Software Advice BuyerView: CRM Software ReportInsight into today’s small-business software buyer

Every year, Software Advice speaks with thousands of organizations looking for the right customer relationship management (CRM) software. We isolated a random sample of 385 interactions with small-business buyers representing companies in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. We then analyzed the findings in order to understand:

• What are small-business CRM buyers’ top-requested applications, features and reasons for buying?

• How have CRM buyers’ requirements evolved since our previous report in 2013?

• How do CRM buyers’ needs differ across different geographies?

Abstract

Over half of the buyers in our sample (53 percent) currently use manual methods, such as spreadsheets or paper, to manage customer relationships.

Prospective Buyers’ Current Methods

Spreadsheets31%

Paper22%

CRM software22%

Email client8%

Email marketing software5%

Proprietary software5%

Industry-specific software3%

Other software4%

Even more U.S. buyers are upgrading from manual methods this year, at 47 percent, than were last year (44 percent in 2013).

Year-Over-Year Comparison: U.S. Buyers’ Current Methods

2013U.S. Buyers

2014U.S. Buyers

Manual methods44%CRM software26%Other software24%Proprietary software5%

Manual methods47%CRM software25%Other software24%Proprietary software4%

Compared to the U.S., where 47 percent of buyers are using manual methods, even more are using them in the U.K. (56 percent) and Australia (55 percent).

International Comparison: Buyers’ Current Methods

Percent of sample

CRM softwareManual methods Other software Proprietary software

U.S.

U.K.

AU

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Percent of Sample

Nearly all buyers across all geographies (88 percent) seek sales force automation (SFA), making it the top-requested CRM application by small businesses.

Top-Requested Applications

Sales force automation

Marketing automation

Customer support

Help desk

Call center

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

More U.S. and U.K. buyers seek CSS functionality compared to buyers in Australia: 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively, compared to just 5 percent of AU buyers.

International Comparison: Top-Requested Applications

Sales force automation

Marketing automation

Customer support

Help desk

Call center

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

U.S. buyers U.K. buyers AU buyers

Percent of Sample

Among those buyers seeking an application for SFA, interaction tracking is the most requested module, with 82 percent seeking to log notes and conversations.

Top-Requested CRM Functionality (Sales)

Interaction tracking

Alerts/reminders

Pipeline management

Sales reporting

Workflow automation

Quoting generation

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Percent of Sample

All of the small-business buyers who seek an application for marketing automation specifically request a module for email marketing.

Top-Requested CRM Functionality (Marketing)

Email marketing

Lead segmentation

Lead nurturing

Lead scoring

Email analytics

Forms/landing pages

Campaign management

Marketing analytics

Web analytics

MRM

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Percent of Sample

Among those buyers requesting a CSS application, most seek features directly related to addressing customer inquiries via email, phone or live chat.

Top-Requested CRM Functionality (Customer Support)

Ticket management

Ticket routing

CSS reporting

Ticket escalation

Ticket time tracking

Multichannel support

Knowledge management

Self-service

Live chat

IT asset management

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Most small businesses in our sample (62 percent) are looking to purchase a single, best-of-breed CRM application.

Integration Preferences

Best-of-breed62%

Integrated suite37%

Multiple products1%

However, among U.S. buyers, 42 percent are requesting an integrated suite in 2014, up from just 7 percent in 2013.

Year-Over-Year Comparison: Integration Preferences

2013U.S. Buyers

2014U.S. Buyers

Best-of-breed91%

Integrated suite7%

Multiple products2%

Best-of-breed57%

Integrated suite42%

Multiple products1%

Most buyers seeking a standalone application want SFA; most seeking an integrated suite want a pairing of applications for SFA and marketing automation.

International Comparison: Top-Requested Application Pairings

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

U.S. buyers U.K. buyers AU buyers

SFA

SFA & marketing automation

Customer support

Marketing automation

Help desk

SFA & customer support

Percent of Sample

Nearly three-fourths of all small-business CRM buyers specifically request solutions hosted in the cloud.

Deployment Preferences

Web-based71%Not sure29%

More small-business buyers this year are certain they want Web-based products, with fewer buyers who aren’t sure (50 percent, compared to 26 percent in 2013).

Year-Over-Year Comparison: Deployment Preferences

2013U.S. Buyers

2014U.S. Buyers

Web-based48%

On-premise2%

Not sure50%

Web-based74%

On-premise<1%

Not sure26%

Percent of Sample

Only 10 percent of small-business CRM buyers seek integration with social media channels to import contacts and track social interactions.

Top-Requested CRM Integrations

Email client

Calendar

Company website

Industry-specific

Social media

Accounting

Other CRM apps

Project management

Other integrations

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

U.S. buyers were over three times more likely to request social media integrations, at 19 percent, than U.K. and AU buyers, at just 6 and 5 percent, respectively.

International Comparison: Top-Requested CRM Integrations

U.S. buyers U.K. buyers AU buyers

Email client

Calendar

Company website

Industry-specific

Social media

Accounting

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Buyers using software for CRM cite the need for more features as a reason for buying; buyers using manual methods cite the need to centralize information.

Top Reasons for Evaluating New Software

Researching benefits/options

Centralize information

Automate more tasks

Scale with growth

Need more/better features

Improve data quality

Improve visibility

Improve follow-ups

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Buyers using manual methods Buyers using specialized software

Fewer buyers in the U.S. want CRM software to help automate tasks, compared to those in the U.K. and AU.

International Comparison: Reasons for Evaluating Software

U.S. buyers U.K. buyers AU buyers

Researching benefits/options

Need more/better features

Centralize information

Scale with growth

Automate more tasks

Improve data quality

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Most small-business buyers in our sample plan to have only a single named user (19 percent) or between two and five named users (47 percent) on the system.

Prospective Buyer Size by Number of Users

119%

2-547%

6-1019%

11-2011%

21-503%

51-100<1%

More than 100<1%

Over half of the respondents in our sample (56 percent) represent extremely small businesses with just 10 employees or fewer.

Prospective Buyer Size by Number of Employees

111%

2-530%

6-1015%

11-2013%

21-5015%

51-1007%

101-5008%

501-1,0001%

More than 1,0011%

Percent of Sample

Most of the buyers in our sample represent businesses in consulting, real estate, manufacturing, software and information technology (IT) and retail.

Prospective Buyers by Industry

Consulting

Real estate

Manufacturing

Software/IT

Retail

Advertising

Media

Construction

Insurance

Other

0% 4% 8% 12% 16% 20%

Real estate companies comprise just 1 percent of U.K. buyers in our sample, compared to 23 percent of U.S. buyers and 13 percent of Australian buyers.

International Comparison: Prospective Buyers by Industry

U.S. buyers U.K. buyers AU buyers

Consulting

Real estate

Manufacturing

Software/IT

Retail

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

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Software Advice™ is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's website, www.softwareadvice.com, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and research to help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company’s team of software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each software buyer identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software Advice connects software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities for software vendors.

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