CRM Database

What is a CRM Database?

A CRM database is a collection of all information about a customer. This includes static data such as their age, gender, and date of birth, alongside dynamic data like interaction history with the customer.

The Different Types of CRM Databases

We can classify CRM databases into three types based on how they store data. Here’s a quick overview of each one:

1. Open Source CRM2. On-Premise CRM3. Cloud-Based CRM

1. Open Source CRM

These CRMs have their source code open i.e. available for general public use, which makes it easy to customize. This is ideal for teams on a budget, as most open-source CRMs are pretty affordable. Plus, it’s your best bet if you’re after a highly customized CRM solution.

2. On-Premise CRM

These are traditional CRM systems, where the entire infrastructure, including hardware, OS, CRM data, and software, are stored on your own premises. All CRM data will be stored on your own servers, giving you complete control over them. This is more expensive than other systems.

3. Cloud-Based CRM

These CRM systems host your data on the cloud on the provider’s servers. You can access this data from anywhere with an active internet connection, making it ideal for scattered and remote teams. This also saves you from hefty upfront setup costs.

What Do CRM Databases Include?

A CRM database is the epicenter of all business information. This information might differ from company to company, but here are some common things CRM databases include:

Demographic information about the customer, such as age, gender, income, and education, for example.
Customer purchase history that gives your sales reps valuable insights into a customer’s buying habits.
Information about customers’ interactions with your business, whether it’s with your sales or customer support team.

3 Reasons Why Businesses Need a CRM Database

Modern businesses can’t survive without a CRM system. With data becoming the new gold, you need a CRM system to make the most out of it. Here are some benefits of CRM databases:

1. Improved Customer Service

1. Improve Customer Service

Customers are the core of any business, and a CRM app or service lets you manage this efficiently. A CRM database houses all customer information for support or sales reps to easily access.

This ultimately improves the overall customer experience as your reps with have updated information on their pain points and preferences, for example, to better assist with any queries.

2. Automation

2. Automation

Leading CRM tools can automate parts of businesses—including sales, marketing, and customer service tasks.

For example, every time a person fills a web form, they can automatically be added to the first stage of the business’s sales pipeline without the need for the sales rep to do this manually.

Lead scoring is also an example of automation, where each lead is segmented based on their interactions with the business. The higher the score, the better the lead prospect is.

These are just a few examples—users can automate almost all business activities, eliminating tons of repetitive business processes and improving productivity.

3. Better Analytics

3. Better Analytics

The data stored in CRM systems can produce meaningful reports, such as sales pipeline reports, profitability reports, campaign performance analysis, sales conversion reports, and lead reports.

Each report gives you a birds-eye view of the current state of affairs of your business. Apart from this, CRMs even help you forecast sales and revenue based on the past data it has collected.

The Bottom Line

A CRM database contains valuable information about a business’s customers, such as their age, gender, preferences, buying habits, and previous interactions, among others.

This data helps sales and marketing teams understand their customers better and design marketing campaigns accordingly.

There are several CRM platforms, like Monday CRM and Salesforce, which help businesses easily record customer data and then process it to generate various reports, which facilitate data-driven decisions.

FAQs

Is SQL a CRM database?

What is the difference between a database and a CRM?

Where is CRM data stored?

References

Open Source vs. Closed Source Software (GCFGlobal.org)

Krishi Chowdhary

Tech Expert

Krishi Chowdhary has half a decade of experience writing buying guides and product reviews for numerous leading technology websites. He spent two years writing for Business2Community.com before joining Techopedia.com. He has a degree in Commerce and extensive experience in the technology industry. He's also the key driver behind TechReport.com's news content, delivering expertise insight into the latest tech and cybersecurity news daily.

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