In today’s digital landscape, technology plays a pivotal role in shaping the relationship between a business and its customers. The integration of technology into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is driving innovation and supporting sustainable business growth. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) encompasses a range of activities aimed at understanding customers and managing their interactions with a brand throughout their entire journey. Modern Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms centralise customer data from multiple touchpoints (interactions, purchase history, preferences, feedback, and social media engagements) and provide businesses with a holistic (360°) view of each customer.
Statistical Data
Statista (2021) research regarding the use of technology in CRM in various companies reveals these striking results.
| Technology(Innovation) | Adoption/User Rate (%) |
| Cloud Computing | 60% |
| Big Data Analytics | 52% |
| Personalization Tools | 48% |
| Artificial Intelligence(AI) | 45% |
| Chatbots | 38% |
This research shows an adoption rate and the critical role these digital platforms play in changing the customer relationship management (CRM) landscape. A data-driven customer journey through these platforms enable companies to anticipate touchpoints and proactively engage customers at critical moments (e.g., renewals, life-cycle milestones, product suggestions.)
CRM Strategy
Companies need to explore a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in line with their business goals and ensure that they meet the evolving customer expectations. Emerging customer relationship management (CRM) strategies aimed at enabling the customer to obtain a unique experience involve:
-Building Emotional Connection: Emotional connection involves interacting with a customer through multiple touchpoints to build a strong relationship and enhance their overall experience with the brand. Enterprises can explore platforms that integrate acoustic and textual analysis to detect customer emotions (e.g., tone, mood) in real time for a more empathetic, context-aware support. While leveraging on innovative platforms to connect with customers, it must be balanced with human-centric support. Thus, human agents must be trained to handle complex/emotional customer needs to deepen the relationship. Businesses can also connect with customers through various support channels like a phone call, live chat or dedicated community events.
– Predictive Insights & Personalisation: A seamless integration of CRM software application with AI (artificial intelligence) and predictive analytics can help businesses to analyse buying patterns, customer preferences and behaviour to tailor communications, offers, and experiences. Indeed, predictive lead scoring and behaviour forecasting enable businesses to anticipate customer needs, target upselling or cross-selling of products and services. More businesses are adopting generative AI, big data, predictive analytics and cloud technology within CRM to anticipate customer needs and deliver smarter personalisation. Research indicates that companies with robust CRM practices enhanced by big data analytics tend to achieve higher sales growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction compared to their counterparts. By enabling businesses to better understand and meet customer needs, big data analytics contributes to the development of more effective marketing and sales strategies, leading to increased revenue and market share.
-Integrating Augmented Reality (AR): Immersive technology is also transforming customer relationships by bringing together the virtual world with users’ sight, sound and touch. Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies can be used to create, display and interact with applications, content and experiences. This new trend of technology allows a customer to feel part of an artificial or simulated environment. Virtual reality and augmented reality enable e-commerce businesses to display their products in a more appealing and informative way, and to differentiate themselves from competitors. The global immersive reality market size is expected to hit over $134.18 billion by 2030 due to the proliferation of smartphones and connected devices.
-Omnichannel (All-Channel Communication): Businesses need to switch to a platform that ensures a unified approach across multiple touchpoints. Mobile-friendly CRM and customer-support tools mean that businesses can engage customers from anywhere and anytime (useful for sales, support, field agents, etc.) In that regard, a smooth integration of CRM platforms across channels (web, mobile, social media, email, chat) can increase customer loyalty and strengthen long-term relationships with customers.
Business Benefits & Strategic Value
A research by the Journal of Consumer Research reveals that more than 50% of a customer’s experience are emotional, as emotions shape the attitudes that drive decisions. Indeed, customers become loyal when they are emotionally attached to a product or service and remember how they feel in using it. As a result, a business that optimises emotional connection outperforms a competitor by 85% in sales growth. Further studies established that a positive experience repeatedly prove that:
- Sixty-four (64%) of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand to others if it offers simpler experiences and communications.
- Seventy-one (71%) of people recommend a product or service because they received a “great experience”.
- Sixty-five (65%) of all consumers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising.
- Real-time feedback mechanisms help companies to understand customer sentiment to improve experiences. Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs help elicit and analyse customer feedback to improve products, services and the overall customer experience and relationship.
- AI-powered chatbots facilitate data-driven decision-making. Recent research showed a remarkable (30%) increase in customer retention when businesses utilised personalised chatbot interactions. Leading enterprises across sectors like e-commerce, banking, healthcare, and telecommunications have adopted AI chatbots to improve engagement, reduce wait times and lower customer service costs. Modern chatbots go beyond answering simple FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). They can help book appointments, process transactions, handle complaints, and even provide product recommendations.
- Flexibility & Scalability: Cloud technology has transformed CRM by removing the need for on-premise infrastructure. Cloud CRM solutions offer remote accessibility and lower operational costs which make them appealing to businesses of all sizes. Cloud-based CRM provides real-time access to customer data. This empowers customer support teams to deliver timely and personalised assistance. Additionally, mobile CRM solutions have proven to be a game-changer for sales representatives, service agents, and field personnel. Automation and integration capabilities allow sales representatives to focus on building customer relationships and converting leads into sales more efficiently. As a result, organisations have experienced shorter sales cycles and higher revenue generation. With cloud-based, mobile, and AI-enhanced CRM systems, businesses can scale their customer-engagement operations as they grow.
Challenges & Important Considerations
- Data Quality & Integration Issues: Poor data quality or fragmented data can undermine CRM effectiveness. If data across touchpoints is inconsistent or siloed, the “single customer view” may break down and thereby compromise the quality of customer-centric decisions.
- User Adoption & Implementation Barriers: Even many companies with CRM struggle, some report difficulties with technology integration, data migration, staff training, and full utilisation of features.
- Privacy, Compliance & Data Governance: As customer data becomes central to engagement, businesses must ensure compliance with data protection laws and maintain transparent, ethical data practices. Recent trends suggest CRM vendors are increasingly offering built-in compliance tools.
Conclusion
As technology continues to redefine customer expectations, businesses must embrace innovation not as an optional enhancement but as a strategic imperative. Modern Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems powered by AI, big data analytics, cloud computing, omni-channel engagement and emerging tools like AR (augmented reality) enable organisations to create deeper emotional connections, personalise interactions, and deliver seamless experiences across the customer journey. While challenges remain, companies that successfully integrate these technologies stand to gain stronger loyalty, higher efficiency and sustainable competitive advantage. The future of customer relationship management lies in balancing intelligent automation with genuine human connection by ensuring that every touchpoint not only meets customer needs but also strengthens long-term relationships.
Further Reading:
- Ifin Naim, et al (2024) Customer Relationship Management. Pp. 120-128
- Big Data Analytics for Customer Relationship Management: Enhancing Engagement and Retention Strategies: International Journal of Scholarly Research in Science and Technology, (2024)
https://doi.org/10.56781/ijsrst.2024.5.2.0039
- AI-Powered Chatbots Transforming Customer Support through Personalized and Automated Interactions: Science, Technology and Development: Volume X Issue X OCTOBER 2021
BERNARD BEMPONG
Bernard is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of professional and industry experience in Financial Services Sector and Management Consultancy. He is the Managing Partner of J.S Morlu (Ghana) an international consulting firm providing Accounting, Tax, Auditing, IT Solutions and Business Advisory Services to both private businesses and government.
Our Office is located at Lagos Avenue, East Legon, Accra.
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233 244 566 092
Website: www.jsmorlu.com.gh
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