What’s in Store for CRM in 2021?

It is without a doubt that 2020 was a year of disruption. As we head into 2021 and hope the toughest days are behind us, Destination CRM and industry pundits do not expect the world to go back to business as usual just yet, as many of the following predictions indicate. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems were critical in keeping customers happy during the pandemic, and CRM will continue to be a valuable player this year. According to an article on their website, Destination CRM and business experts forecast what will be in store for CRM in 2021.

• There’s No Turning Back From Digital – “Because [2020] the pandemic forced so many people to stay home, they turned to digital channels to fulfill their shopping and commerce needs. We’ll likely see a more pronounced and accelerated trend toward omnichannel commerce, personalized and data-powered customer experience, and the integration of contactless technology systems to reinforce retailers’ safety efforts.” —Jennifer Conklin, vice president and unified commerce sector lead at Capgemini
• Many of Us Are Staying Home – “Organizations are embracing the work-from-home concept, recognizing that it works pretty well while welcoming virtual agents into their workforces.” —Allan Andersen, global director of enterprise solutions at IPsoft
• We’ll Put Ourselves in Customers’ Shoes – “As we enter 2021, we know there’s no replacing our need for human connection. Whether digital or physical, marketers will have to rethink the entire transaction experience moving forward. We’ll continue changing the customer experience in real time as we instrument digital journeys and experiences that drive meaningful connection but must continue experimenting to find new ways to stay connected and engaged.” —Stephanie Buscemi, chief marketing officer at Salesforce
• We’ll Meet Customers Where They Are – “In a post-pandemic world, human interactions with customers matter more than ever. In 2021, we can expect to see a more profound confluence of CRM and unified communications technologies that enable natural face-to-face conversations, significantly benefiting the contact center.” —Cara Daly, senior director of product marketing at Vidyo
• Newer Channels We’ll See Increased Growth – “Chatbots today guide deep conversations, kick off complex workflows, take actions on your behalf, and escalate requests accordingly. The communication is personalized and contextualized. In 2021, organizations that invest in chatbots will accelerate their constituents’ trust because of the clear, 24/7 communication chatbots provide.” —David Karandish, CEO of Capacity
• Good CX Will Become Even More Important – “Because of COVID-19’s extensive impact on consumers in 2020 and its lingering effects likely to impact the beginning of 2021, consumers have been forced to rethink and retrain their approach to researching, interacting, and purchasing products and services.  This will be a pivotal year for data and analytics to identify the shifts in consumer behaviors and purchasing preferences vs. their previously exposed traits.” —Colleen Thorndike, director of client success and strategy at Valid
• We’ll Be More Precise in Our Targeting – “Personalization in B2B will be a huge focus in the year to come and beyond. Throughout 2020, we became conditioned to prioritize personalization efforts. Even when events come back, B2B marketers will be held to the new standard of thinking about their audiences and their evolving needs. To fuel this personalization, intent data will become a more important asset.” —Tom O’Regan, CEO of Madison Logic
• We Won’t Sacrifice Trust – “In 2021, businesses will thrive by prioritizing trust. Trust is about confidence in relationships. We took this for granted in the past, with the ability to fly out or meet prospects or current customers over lunches and dinners. With the shift to remote work, analytical capabilities can quantify trust and help us deepen it through screens rather than in person. This will create a chasm of those who embrace customer relationships and those who are solely focused on the sale.” —Jim Benton, CEO of Chorus.ai

 

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