CRM Glossary

A/B Testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of a marketing asset, like a web page or email, to see which performs better with the target audience. This matters because it uses data, not guesswork, to optimize conversion rates by identifying the specific elements that drive the most successful user behavior.

API Integration uses an Application Programming Interface (API) to allow two different software programs to communicate and share data securely without manual intervention. This matters because it provides a reliable, technical foundation for advanced connections, allowing businesses to seamlessly customize their software ecosystem.

An Account Executive (AE) is a sales professional responsible for managing the entire sales process from the qualified lead stage through to closing the deal and signing the contract. This matters because they are the primary revenue drivers, directly responsible for generating new business and meeting sales quotas.

Account Management is the strategy and function of overseeing the overall relationship with established business customers to ensure their long-term satisfaction and growth. This matters because it focuses on generating repeat business, maximizing the lifetime value of customers, and identifying opportunities for upselling or cross-selling.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the predictable revenue a subscription-based business expects to receive over a full year from its active customers. This matters because it provides a high-level view of long-term financial stability and is primarily used for strategic planning and valuation purposes.

Attribution Reporting is the process of linking a completed sale or conversion back to the specific marketing touchpoints and channels that influenced the customer's journey. This matters because it shows marketers exactly where to credit revenue, justifying budget spending and optimizing future campaign investments.

Audience Segmentation is the practice of dividing an existing or potential customer base into groups based on their common interests, media consumption, or online behavior for communication purposes. This matters because it ensures that advertising and content are delivered to the most relevant people through the channels they actually use.

Behavioral Segmentation groups customers based on their actions, such as purchase frequency, product usage, website activity, and responses to marketing messages. This matters because it allows for highly relevant and timely marketing by targeting people based on what they have actually done, indicating their intent and preferences.

Behavioral Triggers are automated actions set off by how a lead interacts with a company's website, emails, or product, such as downloading a document or viewing a pricing page. This matters because responding immediately to these triggers allows sales and marketing to deliver highly relevant, in-the-moment communication, increasing conversion chances.

CRM Analytics is the process of using data collected within the CRM to gain insights into customer behavior, sales team performance, and overall business health. This matters because it allows management to make data-driven decisions about sales strategies, resource allocation, and identifying successful customer profiles.

CRM Integration is the process of connecting the CRM system with other business applications, such as email clients, accounting software, or marketing platforms. This matters because it ensures data flows freely between systems, creating a single, comprehensive view of the customer and automating cross-departmental workflows.

A Call-to-Action (CTA) is a prompt, usually a button or hyperlink, on a website, email, or advertisement that tells a user what action to take next, such as 'Buy Now' or 'Download the Guide'. This matters because it is the critical link between content and conversion, guiding the prospect directly toward the next step in the sales funnel.

Campaign Management is the process of planning, executing, tracking, and analyzing specific marketing initiatives designed to achieve a business goal, like generating leads. This matters because it provides a structured framework to measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts and optimize performance over time.

Churn Rate is the percentage of customers or subscribers who stop using a company's product or service over a specific time period. This matters because a high churn rate indicates customer dissatisfaction or a fundamental problem with the product, directly impacting the company’s ability to grow revenue.

Closing Ratio is the percentage of proposals or quotes presented to prospects that result in a closed deal. This matters because it specifically measures the effectiveness of sales representatives during the final stages of the sales cycle, reflecting their negotiation and closing skills.

In CRM, 'Cloud' refers to software that is accessed over the internet, rather than being installed directly on a company's own servers or computers. This matters because it allows employees to access customer data from anywhere, on any device, making the system flexible, scalable, and easier to update.

Cold Calling is the practice of contacting a potential customer by telephone who has had no prior interaction with the sales representative. This matters because it is a direct, proactive way for sales teams to initiate contact, gather intelligence, and introduce products to a list of previously unqualified prospects.

Company Properties are the standard and custom data fields used to store information specific to an organization or business in the CRM, like industry, revenue, and address. This matters because they are crucial for B2B sales and marketing efforts, allowing for firmographic segmentation and account-based management.

Configure Price Quote (CPQ) is a software tool within the CRM that allows sales teams to quickly and accurately generate quotes for complex, customizable products or services. This matters because it eliminates manual errors in pricing, speeds up the quoting process, and ensures all quotes comply with business rules.

Contact Management is the core CRM function of organizing and storing detailed information for individual people, including customers, prospects, and partners. This matters because having an accurate and accessible history of every interaction allows sales and service teams to personalize communication and maintain strong, long-term relationships.

Contact Properties are the standard and custom data fields used to store information specific to an individual person in the CRM, like name, email, and job title. This matters because they form the basis of a customer's profile, enabling personalization and segmentation for targeted sales and marketing outreach.

Content Personalization is the practice of modifying any piece of content—like an email subject line, a blog post recommendation, or a product image—to match an individual's profile. This matters because relevant content strengthens the connection with the customer and makes the communication feel less like generic advertising.

Custom Properties are unique data fields created by a business within the CRM to track information specific to their industry or internal processes. This matters because they allow the CRM to be tailored to the company's exact needs, such as tracking a specific product installation date that isn't included in the standard fields.

Custom Reporting is the ability within a CRM to create personalized reports and dashboards that track unique metrics specific to a company's business processes and needs. This matters because it allows businesses to go beyond standard reports and gain deeper, tailored insights essential for their specific operation.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost spent on sales and marketing efforts divided by the number of new customers acquired over the same period. This matters because it helps businesses determine how much they can profitably spend to gain a new customer and ensures the cost of a sale is sustainable.

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a type of software that unifies all customer data from various sources into a single, comprehensive, and consistent profile for each person. This matters because it allows marketing and sales teams to create highly personalized, synchronized experiences for customers across all communication channels.

Customer Feedback is any opinion, criticism, or suggestion provided by customers regarding their experience with a product, service, or company interaction. This matters because gathering and analyzing this feedback directly informs product development, process improvements, and service quality.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the predicted total revenue a company can expect to earn from a single customer over the entire duration of their relationship. This matters because it informs decisions on how much a company should spend to acquire and retain customers, ideally being significantly higher than the CAC.

A Customer Portal is a secure, personalized online interface where customers can log in to view their account information, track support tickets, and access the knowledge base. This matters because it empowers customers with self-service capabilities and provides transparency into their ongoing service interactions.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a technology and strategy that businesses use to organize and manage all interactions and relationships with customers and potential customers. It matters because a well-managed CRM helps streamline processes, improve customer service, increase sales, and ultimately grow the business by providing a central location for all customer data.

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) is a metric that measures how happy customers are with a specific transaction or interaction, often calculated by averaging customer responses on a 1-5 scale. This matters because it gives immediate feedback on the quality of a recent service experience, highlighting areas for support improvement.

Customer Segmentation is the act of grouping existing customers based on shared attributes, such as purchase history, value, or service needs, using CRM data. This matters because it enables businesses to personalize customer service, create specific loyalty programs, and identify high-value customers for special retention efforts.

Customer Support refers to the range of services provided to assist customers in using a product or service, including troubleshooting, maintenance, and answering questions. This matters because quality support resolves customer issues quickly, boosts satisfaction, and encourages long-term customer retention.

Data Deduplication is the automated process of identifying and merging duplicate records within the CRM to ensure each customer or company has only one entry. This matters because duplicate records lead to inaccurate reporting, wasted time, and frustrating customers who receive redundant communications.

Data Import/Export refers to the functions that allow users to move large sets of data, usually in a spreadsheet format, either into or out of the CRM system. This matters because it facilitates easy migration of data from old systems and allows for offline analysis or bulk updates of customer information.

Data Quality Management is the set of processes and technology used to ensure data within the CRM is accurate, complete, consistent, and relevant. This matters because high-quality data is essential for accurate forecasting, effective personalization, and trustworthy business decisions.

Data Synchronization is the continuous, automated process of keeping data identical and up-to-date across multiple systems or databases connected to the CRM. This matters because it prevents inconsistencies, ensuring that sales, marketing, and service teams are always working with the same, accurate customer information.

Deal Tracking is the continuous monitoring of the status, value, and expected closing date for each potential sale recorded within the CRM. It matters because it allows sales professionals to prioritize their workload and provides real-time data for accurate revenue forecasting and performance measurement.

Demographic Segmentation divides a market based on easily quantifiable characteristics of individuals, such as age, gender, income, education level, and occupation. This matters because these variables are often strongly correlated with buying habits and are commonly used to define a business's ideal target customer.

Document Tracking is the ability to monitor how prospects interact with sales documents, such as proposals or contracts, including how long they viewed each page. This matters because it indicates the prospect’s level of interest, highlights sections of concern, and helps a sales rep prioritize their follow-up based on real-time activity.

Drip Marketing is a communication strategy that sends a pre-written, automated set of messages to prospects or customers over a specific period of time or based on a starting event. This matters because it consistently maintains contact with prospects, slowly building trust and familiarity until they are ready to make a purchase.

Dynamic Content refers to website or email elements that automatically change or adapt based on the specific viewer's known data, location, or past behavior. This matters because it ensures that every person sees the most relevant offer or messaging tailored precisely to their interests, maximizing the likelihood of a conversion.

Dynamic Segmentation involves the real-time grouping of customers based on constantly changing data, such as their most recent website clicks or purchases. This matters because it keeps customer groups fluid and up-to-date, ensuring marketing automation and communication are always relevant to the customer's current behavior.

Email Automation is the capability to send personalized emails to individuals automatically based on pre-defined triggers, schedules, or actions they take. This matters because it keeps prospects engaged with relevant content at the precise moment they are interested, improving lead qualification and conversion rates.

Email Sequences are a predefined series of automated emails sent to a lead or customer over a period of time, designed to guide them toward a specific action. This matters because they provide a structured, scalable way to educate prospects and move them through the sales process without constant manual effort.

Email Tracking is a CRM feature that alerts sales reps when a recipient opens an email, clicks a link inside it, or downloads an attachment. This matters because it provides valuable insight into prospect engagement and intent, helping the sales rep decide the best time and topic for a follow-up call.

Field Mapping is the process of designating which data field in one system corresponds to a specific data field in another system during an integration or import. This matters because it ensures that information, such as a 'Lead Name,' correctly moves to the 'Contact Name' field in the CRM without getting lost or misplaced.

Firmographic Segmentation is used in B2B (business-to-business) to categorize companies based on attributes like industry, company size, revenue, and number of employees. This matters because it helps sales teams target accounts that are most similar to their most successful existing customers, prioritizing high-value prospects.

Form Optimization is the practice of refining online forms, like checkout or contact forms, to encourage more visitors to complete and submit them. This matters because reducing friction, such as asking for fewer fields, significantly increases the number of qualified leads captured by making the process easier for the user.

Funnel Reports are visual representations that show the number of prospects that successfully move from one stage of the sales or marketing process to the next. This matters because they highlight 'leakage' points where potential customers are dropping out, allowing a business to address those specific bottlenecks.

Geographic Segmentation divides a market based on physical location, such as country, state, city, or climate zone. This matters because it allows a business to customize its products, services, and marketing campaigns to address the specific needs and cultural preferences of people in different locations.

A Help Desk is a centralized resource provided by a company to answer customer questions and resolve issues related to products or services, often managed by the CRM. This matters because it acts as the primary contact point for customers seeking assistance, ensuring consistent and efficient service delivery.

An Inside Sales Representative is a sales professional who performs all selling activities remotely, communicating with customers primarily through phone, email, and virtual meetings. This matters because it offers a cost-effective and scalable way to cover large territories and manage a high volume of potential customers.

A Knowledge Base is a centralized, digital library of self-service articles, guides, and FAQs that customers or employees can use to find answers to common questions. This matters because it allows customers to quickly resolve simple issues on their own, reducing the volume of support requests and freeing up agent time.

Landing Page Optimization is the process of improving a specific web page designed to capture lead information by increasing the conversion rate of visitors into prospects. This matters because a well-optimized landing page directly increases the number of leads generated from marketing traffic, maximizing ad spend efficiency.

Lead Enrichment is the act of appending additional data to a lead’s existing record in the CRM using third-party sources to build a richer profile. This matters because it provides sales and marketing teams with deeper insights into the prospect's company, role, and pain points, allowing for more relevant outreach.

Lead Management is the process of capturing, qualifying, and nurturing raw business inquiries, or leads, until they are ready to be contacted by a sales representative. This matters because it ensures that sales teams spend their time only on prospects who have the highest potential to become paying customers.

Lead Nurturing is the process of building relationships with qualified prospects at every stage of the sales funnel by providing helpful, relevant information. This matters because most leads are not ready to buy immediately, and consistent nurturing keeps the brand top-of-mind until the moment they are prepared to make a purchasing decision.

Lead Qualification is the process of evaluating a lead to determine if they meet the criteria to become a viable sales opportunity. This matters because it ensures that sales efforts are focused on prospects who have the need, budget, authority, and timeline to make a purchase.

Lead Scoring is the process of assigning a numeric value to a lead based on their characteristics and engagement behavior, such as job title or website activity. It matters because it helps sales teams prioritize which leads are most likely to convert into a customer, calculating their readiness to buy using a set of defined criteria.

Market Segmentation is the process of dividing a broad target market into smaller groups of consumers who share similar needs and characteristics. This matters because it allows a business to focus its marketing resources and tailor its products and messaging to better meet the needs of specific groups, rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

Marketing Analytics is the practice of measuring the performance and return on investment (ROI) of various marketing campaigns and activities. This matters because it helps marketing teams understand which channels and messages are most effective at generating quality leads and optimizing future spending.

Marketing Automation is software that automates repetitive marketing tasks, such as sending emails, posting on social media, and managing lead nurturing campaigns. This matters because it saves time, allows marketers to scale their efforts, and ensures prospects receive timely, personalized communication based on their behavior.

The Marketing Funnel is a model illustrating the customer journey, from initial brand awareness (wide top) to taking a specific action (narrow bottom), such as making a purchase. This matters because it helps marketers structure their campaigns to align content with a prospect's mindset at each stage of their buying process.

A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown engagement with marketing efforts, such as downloading a guide, but is not yet ready for a direct sales call. This matters because it identifies individuals who are interested but still require nurturing from marketing before they can be passed on to the sales team.

Meeting Scheduling is a CRM feature that allows prospects to view a sales representative’s real-time availability and book a meeting directly into their calendar without back-and-forth emails. This matters because it reduces friction in the sales process, saving time for both the sales rep and the prospect, and accelerates the sales cycle.

Micro-segmentation is the process of dividing a broad segment into extremely small, niche groups of customers with highly specific, shared characteristics or needs. This matters because it allows for the highest level of personalization, enabling a business to create near one-to-one communication strategies for highly targeted results.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable revenue a subscription-based business expects to receive every month from its active customers. This matters because it is a vital indicator of financial health, used for forecasting and measuring the month-over-month growth of the business.

Multivariate Testing is a complex method used to test multiple variations of several elements on a single page simultaneously to find the optimal combination. This matters because, unlike A/B testing, it can identify the combined effect of small changes—such as different headline text and button color—to greatly improve performance.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a loyalty metric that measures a customer's willingness to recommend a company's product or service to others, categorized as Promoters, Passives, or Detractors. This matters because it is a strong indicator of overall customer satisfaction and future business growth through word-of-mouth referrals.

Omnichannel Support is a strategy that provides a seamless, consistent customer experience regardless of how the customer chooses to communicate (e.g., phone, email, chat, social media). This matters because it ensures support agents have a complete history of all past interactions, allowing them to provide a fast and personalized resolution across any channel.

Opportunity Management is the systematic process of tracking a qualified sales prospect through the entire sales cycle, including all associated activities, quotes, and forecasts. This matters because it transforms initial interest into a measurable, predictable revenue outcome and ensures every potential sale is worked efficiently.

Performance Analytics involves tracking and evaluating the efficiency and success of sales professionals, teams, or entire departments against key metrics like quotas and activity levels. This matters because it helps managers identify high performers, target areas for training, and ensure the entire team meets its objectives.

Personalization Tokens are placeholders in marketing content, such as 'First Name' or 'Company Name', that automatically pull and insert specific data from a prospect's CRM record. This matters because it allows for mass email deployment that still feels individualized to the recipient, improving open and click-through rates.

Personalized Marketing is the strategy of delivering individualized marketing messages and experiences to prospects and customers based on data collected about them. This matters because it makes communication feel more relevant to the recipient, greatly increasing engagement, conversion rates, and overall customer loyalty.

Pipeline Analytics is the detailed examination of the sales pipeline, focusing on metrics like deal velocity, stage-to-stage conversion rates, and the total value of opportunities. This matters because it provides accurate sales forecasting, helps sales leaders spot deal risks, and identifies processes that need improvement.

Pipeline Management is the visual process of tracking potential sales as they move through defined stages, from initial contact to final deal closure. This matters because it gives sales managers a clear forecast of future revenue and helps identify bottlenecks, ensuring the team focuses on the most valuable activities.

Predictive Analytics is the use of data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning to forecast future outcomes, such as which leads are most likely to convert or when a customer might churn. This matters because it helps businesses proactively focus their resources on the most promising areas to maximize future success and minimize risk.

Prospecting Tools are CRM-integrated applications or features designed to help sales professionals identify, research, and outreach to potential new leads. This matters because they streamline the discovery process, providing accurate contact information and relevant background data to jumpstart the sales cycle.

Psychographic Segmentation groups customers based on their psychological attributes, such as personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. This matters because it helps marketers craft messages that appeal to the underlying motivations and emotional drivers that influence purchasing decisions.

Quote Management is the CRM feature for creating, tracking, and sending out professional proposals and pricing documents to prospects for approval. This matters because it centralizes all financial offers, keeps pricing consistent, and allows sales reps to quickly see which deals are pending customer sign-off.

Real-Time Reporting refers to the immediate display of up-to-the-second data and performance metrics as soon as an action is completed in the CRM. This matters because it allows sales managers to react quickly to new opportunities or issues, ensuring they are acting on the most current and accurate information available.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a marketing metric that measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on a specific advertising campaign. This matters because it tells marketers exactly how profitable their ad campaigns are, allowing them to quickly shift budget toward the most successful efforts.

Return on Investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment, calculated as the profit generated relative to the cost of that investment. This matters because it helps a business justify spending on a new CRM system, marketing campaign, or sales team by showing the financial return.

Revenue Reporting is the systematic tracking and summarizing of all actual and projected income generated from sales over a specific period. This matters because it gives leadership a clear picture of the company's financial performance against its goals and is used for overall business planning.

Sales Conversion Rate is the percentage of leads or opportunities that successfully turn into paying customers over a specific period. It matters because it measures the efficiency of the entire sales process, typically calculated as (Number of Sales / Total Leads) x 100.

The Sales Cycle is the series of recurring stages a company uses to convert a lead into a paying customer, beginning with initial contact and ending with post-sale follow-up. This matters because measuring the average length of the cycle helps a business forecast revenue accurately and identify opportunities to speed up the selling process.

A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a specialized sales role primarily responsible for outbound prospecting, lead qualification, and setting up meetings for Account Executives. This matters because they ensure a consistent pipeline of qualified leads, separating the prospecting effort from the closing effort.

Sales Enablement is the process of providing sales teams with the resources, tools, content, and training they need to effectively engage with prospects and close more deals. This matters because it aligns marketing and sales efforts, ensuring sales reps always have the right materials at the right time to address buyer needs.

A Sales Lead is a person or organization who has shown initial interest in your product or service, typically by providing contact information. It matters because this is the starting point of the sales process, representing a potential future customer that needs to be nurtured and qualified.

A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a prospect that has been thoroughly vetted by both marketing and sales teams and is considered ready for a direct, personalized sales engagement. This matters because it signifies a high-intent prospect who has a high probability of closing, making them the sales team's top priority.

Sales Sequences are automated series of steps—including emails, calls, and tasks—designed to consistently follow up with leads or prospects over a set period. This matters because they ensure no lead falls through the cracks, freeing up sales reps to focus on active selling rather than remembering manual follow-up schedules.

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract that defines the specific standards and timeliness, such as response time or resolution time, that a company guarantees for customer support. This matters because it sets clear expectations for customers and provides measurable targets for the support team's performance.

Smart Content is a term for website or email content that changes based on a known viewer's lifecycle stage, source, or other CRM property. This matters because it enables a business to greet a repeat visitor with a more advanced offer than a first-time visitor, continuously moving them through the sales funnel.

Social Selling is the art of using social media platforms to find, connect with, understand, and nurture sales prospects. This matters because it allows sales professionals to build trusted relationships, share valuable content, and position themselves as industry experts before initiating a formal sales pitch.

Territory Management is the process of dividing a company’s sales area and customer base into distinct geographical or market segments and assigning them to specific sales teams or representatives. This matters because it prevents conflict between sales reps, ensures balanced workload distribution, and optimizes sales coverage across all markets.

A Ticketing System is a CRM feature that converts customer requests (via email, phone, or web form) into unique, trackable support records called tickets. This matters because it ensures no customer issue is overlooked, allows support agents to prioritize work, and provides a clear history of the problem and its resolution.

A Trigger is a specific action or event taken by a customer or prospect that automatically initiates a corresponding automated CRM or marketing action. This matters because it allows the system to react instantly to behavior—such as a website visit or form submission—ensuring timely and relevant follow-up.

Win Rate is the percentage of all sales opportunities that result in a closed-won deal, as opposed to a closed-lost one. This matters because it provides a clear measure of how often a sales team or representative is successful when competing for business against other options.

Workflow Automation is the use of software to automatically execute a sequence of business tasks and actions based on pre-defined rules or conditions. This matters because it standardizes operational processes across sales and marketing, reducing manual data entry, errors, and speeding up response times.