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What Are the Different Types of CRM?
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fIn Spain, according to the latest data from 2019, 24% of companies use a CRM.
The data is even more impressive in countries such as the United States, which has a longer tradition in the world of sales and where it is estimated that 90% of companies with more than 10 employees use a CRM.
With such a large market, the number of different CRMs is skyrocketing, so before implementing one in your business it is normal to ask yourself how many types of CRMs there are and which one is best suited to your company.
And that is what we are going to see in this article.
There are 3 main types of CRM on the market.
CRMs can be classified based on 3 main parameters:
- Features
- Deployment
- Code type
Types of CRM according to their features.
Most of the CRMs in the market are already sufficiently developed to cover these three areas reasonably well, but if we classify the tools based on their functionalities, we find 3 types:
- Operational
- Analytical
- Collaborative
Operational CRM.
These are CRMs that are mainly focused on business processes.
They stand out for the automation of sales processes, the options they provide for their marketing campaigns and the ease of managing customer service.
Of the 3 types of CRM that exist according to functionalities, they are the most widespread as they are focused on the most important area for most businesses: sales.
Analytical CRM.
Analytical CRMs are especially geared towards the analysis and collection of all available customer information.
By means of reports, research and even big data, this software mainly aims to give the management a detailed picture of what their customer is like and what the reasons are for buying from them and not buying from them.
Collaborative CRM.
Collaborative CRMs are those designed to facilitate internal communication and allow all areas of the business to participate in the customer relationship.
Thanks to this, a more personalised and fluid attention to customer problems is achieved and a 360º knowledge of the customer by all the people in the business, regardless of whether they work in contact with the customer or not.
Types of CRM according to deployment.
The deployment of a software is the set of activities that allow it to be available to the users who are going to use it.
There are two types of CRM, depending on their deployment:
- CRM on premise.
- CRM on demand.
CRM on premise.
They are those whose infrastructure, hardware, operating system and complementary software are located at the customer's premises.
The main advantage is greater control of the tool.
On the contrary, the price to pay for this control is a tool with much higher costs for the user.
This form of deployment is falling into disuse and already more than 75% of the market in Spain is on demand.
CRM on demand.
On demand CRM or SaaS, are those whose infrastructure, hardware, operating system and complementary software are in the cloud and are managed by the company offering the service, instead of the customer.
The two main advantages of these systems are that all that is needed to access them is a device with an Internet connection and that, in exchange for a monthly fee, the costs of the tool are drastically reduced compared to on-premise options.
Types of CRM according to your code.
Depending on the type of code, there are also 2 types of CRM:
- Open Source CRM
- Propietary CRM
Open Source CRM.
Open source software is characterised by free and public access to the source code of the application.
Therefore, it is not necessary to pay anything for its use, beyond the price of the servers on which you install it.
The main disadvantages of these systems are that they tend to have fewer functionalities, less maintenance, less security and no support whatsoever.
Proprietary CRM.
CRMs of this type are exactly the opposite: the code belongs to its creator, who charges for its use.
This, which may seem like a disadvantage, is just the opposite, since by doing business with the tool, the company that manages the tool ensures that it offers the best functionality, updates the software and that there are no security problems.
In short: in exchange for a small payment, you can sleep more peacefully at night.
Which of all these types of CRM is the best?
As always, it depends on what your business is like, but in general, the best CRM is one that has the maximum functionality, is deployed on demand and is proprietary.
We are so convinced that this is the best possible option that we have created our own CRM.
The best proof of this is that we have more than 4,500 clients in more than 33 countries.
You can start selling more and better today by using a CRM like ours.
