggest software market in the world and the growth isn't slowing down. In fact, CRM is now expected to reach more than $80 billion in revenues by 2025.
- One of the key factors behind the growth of CRM is accessibility. Companies want access to customer data in real-time, with mobile and cloud solutions leading the way.
- From customer service and email marketing to personalization, companies now expect to be able to connect platforms and technologies with customer data, in order to provide a more personalized experience.
The CRM industry continues to grow at a staggering rate, and each year new statistics are reported based on CRM trends.
The reason?
CRM is now at the heart of every growing business.
In 2020, we saw increased use of CRM software on mobile devices.
This was aided by businesses increasingly adopting cloud based CRM solutions, allowing their employees to access the software anywhere they go on the smart device of their choice.
Those who have embraced these technologies have seen a huge improvement in both the adoption of CRM software by their employees and the meeting of sales quotas - And according to Buyer Zone (now acquired by Business.com), 91% of companies with more than 11 employees now use CRM software.
But, which statistics should you pay close attention to?
And moving forward in 2023, what will happen?
Don't worry, we've got you covered.
In this data-driven blog post, we take a look back at some of the most important CRM software statistics released last year, the reasons behind them and the impact it will have on your business in 2023 and beyond.
And given that 150,000 people use SuperOffice CRM every single day, we have unique access to millions of data points on the top trends, which we'll be sharing in this report.
(We always keep these numbers up to date with the latest research and development within the CRM industry.)
The rise of mobile CRM
Since the very early days of CRM, some businesses have struggled to get employees to adopt and use the software. However, with increasing use and dependence on mobile technology those companies using mobile CRM solutions are seeing far higher adoption rates.
Offering mobile CRM access does not just increase use of the software, but also the productivity of the workforce. Statistics from Forester have shown that 50% of teams improved their productivity by using a mobile CRM.
And it doesn’t stop there. Users of mobile CRM are achieving better results!
A Nucleus Research report finds that for companies using a mobile CRM, 65% are achieving their sales quotas. While only 22% of reps using non-mobile CRM have reached the same targets.
Access from multiple devices
This information is filtering down to both businesses and their employees.
The global mobile CRM market will grow 11% to $15 billion worldwide this year as businesses seek to connect with their customers through their mobile devices.
Although the use of CRM on a mobile device is still lower than that from a laptop or desktop, the rising use from mobile devices and tablets means that 81% of users are now accessing their CRM software from multiple devices.
Increase in cloud-based CRM Solutions
It's this increasing need to access their software from multiple devices and locations that has led to the rise of using cloud based CRM solutions.
In 2008, only 12% of businesses used cloud-based CRM - This figure has now increased to 87%!
We have our own data to back these statistics up, too.
For example, only 15% of new customers subscribed to SuperOffice's cloud CRM in 2010. Today, our cloud CRM is sold to 97% of our customers.
At SuperOffice, we've seen cloud CRM usage grow from 15% in 2010 to 97% in 2020
Although first believed to only benefit smaller businesses, SaaS adoption is growing fast amongst the enterprise.
Spending on software as a service (SaaS) will reach approximately $42 billion and represent 75% of total customer relationship management (CRM) software spend, continuing the rapid decline of on-premises deployments.
But, what does 2023 and beyond have in store?
CRM growth not slowing down
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software revenues have overtaken database management systems to become the largest of all software markets. And with revenues expected to reach over $80 billion by 2025, it's no surprise that CRM is the fastest growing software market.
So, where do these projections come from?
Nearly 60% of organizations increased IT spending in 2020. And it remains the same in 2023.
This year on year investment is seen as necessary by most businesses in order to keep up to date with the new and emerging technologies and digital transformation.
And this trend is unlikely to change as companies invest more in CRM to become GDPR compliant.
We can see that CRM software leads this technology investment, with 44% of businesses planning to increase IT budgets in 2023, up from 38% in 2022. This is not just to keep up with their competitors, but also as a result of improving sales.
Where is this additional spend going?
Mostly, on customer-facing products.
Topping the table are the 47% of businesses planning to increase spending on help desk and customer service software.
The investment in customer service software shows the intention of businesses to retain existing clients. By not only improving customer service, but also providing online self-service options.
Personalized marketing
It's not only customer service software that companies are investing more in.
The largest share of the digital marketers’ wallet in 2023 goes to email marketing. It’s estimated that the U.S. will spend over 350 million dollars on email advertising in 2023, which makes a lot of sense given email’s consistently highly-rated ROI of a $51 return on every $1 spent.
Not only are marketers' seeing increased revenues, but as the customer experience takes the top spot in marketing priorities, delivering personalized marketing messages through email marketing is a sure fire way to beat the competition and build a brand that consumers trust.
(Not sure how to personalize your email campaigns? Use these B2B email marketing examples to inspire you.)
2023 is the year of the customer (again)
All of these statistics and research point towards 2023 being the year of the customer.
We live in a world where 60% of consumers begin their product research with one or more search engines before heading to a particular website - and they will use mobile devices, laptops and desktops to search for products they are interested in.
In order to engage potential customers across multiple devices in multiple channels, you need data and processes. And with CRM software, you are able to create a 360 degree overview of each person you connect with.
Conclusion
The CRM industry has seen staggering growth in recent years.
And 2022 was no different. Last year we found out that overall CRM usage increased from 56% to 74%.
Broken down this statistic showed that 91% of businesses with over 11 employees now use CRM, compared to 50% of those with 10 employees or less.
This growth was in no part down to how effective its users found it to be. With 74% of them saying that CRM software has improved their access to customer data!
Businesses will continue to increase investments in CRM solutions. Fueled not only by improving results, but also a need to keep up with their competitors and create a great customer experience. This is all expected to turn the CRM sector into a $80 billion industry by the end of 2025.
What should you do?
Well, if your business has yet to adopt CRM - now is the time to invest. And if you can only access your CRM solution through a desktop or laptop, its time to go mobile.
When evaluating your CRM software options, it’s best to give your employees the possibility to work anywhere and on the device of their choosing. The more comfortable they are in accessing the platform, the more likely they are to use it. And the key to CRM success!
Are there any important CRM software statistics we missed in this post?
Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Learn all about how to get started with CRM software by downloading our free 25 page CRM Buyers' Guide.
