Complete guide to CRM integration

Discover how to streamline workflows with our comprehensive CRM integration guide. 

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Mar 07, 202417 MINS READ

What is a CRM integration?

CRM integration is the process of connecting your CRM software with other business systems or apps to streamline and automate your business processes. With an integrated CRM, data flows seamlessly between different systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors.

For instance, you might integrate your CRM software with your email marketing platform, e-commerce platform, or customer support software. This allows you to have a complete view of each customer's interactions with your company, from the first touchpoint to purchase and beyond.

How integrated CRMs work

At its core, integrated CRM works by consolidating information from multiple touchpoints and departments within an organization, creating a centralized database that provides a 360-degree view of each customer. This holistic view allows companies to better understand their customers' preferences, behaviors, and needs, which in turn enables them to deliver more personalized and targeted marketing, sales, and customer service efforts.

Integrated CRMs provide a database, ensuring that all team members have access to the same up-to-date customer information. For example, when a sales representative interacts with a customer and updates their contact information or preferences, that information is instantly available to the marketing team for crafting relevant campaigns or to the customer support team for addressing any issues or inquiries. 

These systems often incorporate automation and analytics tools, allowing organizations to automate routine tasks, analyze customer data for insights, and track key performance metrics. These functionalities enable businesses to identify trends, measure the effectiveness of their strategies, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their customer interactions. Overall, integrated CRM empowers companies to build stronger customer relationships, increase customer retention, and drive revenue growth by offering a more personalized, efficient, and consistent customer experience throughout the entire customer journey.

5 benefits of CRM integration

Integrating your CRM system with the software and systems you use the most can be hugely beneficial for your business—here are the five biggest reasons to consider making CRM integration a priority.

1. Efficiency

Integrating your CRM system with the other systems your business relies on enhances workflow efficiency by minimizing the need for manual data entry and the errors that can accompany it. Automating processes, such as capturing data from web forms, scheduling tasks, and updating customer profiles, enable your business to run more effectively.

This automation frees up team members to concentrate on activities that have a more direct impact on the company's revenue. Sales teams can dedicate more time to customer engagement and lead nurturing, while marketing departments can focus on developing impactful campaigns.

Additionally, the ability to sync data in real-time across various customer interaction points means that there's no delay in the availability of information. Every team member gains instant access to the most current customer data, allowing for timely responses and informed decision-making. This streamlined approach to managing customer information not only boosts productivity but also empowers businesses to deliver superior customer service while driving growth.

2. Data accuracy

Integrating your CRM software with your other critical applications streamlines your management of customer information by removing unnecessary redundancies in the data you’re collecting and storing. It ensures that each entry of customer data is recorded a single time and then shared effectively across all relevant platforms, which reduces the possibility of conflicting details showing up in different systems (and confusing your employees).

This leads to improved data quality, the value of which is hard to overstate. Accurate information is crucial if you want to generate dependable reports, forecast with certainty, and make strategic decisions grounded in that data. On top of that, having a centralized repository for all customer interactions gives you a more consolidated view of your customers, allowing you to get better insights into their needs and behavior.

Having a unified view of your customers is crucial for developing personalized customer engagement strategies. It also makes the customer lifecycle much clearer for everyone in your business, which ultimately enhances the customer experience.

3. Driving personalized customer experiences

Another big benefit of CRM integration is that it empowers your business to deliver personalized customer interactions at a large scale, meeting modern expectations for tailored experiences. You can set up automated, personalized communication streams that make customers feel individually recognized and appreciated because you’ll have a clear picture of all their interactions with your business.

Additionally, integrating your systems makes proactive engagement easier and more effective for your teams, helping your employees to connect with customers at strategic points in their journey, like on their birthday or when a product renewal is approaching, which can significantly enhance the customer experience.

It also ensures consistency across all interaction channels, whether online, in physical stores, or through customer service interactions online or on social media, providing a cohesive experience that strengthens brand reputation and fosters customer trust. This level of personalization, proactive outreach, and consistent interaction is integral in cultivating lasting customer relationships in a competitive marketplace.

4. Enabling collaboration

By integrating your CRM software with your other systems, you’re able to more effectively provide all your teams in various departments with that unified view of customer data mentioned before, enhancing collaboration and ensuring that all actions are informed by shared insights and aligned with collective goals. This unified approach is especially crucial in delivering a consistent and seamless customer experience.

It also dismantles information silos that traditionally exist between departments like sales, marketing, and customer service, streamlining internal communication and enabling more efficient teamwork. Without these integrations, it’s easy for highly impactful positive or negative interactions with customers to go completely unnoticed by other teams, which makes those teams less effective when they try to then interact with those customers.

In addition, as remote work continues to rise in popularity, an integrated CRM system becomes an essential tool for ensuring that team members, regardless of their location, have equal access to customer information and can work together effectively. This level of integration is key for maintaining cohesion and synergy among teams that may be geographically dispersed.

5. Cross-functional data analysis

Integrating your CRM software with other business systems enables you to analyze your data much more comprehensively by placing customer data alongside operational data, providing a holistic view that can reveal patterns and correlations that may go unnoticed when analyzing data from different systems in isolation.

Such cross-functional data analysis is critical for strategic decision-making, allowing businesses to pinpoint which initiatives yield the best results so that they can allocate resources strategically for maximum impact. An integrated CRM system is also instrumental in tracking and quantifying the effects of various business decisions and pivots on different departments and their influence on customer behavior.

This depth of insight fosters a refined understanding of the customer journey, helping to identify the key drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty, which are essential for nurturing long-term customer relationships. Today’s customers expect to have a highly targeted, highly personalized experience, both online and offline. The more comprehensive your picture of their interactions with your business and how what you do behind the scenes affects them, the more likely they are to feel that you’ve met this expectation.

Types of CRM integrations

There are numerous systems and apps you might want to connect to connect your CRM to—here are a few of the major ones, along with the benefits of connecting your CRM to them

1. Website integration

Integrating your CRM software with your website is critical for businesses looking to capture customer interactions and reduce data redundancy. By connecting your CRM system with your site, every action a customer takes can be recorded, from filling out a contact form to engaging in live chat sessions to simply visiting a landing page. This seamless connection ensures that sales and support teams have immediate access to customer inquiries and interactions, allowing them to provide more accurate support and sales experiences.

CRM integration with your website not only benefits your internal processes but also enhances the user experience for visitors. Personalized content can be more effectively and accurately displayed to users based on their past behavior or preferences, which can lead to increased engagement and conversion rates.

On top of this, integrating these two critical business tools creates a more efficient lead management process, especially if many of your leads come from your website. As soon as a potential customer submits their information into a web form or buys something on your website, their data is directly funnelled into your CRM software. This immediate data transfer allows for quick follow-up actions, ensuring that no lead is left unattended and opportunities for sales are maximized.

2. Data integration

Data integration is all about creating a single source of truth within your organization. By connecting your CRM software to various data repositories, including your accounting software, inventory management system, ERP, or customer support platform, you eliminate data silos and ensure consistency across all departments.

With that unified view of your data, you’re better equipped to make informed decisions about everything in your business. Insights can be drawn from across the organization, allowing for more effective strategic planning. Your targeted customer interactions will also be based on that more comprehensive data analysis, improving CX across your organization.

What’s more, integrating data sources simplifies operations by reducing the need for manual data entry and the errors that come with it. It allows different departments to work more cohesively, with access to real-time data that reflects your business's and customers' current state.

3. Marketing automation

Integrating your CRM software with your marketing automation platform will revolutionize the way your marketing campaigns are executed. It enables you to create sophisticated automated campaigns that trigger based on customer behavior and preferences, ensuring that marketing efforts are timely and relevant.

This makes the personalization of customer experiences at scale through automation, something that’s normally clunky and difficult at best, much more effective. By harnessing data from the CRM, you can segment your audiences more effectively and tailor marketing messages to individual customer needs and stages of the buyer’s journey.

When you’ve integrated your CRM with your marketing automation systems, you also get much more detailed and accurate analytics on campaign performance. This feedback loop ensures that your marketers can adjust strategies in real time, optimize their efforts, and more accurately demonstrate ROI from their campaigns. That ROI will also be higher in the first place because their campaigns will be based on higher-quality data.

4. ERP integration

Integrating your ERP system with your CRM system will give you a complete view of the customer lifecycle. Integrating these systems from initial contact to post-sale service ensures that customer information is synchronized and accessible across all departments.

Combining CRM and ERP systems can lead to operational efficiencies by automating tasks and workflows. It helps reduce the manual effort required to transfer information between systems, reducing errors and increasing productivity.

Finally, when your CRM software is integrated with your ERP system, you gain insight into the financial aspects of customer interactions, such as order history, payment terms, and purchase patterns. This integration helps to improve financial planning and forecasting of customer needs.

5. e-Commerce integration

Integrating your e-commerce platform with your CRM system is crucial for capturing and analyzing customer purchasing behavior. This data is invaluable for creating personalized marketing strategies and product recommendations, leading to increased customer loyalty and sales.

An integrated CRM system also helps synchronize inventory levels with customer purchases. This ensures that sales teams have up-to-date information on product availability, which is essential for providing accurate information to customers.

On top of that, by linking your e-commerce platform and your CRM, your customer service teams can quickly access complete customer order histories. This information allows for swift and effective resolutions of any issues, including costly returns, providing a better overall customer experience.

6. Miscellaneous CRM integrations

Integrating your CRM software with the social media platforms you’re most active on can help you track engagement, understand customer sentiment, and respond quickly to inquiries or comments made on social channels.

By connecting customer feedback systems and surveys to your CRM, you can collect, manage, and analyze customer feedback more efficiently. This can lead to improved products and services and a more customer-centric approach. It also allows you to let the right customers know when new products or services they might be interested in are available.

Finally, integrating your project management system with your CRM can help align sales and project delivery teams. This ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding customer projects, timelines, and responsibilities.

How to integrate a CRM system into your business processes

Integrating CRM software with your existing business systems and software doesn’t have to be a pain—here are a few different ways that you can implement CRM integration in your business quickly and efficiently.

1. Use a tool like Freshsales

There are many CRM systems available that you can easily integrate with just about every existing business system you can think of. One popular option is Freshsales, a CRM system that offers a range of integration options for different business applications. With deeply integrated AI tools and automation options, Freshsales ensures that you get the most out of its integration with all your existing systems.

One of the most powerful features of Freshsales is its AI assistant, Freddy AI. This AI assistant can analyze your leads and triage them so that you can focus on the most valuable leads first. It can also write sales content for you, including follow-up emails and sales emails. With Freddy AI working alongside your sales team, they’re more efficient, more effective, and ultimately, more profitable for your business.

2. Use your IT department to link systems

If you have an IT department, they can help you to link your integrated CRM system with your other business systems. How they do this will depend on their level of expertise, the specific systems you’re using, and the best potential methods for CRM integration. They may need to pull in an outside consultant to make sure they can integrate your systems effectively.

3. Use APIs

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are a common way to integrate different systems. APIs allow different software applications to communicate with each other and share data, but they can be extremely complex, so it’s critical that you have some experts on hand who are familiar with using APIs to connect systems together to help with the process.

4. Custom code 

Software developers can write custom code to enable communication between different systems, however, it’s important to note that this approach can quickly become unwieldy. Unlike standardized and repeatable APIs, custom code requires constant updates to adapt to system changes. Because of this, it’s recommended that you integrate your CRM using built-in options or APIs unless you possess exceptionally specialized and intricate requirements.

CRM Integration Tools

To help you find the right CRM integration tool, we’ve put together a list of the top ones available on the market, including their pros, cons, and pricing. The tools we will go over are:

  1. Zapier

  2. Bardeen.ai

  3. Integrately

  4. Celigio

  5. Boomi

1. Zapier 

Zapier is a versatile CRM integration tool that simplifies the process of connecting various apps and automating workflows without the need for complex coding or extensive technical expertise. Zapier acts as a bridge between different software applications, allowing them to communicate seamlessly and share data in real time. For businesses using a CRM system, Zapier offers a vast library of pre-built integrations, known as "Zaps," that can be easily configured to meet specific needs.

One of the key advantages of Zapier as a CRM integration tool is its extensive app ecosystem. It supports integration with over 3,000 applications, including popular CRM platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM, as well as a wide range of other software categories such as email marketing, e-commerce, project management, and more. This versatility enables businesses to create customized workflows that suit their unique requirements, automating tasks such as lead generation, data synchronization, and customer communication.

Zapier offers a user-friendly interface that allows users to create and manage integrations through a simple drag-and-drop process. This makes it accessible to users with varying levels of technical proficiency. With its robust automation capabilities, Zapier enables businesses to reduce manual data entry, minimize errors, and ensure that critical information is updated consistently across different systems.

Pros

  • Extensive integration capabilities

  • Intuitive workflow automation builder

  • Intuitive interface

Cons

  • Adding advanced features can be expensive

  • Limited complex workflow capabilities

  • Zaps may experience latency or delays during peak usage times

Pricing

  • Free tier

  • Starter: $19.99/month

  • Professional: $49/month

  • Team: $69/month

  • Company: Contact Zapier for pricing

2. Bardeen.ai 

Bardeen.ai is an AI-powered, no-code CRM integration tool that empowers businesses to enhance their practices and streamline workflows regardless of their technical skill level. When building automated workflows, companies can even use natural language to tailor them to their needs.

This platform has a web browser bot and a research bot that can extract information from web pages and condense text into research reports to improve accuracy. Bardeen.ai can also extract information from images and PDF files, making building workflows from previously generated content quick and easy. This tool allows users to create workflows that are triggered by right clicks, events, schedules, or manual triggering. 

Bardeen.ai has a robust message generator that creates compelling, tailored emails, social media posts, and texts. These messages can be used for sales, recruiting, marketing, follow-ups, and more. This feature uses AI to adjust the tone, voice, and content of each message to fit its intended purpose. It also has the ability to intuitively categorize emails, leads, and text into defined groups.

Pros

  • Advanced AI and automation capabilities

  • Robust security protocols and practices

  • Priority access to LLM models like ChatGPT4 Turbo

Cons

  • Steep learning curve

  • Limited feature explanations/documentation

  • Limited naming and linking customization

Pricing

  • Free tier

  • Professional: $10/month

  • Business: $15/month

  • Enterprise: Contact Bardeen.ai for pricing

3. Integrately

Integrately is an emerging CRM integration tool that focuses on simplifying the process of connecting various software applications and automating workflows for businesses. With Integrately, users can create custom integrations, known as "Flows," to link different apps together without the need for extensive coding knowledge. This makes it accessible to a wide range of users, from business owners to marketing professionals and developers, seeking to streamline their CRM and other software solutions.

One of Integrately's standout features is its extensive library of pre-built Flows, which cover a wide spectrum of popular applications, including leading CRM platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM, as well as email marketing tools, project management software, and more. These pre-configured Flows serve as templates that users can easily customize to suit their specific needs, saving time and effort in setting up complex integrations. Additionally, Integrately offers a visual flow builder that simplifies the creation of custom workflows, allowing users to map out triggers and actions in a straightforward manner.

Integrately is gaining popularity for its user-friendly approach, affordability, and the efficiency it brings to automating CRM and other business processes.

Pros

  • Rapid deployment

  • User-friendly

  • Extensive app library

Cons

  • Limited complex integration capabilities

  • Depends on third-party servers that may cause delays or downtime

  • Limited Flow customization

Pricing

  • Free tier

  • Starter: $19.99/month

  • Professional: $39/month

  • Growth: $99/month

  • Business: $239/month

4. Celigo

Celigo is a comprehensive CRM integration tool that utilizes AI and specializes in connecting various software applications and automating workflows to enhance business efficiency. With a strong focus on ease of use and customization, Celigo aims to empower businesses to integrate their CRM systems seamlessly with other critical tools and applications.

One of the standout features of Celigo is its Integration Marketplace, which offers a wide range of pre-built connectors and templates for popular CRM platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics, along with countless other software applications across different categories. These pre-built integrations expedite the setup process and reduce the need for extensive coding or development skills. Users can easily choose from these connectors and tailor them to their specific requirements, allowing for rapid integration deployment.

Celigo also provides an intuitive and user-friendly integration platform known as Integrator.io, which includes a visual interface for creating, configuring, and monitoring integrations. This simplifies the process of designing and managing complex workflows, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. Additionally, it offers robust support for real-time data synchronization, ensuring that information flows seamlessly between systems.

Pros

  • Extensive integration marketplace

  • Real-time data synchronization

  • Flexible and scalable

Cons

  • Advanced features may come with additional subscription costs

  • Complex custom workflows can be difficult to build

  • Could lead to vendor dependency for businesses

Pricing

  • 30-day free trial

  • For more pricing details, companies are required to contact Celigo

5. Boomi

Boomi, by Dell Technologies, is a widely recognized CRM integration tool that empowers organizations to seamlessly connect and automate their software applications. Boomi is known for its cloud-based, low-code integration platform, offering a wide array of pre-built connectors and a visual interface for creating, managing, and optimizing integrations.

One of Boomi's standout features is its extensive library of pre-built connectors, which cover an extensive range of CRM platforms such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and Oracle CRM, in addition to countless other applications across diverse categories like e-commerce, finance, and marketing. These pre-built connectors simplify integration setup, reducing the need for custom coding and significantly accelerating the deployment of CRM integrations.

Boomi's visual integration platform provides a user-friendly interface for designing and managing complex integration workflows. With a drag-and-drop approach, users can easily map out triggers, actions, and data transformations, making it accessible to users with varying technical backgrounds. Boomi also offers advanced features such as real-time data synchronization, data mapping, and error handling, ensuring data consistency and accuracy across integrated systems.

Pros

  • Vast library of pre-built connectors

  • Cloud-based and low-code

  • Extensive advanced features like workflow automation, real-time data synchronization, error handling, and data mapping

Cons

  • May not be affordable for small businesses

  • Complex scenarios can come with a steep learning curve

  • Integrations may experience delays or latency in data transfers and processing

Pricing

  • 30-day free trial

  • Boomi offers four tiers, but companies are required to contact Boomi for pricing details

Choosing the right integrated CRM for your business

Choosing the right integrated CRM system is a critical decision for any business. To make an informed choice, start by defining your specific business needs and goals, identifying the key functionalities and features that are essential for your organization, and considering factors such as lead management, sales automation, marketing automation, customer support, reporting and analytics, and data integration with other business applications. Knowing what you require from your CRM system will help you narrow down your options and find a solution that aligns with your budget, needs, and goals.

Learn more about what Freshsales can do for you

An integrated CRM system is a powerful tool for improving your business processes, enhancing customer experience, and driving your business’s growth. By integrating your CRM system with your other business applications, you can create a more efficient, more customer-focused organization while increasing profits and decreasing costs.

Whether you choose to use a tool like Freshsales or work with your IT department, the key is to choose an integrated CRM system that best meets your business needs and goals. Learn more about what Freshsales can do for your organization here.

Integrated CRM FAQ

Do CRM systems integrate with social media?

Yes, CRM systems often integrate with social media platforms to enhance customer relationship management. These integrations allow businesses to collect and analyze social media data, track customer interactions on social channels, and engage with customers more effectively. By connecting CRM and social media, organizations gain insights into customer behavior, sentiment, and preferences, enabling them to tailor their marketing, sales, and support efforts for a more personalized and impactful customer experience.

What does CRM integration mean for customers?

CRM integration benefits customers by providing a smooth, personalized experience. It enables businesses to access a unified view of customer data, improving their ability to understand and meet individual needs. Integration ensures smoother interactions, such as personalized marketing campaigns, timely support, and efficient issue resolution. Customers benefit from consistent and accurate information across touchpoints, leading to better service quality, enhanced satisfaction, and a deeper sense of engagement with the brand, ultimately fostering long-lasting and profitable relationships.

What is the difference between CRM and API?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and API (Application Programming Interface) serve different purposes in the realm of technology and business. CRM is a software system used for managing and analyzing customer interactions, data, and relationships. It helps organizations improve customer service, sales, and marketing efforts. On the other hand, an API is a set of rules and protocols that enable different software applications to communicate and share data. APIs allow systems to exchange information and functionality, including integrating a CRM system with other software applications and enhancing its capabilities and connectivity. In essence, CRM is a software tool, while API is a technology that facilitates data exchange between software applications.