Terms

Cloud-based CRM

A cloud-based CRM is customer relationship management software hosted by a third-party provider and accessed by users over the internet. In this model, often called Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the provider manages all infrastructure, maintenance, and updates, allowing teams to access centralized customer data from anywhere without the high upfront costs of traditional on-premise systems.

Benefits of Cloud-based CRM

Cloud-based CRMs offer a suite of advantages that help businesses streamline operations and foster growth. By moving infrastructure off-site, companies can unlock significant improvements in efficiency, accessibility, and financial management.

  • Cost-Effective: Eliminates the need for large upfront hardware investments and in-house IT maintenance.
  • Accessibility: Provides secure, anytime access to customer data from any device or location.
  • Scalability: Allows businesses to easily adjust features and user capacity as they grow.
  • Maintenance: Frees up internal resources as the provider handles all software updates and security.
  • Integration: Seamlessly connects with other business applications for a unified workflow.

Key Features of Cloud-based CRM

Cloud-based CRM systems are packed with tools designed to enhance sales and marketing efforts. They centralize critical data and automate workflows, giving teams a unified view of the customer journey. Key functionalities typically include:

  • Centralization: A unified database for all customer contact information, interactions, and history.
  • Automation: Tools that handle repetitive tasks like data entry, follow-up emails, and lead nurturing.
  • Analytics: Customizable dashboards and reports that provide real-time insights into sales performance and customer behavior.
  • Integration: The ability to connect with other business applications like email, calendars, and marketing platforms.

Cloud-based CRM vs. SaaS CRM

While often used interchangeably, the terms "cloud-based" and "SaaS" emphasize different aspects of modern CRM solutions.

  • Architecture: This term highlights that the software is hosted remotely, offering unparalleled accessibility and scalability. The main drawback is the dependency on a stable internet connection. This model is ideal for enterprises and mid-market companies with distributed teams that require constant, real-time access to data from any location.
  • Model: This emphasizes the subscription-based delivery model, which provides cost-effectiveness and eliminates maintenance burdens for the user. However, recurring fees can accumulate over time. This approach is favored by businesses of all sizes seeking predictable operational expenses and rapid deployment without significant upfront capital investment.

Implementation Strategies for Cloud-based CRM

This is how you can successfully implement a cloud-based CRM.

  1. Define your business goals and map out your current sales process to identify key requirements.
  2. Evaluate vendors based on features, usability, and scalability. Use free trials to test the platform.
  3. Plan for data migration and integration with your existing tools to ensure a unified workflow.
  4. Train your team on the new system and establish clear guidelines for use to maximize adoption.

Future Trends in Cloud-based CRM

The future of cloud CRM is increasingly driven by artificial intelligence. AI will power deeper automation, handling tasks like data entry and generating personalized outreach. This frees up teams to focus on high-level strategy, guided by predictive analytics for smarter decision-making.

Hyper-personalization will become standard, with AI creating tailored customer journeys from unified data. CRMs will also offer more seamless omnichannel communication across all touchpoints. Enhanced mobile access will remain critical to support an increasingly remote and flexible workforce.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cloud-based CRM

How secure is customer data in a cloud-based CRM?

Reputable providers use robust security measures, including data encryption, regular backups, and compliance with standards like GDPR. Your data is often more secure than on an on-premise server, as providers invest heavily in dedicated security infrastructure and expertise.

Can a cloud CRM be customized for our specific workflows?

Yes, most modern cloud CRMs are highly customizable. You can typically modify data fields, automate unique sales processes, and build tailored reports to align the platform with your specific business needs without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

What happens if our internet or the provider's service goes down?

While internet is required for real-time access, many cloud CRMs offer offline functionality, allowing you to work with cached data that syncs later. Reputable providers also guarantee high uptime (often 99.9%+) in their service level agreements (SLAs).

Other terms

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Customer Data Management (CDM)

Customer Data Management (CDM) is the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing customer data to create a unified view of your audience.

Customer Data Management (CDM)

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-powered programs that simulate human conversation. They interact with users via text or voice, typically for customer support.

Chatbots

Demand Capture

Demand capture is the strategy of engaging potential customers who are already actively looking for a solution that your company provides.

Demand Capture

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Funnel Analysis

Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.

Funnel Analysis

Prospecting

Prospecting is the process of identifying potential customers, or prospects, to build a sales pipeline and generate new business opportunities.

Prospecting

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing is a software testing method that verifies an application is usable by people with disabilities, like vision or hearing loss.

Accessibility Testing

Buying Cycle

The buying cycle is the journey a customer takes from first realizing they have a need to making the final purchase decision.

Buying Cycle

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a service model where data is stored on remote servers and accessed from the internet, rather than on a local drive.

Cloud Storage

Drip Campaign

A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Drip Campaign

Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is the ongoing, value-driven relationship a business builds with its customers to foster brand loyalty and awareness.

Customer Engagement

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a marketing method where businesses send physical promotional materials directly to potential customers' mailboxes.

Direct Mail

Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing creates a seamless, unified customer experience by integrating a company's various communication and sales channels.

Omnichannel Marketing

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud model where the provider manages servers, so developers can focus on code without worrying about infrastructure.

Serverless Computing

Marketing Operations

Marketing Operations (MOps) is the engine of a marketing team, managing the technology, processes, and people to run campaigns effectively.

Marketing Operations

Enrichment

Enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to get a more complete picture of your leads.

Enrichment

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system of integrated software that businesses use to manage and automate their core day-to-day processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Lead Enrichment Software

Lead enrichment software adds crucial data to your leads, like contact info and firmographics, to help you better understand and engage them.

Lead Enrichment Software

User Interface

A User Interface (UI) is the point where humans and computers interact. It encompasses all visual elements like screens, icons, and buttons.

User Interface

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Firewall

A firewall is a digital barrier that protects a network by monitoring and controlling traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious content.

Firewall

B2B Intent Data Providers

Learn about B2B intent data providers, including evaluating intent data quality, leveraging intent data for growth, & B2B intent data: key providers comparison.

B2B Intent Data Providers

Sales Forecast

A sales forecast is a projection of future sales revenue. It's a crucial tool for businesses to make informed decisions and allocate resources.

Sales Forecast

Inside Sales Rep

An inside sales rep sells products or services remotely from an office, using digital tools like phone and email to connect with customers.

Inside Sales Rep

Compliance Testing

Compliance testing ensures a product or system adheres to specific regulations, standards, or policies set by governing bodies or organizations.

Compliance Testing

Digital Advertising

Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels like social media or search engines.

Digital Advertising

Freemium

Freemium is a business model offering a product's basic features for free, while charging for advanced or supplemental features.

Freemium

Service Level Agreement

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract defining the level of service between a provider and a client, including metrics and penalties.

Service Level Agreement

Brand Loyalty

Learn about brand loyalty, including how to build brand loyalty, benefits of brand loyalty, measuring brand loyalty, & strategies for increasing loyalty.

Brand Loyalty

DevOps

DevOps is a culture and set of practices that merges software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten development cycles.

DevOps

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

On-premise CRM

An on-premise CRM is a system hosted on a company's own servers, offering complete control over data, security, and system maintenance.

On-premise CRM

Sales Demonstration

A sales demonstration is a presentation showing a prospect how a product or service works and how it can solve their specific problems.

Sales Demonstration

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

A Marketing Qualified Opportunity (MQO) is a lead vetted by marketing as a genuine sales opportunity, ready for direct sales follow-up.

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

Marketing Qualified Account

A Marketing Qualified Account (MQA) is a target company that has shown significant engagement, indicating it's ready for the sales team to pursue.

Marketing Qualified Account

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method where all expenses are re-evaluated and must be justified from scratch for each new budget period.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

Serviceable Available Market

Serviceable Available Market (SAM) is the segment of the total market that your business can realistically serve within its geographical reach.

Serviceable Available Market

Closed Lost

Closed Lost is a sales term for a deal that didn't go through. The prospect decided not to buy, or the sales team disqualified them.

Closed Lost

Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.

Product Recommendations

BANT Framework

Learn about BANT framework, including implementing BANT in sales strategy, advantages of the BANT methodology, & BANT vs. other qualification models.

BANT Framework

Average Order Value

Average Order Value (AOV) tracks the average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on your website or mobile app.

Average Order Value

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate (CTR) is a metric that measures the percentage of people who click on a specific link, ad, or call-to-action.

Click-Through Rate

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

Hot Leads

Hot leads are prospective customers who have shown significant interest and are ready to buy, making them a top priority for sales teams.

Hot Leads

Yield Management

Yield management is a dynamic pricing strategy that adjusts prices based on demand to maximize revenue from a fixed, perishable inventory.

Yield Management

Key Accounts

Key accounts are a company's most valuable customers, vital due to their significant revenue contribution and strategic importance for growth.

Key Accounts

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Sales Compensation

Sales compensation is the total pay a salesperson receives, including salary, commissions, and bonuses, structured to motivate performance.

Sales Compensation

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Sales Performance Management (SPM) is a suite of tools and processes that help businesses monitor, analyze, and boost sales team performance.

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Data Appending

Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.

Data Appending

CRM Data

CRM data is the information businesses use to manage customer relationships. It covers contact details, purchase history, and communication logs.

CRM Data

Content Rights Management

Content Rights Management involves controlling the use and distribution of copyrighted digital media to protect intellectual property.

Content Rights Management

Early Adopter

An early adopter is a user who embraces a new product or technology before the majority, helping to validate and popularize the innovation.

Early Adopter

Customer Retention Rate

Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is the metric that measures the percentage of customers a company has kept over a specific period of time.

Customer Retention Rate

B2B Marketing Analytics

Learn about B2B marketing analytics, including key components of B2B marketing analytics, & getting started with B2B marketing analytics.

B2B Marketing Analytics

Lead Velocity Rate

Lead Velocity Rate (LVR) is the growth rate of your qualified leads, measured month-over-month. It's a key indicator of future revenue.

Lead Velocity Rate

Hadoop

Hadoop is an open-source framework designed for the distributed storage and processing of extremely large data sets across clusters of computers.

Hadoop

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

Sandboxes

A sandbox is an isolated testing environment where new or untrusted code can be run safely without affecting the host device or network.

Sandboxes

Cold Email

A cold email is an initial outreach sent to a potential customer with whom you've had no prior contact, aiming to introduce your business.

Cold Email

Inbound leads

Inbound leads are potential customers who proactively reach out after finding your business through content, social media, or search.

Inbound leads

Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is the process for goods moving from the customer back to the seller, covering returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal.

Reverse Logistics

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis means identifying your rivals and assessing their strategies to pinpoint your own business's strengths and weaknesses.

Competitive Analysis

C-Level or C-Suite

The C-suite, or C-level, refers to a company's most senior executives. Their titles usually start with 'Chief,' such as CEO, CFO, or CTO.

C-Level or C-Suite

PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model where businesses pay a fee each time one of their online ads is clicked by a user.

PPC

Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses a board to visualize workflow, limit work-in-progress, and maximize team efficiency.

Kanban

Decision Maker

A decision-maker is an individual with the authority to make significant choices for a company, especially regarding purchases or strategy.

Decision Maker

Buyer's Journey

The buyer's journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first becoming aware of a problem to making a final purchase decision.

Buyer's Journey

HTTP Requests

An HTTP request is a message sent by a client, like a web browser, to a server to ask for a resource, such as a web page or an image.

HTTP Requests

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic, offering insights into user behavior and marketing effectiveness.

Google Analytics

Net New Business

Net new business is revenue from customers who have never purchased from your company before. It’s a crucial indicator of sustainable growth.

Net New Business

Gamification

Gamification applies game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards to non-game activities to boost engagement and motivate users.

Gamification

Sales Calls

A sales call is a real-time conversation between a salesperson and a prospect, aiming to persuade them to purchase a product or service.

Sales Calls

Cold Emailing

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to potential customers you haven't contacted before, aiming to start a business conversation.

Cold Emailing

Forward Revenue

Forward revenue is the total value of all active, committed contracts that are expected to be recognized as revenue in the future.

Forward Revenue

Personalization in Sales

Personalization in sales means tailoring outreach to a prospect's specific needs, interests, and context to make communication more relevant.

Personalization in Sales

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Lead Scrape

Lead scraping is the process of automatically extracting contact information and other relevant data about potential customers from online sources.

Lead Scrape

Brand Awareness

Learn about brand awareness, including understanding its importance, building an effective strategy, key metrics to track, & examples in the real world.

Brand Awareness

Master Service Agreement

A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a foundational contract that sets the general terms for an ongoing business relationship between two parties.

Master Service Agreement

Funnel Optimization

Funnel optimization is the process of improving each stage of the customer journey to maximize conversions and drive revenue growth.

Funnel Optimization

Rollback Procedures

Rollback procedures are a set of steps to restore a system to a previous, stable version after a failed update, ensuring minimal disruption.

Rollback Procedures

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Email Engagement

Email engagement measures how your audience interacts with your emails. It includes key actions like opens, clicks, replies, and forwards.

Email Engagement

Sales Performance Metrics

Sales performance metrics are key data points that measure a sales team's effectiveness in achieving its goals and driving revenue.

Sales Performance Metrics

B2B Marketing KPIs

Learn about B2B marketing KPIs, including identifying key B2B marketing KPIs, setting achievable KPI targets, B2B vs B2C marketing KPIs: understanding the differences.

B2B Marketing KPIs

Quarterly Business Review

A Quarterly Business Review (QBR) is a recurring meeting to assess performance against goals and align on strategy for the next quarter.

Quarterly Business Review

Closing Ratio

Closing ratio is a key sales metric that shows the percentage of leads or proposals that result in a successful sale.

Closing Ratio

Expansion Revenue

Expansion revenue is the extra money a business makes from its current customers via upgrades, new products, or additional services.

Expansion Revenue

Always Be Closing

“Always Be Closing” (ABC) is a sales mantra meaning every action a salesperson takes should be with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.

Always Be Closing

Multi-touch Attribution

Multi-touch attribution is a marketing analytics method that credits multiple touchpoints on the customer journey for a conversion.

Multi-touch Attribution

Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

A Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is a concise statement that clearly communicates the unique benefit a customer gets from your product or service.

Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account