CRM: Salesforce, Sugar – As its name suggests, CRM software was originally designed to help businesses build and maintain relationships with new and existing customers. Today, however, CRM software has evolved from a simple contact management system into a robust tool that lets you manage sales, marketing, point-of-sale (POS), accounting, vendor and other types of operational data, all in one easily accessible solution. From a growth standpoint, CRM is used to find leads, follow up with prospects and nurture them through the sales pipeline. CRM is also used to maintain customer loyalty by storing key information to boost sales — for instance, by personalizing the experience and providing excellent customer support. Although there are many solutions that can do this for businesses, the beauty of CRM software is that it can accomplish these tasks automatically, using just one solution. It can also integrate data from other areas of your business without any additional work. As a whole, CRM software gives you and your sales teams all the tools necessary to grow your business in a central hub with the least amount of work possible.