A good CRM system should encompass all the processes involved in the customer lifecycle, from end to end. It should be the hub of all customer activity across all platforms and channels: project and inventory management, survey responses, email, telephony, etc. Using even one external application causes ripples in that pool of customer data, and using more than three can bring about a downright tsunami.

But when you integrate those applications with your CRM, you give it extra power. In one centralized place, access all the details of a customer at any point in their journey through the pipeline so you have a fuller profile of the service they’re getting. Contextual data at your fingertips: That’s the promise of a fully integrated CRM. Here are three core issues that integrations can solve.

Context (or the lack of it)

Without context, data is like a 100-carat diamond buried deep inside the Mariana Trench. It’s priceless, but completely out of your reach. Integrating data from different applications into your CRM can give you that context you need. This can help you answer questions like “How many new customers have I gained by sending targeted ads to my competitor’s customers in this 3-month period?” instead of just “How many new customers have I gained recently?” With context like that, that 100-carat diamond can be right inside your pocket.

Confusion

With over 30 browser tabs and 8 different windows open, you might think you’re being very productive with that motley mix of applications. But what’s actually happening is that your brain is in persistent pursuit of focus, like the coyote after the roadrunner. Vital customer information can get ignored by mistake, overlooked, or just plain lost. Integrating all those applications with your CRM means you can now focus on what truly matters, in just one place.

Time

Juggling different things is not easy. Every minute you spend switching windows, copying and pasting information, and transferring data is a minute down the drain. That minute can make all the difference between a deal won or a disillusioned customer choosing a competitor’s product over yours. Through integrations, you can save all that effort and time you spend on doing completely unnecessary, time-wasting tasks.

How Zoho Marketplace Can Help

For most salespeople, their CRM system is the first application they log in to at work, and the last one they log out of, at the end of the day. We believe a fully-integrated CRM could be the only application they need to log in to, at all.

To give your CRM an even greater edge, take a look at the Zoho Marketplace. Our growing marketplace includes integrations with MailChimp, DocuSign, Twilio, Zendesk, SurveyMonkey, and Zillow, just to name a few. So go on, make some good decisions. You can blame us for your rapid spike in productivity. We’re more than okay with that.