CPO Shaun Shirazian: 5 trends shaping the future of CRM

New York, December 27, 2022 - In 2022, we continued to experience unprecedented changes around the world that affected both our work and home lives. As the corporate world learned to embrace hybrid or remote work practices, however difficult, the upside for most businesses has been an increase in productivity and a reduction in costs. 5 trends shaping the future of CRM by Shaun Shirazian, CPO at Pipedrive.

Despite the inevitable economic challenges that sprouted this year (especially for small business owners) that may signal a looming recession, I cannot help but believe the hard times are a testament to our collective strength as they help build resilience in us all. In 2023 small businesses will look to leverage resources, like modern technologies/ infrastructure and CRM solutions that drive revenues, support collaboration and keep costs under control. Companies that embrace change and that are willing to invest in such solutions will be the most successful.

As we look forward, I predict that we’ll see a handful of trends emerge that demonstrate the power of customer relationships for your business’ growth over the long-term.

• Trend #1: Integration tools that work between the company and the CRM system of record (i.e. chatbot technologies, AI and analytical tools, marketing capabilities & more) are seeing increased investment from VCs and interest overall as companies are under pressure to maintain and retain customer relationships during a downturn.

• Trend #2: CRM is no longer a one-size-fits-all. Industry-specific customer relationship management software will become more popular as companies across different sectors demand specific tools and functionality.

• Trend #3: Emerging technologies like AI and machine learning will show more potential with helping salespeople and we expect they will become more prevalent and advanced in CRM next year, but we have a long way to go for it to become mainstream.

• Trend #4: The unsteady economy will create an opportunity for the CRM and revenue management software industry to accelerate innovation, as companies must lean on technology to retain and support customers in a new way than they ever did before – but there will be a lot of pressure to meet heightened customer expectations.

• Trend #5: Revenue, revenue, revenue – it will be top of mind for the C-suite in 2023. As many companies struggle to stay afloat, B2B companies will be purely focused on delivering the best experience for customers and driving revenue amid the challenging economic environment