What is a B2B CRM?

A B2B CRM, or business-to-business customer relationship management system, is a software platform that helps businesses manage and enhance their interactions with other businesses. B2B CRMs help companies build and nurture long-term relationships with their customers.

What’s the difference between a B2B CRM and a B2C CRM?

A B2B CRM is built specifically for companies that sell to other companies. B2B CRMs support long sales cycles, including lead generation, lead nurturing, lead scoring, buying committee tracking, and more. B2C CRMs are focused on individual consumers, who typically buy quicker and need more personalized messaging and loyalty programs for retention.

Here are a few other ways they differ:

  • B2B CRMs are focused on managing relationships with other businesses, whereas B2C CRMs are focused on managing relationships with individual consumers.
  • B2B CRMs are geared toward longer sales cycles, complex decision-making processes, and multiple stakeholders.
  • B2B CRM platforms handle the intricacies of account-based marketing, lead nurturing, and high-value deals.
  • B2B CRMs help marketers focus on account-based marketing, where fewer personalized interactions are crucial to win and retain high-value clients. 

B2C CRMs, on the other hand, are geared toward high-volume transactions, shorter sales cycles, and personalized marketing efforts.

  • B2C CRM systems are optimized for capturing and analyzing customer data at scale, enabling targeted marketing campaigns and enhanced customer experiences.
  • B2C CRM strategies focus on segmentation and mass marketing to reach a broader customer base. 

3 benefits of a B2B CRM

The primary benefits of a B2B CRM are centered on parent-child relationships between accounts (other businesses) and employees (the people who work at that business). Since brands that use a B2B CRM sell to other companies, they typically need a 360-degree view of the people involved in buying decisions for their software so that they can personalize messaging to them. 

Here is how that benefits these businesses:

  1. Long-term customer satisfaction: B2B CRMs improve customer satisfaction and retention through personalized, targeted communication. Businesses can segment customers based on various criteria to deliver relevant educational content and sales team communication, which increases ongoing engagement and loyalty.
  2. Revenue growth: Businesses can identify trends and grow revenue with data-driven decisions by analyzing data within sales cycles and lead interactions with a B2B CRM.
  3. Cross-functional collaboration: B2B CRMs foster collaboration among several teams within a business. With shared access to customer data and communication history, sales, marketing, and customer support teams can work together to create consistent and efficient customer interactions.

How to choose the right B2B CRM

Selecting the right B2B CRM for your business can have significant revenue implications. A B2B CRM impacts your overall customer experience, and even employee happiness.

Here are some key factors to consider if you need a B2B CRM:

  1. Business needs: Evaluate your specific business needs and goals. How are you currently capturing leads and where do you want to scale your efforts? Which analytics and reporting abilities do you wish you had? Are you still relying heavily on account-based strategies, or is it time to scale your nurturing efforts? The answers to these questions will lead you to the right B2B CRM with the features you need.
  2. Scalability: Make sure your B2B CRM can accommodate your growing business and handle an increasing number of customers and data without compromising performance.
  3. Integration capabilities: Look for a B2B CRM that can easily integrate with your existing tools and software. Make sure you’re not siloing data or adding complexity to your workflows with the integrations you choose, or the B2B CRM software you choose. Your goal is to eliminate manual data entry and make data transparent across your organization.
  4. Customization options: Choose a B2B CRM that offers customization options. These allow you to tailor the system to meet your specific needs and workflows.
  5. Ease of use: Your B2B CRM should be user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy for your team to adopt and use effectively. A complex system can hinder productivity and employee adoption rates.

Once you’ve considered these factors, explore top B2B CRM software options and evaluate them based on your specific requirements.

For B2C brands looking for a solution that is more custom-built for them, Klaviyo is the only CRM built for B2C. Get started now.