CRM vs. CMS: Key Differences Every Business Should Know

The CRM vs. CMS debate pits two software tools against each other. These tools are a customer relationship management system and a content management system. 

CRMs are treasure troves of customer data and insights. CMSs, on the other hand, are the backbone of your website, digital content, and SEO strategies. Both solutions play a key role in ecommerce success — so which one should you choose? 

Or should you implement both?

This article will explain the differences between CRM systems and CMSs. We’ll delve into their benefits, features, and use cases to help you understand whether you need one — or both — of these powerful digital tools. 

What is a CRM system?

CRMs bring all your customer data into one system. At the same time, they track, integrate, and analyze interactions across various platforms, including your website, phone, email, and social media.

They’re similar to candidate relationship management systems, which store recruitment data. But they’re not the same.

CRMs give businesses a complete view of each customer. This helps teams build and maintain strong relationships at every stage.

Salesforce CRM is currently the most popular product used by companies worldwide. Regarding popularity, it’s followed by CRMs from HubSpot, Zoho, and Microsoft.

Image sourced from hginsights.com 

Alt text: A bar chart showing the top ten CRM products with Salesforce CRM being number one with 202.1 thousand companies using it, followed by HubSpot with 145.1 thousand companies. Zoho comes in third place, with 84.7 thousand companies having it installed.

Key CRM features and use cases

Let’s quickly look at what you’ll find in a CRM and how these features are used.

Contact management

CRMs are home to your customer data, including their contact details, demographics, previous interactions, and open tickets. This data is collected from various platforms. It’s then combined into one system for easy real-time access.

Sales management

To simplify the sales process, CRMs offer powerful tools like: 

• Automated sales forecasting
• Lead scoring
• Tracking

Sales teams use CRMs to: 

• Increase sales funnel visibility 
• Optimize funnels for conversions 
• Maximize deal sizes
• Inform strategies