IMPACT OF CRM SYSTEMS ON LEAD MANAGEMENT AND SALES PERFORMANCE:AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

Among the many technological solutions that are making a difference in today’s business environment, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system has become one of the most important. In this age where businesses depend upon technology to help them with their sales process, leads management and customer engagement activities, CRM systems have become one of the main factors in deciding their commercial success or failure. This research project by the title “Impact of CRM Systems on Lead Management and Sales Performance: An Analytical Study” was carried out to understand the impact of CRM implementation in terms of lead management effectiveness and sales performance. This research relies on both primary and secondary sources for its findings. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire which was filled up by 51 participants. These included MBA students, professional managers, interns, undergraduates, freshers, and entrepreneurs, who belonged to different fields such as marketing, operations, finance, business analytics, HR and IT. This study shows that a substantial proportion of respondents, about 84.3%, considered CRM systems as important to very important for running their businesses. Approximately 78.4% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that CRM software contributed towards better lead generation and follow-ups. Also, around 76.5% of participants believed that CRM software contributed positively to reaching out their sales targets, and 78.4% were satisfied with the functioning of their CRM software. Regarding the features of CRM software, the features such as customers database, analytic/dashboard, and automated reminders were considered most valuable in improving lead generation and follow-ups. Among the issues associated with CRM, problems related to integration (29.4%) and high cost of implementation (23.5%) were cited as the major issues faced by organizations. Overall, it can be concluded that the use of CRM software has resulted in positive effects on lead generation, sales performance, and increased business efficiency. Recommendations based on the findings of the study will be provided to the organizations so that they can make better use of CRM software.