The top 10 CRM trends

1. Customer Centricity mindset

In the past, CRM solutions have mostly focused on improving customer relationships in sales and service. But what about the success factors of motivation, commitment and the individual skills of each employee? How do product design, services and touch points influence a customer relationship? And how about ongoing investment in innovation? Customer centricity is a company strategy that affects the entire company and successful companies will adopt this mindset. A customer-centric culture creates sustainable value for each individual customer. It penetrates the entire company, its values, employees, products, services and processes. The outcome: long-term success and a company culture which benefits employees, customers and partners – inspiring them all to perform better every day. 

2. Excellent xRM management

CRM is not just a software solution that you install on a smartphone, tablet or computer. CRM and xRM (anything Relationship Management) go beyond the traditional definition of software, they are a mindset. Relationship management as a company strategy continuously optimizes relationships by actively interacting with people. Holistic relationship management analyzes, builds and improves the relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, partners and the public. At CAS Software AG, the executive board, lead managers and all employees work together to develop and integrate a common customer-centric culture and xRM strategy.

3. Emotional customer experience

It is nice to have satisfied customers, but it is not enough. They may quickly change to the next best offer. Companies who strive for long-term success must rely on loyal customers and fans who willingly recommend them. 

4. Redefine trust

In the software development process, it is important to make sure that the software is trustworthy. Data protection is improved by secure authentication and live monitoring of unusual requests from the Internet. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy supports the research of pioneering solutions for secure data storage. Having initiated the two quality seals "Software Made in Germany" and "Software Hosted in Germany", CAS Software AG together with other German software providers wants to further develop these two quality seals to establish them as global standards.

5. Online, offline – anytime, anywhere 

Nowadays, we share our experiences with our family and friends from almost anywhere in the world. The same applies to our work life where sharing information and communicating with our colleagues has an important role. And we use all kinds of technical devices, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones and SmartTV to help us communicate with ease. In the future, hybrid data storage will enable the storage of important data directly to the mobile device, making access possible even when offline.

6. data protection "first": Hosted in Europe

Data protection may be an unpopular topic, but it is still very much a trend-setting one. With the European Data Protection Regulation, Europe is opting in 2018 for exemplary data protection worldwide and also for data portability.

7. One xRM for each individual – app by app

Apple's iPhone and App Store made IT history: uniform operation, a large selection of apps and the opportunity to administer apps on your devices. These principles will also be important when companies develop future software solutions: simple apps will set a new standard on the software market. In the near future, employees will use their personalized xRM with one cross-platform responsive design for all devices, for example, browser, tablets or smartphones. Each user will be able to work with exactly the app he or she needs to do their job. With the app-in-app concept, even user-specific adaptations are possible.

8. Simple. Intuitive. Individual.

The usability bar has been raised. Whereas in the past, priority was given to functional design today's top priorities are efficiency and a great user experience thanks to intuitive operability and emotional design. Software design has to appeal to users in terms of functionality and efficiency and convince through smart operability.

9. Reaching goals with assistance services

Head-up displays, parking assistants or cruise control: we all love those assistance systems which facilitate daily driving. A number of assistance systems will also enhance the next generation of xRM solutions. For example, integrated reference databases will provide up-to-date master data for all German stock corporations. This not only revolutionizes data maintenance, but also helps decision makers: they can quickly retrieve all the relevant data at the push of a button such as company profiles, credit ratings, news, social media profiles and job offers.

10. Focusing on the individual

Social media enables us to communicate efficiently. The digital network however does not replace personal communications. Emotional bonding is formed through personal contact with your business partners and through committed employees who want to contribute to a customer’s success. In sales, added value needs to be created for each individual despite the challenge of constantly changing target groups.