Data Headlines Our 2024 Awards

As businesses become more reliant on technology, managing customer data has become increasingly important. You could say that data is the lifeblood of every business today, from the largest multinational corporations to the smallest local mom-and-pop stores. This vital CRM data can include customers’ unique preferences, purchase histories, interaction histories, contact information, and demographic details like age, gender, job, education, family, location, and lifestyle. With this data, businesses can personalize customer experiences; develop and optimize their marketing, sales, and customer service plans for maximum efficiency and optimum outcomes; capitalize on opportunities for growth; gain insights into future trends and behaviors so they can make informed decisions about inventory, staffing, and other operational issues; and so much more.

This year, as we name the Industry Leaders in 11 CRM software categories (enterprise and SMB CRM suites, complete customer experience suites, contact center infrastructure, contact center interaction analytics, salesforce automation, marketing automation, workforce engagement/management, data management, business intelligence, and generative artificial intelligence engine), it’s important to note that none of these types of software can work effectively without data that is current, relevant, and accurate.

Despite this, IBM estimates that businesses in the United States lose $3.1 trillion yearly due to poor data quality. That is unacceptable, and companies need to do much more to cure their data woes. Effective CRM requires companies to start with clean data, invest in the right tools to collect, store, and make sense of it, regularly review and update it, and train employees in how to use it.

Luckily, CRM is still a vibrant industry, and the market’s growth is not expected to slow anytime soon. In fact, research firm Statista Market Insights has valued the worldwide CRM software market’s revenue at $89.3 billion this year and expects it to reach $146.1 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual rate of 10.4 percent. Precedence Research’s numbers are even more robust, with that firm expecting the CRM market to hit $248.1 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 13.5 percent.

And these trends span all of the 11 CRM software categories that we cover this year. Each software type is expected to see double-digit growth over the next few years, with the exception of business intelligence (at 9 percent), according to the firms we quote in our market research. Not surprisingly, the data management category is expected to see the largest compound annual growth rate, at 32.4 percent, through 2027.

Statista also noted that the CRM software market is highly competitive. That’s why we started our awards program in September 2002, and why we continue to highlight the top vendors to this day. We’ve tweaked the awards several times over the years, adding and removing categories as technologies fall in and out of favor and even changing the judging criteria, but the goal has not changed.

We’ve also highlighted five companies that we consider “Conversation Starters,” a designation we’ve given to up-and-comers making waves with innovative new products, a new spin on an old technology, or bold steps into new markets.

As we went through the process this year, coordinating with some of the leading industry analysts and consultants, we encountered many of the same industry giants—Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, NICE, Verint, and Genesys, to name a few—that have led the industry for years, but we also discovered a lot of smaller companies making headway, showing there is plenty of opportunity for specialty players. We also found handfuls of niche CRM providers that offer specialized solutions for specific industries or business types.

As you read through our coverage this year, it will be hard to overlook the fact that the more data your business collects about prospects and customers, the more value you will derive from your CRM systems.

Leonard Klie is the editor of CRM magazine. He can be reached at lklie@infotoday.com.

Related Articles

Five Top Innovating CRM Companies for 2024: The CRM Conversation Starters

These vendors kept the industry abuzz with products, services, and integrations that add up to innovation in sales, marketing, and customer service.

The Best CRM Software and Solutions: The 2024 CRM Industry Leader Awards

Our top five picks in 11 categories point the way forward with the best products and capabilities hitting the market in customer service, marketing, and sales.

The Best CRM Software, Solutions, and Innovators: The 2024 CRM Industry Awards

Our 23rd annual awards recognize the vendors and innovators that shone the brightest in the past year.