CRM for Manufacturing Success: Increase Sales, Streamline Operations, and Improve Customer Experiences

Whether you’re looking to sustain long-term relationships with your suppliers and partners or looking to streamline the ways in which your team operates, using a manufacturing CRM could bring your business the solutions it needs to increase its revenue stream and optimize all your workflows.

A manufacturing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a software system designed to help manufacturing companies understand and capitalize on their relationship with customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders.

A manufacturing CRM supports a range of business processes, including lead generation and management, sales management, customer service and support, marketing automation, and analytics and reporting.

It provides a centralized repository for customer data, allowing manufacturers to track and manage customer interactions across multiple touchpoints and at any moment of their customer’s lifecycle.

The goal of a manufacturing CRM is to help manufacturers build stronger, more profitable relationships with their customers by providing a holistic view of customer data and enabling targeted, personalized communication and engagement.

When your company uses a manufacturing CRM, it demonstrates its focus on streamlining its sales and marketing processes, increasing customer loyalty and retention, and ultimately driving revenue growth.

The main features of a manufacturing CRM include, but are not limited to:

Your manufacturing CRM allows you to get ahead of your sales process. With this tool, you have control over everything from lead generation to closing deals. It enables your team to track leads, automate follow-up communications, and prioritize high-value leads.

A manufacturing CRM is excellent for manufacturers to store and manage customer data, including:

• Contact information
• Order history
• Customer preferences
• Communication history

With a manufacturing CRM, manufacturers can also get a 360-degree view of the customer, enabling them to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

The CRM system for manufacturing streamlines all your orders, from order entry to shipment and invoicing. It also provides visibility into order status, inventory levels, and delivery schedules.

The CRM system enables your manufacturing business to create and execute targeted marketing campaigns based on customer data, behavior, and preferences. It also allows you to measure campaign effectiveness and ROI.

Provide real-time customer service with your manufacturing CRM. You can provide timely and efficient customer service and support, including case tracking, issue resolution, and customer feedback management.

Gain deep insights into your sales, marketing, and customer service operations with your manufacturing CRM. With this tool, you can track KPIs, measure performance, and identify areas for improvement.

Your manufacturing CRM can be integrated with other business systems, such as ERP, supply chain management, and accounting systems, to provide a seamless data flow across the organization.

There are countless benefits of using a manufacturing CRM. In fact, some of the ones included below will give you a good idea of what your manufacturing business can gain from using a CRM platform:

With a manufacturing CRM, you can effectively build stronger relationships with your customers, through 360-degree views of your customer experience and personalized communication and engagement.

A manufacturing CRM allows you to prioritize leads, automate follow-up communications, and identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities. You can significantly increase your sales and boost customer retention with a better handle on your lead conversion process.

Automate and streamline sales and marketing processes. That way, you can focus on what matters versus spending time on menial tasks that your manufacturing CRM can easily do for you. Focus on high-value activities and reduce manual effort with a single platform.

Provide timely and efficient customer service and support. With a manufacturing CRM, you’re making a commitment to your customers, telling them that you are focused on their positive experience and loyalty.

A manufacturing CRM enables you to store your data in a single place, giving your cross-functional teams a single source of truth. In turn, avoid duplicating tasks and streamline your in-house communication.

Manufacturers using a CRM can enjoy insights into their sales, marketing, and customer service operations.

When you decide to use a manufacturing CRM, it means that you are ready to take your operations to the next level. That means taking stock of all your current tools and finding a manufacturing CRM that unlocks seamless integrations with other business systems.

The choice of manufacturing CRM software will depend on the specific needs and requirements of your manufacturing business. Here are some popular manufacturing CRM software options to consider:

Freshsales CRM for manufacturing companies provides robust business solutions with valuable insights on potentially lucrative deals and actionable next steps powered by AI.

If you’re interested in learning more about all the things that AI can do for your business, consider FreshSales seriously. Its robust functionalities will bring your activity to the next level.

• Ready-to-use templates and powerful automation
• Multi-purpose AI-powered assistant Freddy
• Pay as you grow plan

• Growth: €15 per user per month (billed annually)
• Pro: €39 per user per month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: €69 per user per month (billed annually)

By leveraging Pipedrive’s manufacturing CRM, you can fortify your supply chain, increase sales, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Pipedrive's user-friendly interface and robust sales pipeline management make it a great manufacturing CRM option. It provides complete visibility into your sales process, allowing you to streamline workflows and drive revenue growth.

• Dynamic sales pipeline management
• Accurate reporting
• Campaign management functionality
• Order tracking
• Supply chain process collaboration

• Essential: 14.90€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Advanced: 24.90€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Professional: 49.90€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: 99€ per user per month (billed annually)

Creatio gives your manufacturing business the tools to own automation and boost its revenues at record speeds.

Creatio boasts a centralized platform that makes your industry-specific activity much easier to manage. You can also easily access all your leads and their information with cutting-edge customization functionalities.

• Opportunity management
• Partner relationship management
• Field visits
• E-commerce orders processing
• Sales forecasting
• Quote management
• Order processing
• Billing and invoicing

Pricing available upon request.

Designed to help sales teams take control of their pipeline, the Salesforce Sales Cloud comes with fully customizable features.

As a leader in the CRM industry, the Salesforce Sales Cloud is an excellent option for your manufacturing CRM needs. In fact, its scalable pricing as well as its real-time information gathering and reporting will help you exceed your goals in no time.

• Sales agreement feature
• Inventory tracking
• Custom metric creation
• Account-based forecasting
• 360-degree customer view with AI-powered insight
• Real-time online collaboration

• Essentials: €25 per user per month (billed annually)
• Professional: €75 per user per month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: €150 per user per month (billed annually)
• Unlimited: €300 per user per month (billed annually)

A comprehensive manufacturing CRM with seamless integration with other HubSpot products, such as the marketing and service hub, makes it a popular choice among businesses.

Hubspot CRM is incredibly intuitive, which means that your team will not struggle to get trained to use it.

• Stand out in search
• Leverage automation to follow up with and nurture leads
• Store all your customer data in one place
• Up-sell process simplification
• CRM integrations

CRM Suite Pricing:

• Starter: starts at €45.99/mo
• Professional: starts at €1,474.31/mo
• Enterprise: starts at €4,593.48/mo

Ideal for start-ups and small businesses, Zoho CRM is user-friendly, feature-packed, and affordable.

With affordable pricing options, Zoho CRM is a great manufacturing CRM solution if you are just starting out or if your operations don’t require the larger-scaled CRM systems available on the market.

• Sales team automation
• Canvas Design Studio
• Process management
• Customer journey orchestration
• Omnichannel capabilities
• Analytics reports and tracking
• Sales enablement

• Standard: 14€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Professional: 23€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: 40€ per user per month (billed annually)
• Ultimate: 52€ per user per month (billed annually)

A robust manufacturing CRM system can help your manufacturing business streamline its sales and marketing processes, optimize supply chain management, and improve customer experiences.

By leveraging the power of data analytics, automation, and AI, manufacturers can gain valuable insights into their sales performance, identify promising leads and deals, and make data-driven decisions.

Remember to evaluate your business needs, budget, and technical requirements and to consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, and integration with other business systems. You may also want to read reviews and compare features and pricing across different CRM software options to find the best fit for your manufacturing business.