CRM Software Glossary: Everything You Need to Know

If you’re new to the world of CRM software, you may be overwhelmed by the number of terms and acronyms used in this industry. The CRM software glossary is here to help provide clear and concise definitions of the most commonly used terms in the CRM field.

Whether you’re a business owner looking to improve customer interactions or a sales professional looking to increase efficiency, this guide is essential reading.

Also Read: What is a CRM System and How Can it Benefit Your Business?

Others

360-Degree Customer View

A comprehensive view of a customer includes all interactions and information about them, such as demographics, purchase history, and communication preferences.

A

A/B Testing

A method of testing two versions of a landing page or email campaign to determine which version performs better in conversions or engagement.

Account

A company or organization that a business is doing business with.

Activity

An interaction between a business and a contact or lead, such as a phone call, email, or meeting.

Administrator

A user with special privileges within a CRM system is responsible for managing the system, setting up user accounts, and configuring system settings.

Analytics

The process of analyzing data to extract insights and inform decision-making.

API

An application programming interface that allows different software systems to communicate with each other.

Appointment Scheduling

Automating the scheduling of appointments and meetings with customers, such as demos, consultations, or service calls.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think and learn like humans.

Auto-Responder

A pre-written response is automatically sent to a customer in response to a specific trigger or action.

Automation

The use of software to automate repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails or scheduling appointments.

B

BANT

A framework to qualify sales leads based on budget, authority, need, and timeline.

Business Intelligence (BI)

The process of collecting, storing, and analyzing data to gain insights into business performance and inform decision-making.

C

Campaign

A series of marketing or sales activities targeted at a specific group of contacts or leads.

Campaign Management

The process of planning, executing and measuring the success of marketing campaigns.

Cases

Incidents or problems that customers report and need to be resolved.

CHAMP

A framework to qualify sales leads based on challenges, authority, money, and priorities.

Closed Sale

A completed transaction where a customer has purchased a product or service.

Cloud-based CRM

CRM software is hosted on remote servers and accessed through the internet rather than installed on a local computer.

Cloud- or Web-Based

Refers to software accessed and stored on the internet rather than on a specific computer or server.

Collaboration

The ability of different users to share and access data within the CRM system, such as by allowing multiple users to view and edit the same contact or opportunity record.

Contact

A person or organization a business has had or is interacting with.

Contact Center

A centralized location where customer service representatives interact with customers via telephone, email, or chat.

Configure/Price/Quote (CPQ)

A software that helps sales teams configure, price, and generate quotes for products and services.

Contact Database

A collection of information about customers and other contacts, such as contact details and communication history.

Contact Management

Organizing and maintaining information about contacts and customers.

Contact Role

The role of a contact in a company or organization, such as a decision-maker, influencer, or end-user.

Contract Management

Creating, managing, and tracking contracts between an organization and its customers, partners, and vendors.

Converted Lead

A lead that has been successfully converted into a customer.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of leads or visitors successfully converted into customers.

CRM Analytical Reporting

Reports that provide insights into customer data and help to analyze customer behavior, sales performance, and other metrics.

CRM Software

Software that helps businesses manage customer interactions, sales, and support and analyze customer data.

CRM Strategy

A plan for implementing and using a CRM system to improve customer relationships and drive sales and revenue.

CSV file

A file format that stores tabular data in plain-text form, with each line representing a row and each field (column) within that row separated by a comma.

Customization

The ability to tailor the CRM system to fit the specific needs of a business, such as by creating custom fields, forms, or reports.

Custom Fields

Additional fields can be added to a CRM system to store specific information about a customer or contact.

Customer Data

Information about a customer, such as contact details, purchase history, and communication preferences.

Customer Engagement

The level of interaction and involvement that a customer has with a company or brand.

Customer Experience (CX)

The overall experience a customer has with a company, including interactions with products, services, and customer service.

Customer Experience Management (CXM / CEM)

Managing and improving the overall customer experience.

Customer Journey

The series of customer interactions and experiences with a company over time.

Customer Loyalty

The degree to which a customer is committed to a company or brand and is likely to continue doing business with them.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Managing interactions and relationships with customers, including sales, support, and marketing.

Customer Retention

The ability of a company to keep its customers over time and prevent them from switching to a competitor.

Customer Satisfaction

The degree to which a customer is happy or satisfied with a company’s products, services, or overall experience.

Customer Satisfaction Score

A numerical rating or score that reflects a customer’s level of satisfaction with a company or brand.

Customer Service Management

Managing and improving customer service interactions and support.

Customer Success Management

Ensuring customers are successful and satisfied with a company’s products or services.

Customer Valuation

The process of determining the value of a customer to a business.

D

Data Analysis

The process of examining, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to extract useful information and insights.

Data Insights

The knowledge and understanding that is gained from data analysis.

Data Enrichment

Adding additional data to the CRM system, such as demographic information, job titles, or company size, to improve segmentation and personalization.

Data Protection

The process of safeguarding data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.

Data Privacy

The protection of personal information, such as customer data, by ensuring that it is collected, used, and shared in compliance with legal and ethical standards.

Dashboard

A visual interface that provides an overview of the critical metrics and data related to the business’s CRM system.

Dead Lead

A lead that is no longer considered viable or active, usually because they have not responded to previous attempts to contact them.

Demand Generation

Creating interest in a product or service through marketing campaigns and lead generation efforts.

Detail View

A view of a customer’s record that displays all the information and details about that customer.

Document

A digital file, such as a PDF or Word document, can be stored and shared within a CRM system.

Drip Campaign

A nurture campaign where emails are sent at predefined intervals, such as daily or weekly, to leads who have yet to convert.

Duplicate

A duplicate customer record can occur when a customer is entered into the system multiple times.

E

Email Marketing

The use of email to communicate with leads and customers, such as sending newsletters, promotional offers, and event invitations.

Email Response Management

Managing and responding to customer emails, typically through automated tools or templates.

Email Reminder

An automated message to remind a user of an upcoming event or task.

Email Template

A pre-written email message can be used as a starting point for creating new messages, often with placeholders for customizing the message for specific recipients.

Entity

The different types of data stored within a CRM system, such as customers, leads, and cases.

Escalations

The process of escalating a customer issue or request to a higher level of support or management.

Event

A scheduled meeting, call, or other activity within a CRM system.

Extension

Additional functionality can be added to a CRM system, such as integrations with other software or custom fields.

F

Field

Specific information can be stored about a customer, such as their name or email address.

First Touch

The first point of contact a customer has with a company or salesperson.

Follow

The process of keeping track of a customer’s interactions and activity within a CRM system.

Formula

A calculation that can derive a value from other fields within a CRM system.

Formula Field

A field calculated using a formula rather than manually entered.

Forecast

A prediction or projection of future sales or revenue.

Funnel Velocity

The speed at which leads move through the sales funnel is measured in the number of leads or the rate of conversions.

G

Gamification

Using game-like elements, such as points, badges, and leaderboards, to motivate and engage employees using the CRM system.

H

Helpdesk

A customer support service that provides assistance and answers customer questions and issues.

Helpdesk System

A software system that manages and tracks customer support requests and interactions.

Helpdesk Ticketing System

A specific helpdesk system that uses “tickets” to track and manage customer support requests.

History

A record of a customer’s interactions and activities within a CRM system.

Home Page

The main page of a CRM system typically displays an overview of the user’s activity and recent updates.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language is a programming language used to create web pages.

I

Instance

A specific installation or configuration of a CRM system, such as a test instance or a production instance.

Integration

The ability of a CRM system to connect and share data with other software systems, such as email marketing, accounting, and social media platforms.

Invoice

A document that lists the goods or services provided to a customer and the amount due for payment.

K

Kanban

A visual workflow management system that uses cards or columns to track the progress of tasks or projects.

Kanban View

A view within a CRM system that displays tasks or leads in a kanban format.

Knowledge Management

Storing, managing, and sharing information about customers, products, and services within the CRM system.

L

Landing Page

A web page specifically designed to capture leads, typically through a form or call-to-action (CTA).

Last Touch

The last point of contact a customer has with a company or salesperson.

Layout

The arrangement and design of the fields and information displayed within a CRM system.

List View

A view within a CRM system that displays a list of customers, leads, or other entities.

Lead

A potential customer or client who has expressed interest in the business’s products or services.

Lead Attribution

The process of identifying the source of a lead, such as a specific marketing campaign or website referral, to measure the effectiveness of different lead generation methods.

Lead Capture

The process of capturing leads from various sources, such as website forms, landing pages, and social media, and storing them in the CRM system.

Lead Conversion

The process of turning a lead into a customer, typically through sales or onboarding.

Lead Conversion Process

The series of steps or actions to convert a lead into a customer.

Lead Conversion Rate

The percentage of successfully converted leads into customers.

Lead Deduplication

Removing duplicate leads from the CRM system ensures that each lead is counted only once.

Lead Distribution

The process of routing leads to the appropriate sales representatives based on factors such as territory, industry, or product interest.

Lead Enrichment

The process of adding additional data to a lead record, such as demographic information, filmographies, or social media profiles, to improve lead segmentation and personalization.

Lead Generation

The process of identifying and acquiring new leads through various tactics, such as content marketing, SEO, PPC, and social media advertising.

Lead Magnet

A valuable piece of content, such as an e-book, webinar, or template, is offered in exchange for contact information, such as an email address.

Lead Management

The process of tracking and managing leads throughout the sales cycle, from initial contact to purchase, including lead scoring, qualification, and nurturing.

Lead Nurturing

The process of building relationships with leads over time through targeted marketing campaigns, such as email campaigns, webinars, and events.

Lead Qualification

The process of identifying which leads are most likely to become customers based on factors such as budget, authority, need, and timing (BANT).

Lead Scoring

Assigning a numerical value to a lead based on their likelihood of becoming a customer.

Lead Scoring Decay

A mechanism for reducing the lead score over time if a lead does not engage with the company in a certain period.

Lead Scoring Model

A set of rules or criteria is used to assign a numerical value to a lead based on factors such as demographics, behavior, and buying stage.

Lead Scoring Threshold

A cutoff value is used to determine which leads are considered “qualified” and should be passed to sales.

Lead Scoring Exclusion

A mechanism for removing leads from the lead scoring process, such as leads from specific regions or industries or leads that have opted out of marketing communications.

Lead Source

The origin or source of a lead, such as a referral, a website, or a trade show.

Lead-to-Cash

The process of converting a lead into a customer and then processing the payment for the sale.

M

Machine Learning

A type of AI that enables systems to learn from data and improve their performance over time.

Marketing

The process of promoting and selling products or services through advertising, promotions, and public relations.

Marketing Analytics

The use of data and statistics to track the performance of marketing campaigns and websites, such as by measuring the effectiveness of lead magnets, landing pages, and nurture campaigns.

Marketing Attribution

The process of identifying the marketing channels and tactics that contributed to a sale to measure the effectiveness of different marketing methods.

Marketing Automation

The use of software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email campaigns, lead nurturing, and social media marketing.

Marketing Funnel

A visual representation of a potential customer’s stages before becoming a customer, from initial awareness to final purchase.

Marketing Performance Management

Tracking and analyzing the performance of marketing campaigns, such as marketing ROI, lead generation, and lead conversion, to identify areas for improvement and set goals.

Marketing-Qualified Lead (MQL)

A lead has been identified as having a higher likelihood of becoming a customer based on their engagement with marketing materials or campaigns.

Mobile CRM

CRM software can be accessed on mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.

N

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

A subfield of AI that deals with the interaction between computers and human languages.

Navigation Bar

A menu or bar on a CRM system that allows users to navigate to different sections or pages.

Notification

A message or alert is generated within a CRM system, such as a reminder or an update.

Nurture Campaign

A series of automated email messages are sent to leads over time to build relationships and move them closer to a sale.

O

Object

A specific item or data within a CRM system, such as a customer or a lead.

On-Premises

Refers to software installed and running on a specific computer or server rather than on the internet.

On-Premises CRM

A CRM system is installed and runs on a specific computer or server rather than on the internet.

Open-Source CRM

A system whose source code is publicly available and can be modified and distributed by users.

Opportunity

A potential sale or revenue-generating event.

Opportunity Management

The process of tracking and managing potential sales opportunities.

P

Personalization

Tailoring the customer experience using data from the CRM system to deliver personalized content, offers, and recommendations.

Pipeline

The stages or steps a lead or opportunity goes through before becoming a customer.

Pipeline Management

The process of tracking and managing the progress of leads and opportunities through the sales pipeline.

Predictive Analytics

The use of data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes based on historical data.

Probability

The likelihood or chance of a specific outcome occurring.

Prospects

Potential customers who have been identified as having a high likelihood of becoming customers.

Q

Qualified Lead

A prospect generated by the marketing department and evaluated by the sales department as meeting the criteria for an ideal customer who intends to purchase.

R

Raw Leads

Leads that still need to be qualified or contacted.

Relationship Intelligence

The process of understanding and leveraging the relationships between different customers, leads, and contacts.

Relationship Management

Managing and maintaining relationships with customers, leads, and contacts.

Remarket Lead

A lead that has been contacted and engaged with in the past but has yet to become a customer.

Retargeting

A method of displaying ads to people who have previously visited a website or interacted with a brand to bring them back and convert them into customers.

Revenue

The total amount of money a company generates from its sales or business activities.

Revenue Forecast

A prediction or projection of future revenue for a business.

S

Sandbox

A test environment or instance of a CRM system where users can experiment and make changes without affecting the production system.

Sales

The process of selling products or services to customers.

Sales-Accepted Lead (SAL)

A lead that has been qualified by the sales team and is considered viable for follow-up and conversion.

Sales Coaching

Providing guidance, training, and feedback to sales representatives to help them improve their skills and performance.

Sales Compensation

The system of rewards and incentives used to motivate sales representatives, such as commissions, bonuses, and stock options.

Sales Enablement

Providing sales representatives with the tools and resources they need to sell more effectively, such as product information, case studies, and competitive intelligence.

Sales Forecasting

Using data from the CRM system to predict future sales and revenue based on historical data, sales pipeline, and lead conversion rates.

Sales Force Automation (SFA)

The use of software to automate and streamline sales processes, such as lead management and opportunity tracking.

Sales Funnel

A visual representation of the different stages a lead goes through on its way to becoming a customer, such as awareness, interest, evaluation, and purchase.

Sales Optimization

The process of improving sales performance by analyzing data and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Sales Performance Management

Tracking and analyzing the performance of sales representatives, such as sales volume, win rate, and activity level, to identify areas for improvement and set goals.

Sales Pipeline

A representation of a lead or opportunity’s stages to becoming a customer.

Sales-Qualified Lead (SQL)

A lead that has been qualified by the sales team and is ready to be passed on to the account management team.

Sales Quota

A target or goal for the number of sales a sales representative or team should achieve within a specific period.

Sales-Ready Lead (SRL)

A lead has been identified as having a high likelihood of becoming a customer and is ready to be passed on to the sales team.

Sales Stage

The different stages or steps a lead or opportunity goes through before becoming a customer.

Sales Team

The individuals were responsible for selling a company’s products or services.

Sales Territory Management

Dividing the sales area into smaller regions and assigning sales representatives to specific areas based on demographics, industry, and buying behavior.

Sales Velocity

The rate at which a company can generate revenue from its sales efforts.

Security

Measures are taken to protect the data stored in the CRM system, such as encrypting data in transit and at rest or implementing user access controls.

Segmentation

The process of dividing a customer or lead list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behavior, or purchase history.

Self-service Portal

A web-based interface that allows customers to access information, track orders, resolve issues, and manage their accounts independently.

Service Automation

Automating and streamlining customer service processes, such as ticket management, case management, and customer feedback.

Social CRM

A CRM software that integrates with social media platforms, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, to allow businesses to track and engage with customers and leads on social media.

Social Integration

The integration of a CRM system with social media platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, to track and manage customer interactions and engagement.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

A delivery model in which software is provided over the internet rather than installed on a specific computer or server.

Suspects

Potential customers are identified as having a low likelihood of becoming customers.

T

Tasks

To-do items or actions must be completed within a CRM system.

Template

A pre-designed document, email, or page that can be used as a starting point for creating new content.

Theme

The overall design or visual style of a CRM system.

Third-Party Integration

The integration of a CRM system with software or platforms not developed by the same company.

Ticketing

Tracking and managing customer support requests, typically through “tickets.”

Ticketing System

A software system that manages and tracks customer support requests and interactions.

Tracking URL

A URL is used to track the performance of a marketing campaign or the activity of a specific customer or lead.

Transactional Reporting

Reports that provide detailed information about specific transactions, such as sales or customer interactions.

U

User

An individual who has access to and uses a CRM system.

User Content

Information or data that is created or contributed by users of a CRM system.

User Interface (UI)

A software system’s visual and interactive elements, such as buttons and menus, allow users to interact with the system.

User Experience

The overall experience of using a software system, including ease of use, functionality, and design.

User Role

The specific permissions and responsibilities assigned to a user within a CRM system.

V

Voice of the Customer (VoC)

The feedback and opinions of customers are collected through surveys, interviews, and other methods.

View

A specific layout or display of information within a CRM system.

VoIP Integration

The integration of a CRM system with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, allows for voice and video calls to be made directly from the system.

W

Web Form

An online form that collects information from customers or leads.

Web-Based CRM

A CRM system is accessed and stored on the internet rather than on a specific computer or server.

Web-to-Lead

A feature that allows leads to be generated from website forms or other online sources, where customers can input their contact information and become leads.

Webhook

A feature that allows a CRM system to communicate with other systems or platforms by exchanging data via HTTP requests.

Workflow

A set of predefined steps or actions automatically triggered by specific events or conditions in the CRM system.

Workflow Automation

The use of software to automate and streamline business processes, such as lead management and opportunity tracking. It helps in reducing human errors and improves overall efficiency.

What’s Next?

This glossary is just the beginning of your journey to mastering CRM software.

Now that you better understand the CRM software industry, it’s time to put that knowledge to use with Mekari’s Qontak CRM software.

Our platform offers a wide range of features and easy-to-use interfaces to help you manage and improve customer interactions. Give it a try and see the results for yourself.

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