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In a saturated market, young companies frequently face daunting challenges. Understanding the blue ocean strategy – creating uncontested market space by ignoring the competition – offers a way out of this predicament.

In this article, we’ll explore blue ocean strategy examples, its benefits and the companies that have successfully implemented it.

What is the blue ocean strategy?

Business professors and strategists W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne presented the concept in their book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant.

The professors developed the strategy using the metaphors of “blue oceans” and “red oceans” to represent the presence of market competition.

Red ocean vs. blue ocean: what’s the difference?

The blue ocean strategy is a metaphor for businesses carving out a segment of an unknown market space.

The authors use the metaphor of a red ocean as a contrast to help clarify the blue ocean strategy’s meaning.

The red ocean represents a known market universe with fierce competition. It’s harder for businesses to stand out and reach profitability here, where cutthroat competition leads to a “red” environment.

In contrast, the blue ocean represents uncontested market spaces where competition is limited or non-existent and businesses that align with customer needs can thrive and grow.

Many predators (competitors) fight each other in the red oceans, while the fish in the blue oceans swim peacefully without affecting each other’s growth.

Key differences between the blue ocean and red ocean strategies include:

The blue ocean strategy has unique benefits and, if done right, can reward businesses with profitable growth.

Goals and benefits of the blue ocean strategy

Blue ocean strategy aims to carve out new sections within the market.

Taught at INSEAD Business School, this strategy is part of strategic management, advocating that companies shouldn’t compete against each other but instead forge their own path.

To find a new path, companies need to meet two key goals:

1. To generate new demand for a problem that customers may not know needs solving

2. The simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost (known as value innovation) to make their offering available to a wider audience

To make competition irrelevant, companies must create unique and innovative products. This business development strategy allows them to avoid the pressures of pricing strategies.

While imitators are inevitable, Mauborgne and Kim demonstrated in their Harvard Business Review article that companies could maintain their unique selling proposition for 10 to 15 years using the blue ocean strategy.

Suppose a new business identifies the right customer needs and makes its solution accessible. It can reach profitability sooner and achieve a greater market share than if it stayed in a more competitive space.

The major benefits of the blue ocean strategy include:

• Virtually no competition

• Creation of new demand, thereby attracting a new customer group

• Cost structures are not subjected to competitive pricing, allowing for optimization

Significant innovation leads to high sales volumes without competitive struggles.

The ERRC grid: steps to an innovation concept

Companies must distance themselves from conventional strategic planning methods to create a new product that withstands competition.

The greatest challenge of the blue ocean strategy is thinking in a completely new direction. The ERRC grid (Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create) can help:

• Eliminate. What can you remove that the industry takes for granted?

• Reduce. What can you reduce below the industry standard?

• Raise. What could you raise above the industry standard?

• Create. What new factors could you create?

Here’s a deeper look at each part of the grid:

The grid helps you scrutinize the market competition to pursue differentiation and low cost.

Once you’ve addressed each section, a value curve can help you measure business success by planning individual product features according to their intensity (more on this below).

How to implement the blue ocean strategy in your business

Implementing a blue ocean strategy to create new market spaces and make competition irrelevant can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to implementing the blue ocean strategy :

1. Analyze the current market

Talk to your current and potential customers to better understand the competitive market, existing market conditions and industry norms. Use customer surveys or outreach interviews to learn about customers’ pain points.

For example, ask about experience with and feelings around:

• Cost

• Complexity

• Performance

• Integration

• Support

You can also read industry reviews, forums and case studies for further insights.

Once you understand what your current market is lacking, determine which pain points you could improve.

2. Apply the EERC grid

Visualize your current competitive positioning to refine a value proposition that sets you apart. This is where the EERC grid comes in.

List the key factors your industry competes on, such as features, speed, scalability or price. Do some competitor analysis to plot your values against those of competing companies and identify where you’re similar. Finally, find ways to eliminate, reduce, raise or create new elements.

3. Focus on noncustomers

Find opportunities to create a new market where there is no competition by looking at noncustomers who:

Examine why they don’t buy from anyone in the current market and consider how to attract them to your business.

4. Innovate

Reframe how you deliver value. For example, a SaaS business might offer an API-first design or no-code interfaces to differentiate itself cost-effectively.

Make your offer more accessible, even to smaller or underserved audiences.

For example, the cloud platform Amazon Web Services made enterprise-level infrastructure affordable and scalable with its pay-as-you-go model (more on that below).

5. Execute rapid prototyping and testing

Test your blue ocean idea with your target audience and gather feedback so you can refine your strategy. Use minimal viable products (MVPs) and iterative feedback tracking to validate your new offering with users. Focus on sales metrics like:

Using these measurements, you can see how effective your blue ocean strategy is, whether it appeals to your target audience and find ways to improve your offering.

6. Create compelling marketing

Develop marketing campaigns that communicate the new value proposition. The messaging should be memorable and emotionally resonate with your ideal customer, and it should explain your offering clearly.

For example, rideshare app Uber’s original tagline was “everyone’s private driver”. It then transitioned to “move the way you want” to encompass its expansion into areas such as bike rentals.

7. Scale

Once you’ve validated your differentiator and pinned down your messaging, it’s time to grow your business. Build partnerships, IP and network effects to protect your market space.

Keep innovating, too. Blue oceans don’t last forever – companies must continue to evolve and innovate to keep expanding. Innovation is the key to maintaining greater shares of their respective markets.

Successful examples of the blue ocean model

You don’t always need to invent new industries to benefit from the blue ocean strategy.

Perhaps the most famous example of the blue ocean model is Cirque du Soleil. This renowned circus had to get creative during a period of crisis in the fiercely competitive circus industry.

Many attributes that had long defined the circus were simply no longer trendy. Cirque du Soleil developed a new concept that eliminated animals from the show and focused on high-quality dance and live performances. This new direction allowed the company to expand its audience and increase ticket prices.

Other successful examples of the Blue Ocean shift include:

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Instead of competing directly with existing IT infrastructure providers, AWS revolutionized the industry by providing on-demand, scalable cloud services that allowed businesses to avoid significant upfront hardware investments.

AWS offered a unique value proposition by providing on-demand, scalable cloud services. This framework allowed businesses to avoid large upfront hardware investments and pay only for what they used. Its strategy meant that startups could now afford agile, enterprise-grade infrastructure, which allowed SaaS industries to thrive.

Zoom

Now a staple part of many people’s lives, Zoom was a lesser-known tool a decade ago, carving its way into the mainstream.

Zoom aimed to capture an underserved market segment by making its solution widely available. Rather than competing by adding more features to the existing model, it made its solution simpler to use, offered free and low-cost plans and improved call quality.

Zoom’s focus on making video conferencing more accessible, affordable and user-friendly separated it from existing complex and costly video calling solutions.

Uber

Uber’s new approach to taxi services upended the beliefs of industry players that their market was beyond disruption. Rather than competing with existing taxi companies on their terms, Uber carved out a new market space by leveraging mobile technology to address customers’ pain points around booking a taxi.

Offering a convenient and often cheaper alternative helped Uber generate demand for a previously unavailable service. Its cashless payment option made taxis more convenient. Uber also incentivized high-quality customer service with its rating system, which traditional taxi services lacked.

Final thoughts

Companies, startups and entrepreneurs that adopt the blue ocean strategy consciously make strategic moves to venture into uncharted waters alone instead of swimming with the current.

Here, they discover less competition but must create demand within a new target audience to establish a unique selling proposition and achieve long-term success.

This strategy highlights the value of innovating beyond the crowded marketplace, offering new solutions that differentiate from the competition and redefine the playing field to secure a sustainable competitive advantage and greater market share.

Bigger, stronger, faster: Today, companies must focus on growth to stay ahead of the competition and keep profits high. For this reason, growth hacking is often a top priority for marketing managers and entrepreneurs.

In this article, you’ll learn growth hacking strategies, techniques and examples to strengthen business growth.

What is growth hacking? Definition and tasks

Growth hacking is a type of growth marketing focused on rapid success. It uses low-cost strategies and experimental, data-driven processes to increase conversions, customer acquisition and customer retention.

Marketing strategy expert Sean Ellis introduced the concept of growth hacking in his book of the same name. According to Ellis, the central tasks that a growth hacker undertakes within an organization are:

• Acquisition of new customers (onboarding process)

• Activation of prospects

• Retention of existing customers

• Monetization through active sales

• Advancing brand awareness and recommendations

Growth hacking techniques often start with digital marketing but don’t end there. These fast-moving testing and iteration cycles affect the whole company, including sales, product management, human resources and customer service.

Ideally, this data-driven decision-making process helps all departments innovate while saving money. Moreover, growth hacking suits companies of all sizes (corporations, medium-sized companies and startups) and industries (from SaaS to consumer).

Prepare for successful growth hacking

Growth hacking requires an agile, customer-oriented approach. However, you must gather the right information to ensure you’re adding value to the customer journey. These methods can get you started:

• Target group analysis – Create a precise, in-depth definition of the buyer persona so you know how to attract your target audience

• Data collection – Know which key performance indicators (KPIs) you’re going to track to keep your approach data-driven

• Product-market fit – Offer added value to the target group to ensure customer satisfaction

• Recommendation systems – Solicit feedback from customers and offer incentives to customers who make good suggestions (e.g., a gift card or special pricing options)

• Personnel – Motivate employees to share their thoughts and drive the strategy forward

Use what you learn from this process to build out step-by-step strategies.

Growth hacking strategies

Once you’ve gathered information, choose which strategies make the most sense. These tried-and-true marketing tactics help you drive rapid growth with low time and resource investment:

1. Content marketing: Blog posts and articles that speak to buyer challenges improve visibility, increase audience engagement and enhance brand reputation. Relevant content also ranks higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), bringing more traffic to your website.

2. Referral marketing: Offer rewards to existing customers when they recommend products or services to their family or friends. Incentivizing buyers with discounts or free products turns them into brand advocates and attracts new customers.

3. Social media marketing: Promote your brand or service on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, allowing potential customers to connect with you and discover your products.

4. A/B testing: Compare two versions of a marketing asset (e.g., an email, ad or homepage) to see which performs better. Experimenting this way helps you see which language and formatting get the most engagement.

5. Search engine optimization (SEO): Make your website more attractive to search engines like Google by targeting specific keywords and optimizing your site. High-quality, product-led content that addresses customer pain points will set you apart.

6. Newsletter marketing: Send relevant content and promotions to subscribers regularly. These personalized offers help you build trust and brand awareness with your audience while generating leads.

7. Influencer marketing: Collaborate with bloggers, journalists and other credible sources with sizable followings in your field. Cultivate relationships with them to promote word-of-mouth marketing.

8. Email marketing: Engage with leads who opt in to receive your promotions to create a new customer base. Run email campaigns with your list with offers and calls to action (CTA) to help them move through the customer journey.

9. Podcasts: Appearing on a podcast is a great way to introduce people to your brand and stand out from competitors by carving out a niche. Help listeners become leads by explaining why your product is the right solution for them.

Each of these tools can be used as a short-term experiment to get quick results and learn what works best for growing your business. Let’s look at real-world examples to see how companies apply these strategies.

7 compelling growth hacking examples

These examples of strategies in action offer insights into best practices for helping your B2B company grow using traditional marketing channels:

1. Salesloft’s blog and online magazine

A search engine-optimized blog can increase page views and conversions while strengthening your position as an industry thought leader. This method is equally suitable for B2C and B2B companies.

For example, Salesloft’s (formerly Drift’s) blog frequently covers topics like lead generation, sales chatbots and aligning marketing with sales teams. Other recent content includes case studies and explainers on sales enablement.

Each content marketing post discusses something relevant to Salesloft’s audience and attracts readers who would benefit from its product. Your company’s blog can do the same.

2. Unbounce’s content assets

White papers, webinars, tutorials, e-books and case studies are all opportunities to offer customers and clients free added value and accompany them further along the customer journey.

Unbounce, for instance, uses e-books to advance lead generation and growth. Its e-book on attention-driven design shows users how to design more persuasive landing pages.

While your company’s tone may differ, the value of an attention-grabbing content hook is universal.

3. Airbnb and Dropbox’s referral programs

Attractive referral programs that offer customers a benefit for making a recommendation are an ideal growth hacking method.

This strategy works for both B2C and B2B companies. For example, Airbnb has a simple but effective referral program that gives the referrer and the new user travel credit.

Similarly, Dropbox offers free storage for two when a user refers family, friends, coworkers or clients.

Referral programs are an easy growth hacking strategy for turning existing clients into ambassadors and getting more exposure quickly.

4. Red Bull and GoPro’s partner marketing

Collaborating with other companies allows you to pool expertise, generate greater interest among the target audience and benefit from the more extensive combined reach.

For example, Red Bull and GoPro have collaborated on marketing campaigns and event sponsorships since 2016. The partnership increases brand awareness, elevates content and reinforces both brands as leaders in the action sports and adventure lifestyle market.

Look for partner companies that can help with your growth marketing efforts. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box – Red Bull and GoPro prove disparate companies can work well together.

5. Gymshark’s influencer marketing

Influencer marketing helps expand reach rapidly in both the B2B and B2C sectors.

Gymshark, for example, focuses on influencer marketing within the fitness industry. It partners with athletes and fitness enthusiasts, from mega-influencers to micro-influencers, to promote its apparel. This strategy has played a significant role in the company’s rapid growth.

Connect with popular figures in your industry and collaborate on projects like sponsored content.

6. Apple’s unique selling proposition

Developing and communicating your unique selling proposition (USP) is vital to growth hacking. Many companies adopt a USP while creating their marketing strategy, but don’t push it forward enough to differentiate themselves from the competition.

For instance, Apple’s closed software system sets it apart from other hardware providers. This distinctive user experience is central to Apple’s USP.

Your company might not have the reach of one of the biggest tech brands in the world, but you can still set yourself apart. Once you determine what separates you from other companies in your sector, take that difference and run with it.

7. Calendly’s automations

Automation processes make work easier for companies and users. Simplifying tedious manual tasks saves people time, which is always welcome.

Calendly, for example, is a scheduling automation software that helps eliminate back-and-forth emails when finding meeting times. The tool lets marketing teams, recruiters, customer service reps and individuals book appointments independently.

Note your target audience’s needs (no matter how niche) and see how you can address them or streamline solutions with automations.

Final thoughts

Teams of any size can apply growth hacking tactics to boost metrics and improve conversion rates.

Leveraging these strategies will help you grow quickly while meeting customer needs and strengthening your market position.

Growth hacking provides a rapid and sustainable business model. Use the ideas in this piece to get started today.

An effective B2B client experience (B2B CX) builds trust, loyalty and retention. Yet many SMBs struggle to deliver a consistent customer experience – often because they’re stretched thin on time, budgets and resources.

With a customer-centric strategy and the right technology, you can deliver a standout experience at every touchpoint of the B2B customer journey.

In this article, you’ll learn six practical tips to create a seamless, impactful B2B client experience. Find out how to retain more clients, stand out from larger B2B brands and drive long-term revenue growth.

What is the B2B client experience?

The B2B (business-to-business) client experience is the journey a business client has with your company, from the first contact to post-sale support. It covers all customer interactions, like calls with sales teams, onboarding, billing, customer support, product use and offboarding.

Here’s a breakdown of the stages that impact the B2B client experience:

These examples illustrate common approaches to enhance the B2B client experience, but every business is unique. To deliver the best experience, you must understand your audience and tailor your approach to their needs and preferences.

Why a stellar B2B client experience is essential for SMB success

There’s a reason 68% of companies say that improving the buyer and customer experience is a very important sales and marketing objective. An exceptional B2B client experience builds trust, boosts customer retention and helps you differentiate yourself from larger competitors.

Let’s break down these benefits (and others) to show why investing in the business customer experience is essential for success.

Builds trust and credibility quickly

SMBs may not have significant brand recognition, so delivering a seamless customer experience builds confidence from day one. Trust is a key factor in long-term contracts and repeat business – both essential for SMB success.

Look at RetroStyle Games as an example. The game art outsourcing company shifted its focus from link-building (getting more links on external sites) to on-site optimization (improving its website user experience).

A smooth, user-friendly website signals reliability, leading to greater trust. Because of these improvements, the company increased conversion rates by 30%.

Encourages client retention and repeat revenue

Retention is cheaper than acquisition, which is helpful for SMBs with limited budgets and resources. A strong client experience encourages customers to return, lowering costs and increasing sales.

For example, a business that offers proactive customer check-ins may see higher renewal rates than those that don’t. Clients feel supported and confident in the product’s value, making them more likely to keep using the product or service.

Generates referrals and word-of-mouth growth

Happy B2B clients are more likely to refer your business to others in their network, providing a major growth driver for SMBs in competitive markets.

Think about a company that delivers excellent customer service. Because of its top-quality service, clients are quick to recommend its services to other businesses. As a result, the business expands its reach and builds its brand reputation without heavy advertising costs.

Differentiates your business from larger competitors

SMBs can adapt quickly to client feedback to offer a more human, tailored experience and speed up the rollout of key initiatives. These fast adaptations can give you a competitive advantage over larger organizations that often have complex decision-making and approval processes.

SmartReach.io is a good example of how an SMB can swiftly adjust to changing customer needs. The email outreach company implemented a leadership framework to enhance customer experience, leading to a 35% reduction in customer churn.

Had SmartReach.io been a larger organization with more decision-makers and stakeholders, implementing this framework may have taken longer.

Builds a foundation for long-term partnerships

B2B buyers want to work with partners who understand their business. A good client experience shows new customers you value their needs, leading to stronger relationships and higher sales.

For example, a B2B marketing agency might research a client’s pain points and competitive landscape. With these insights, the agency can pitch solutions specific to the client’s key challenges.

These recommendations can help the client achieve better results, creating a smoother, more valuable experience that strengthens the partnership.

6 tips for delivering a seamless B2B client experience

For SMBs, a seamless B2B client experience is key to driving customer loyalty, referrals and long-term growth. Understanding the client journey, personalizing your communication and implementing the right technology are ways to improve the B2B customer experience.

Here’s how SMBs can put these strategies (and others) into action:

1. Map the entire client journey

Understanding the full client journey is essential for improving the B2B experience. Use a journey map to understand how customers move through the buying process, reveal pain points and identify key opportunities to impress clients.

Here are the steps for mapping the client journey:

• Define key stages. Outline the major phases of the journey, including awareness, consideration, onboarding, delivery, support and renewal. For example, awareness might come through ads or referrals, while onboarding covers setup and training.

• Identify client goals and needs at each stage. Understand what clients are trying to achieve and what matters most to them along the way – like comparing options during consideration or getting fast resolution during support.

• List all touchpoints. Map every interaction to understand the full client experience, including emails, calls, meetings, demos, invoices and support tickets.

• Spot pain points and gaps. Identify friction that could impact the client experience, such as long sales cycles, confusing onboarding or delayed support responses.

• Highlight moments of impact. Find opportunities to exceed expectations, impress clients and influence purchasing decisions. Proactive outreach or a faster onboarding process are a couple of examples.

There are tools available to help you identify and visualize the customer journey. With a CRM like Pipedrive, for example, you can see deal stages and track each touchpoint.

Visualizing these steps helps you guide clients through a smooth, logical path to value.

2. Create a B2B client experience strategy

A B2B client experience strategy (CX strategy) is a clear, actionable plan that defines how you’ll meet client needs at every stage. The strategy helps SMBs stay consistent, build trust and make smart use of limited resources.

For example, a good strategy helps you identify what’s most important to your customers. If your customer base wants fast onboarding and proactive communication, you can prioritize these activities and waste fewer resources on activities clients don’t value.

Here are some tips for creating a strong customer experience strategy:

• Map the client journey. As mentioned, pinpointing how clients move through the buying process lets you know what to expect at each stage, from first contact to post-sale support.

• Identify key pain points. Understand the struggles your customers face as they try to buy from you. For example, if clients face delays during onboarding, your strategy can explain how to fix it.

• Set clear, measurable goals. Use the SMART goals framework to create metrics that measure the success of your efforts. For instance, improving onboarding speed or achieving a successful net promoter score (NPS), which shows how loyal customers feel about your company.

A strong strategy gives you a clear focus, ensuring you work toward meaningful improvements that boost client satisfaction.

3. Personalize communication

Personalization shows customers you understand their business, goals and challenges, making them feel valued. Studies also show that companies targeting B2B organizations see more value in personalization, with over half saying they’re very focused on personalization.

Here are some tips for personalizing B2B communication:

• Segment your audience. Group clients by industry, company size or needs to send more targeted messages. Categorizing your audience allows you to tailor communication to their wants and needs.

• Use personal customer data. Include details like the client’s name, company and relevant context in every email or call. These personal touches help you build rapport with clients, which creates trust and makes the interaction feel less generic.

• Follow up based on past customer interactions. Track customer behavior or previous conversations to send timely and relevant updates. Sending targeted communications shows that you’re paying attention to customers’ behavior, helping you nurture them more effectively.

• Create tailored content. Share case studies, product suggestions or industry insights that apply directly to the client’s challenges or goals, positioning yourself as a valuable and informed partner.

• Request feedback regularly. Ask clients how they prefer to communicate and adjust your approach to fit. Altering your communications based on customer preferences improves their experience and shows that you respect their preferences, strengthening the relationship.

Using a CRM can help you personalize key communications.

Pipedrive’s contact records, notes and email tracking give you full visibility into every client interaction.

This context helps you tailor outreach with the right message at the right time, boosting engagement and trust.

4. Respond quickly and consistently

Fast, reliable responses show clients you value their time and build confidence in your business. For SMBs, being prompt and dependable can set you apart from larger competitors with slower-moving processes.

Here are some of the ways to ensure prompt communication with clients:

• Automate follow-ups. Use technology to set automated follow-up emails and reminders, ensuring timely communication without manual effort. This approach avoids delays and ensures clients receive consistent updates.

• Set clear response time goals. Define internal targets (for example, respond to all client emails within 24 hours) so your team knows when to communicate. Clear expectations ensure your team delivers prompt responses, maintaining a reliable and professional client experience.

• Use shared inboxes. Ensure all client-facing team members can see incoming requests, reducing delays or missed messages. Using the same inbox boosts accountability within the team and prevents clients from experiencing long response times.

• Create templates for common replies. Draft ready-to-use responses for FAQs or routine updates to save time without sacrificing quality. Using templates improves efficiency and consistency, allowing the team to respond quickly while maintaining professionalism.

• Prioritize urgent requests. Use tags or filters to surface high-priority issues first and resolve them quickly. Prioritizing urgent matters helps sales reps address critical issues immediately, reducing client frustration.

Pipedrive can streamline these activities even further. For example, Pipedrive’s workflow automation software lets you trigger follow-ups and tasks based on client actions or deal stages, ensuring your team never misses a step in the sales process.

Here’s an example of the types of sales automation available in Pipedrive:

Automations ensure that your team can quickly follow up with clients without manual input, maintaining timely communication.

5. Simplify onboarding

A clear and efficient onboarding process helps clients feel confident and supported, ensuring a positive start to the relationship. Simplifying this process reduces friction, builds trust and sets the foundation for long-term success.

Imagine a client signs up for a SaaS product. If the onboarding process is smooth, they receive a welcome email, clear setup instructions and a personal walkthrough.

As a result, they feel confident using the product.

Now, picture an onboarding process with delayed responses or a lack of guidance. The client may feel frustrated, leading to confusion, disengagement and churn.

Here are some of the ways to simplify and streamline client onboarding:

• Provide clear instructions. Create a step-by-step guide or onboarding portal to walk clients through each process phase. Clear instructions help clients feel confident and reduce confusion, making the onboarding experience smoother and faster.

• Set clear timelines. Let clients know what to expect and when, such as delivery times, milestones and check-ins. Setting timelines helps manage client expectations and aligns both sides on progress and key milestones.

• Assign a dedicated point of contact. Offer a specific person to support the client throughout onboarding, ensuring a smooth and personalized experience. Having a dedicated contact ensures clients know who to contact for assistance.

• Highlight key features and benefits. Focus on the most important aspects of your product or service that align with the client’s needs and goals. Highlighting key features shows clients how your solution addresses their specific pain points.

• Offer training and support. Provide resources like tutorials, FAQs or one-on-one training to ensure clients feel confident using your product or service. Comprehensive support empowers clients and reduces frustration, leading to higher retention and a better overall experience.

By simplifying the process, you reduce the likelihood of confusion or frustration, increasing customer satisfaction.

6. Use the right tools to streamline your process

Streamlining operations saves time and resources while strengthening client trust and satisfaction. The right tools help SMBs automate repetitive tasks, improve accuracy and deliver a consistent, high-quality client experience.

Focus on these key factors when selecting software providers:

• Identify your needs. Pinpoint your biggest bottlenecks and select software that addresses them, integrates with your systems and fits your budget. Use free trials or demos to test the software before committing.

• Understand what your customers want. Regularly gather feedback through email surveys, reviews or direct conversations to ensure you’re meeting their evolving needs and expectations. For example, 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience, so you might implement software to remove the need for in-person communication and digitize the entire sales cycle.

• Ensure compatibility with existing software. Choose tools that integrate seamlessly with systems you already use to improve efficiency. Pipedrive, for example, integrates with tools like Zapier, enabling you to connect your CRM with various third-party apps, streamlining workflows across your tech stack.

By selecting the right tools and integrating them effectively, you can enhance client experiences to boost sales and retention.

Final thoughts

Effective B2B customer experience management is key to building trust, boosting retention and driving long-term growth for SMBs.

By mapping the client journey, creating a client experience strategy and personalizing communication, you can consistently exceed client expectations and stand out from the competition.

Using the right technology also helps you manage client interactions effectively. Pipedrive allows you to track all client communications in one place, making it easy to manage relationships and deliver a top-quality experience at every touchpoint.

Sign up for a free trial to deliver a seamless client experience.

AI scheduling assistants do more than find open time slots for busy small or medium-sized business (SMB) owners. They use artificial intelligence (AI) to learn your preferences and adapt your calendar in real time, giving you back control over your workday.

In this post, you’ll learn about five standout tools to solve typical scheduling challenges. Whether you need a standalone calendar assistant or an AI-powered CRM with built-in scheduling like Pipedrive, there’s an option to fit your workflow.

5 AI scheduling assistants to solve your biggest calendar problems

The more your business grows, the more time you spend managing your calendar instead of improving operations or closing deals.

AI scheduling assistants analyze your calendar patterns and work preferences to make personalized suggestions that improve over time.

Instead of just finding the next free slot for booking meetings, they help you prioritize deep work and make the most of every hour.

We’ve chosen tools that stand out for practical features like real-time syncing, intelligent time-blocking and seamless integration with the apps you already use.

Here are five common problems SMB owners face and the tools that fix them.

1. Motion: eliminate time lost in back-and-forth scheduling

Motion is a productivity platform that includes an AI Meeting Assistant. When coordinating with clients or team members, it eliminates back-and-forth by handling the entire scheduling process:

The scheduler syncs with your calendars and finds the best available times based on your preferences (e.g., back-to-back meetings on Mondays or none on Fridays). It then sends personalized booking links or email suggestions to invitees.

Once you choose a meeting time, Motion stays on top of reminders and automated follow-ups. You can also create reusable templates and customize your availability for different types of calls.

This type of AI scheduler is a practical solution for business owners who want to maximize their time without the burden of manual scheduling. Think of it as a personal assistant built into your calendar app.

These five key features help Motion keep your calendar running smoothly:

• Intelligent scheduling algorithms for optimal meeting times

• Custom booking pages with personalized preferences

• Automated communication, including emails and reminders

• Team scheduling support that simplifies coordination

• Meeting limits to avoid overloading your calendar

No more “What time works for you?” or waiting for last-minute cancellations. Motion handles the logistics, so you can just show up.

Motion’s pricing: available in both paid and enterprise options

2. Akiflow: streamline tasks and meetings in one place

Akiflow is a productivity co-pilot that combines all your tasks and calendar events in one streamlined view. Instead of switching between tools, you can plan your day with intention and clarity.

The AI scheduler pulls tasks from Gmail, Slack, Asana and hundreds of other tools, placing them right next to your calendar for easy time-blocking:

You can drag and drop to rearrange your day, while the built-in AI learns your routines and offers smarter suggestions over time.

Suppose you typically handle client emails in the morning and sales proposals in the afternoons. In that case, Akiflow will start scheduling tasks accordingly, making your workspace and days feel more natural and productive.

Here are five of Akiflow’s task management features for SMB owners:

• One inbox with tasks from over 3000 tools (from emails to project management boards)

• Smart time-blocking so you don’t accidentally bury your to-do list

• AI-powered suggestions for when and how to tackle tasks

• A daily planning assistant to stay focused

• Offline capabilities with fast keyboard shortcuts for access anytime

This productivity game-changer helps business owners stay organized without switching between apps.

Akiflow’s pricing: Paid plans available after a 7-day free trial

3. FlowSavvy: automatically block focus time

FlowSavvy turns your to-do list into a fully scheduled week – automatically. Using intelligent algorithms, it takes the complexity out of planning by organizing your tasks directly into your calendar. Simply tell FlowSavvy what you need to do and watch your week fill up:

The platform automatically adjusts your schedule as priorities change, moving less urgent tasks to make room for critical work. When you move time blocks manually, smart scheduling algorithms realign your calendar to keep key tasks on track.

A color-coded view highlights what’s urgent at a glance, while customizable scheduling hours help you stay available to clients without stretching yourself too thin. You remain in control with minimal effort: simply drag and drop tasks and let automations handle the logistics in the background.

Here are five key features that make FlowSavvy effective:

• An auto-scheduling functionality that adapts to real-life changes

• Color-coded view to avoid overcommitting

• Auto-scheduling for habits and recurring tasks

• Customizable work and personal hours

• Seamless sync with Google Calendar, iCloud and Outlook

For small business owners looking to maximize their day, FlowSavvy helps you stay on track with automatic adjustments.

FlowSavvy’s pricing: Paid plans available after a free basic version

4. Reclaim: sync work and personal calendars to avoid conflicts

Reclaim syncs all your calendars into one smart, unified view so you can stay on top of busy days and weeks. With fewer scheduling conflicts and better visibility into your availability, planning meetings and personal time is easier.

Reclaim’s analytics feature also tracks how you spend your time, helping you build healthier, more sustainable work habits:

You control how events appear and when you’re unavailable. If you manage a team, Reclaim scales easily – roll out settings like no-meeting days or auto-blocking across everyone’s calendars to support work-life balance.

Label private events as “Personal commitment” to keep details hidden while an automated AI agent ensures your professional events stay visible and organized, so you can avoid double-booking and stay on top of your priorities.

Five of Reclaim’s key features SMBs will appreciate are:

• Unlimited calendar syncing with real-time updates

• Auto-blocking to protect your availability

• Personal event privacy (show you’re busy instead of sharing full details)

• Smart scheduling tools (e.g., buffer time, no-meeting days and habit tracking)

• Slack integration for faster invites and simple calendar management

Reclaim helps you stay organized across work and personal commitments, without needing to micromanage your time.

Reclaim’s pricing: Paid plans available

5. Trevor AI: organize to-dos into a manageable schedule

Trevor is a daily planning assistant that turns endless lists into a realistic, time-blocked schedule. Instead of wondering what to tackle next, you get a plan that seamlessly fits into your day.

With smart suggestions for task durations and prioritization, Trevor helps you stay focused and make real progress. For example, it may prompt you with reminders like “Allocate specific time slots to these events to avoid overlapping”, ensuring you stay on track:

Drag-and-drop scheduling makes it easy to adapt your day. Move a social media workshop or group meeting, and Trevor will adjust accordingly.

You can also sync with multiple calendars and let AI suggest the best times to work based on your availability and workload.

With less overwhelm and more clarity, Trevor helps you get through your daily tasks with confidence and effectiveness.

These five key features make Trevor a productivity must-have:

• Organize and color-code your meetings and tasks

• Sync with Google or Microsoft calendars and third-party task managers like Todoist

• Use AI-powered time-blocking and scheduling suggestions

• Get more deep work done with “Focus Mode” (including timers and a five-step action plan)

• Track progress and get personalized advice in daily planning emails

Trevor helps SMB owners turn an endless to-do list into a realistic, AI-assisted schedule.

Trevor’s pricing: Paid and free plans available

From chaos to productivity: how busy professionals use AI scheduling assistants

Between jumping from emails to sales calls and last-minute meetings, scheduling has become a full-time job. Many SMB owners and busy professionals struggle to manage ever-changing calendars.

When you offload decisions to a virtual assistant, you save time and reduce decision fatigue. This simple switch also creates the mental space you need to do your best work.

Here are three ways you can use AI scheduling tools to relieve the pressure.

1. Combat rising calendar chaos

AI calendars can adapt in real time. If a meeting runs long or priorities shift, your assistant automatically adjusts the rest of your day to protect deep work and prevent overload.

Manual schedulers, on the other hand, lack this flexibility. They don’t automatically respond to shifting priorities or constant notifications, leaving it up to you to reschedule everything.

With an automated calendar, staying on track and feeling more in control of your week is easier. Research shows that 91% of professionals agree that better time management leads to less work stress.

2. Personalize your scheduling process

AI schedulers do more than just automatically find a free time slot. They prioritize your day based on how you work best.

If you concentrate best after lunch, your assistant will schedule high-priority tasks at that time. If back-to-back meetings drain you, it’ll suggest buffer time to help you recharge.

These AI tools adapt to your working hours and preferences, so your schedule supports your unique habits.

3. Automate the busywork and reclaim your focus

Smart calendars and productivity tools handle repetitive tasks to free up your focus. With fewer distractions, you get more time for deep, meaningful work.

A Microsoft and LinkedIn study shows that 90% of professionals use AI to save time, while 85% rely on it to stay focused on important tasks.

Once you trust the technology to book meetings, you can explore systems that integrate scheduling with your daily workflow.

Beyond standalone tools: Pipedrive’s integrated AI scheduling solution

The tools we’ve explored so far excel at specific scheduling challenges. However, there’s another approach worth considering: integrated AI scheduling within a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Instead of treating AI scheduling as a standalone feature, Pipedrive incorporates the technology directly into its CRM. This integration ensures your calendar, sales pipeline and communications work seamlessly together, making managing your time and tasks easier.

For example, you can book a call and use AI to personalize follow-ups or move deals forward – without switching between tools.

Here’s how Pipedrive’s AI CRM system works:

AI-powered sales intelligence

Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant scans your contacts and interactions, offering insights and recommendations that help salespeople close more deals:

With actionable suggestions, your sales team can prioritize tasks and make more informed decisions.

Smart communication tools

When it’s time to reach out, Pipedrive’s AI email writer crafts personalized outreach messages based on simple prompts:

You can specify details like tone and length to save time while writing more personalized, engaging messages for each client.

Pipedrive’s suite of AI and automation features also includes:

• AI email summarization – transform lengthy threads into concise summaries, so you can quickly grasp key information and reduce inbox clutter

• AI-generated sales reports – request insightful reports in your own words (e.g., “How is my team performing?”) and get insightful answers in seconds

• Smart Marketplace recommendations – receive personalized integrations to enhance your CRM’s capabilities

• AI agents – simplify sales activities like email management with specific agents for each task (currently in beta)

Seamless scheduling integration

Though not AI-driven, Pipedrive’s Scheduler simplifies scheduling by sharing your availability via a booking page. Clients can select their preferred times without the back-and-forth of emails:

The feature integrates with tools like Calendly and Zoom to send one scheduling link that automatically adjusts for time zone differences, preventing double-bookings and ensuring smooth coordination.

​By integrating these AI features, Pipedrive streamlines your sales processes. With everything in one platform, you can focus on what matters most: building relationships and closing deals.

Standalone schedulers vs. integrated CRM solutions: which approach is right for you

When choosing an AI scheduling solution, consider how it fits into your core business processes.

Here’s how these two approaches compare:

While standalone tools excel at specific calendar functions, integrated solutions like Pipedrive offer broader business benefits. Whatever you choose will streamline your scheduling process – the key is selecting the option that best complements your team’s existing workflows.

AI scheduling assistant FAQs

Final thoughts

AI assistants simplify your packed calendar, helping you regain control and focus on meaningful work.

Whether standalone or part of a broader platform, these five tools take care of scheduling logistics, clearing the clutter so you can focus on more meaningful work. By letting AI manage your calendar, you free up time to grow your business and better serve your customers.

If you’re ready to centralize scheduling, try Pipedrive free for 14 days and experience how an AI-powered CRM can streamline your workflow, improve meetings and help you close more deals.

For many SMBs, wasting time on the wrong prospects or failing to nurture leads to conversion are common challenges.

An effective sales process for B2Bs helps your sales team focus on the right leads, close deals faster and build lasting customer relationships.

In this article, you’ll learn what a B2B sales process is, why it matters and how to build one that works for your business.

What is a B2B sales process?

A B2B (business-to-business) sales process is the steps a business follows to sell to another business. B2B typically has a longer sales cycle than B2C (business-to-consumer) sales because it requires more research, stakeholder alignment and negotiation before a final decision is made.

Say that you’re a SaaS company selling a project management platform. If you’re selling to another company, your B2B SaaS sales process might include identifying the key decision makers.

Knowing who you’re targeting and their role in the company helps you sell more effectively.

For B2C sales, you don’t need to identify decision-makers. You’re going straight to the buyer, so you don’t have to think about finding the right person to contact or whether there’s more than one person to approach. The process is simpler.

7 key stages of a B2B sales process

The B2B sales process guides prospects from initial contact to a closed deal. Understanding each step helps businesses build stronger relationships, address client needs effectively and close sales with confidence.

Here are the seven B2B sales process stages:

1. B2B prospecting. Find potential customers who fit your ideal customer profile using inbound marketing, social media (like LinkedIn), in-person events or lead capture tools.

2. In-depth research. Learn more about your B2B buyers by understanding their business, challenges and decision-makers.

3. Contact. Reach out via phone calls, emails or social media to build interest and encourage prospects into the sales funnel.

4. Lead qualification. Use frameworks (like BANT – budget, authority, need and timeline) to identify new leads with real potential.

5. Sales presentation. Deliver a personalized pitch or demo that shows how your solution solves customer pain points.

6. Deal closure. Finalize the sale by handling objections, negotiating and making it easy for the customer to say “yes”.

7. Customer retention and referrals. To keep the B2B sales cycle going, support customers post-sale, nurture long-term relationships and encourage upsells.

While these seven stages form the foundation of most B2B sales processes, the exact steps vary depending on:

• Your industry

• Your product or service

• Customer needs

• Your sales model

Flexibility is key to adapting the process to what works best for your business and buyers.

How does an effective B2B sales process improve revenue for SMBs?

An effective B2B sales process streamlines how you identify, engage and convert leads. With clear steps, sales teams can shorten the sales cycle, close more deals and build lasting customer relationships that drive repeat business.

Here’s how a well-structured sales process helps B2B companies boost revenue:

5 tips for creating the perfect B2B sales process for your SMB

A strong B2B sales process can boost team performance and support long-term growth for your SMB. With clear steps and ongoing improvements, you’ll turn more leads into loyal customers.

Here are five practical tips for creating a sales process that works for your business:

1. Define your ideal customer profile (ICP)

Your ideal customer profile is the type of company that benefits most from your product or service. Defining your ICP helps you improve lead generation, ensuring you don’t waste time and resources on leads that won’t convert.

Take a look at this example of an ICP:

Here’s how to pinpoint your ideal customer:

• Look at your best existing customers. Review your current customer base and identify the most satisfied, profitable and long-term customers. These segments often reflect your ideal customer.

• Identify common traits. Look for patterns among your top customers, such as their demographics, industry, company size or budget. These shared traits help define the kind of businesses most likely to benefit from your solution.

• Understand their goals and pain points. Talk to your customers or review feedback to learn what challenges they face and what they’re trying to achieve. Understanding their goals and challenges helps you position your product as a solution.

• Assess which customers get the most value from your solution. Measure outcomes like return on investment (ROI), product usage and customer satisfaction to determine who gains the most from what you offer. These are the customers you want to attract.

Use these insights to refine your messaging and target leads that are most likely to convert.

Better understand your ideal customer with Pipedrive’s CRM

A CRM system like Pipedrive makes learning more about your existing customers easy by tracking key data points like deal size, industry and sales cycle length.

With custom fields, reporting tools and insights dashboards, you can quickly spot common traits and understand buying behavior. From here, you can build an informed ICP to guide your sales efforts.

Here’s an example of how you can visualize key sales data in Pipedrive’s dashboard:

2. Map out your buyer’s journey

The buying journey outlines the steps a potential client goes through, from first becoming aware of a problem to purchasing a solution. Understanding how prospective customers move through this process helps you align your sales process with their needs.

For example, a potential buyer actively compares solutions during the consideration stage. Your sales team offers a tailored product demo that shows how your features solve their specific challenges. This demo builds trust and moves them closer to a purchasing decision.

Here are some tips for understanding the customer journey for your target audience:

• Map out each stage. Break down the journey into key phases (like awareness, consideration and decision) to understand what prospects think and feel at each step.

• Talk to your customers. Conduct surveys to learn how existing customers found your product, what influenced their decision and any roadblocks they faced.

• Analyze customer data. Use sales data to track behavior patterns, such as how long it takes to make a purchase and when customers engage with sales reps.

• Review lost deals. Look at why some leads didn’t convert to identify gaps or friction points you can improve in the journey.

Understanding the buying journey lets you personalize your sales efforts and boost conversions.

Understand the buying journey with Pipedrive

Pipedrive lets you track and visualize every step of the buying journey. Sales leaders can understand how customers move through the buying process and identify ways to improve their experience.

Here’s how you can understand the buying journey with Pipedrive:

• Visualize your sales pipeline. Pipedrive gives you a clear view of each deal’s status, helping your sales team see where prospects are in the journey and what action to take next.

• Track customer behavior. With CRM data, you can track how long it takes leads to move through stages and when they engage with sales reps. These insights help you craft more effective follow-up strategies that resonate with customer needs.

• Analyze past deals. Pipedrive’s reporting functionality allows you to review won and lost deals, identifying patterns or friction points in the sales process that you can improve.

• Automate follow-up emails. Pipedrive’s automations send timely follow-up reminders based on where leads are in the buying journey. These automations ensure you respond immediately and keep deals moving forward without missing opportunities.

Here’s an example of an automated email follow-up in Pipedrive:

These features help SMBs better understand, manage and nurture leads at every step of the customer journey.

3. Build a repeatable sales framework

A sales framework is a structured approach that guides how you engage with prospects and move them through the sales process. A consistent and repeatable framework ensures every rep follows the same successful path, improving efficiency and win rates.

Think of it this way: when reps follow a set process – like booking sales demos or sending follow-up proposals – they always know what step comes next.

This process reduces hesitation, speeds up the decision-making process and helps reps focus more on selling instead of figuring out what to do.

Here are some tips for building a repeatable sales framework:

• Define clear steps. Break the sales process into specific actions, such as identifying potential leads, qualifying leads with BANT, scheduling a demo, following up with a tailored proposal and closing the deal.

• Set measurable criteria. Determine sales metrics for each step, such as the number of calls a rep should make daily, the number of demos scheduled weekly or the conversion rate from proposal to close.

• Equip your team. Provide cold calling scripts, email templates and training materials to ensure reps can easily follow steps without confusion.

Continuously refining your sales framework helps create a more adaptable, high-performing sales strategy that drives consistent results.

Use Pipedrive to standardize your sales process

A central system like Pipedrive makes it easy for sales teams to follow a standardized process. The software provides a clear, structured view of every deal in the pipeline, meaning reps can quickly see:

Using Pipedrive also means that sales professionals can track all activities in one place. If a sales rep is on leave, other team members can quickly see what actions they’ve taken and what needs to happen next, ensuring that the sales process continues smoothly.

Sales reps can view their sales activities in Pipedrive like this:

4. Improve sales enablement with effective training

Sales enablement provides teams with the tools, resources and sales training to close deals effectively. Strong training ensures your sales team can confidently guide prospects through the funnel, handle objections and nurture leads faster.

Say that you provide sales reps with objection-handling training. During this training, they gain the skills and confidence to address prospect concerns effectively, ultimately closing more deals and improving overall performance.

Here are some tips on how to improve sales enablement with effective training:

• Provide role-specific training. Tailor training to the specific needs of different sales roles. Offering this training ensures that each team member develops the relevant skills to do their job well.

• Focus on product knowledge. Equip your sales team with deep knowledge of your product’s features, benefits and common objections to address customer needs effectively.

• Use real-world scenarios. Include case studies and role-playing exercises to help reps practice real customer situations. This hands-on approach helps them navigate complex conversations with confidence.

• Offer ongoing learning opportunities. Provide continuous training or access to learning resources to keep reps up-to-date on essential selling information, like product changes and industry trends.

Strong training creates a more confident, aligned team that delivers a consistent experience throughout the sales process.

Enhance sales enablement with Pipedrive

Pipedrive’s B2B CRM makes it easy for sales teams to access key information in a central location. For example, use the Smart Docs add-on to store your training materials, sales scripts and other sales enablement documentation in the CRM interface.

Here’s how document storage looks in Pipedrive:

You can also use Pipedrive to:

• Deliver targeted training. Use pipeline data to identify skills gaps and tailor training to where reps need the most support.

• Reinforce your sales process. Create custom sales stages and checklists so reps know what to do next.

• Share best practices. Spot what your top performers are doing differently (like how they deliver sales pitches) and use that insight to train the rest of the team.

Centralizing everything in Pipedrive makes it easier to support ongoing training and ensure everyone follows the same successful playbook.

5. Use data to drive decisions

Making data-backed decisions means using real sales metrics to guide how you manage and improve your B2B sales process. Using real data helps you identify what works and what doesn’t.

With these insights, you can make informed decisions about how to improve and optimize your sales process.

Say that your sales data shows deals stalling after the demo stage. With this information, you might improve your follow-up strategy or update your demo to address customer pain points to increase conversions.

Here are some of the ways to use data to enhance your sales process:

• Track conversion rates at each stage. Identify where leads drop off in the pipeline so you can remove friction points, like unclear value propositions.

• Analyze win-loss data. Review why deals were won or lost to spot patterns, such as pricing objections.

• Measure sales rep performance. Use metrics like call volume, response time and deal close rate to pinpoint high performers and coach others effectively.

• Optimize outreach timing. Review engagement data, such as email open rates, to determine the best times to contact and follow up with leads.

Regularly tracking and analyzing this data allows you to make informed adjustments to your sales process.

Make informed decisions about your sales process with Pipedrive

To track the above data, you need a system that handles sales management. A CRM like Pipedrive does this, allowing you to track sales performance, conversion rates and successes in a single location.

Pipedrive also uses AI to improve sales processes. The AI Sales Assistant provides actionable recommendations based on lead data, helping salespeople identify the most effective actions to make a sale:

Here’s an example: the AI spots that most leads show interest in your product but don’t respond to outreach when you try to schedule a call. It then recommends updating how you perform outreach – for example, sending a follow-up email instead of trying to schedule a call.

Final thoughts

A clear sales process that B2B teams can follow is key to scaling efficiently. A strong process helps SMBs identify quality leads, build stronger relationships and close deals more efficiently.

Focusing on ideal customers, providing the right sales tools and using data to guide your decisions are some of the most effective ways to build a solid sales process.

To build an optimal, data-backed sales process, use Pipedrive’s sales CRM. Pinpoint your ideal customer, analyze sales data and use AI to identify areas of improvement in your processes. Sign up for a free trial today to build a smarter, more effective sales process.

Understanding your customers’ needs is the key to business success, yet many companies struggle to get their feedback. Without a structured voice of the customer (VoC) program, businesses risk relying on assumptions and creating experiences that fall short of customer expectations.

This guide will break down what a VoC program is and show you how to create one. We’ll also cover essential VoC tools and best practices to help you build a program that drives growth.

What is voice of the customer?

Voice of the customer refers to a structured approach to collecting and acting on customer feedback. A voice of the customer program helps businesses understand customer sentiment and make data-driven decisions to improve experiences.

Say a SaaS company wants to collect customer feedback to improve its onboarding flows or refine its brand positioning.

The company might collect feedback using a variety of tactics, such as surveys or customer interviews and use the voice of the customer to refine its area of focus.

Benefits of a voice of the customer program

There’s a big gap between what businesses believe and what customers experience.

Research from Redpoint Global shows a 25% gap between marketers who believe they deliver an excellent customer experience (51%) and the number of consumers who agree (26%).

A structured approach to customer feedback can offer valuable insights that help businesses relieve customer pain points and reduce churn risks.

Here are the key benefits of implementing voice of the customer initiatives:

• Increased customer retention. Customer-obsessed organizations achieve 51% better customer retention. Understanding customer sentiment through customer surveys, online reviews and direct feedback helps companies increase customer loyalty and reduce churn.
  Stronger product development. VoC data reveals gaps in customer needs, leading to smarter product decisions. For example, Slack refined its platform based on customer pain points uncovered in interviews. The insights helped increase adoption among enterprise users.

• Higher customer satisfaction scores. Tracking customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and customer effort scores allows companies to measure and improve customer engagement. Research by CustomerGauge shows that a 10+ increase in NPS score correlates with a 3.2% increase in revenue.

• More effective marketing. Marketing strategies and campaigns can only resonate with a target customer demographic if they’re aligned with customer preferences. A VoC program provides insights into what messaging and channels are most effective.

A well-executed VoC strategy turns customer feedback into measurable improvements, helping businesses stay customer-centric.

Voice of the customer examples

Implementing a voice of the customer program can transform businesses by aligning products and services with customer expectations. Let’s explore case studies of two companies that have used VoC strategies to enhance their operations.

PABS: improving client engagement through feedback

Pacific Accounting & Business Services (PABS) is a global finance and accounting outsourcing provider. The company wanted to improve client engagement by gathering in-depth feedback on its services.

What they did

PABS used SurveySparrow, a customer feedback platform, to create surveys and track client satisfaction at various touchpoints. The company collected feedback after key service interactions, allowing its team to assess service quality and identify areas for improvement.

The results

PABS improved client retention and strengthened long-term relationships. With real-time feedback, PABS built a customer strategy that addressed customer concerns, leading to a boost in client satisfaction and a more customer-centric service approach.

Lionbridge: streamlining feedback collection for continuous improvement

Lionbridge is a global provider of translation and localization services, helping businesses communicate across languages and cultures. The company was looking for a systematic way to gather and action feedback across accounts, year over year.

What they did

Lionbridge integrated SurveyMonkey with Microsoft Power BI to launch a Net Promoter Score (NPS) program. This integration enabled it to efficiently distribute surveys, collect feedback and visualize customer sentiment, giving the team a clearer understanding of the company’s strengths and areas for improvement.

The results

Lionbridge saw an 86% increase in NPS for one team and a 20% uptick in survey responses.

The increased transparency allowed Lionbridge to connect with customers with a low NPS score to understand and resolve their problems.

These examples highlight the impact of a well-executed VoC program. Businesses can optimize their offerings and build stronger customer relationships by actively listening to customers and acting on their insights.

How to build a successful voice of the customer program

Building a VoC program requires a structured approach to collecting customer feedback. We’ve broken it down into six steps below.

1. Define your voice of the customer goals

Before launching a VoC program, businesses must identify what they want to achieve. Are they looking to reduce churn, improve customer retention, optimize product development or enhance customer support? Clear objectives help guide data collection and analysis.

For example, a B2B software company might aim to reduce customer churn by identifying pain points in its onboarding process.

Analyzing feedback from customer surveys and support interactions can help pinpoint friction points and improve the experience for new users.

2. Choose the right tools for data collection

Capturing VoC data requires selecting the right mix of VoC tools. These tools should enable businesses to collect feedback across multiple touchpoints, including surveys, customer support interactions and social media.

A consulting firm might use Pipedrive’s LeadBooster, which includes Web Forms, Live Chat and Chatbot integrations, to gather VoC data. (We’ll share more on using Leadbooster for VoC later in the article).

With responses automatically synced to Pipedrive’s CRM, the company could centralize client feedback and ensure insights are easily accessible for follow-up and decision-making.

3. Develop target customer questions

Asking the right voice of the customer questions ensures businesses gather valuable insights instead of generic feedback. Questions should align with VoC goals.

For example, a marketing agency looking to improve its campaign performance might use VoC feedback to better understand how well its content resonates. The team might ask questions like:

• What was your favorite and least favorite part of our recent campaign on [topic]?

• If you could change one aspect of our marketing campaigns, what would it be?

• How well does our campaign messaging reflect your brand’s objectives?

These insights help refine campaign strategies to ensure content better aligns with audience expectations in the future.

4. Conduct fieldwork

Once businesses develop questions, they need to collect customer feedback. Feedback can include customer interviews, focus groups, online reviews and real-time surveys.

For example, a SaaS company wanting to improve its product might hold one-on-one customer interviews with long-term users. It could also send CSAT surveys after every support interaction. Using both tactics ensures a mix of qualitative and quantitative data.

5. Centralize feedback data

With feedback coming from multiple sources, it’s essential to consolidate customer data in one place. Using a CRM like Pipedrive, businesses can track customer responses alongside customer interactions, purchase history and support tickets.

A financial services firm might centralize feedback within dashboards that integrate VoC data from surveys, support chats and call transcripts. This allows stakeholders to track trends and prioritize improvements.

6. Implement changes based on VoC insights

The most important step is turning insights into measurable actions. A strong VoC strategy has clear steps for acting on customer feedback and closing the feedback loop.

For instance, a B2B IT service provider might notice recurring complaints about response times in its contact center.

After identifying this issue through NPS surveys, it could introduce automated workflows to trigger support tickets and reduce response times.

Essential tools for a voice of the customer program

Now that we’ve covered how to build a VoC program, let’s talk about some key voice of the customer software that will help underpin your program.

Below is a list of voice of the customer tools to help businesses collect insights through surveys, customer interactions and real-time sentiment analysis.

1. Pipedrive’s LeadBooster: capture feedback through conversations and forms

Pipedrive’s LeadBooster is a lead capture and engagement tool that helps businesses collect VoC data through Web Forms, Live Chat and Chatbots.

These features allow companies to gather feedback in real time. All data seamlessly integrates into Pipedrive CRM, making it easy to track trends and respond to customer needs.

Example use case: A B2B SaaS company uses LeadBooster’s Live Chat to engage with website visitors, gathering feedback on pain points before they book a demo. Meanwhile, the company’s Web Forms collect survey responses from customers after they’re onboarded, helping refine the user experience.

2. SurveySparrow: automate customer surveys at key touchpoints

SurveySparrow is a flexible survey platform that integrates with Pipedrive. It helps businesses send surveys automatically based on customer interactions. With conversational-style surveys and automation tools, businesses can collect structured VoC data right after a sales call, a support ticket resolution or a product demo.

Example use case: A consulting agency uses SurveySparrow to send post-project surveys to clients after each engagement. These insights help improve service offerings and enhance client retention.

3. Qualtrics XM: use AI to analyze customer sentiment

Qualtrics XM is a top VoC platform. It uses natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis to interpret customer feedback.

It’s ideal for businesses looking to track key customer metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Customer Effort Score (CES).

Example use case: A financial services firm collects client feedback via Qualtrics XM and uses AI-powered sentiment analysis to detect emerging concerns about loan processing times. By identifying trends early, the company improves service delivery and reduces churn.

4. SurveyMonkey: benchmark customer satisfaction with industry standards

SurveyMonkey is a tool for designing and distributing surveys, particularly for market research and customer satisfaction tracking.

Its easy-to-use interface and strong analytics help businesses compare their results against industry benchmarks.

Example use case: A manufacturing company surveys its distributors and retailers using SurveyMonkey, gathering insights on product availability, delivery timelines and customer service performance. These insights help optimize the supply chain.

5. Sentisum: uncover hidden pain points in customer support

Sentisum is an AI-powered VoC tool designed for customer support teams.

It looks at emails, chats and call transcripts. It finds patterns and uncovers pain points that might not be visible through traditional surveys. This analysis helps businesses optimize their contact center workflows and enhance customer service operations.

Example use case: A managed IT services provider uses Sentisum to analyze customer support tickets and identify recurring issues in software deployment processes. This data helps the company address pain points and streamline IT support.

9 best questions to ask for your voice of the customer research

Asking the right customer questions is critical to the feedback intake process. Below are some key voice of the customer questions to help you get started.

By integrating these VoC questions into customer surveys and interviews, businesses can gain actionable insights to optimize customer relationships and drive long-term loyalty.

Voice of the customer best practices

Follow these best practices to ensure customer feedback leads to desired outcomes.

Collect feedback at key touchpoints

Gathering customer feedback at strategic moments in the customer journey is crucial for obtaining relevant insights. Reach out to customers when they’ve recently engaged with your business(e.g., right after they buy something or after they’ve spoken with your support team).

For example, a web store might send post-purchase surveys to assess the buying experience, while a SaaS company could ask for feedback after onboarding to understand initial user satisfaction.

Collecting feedback at these moments helps identify specific areas for improvement and enhances the overall customer experience.

Ensure data quality

Good feedback starts with good data collection. To get reliable information, use straightforward questions that don’t lead customers toward specific answers and keep your collection approach consistent.

For instance, a financial services firm might standardize customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys across all branches to ensure uniform data collection.

High-quality data enables precise analysis, leading to more effective strategies for addressing customer needs.

Close the feedback loop

When customers take time to share their thoughts, show them it matters by taking action. Acknowledge what they’ve told you and let them know what you did based on their input.

For example, if a customer tells a phone company about signal problems, the company should fix the issue and inform affected customers about the solution. This approach will help improve customer satisfaction and NPS scores.

Improve cross-functional collaboration

A strong voice of customer program needs input from teams, including product, sales, marketing and customer success. That’s because customer feedback tends to highlight issues that affect different departments, not one.

For example, if feedback shows customers have trouble understanding product features, the marketing team can improve messaging. The product team can work on usability and customer success can update onboarding materials.

Businesses can ensure VoC insights translate into real improvements by working across teams, creating a more customer-centric organization.

Final thoughts

Building a strong voice of the customer program is key to understanding customer needs and driving business growth. Companies that listen and act on feedback can boost customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty.

Start capturing and acting on customer insights today. Sign up for Pipedrive’s 14-day free trial to see how automation, data tracking and integrations can help you build an effective VoC strategy.

Crisis management software prepares your team to respond and keep operations moving during setbacks. When unexpected incidents occur – like system outages or supply chain issues – the right tool helps you fix the issue before it disrupts customers.

In this guide, you’ll explore how crisis software supports business continuity and the seven best tools for small teams dealing with internal mishaps or emergencies.

What is crisis management software (and what features do you need)?

Crisis management software helps organizations prepare for and recover from unexpected events. It centralizes communication and provides a space to manage real-time response efforts.

Larger organizations often have crisis teams and formal protocols. Small businesses face the same risks with fewer resources.

That’s why emergency management software is essential. It enables small companies to coordinate responses in cost-efficient and effective ways.

Here are the main types of crisis management software:

Many small businesses don’t use an all-in-one platform to manage crises. Instead, they patch together tools (like Slack for crisis communication and Google Docs for planning). While this works, a unified system helps you respond fast when speed matters most.

The right software depends on your goals – think managing operations, keeping customers informed or planning ahead.

7 best crisis management software solutions for fast responses

Many top crisis tools target large organizations with complex needs and dedicated teams. Small-scale operations need something simpler.

Small business crisis tools don’t try to do everything. They usually focus on one area, such as alerts, coordination or recovery.

Here are seven options that cover a range of needs, so you can find the right fit for disruptions likely to hit your company.

1. AlertMedia: best for multi-channel crisis communication

Tool category: mass communication tool (for employees)

AlertMedia allows organizations to deliver urgent messages to employees, supporting communication across multiple channels. It also includes tools to monitor external threats like natural disasters as they develop.

Who it’s for: Companies that need to reach staff during disruptions – particularly remote teams. Managers send one alert instead of repeating the same message on multiple platforms.

AlertMedia’s key features:

• Multi-channel alerts – send the same message through SMS, email, phone call, mobile app and desktop

• Two-way messaging – employees can respond directly and confirm they received the alert or report new issues

• Templates – store pre-written messages for common situations like building closures or service interruptions

• Location targeting – send alerts only to employees in a specific area, preventing messages from reaching unaffected staff

• Delivery tracking – know when recipients receive, open and reply to messages

• Mobile access – admins can send and manage alerts from a mobile device

2. Statuspage (by Atlassian): best for customer-facing communication

Tool category: incident management and mass communication (for customer relations)

Statuspage helps small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in tech communicate with customers during downtime. It manages customer expectations and reduces tickets when support systems experience issues.

Who it’s for: SaaS sales startups, development teams and service providers that want a customer-facing communication planning tool.

Statuspage’s key features:

• Hosted status pages – create branded status dashboards showing the health of each system

• Incident updates – post real-time updates for outages, slowdowns and fixes so responders can stay on track

• Subscriber notifications – let users opt in for updates via email or webhook

• Historical uptime reporting – show users how often your systems have been available to build customer trust

3. PagerDuty: best for managing technical incidents

Tool category: incident management (for tech companies)

PagerDuty is an incident management platform focusing on emergency preparedness in the software, infrastructure and IT industries. Small businesses can detect issues, notify people and resolve problems before they escalate.

Who it’s for: Tech SMBs that need on-call scheduling, automated alerts and fast coordination for system failures.

PagerDuty’s key features:

• On-call scheduling – create rotation schedules and escalation rules to ensure the right person is always available

• Multi-channel alerting – send alerts by SMS, voice, push notification, social media and email

• Incident workflows – automate tasks like stakeholder updates and ticket creation

• Noise reduction – use event rules to prevent duplicates and remove old alerts

• Integrations with monitoring tools – connect to software that tracks your system health, like Datadog and New Relic

4. Crises Control: best for alerts and incident tracking

Tool category: mass communication and incident management

Crises Control is a cloud-based platform that helps organizations respond to events. It focuses on rapid communication and task tracking during incidents.

Who it’s for: Organizations that must manage live incidents across multiple teams or locations.

Crises Control’s key features:

• Mass emergency notifications – deliver alerts via SMS, email, voice and mobile push notifications

• Incident management – allows teams to activate contingency plans, assign tasks and monitor progress

• Audit trails – record all actions and messages for compliance management and review

• Mobile access – enables incident management and communication through a mobile app

• Business continuity and recovery tools – create effective risk assessments, plans and recovery protocols

5. Preparis: best for continuity planning

Tool category: business continuity planning and incident management

Preparis is a cloud-based platform for small businesses to build and manage business continuity plans. It provides structure and incident coordination tools without the complexity of enterprise-level systems.

Who it’s for: Small businesses that need a centralized way to handle continuity planning and improve business decision-making during incident responses.

Preparis’ key features:

• Plan customization – adapt continuity plans to meet specific business and industry requirements

• Risk assessments – use templates and workflows to guide users through identifying potential risks

• Incident management – leverage real-time incident management tools, like virtual coordination spaces

• Compliance reporting – generate documentation to support regulatory and audit requirements

• Business impact analysis (BIA) – evaluate how different disruptions could affect operations

6. Veoci: best for coordinating crisis responses

Tool category: incident management

Veoci’s digital workspace handles crises through a central environment for tracking what’s happening, managing responsibilities and keeping information flowing.

Who it’s for: Small businesses with cross-functional teams (like human resources or operations) and limited oversight.

Veoci’s key features:

• Digital playbooks – turn response plans into interactive step-by-step workflows

• Task tracking – assign and monitor crisis-related tasks in real time

• Custom forms – capture updates, reports or requests from staff during an incident

• Centralized communication – store discussions and updates alongside relevant actions

• Access controls – set permissions so that different users see only what they need to see

7. Incident.io: best for Slack-native incident response

Tool category: Incident management

Incident.io is a lightweight incident management tool for Slack-based teams. Small tech companies, for instance, can respond to outages and performance issues without switching tools or building a custom process.

Who it’s for: Startup companies and small development teams that want to manage incidents inside Slack, with workflows and documentation.

Incident.io’s key features:

• Slack-first workflows – declare incidents, assign roles and manage responses through Slack

• Post-incident reviews – automatically create timelines and incident reports

• Automated updates – keep stakeholders up to date with pre-written messages and timeline tracking

• Custom severity levels – set your incident categories to fit your team’s needs

• Integrations with standard tech software – connect with tools like Jira, PagerDuty and GitHub

How to support your crisis management plan with Pipedrive

While not a dedicated crisis management platform, Pipedrive can be valuable in streamlining your internal response process. You can adapt its customer relationship management (CRM) features as a lightweight crisis solution.

Here are ways you can support your crisis management plan with Pipedrive.

1. Log crisis-related deals, tasks and updates in one place

First, create a dedicated pipeline to centralize disruption response activities. This pipeline acts as a live crisis dashboard. It’ll give your team a central place to log what’s happening and who’s handling it.

Go to the drop-down list at the top right of your Deals page and click + New pipeline.

Name the pipeline something like “Incident Response” or “Business Continuity”. Add stages to reflect your internal processes, like:

Issue Identified > Investigating > Responding > Following-up > Resolved.

Each deal card in your pipeline might represent:

• A specific incident (e.g., “Outage – March 12”)

• A client requiring tailored communication

• A key internal process (like system restoration)

Move the card between stages to reflect where that issue stands in your response plan. For instance, once you confirm the problem, advance the card to Investigating.

As you set up your incident response pipeline, think about what would work best for your organization. Pipedrive is a highly customizable CRM, so you’ll have no problem tailoring it to your needs.

2. Assign and track follow-ups after an incident

Once a crisis is moving through your pipeline, each stage will require specific actions. Pipedrive’s Activities feature lets you assign and track tasks directly from each deal card. Everything connects to the incident in progress.

Inside any deal, click on Activity. Name the type of activity (e.g., call, meeting or to-do) and assign it to a team member.

Add a due date that aligns with the current pipeline stage. Finally, add a short description of the desired outcome or instructions for the responsible team member.

As the deal moves through the pipeline, you can use activity filters to track what’s due, completed or delayed.

3. Use automations to trigger updates and reduce manual work

Use Pipedrive’s workflow automations to trigger internal notifications, create follow-up activities or send status emails.

In a crisis, automating these tasks prevents anything from slipping through the cracks. It removes the need for manual updates, reducing delays and ensuring everyone is in the loop.

From your dashboard, click on … > Automations and click + Automation. Next, choose a trigger based on your pipeline.

Choose an action for the automation to perform, like:

• Send an email to a person or group

• Create an activity

• Update a field (e.g., mark “Incident Response” as “Closed”)

For example, you could set up something like When a deal moves to ‘Communicating’ > Notify management team or When a deal moves to ‘Resolved’ > Create a follow-up review task.

Automations make your plan easier to follow under pressure and help your team stay one step ahead as things unfold.

4. Manage post-incident work with Pipedrive’s Projects add-on

Pipedrive’s Projects software helps you manage post-incident work without switching to a separate project management tool.

Once you’ve solved the immediate crisis, follow up with longer-term tasks. For example, fix underlying issues, update documentation and communicate with clients.

To handle your tasks, drag any deal to Move/convert and choose Projects in the Save to… drop-down menu.

Create a project to manage follow-up activities, adding tasks like:

• “Conduct internal review to find root cause”

• “Update client-facing status page”

• “Update business continuity documentation”

You can assign each task to a relevant team member, set deadlines and use the project board view to track progress.

5. Use Pipedrive’s Smart Docs feature to create reports and plans

Smart Docs lets you create, manage and share incident-related documents in Pipedrive. Instead of losing updates in emails or chat threads, you keep everything connected to your crisis pipeline.

Go to Documents to build reusable Smart Docs templates for post-incident reviews, risk assessments or action plans.

For example, create a crisis management document template with fields for summary, timeline, root cause, impact and follow-up actions.

Quickly fill out the relevant sections whenever needed and attach the document to your crisis pipeline.

You can also track when someone opens a shared file to know when a stakeholder has seen an update.

With Smart Docs, small teams can easily capture key details, share updates and maintain visibility within Pipedrive. The feature is available on the Advanced plan and higher (or as a paid add-on for lower-tier plans).

Crisis management FAQs

Final thoughts

Crisis management solutions help small businesses respond quickly and stay organized when disruptions happen. With the right setup, you can give your team structure and clarity to minimize confusion and recover without serious issues.

Pipedrive offers a flexible way to manage follow-ups and track tasks directly in your CRM, even when things don’t go to plan. Start your 14-day free trial and see how it supports your crisis response workflow.

AI can help sales teams find leads, build in-depth contact profiles and forge stronger customer relationships. However, you need the right data enrichment tool to achieve meaningful results.

HubSpot’s Breeze Intelligence is one option, although its pricing and interface won’t suit every team. Knowing the alternatives lets you pick what’s best for your productivity and bottom line.

In this guide, you’ll learn why checking out the broader sales AI market is worthwhile and discover six strong HubSpot Breeze alternatives.

Why look for a HubSpot Breeze alternative?

HubSpot Breeze is one of many AI data enrichment and prospecting tools available for sales teams. While it automatically builds and updates contact profiles using online sources (e.g., social media profiles and directories), you’ll find other tools offering similar capabilities that may better suit your needs and budget.

Breeze aims to remove some manual research and data entry from lead nurturing processes. It integrates with the HubSpot CRM and has AI-enhanced lead generation and contact enrichment capabilities to replace the sunsetted HubSpot Insights feature.

Still, the tool has a few downsides that may lead you to seek alternatives. Reasons include:

• A pricing structure that favors medium-to-large businesses (at odds with HubSpot’s broader targeting, which covers startups and other small businesses)

• Its predecessor (HubSpot Insights) had many free features you must now pay for, which may strain your sales budget

• A credit-based system that locks you into the HubSpot ecosystem and pricing model, quickly becoming expensive for high-volume users

• If you don’t already use HubSpot, it’s not cost-effective – switching just to access Breeze could mean losing the benefits of other tools

Pipedrive’s survey shows productivity is the top reason businesses adopt AI, so it’s important to choose a tool that always delivers. Breeze user feedback suggests inconsistent results, with many sharing their frustrations on forums.

One post on the HubSpot subreddit (r/hubspot) singles out Breeze’s CoPilot feature:

Another Redditor criticizes Breeze’s AI email-writing capabilities:

These are just two users’ experiences, and their needs may differ from yours. Collect various views from multiple sources to get the most accurate picture of suitability.

6 HubSpot Breeze alternatives for sales and marketing teams

Every HubSpot Breeze alternative has selling points and limitations, making it challenging to choose the best one for your team. Here are six tool options to help you decide the best fit for your sales and marketing efforts.

1. Pipedrive: unlimited AI support with SMB-friendly flexibility

Pipedrive provides AI sales intelligence with a more intuitive interface and flexible pricing structure than Breeze. It’s ideal for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to scale without significant investment.

Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant is available on all plans with unlimited usage, so there are no surprise costs as your team grows.

The tool can help you sell more by finding leads. It organizes them based on engagement patterns and suggests tailored follow-up actions for contacts and deal stages.

Here’s a shot of the Sales Assistant supporting a user in the pipeline view:

The assistant can flag when someone opens an email you’ve sent so you can send a timely response. It also identifies deals with a fair or high deal probability of closing (due to their stage in the pipeline) and suggests next steps based on patterns from past wins.

For example, if a lead just opened your sales proposal and the deal is nearing its final stage, the assistant might suggest scheduling a call to help close the sale:

Pipedrive’s other sales AI and enrichment features include:

• An AI email writer that turns simple prompts into high-quality sales emails in seconds

• AI email summarization to generate concise, actionable summaries of your email conversations

• Smart Contact Data for learning more about existing contacts and pre-qualifying leads (available on Advanced and higher plans)

• LeadBooster for capturing and engaging high-quality inbound and outbound leads (available as an add-on for any plan)

Pipedrive pricing: Pipedrive has five tiered plans starting from $14 per month per seat for Essential to $99 per month for Enterprise (when billed annually). All come with seamless data importing, 400+ integrations, reporting and more.

A Pipedrive user’s view:

– via G2.com

2. Apollo: prospecting with a deep contact database

Apollo has the prospecting and contact enrichment features of Breeze but prioritizes outbound lead engagement over broader sales functions. For that reason, it may appeal to teams focused on proactive lead generation that already have a CRM they love.

The software has engagement analytics to help find the best sales opportunities and sequence builders for automating email, phone and social media outreach. For example, users can track email performance and determine when prospects are likeliest to respond.

There’s also a database of over 210 million B2B contacts with detailed filtering that’ll suit targeted outreach campaigns.

Apollo also has the following:

• An AI call assistant that can schedule, record and follow up on meetings

• Pre-meeting intelligence briefings with prospect research and possible talking points

• Automated contact scoring to identify high-value prospects

Apollo pricing: Apollo offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans from $49 per month to $149 per month per user. Custom enterprise pricing is available for larger teams.

An Apollo user’s view:

– via G2.com

3. 6Sense: enterprise-grade buyer intelligence at a premium

6Sense offers detailed account-based intelligence (Signalverse) and predictive analytics (6AI).

6Sense’s AI analyzes buying signals across the web and predicts which accounts are in the market. This feature helps users prioritize buyers actively researching solutions, increasing their chances of closing.

Other key features of 6Sense include:

• Sales alerts for monitoring leads’ buying behaviors in real time and reaching out at the right moments

• Smart Form Fill simplifies web forms by reducing the number of fields and using AI to fill gaps

• In-built ad management software for publishing and monitoring Google, LinkedIn and Meta ads from a single location

6Sense’s advanced AI features will appeal to companies targeting enterprise accounts. However, the premium pricing structure may deter smaller businesses.

6Sense pricing: 6Sense’s full pricing information is only available on request, although customer stories suggest enterprise plans can reach upwards of $100,000.

A 6Sense user’s view:

– via G2.com

4. Salesforce Einstein: AI support within Salesforce

Salesforce Einstein provides similar AI-powered insights to Breeze but within the more complex Salesforce ecosystem. While it could be a natural alternative if you already use that CRM system, it’s costly and takes time to learn if you’re unfamiliar with the tool.

Whereas Breeze focuses on prospecting, Salesforce’s AI functions ‌support the entire customer journey. Features include task management suggestions, lead scoring and forecasting insights.

Other features of Salesforce Einstein include:

• AI email creation, enriched by data from Salesforce CRM records

• AI sales call summaries for adding detailed context to customer records

• Automated lead scoring that aims to speed up task management

Maximizing Salesforce’s full AI potential takes time and money, which many smaller businesses lack.

Salesforce Einstein pricing: Salesforce Einstein requires a Salesforce CRM subscription (starting at $25 per month per user). Most AI features are available on higher-tier plans or as add-ons, which can increase costs to $150+ per month per user.

A Salesforce Einstein user’s view:

– via G2.com

5. Zoho Zia: AI assistance with core CRM features

Zoho Zia, woven into Zoho’s CRM system, provides comparable AI-powered lead enrichment to Breeze at a lower price point.

The sales assistant fills in information missing from lead records by scraping the internet and parsing email signatures. It collects high-level data, including company sizes, phone numbers and office addresses.

Within the CRM, Zia’s AI offers these features:

• Intelligent search (“Zia Search”) for navigating customer and deal records

• Anomaly detection for flagging unusual patterns in sales data

• Sentiment analysis for gauging customers’ happiness in email interactions

• The ability to generate reports using conversational prompts

Zoho’s low cost is evident in its feature limitations. Advanced features like field customization are available on select Zoho CRM plans, and there’s no free open API access. In contrast to Zoho, all Pipedrive users get these benefits.

Zoho Zia pricing: Zoho CRM (including Zia) offers plans from $14 to $52 per month per user. All plans include basic AI features, with advanced capabilities available at higher tiers.

A Zoho Zia user’s view:

– via G2.com

6. LeadIQ: prospecting support for your existing CRM

LeadIQ helps sales teams build contact lists. It covers the prospecting and contact capture aspects of Breeze while leaving the general sales features to its various integrations (much like ZoomInfo, which might be a more familiar name).

For example, the software’s AI automatically identifies promising prospects, enriches their contact details and generates personalized outreach content.

Other features include:

• A browser extension for capturing leads directly from company websites and LinkedIn

• Generative AI email writer to streamline outreach efforts

• Integrations for enriching data in various sales and digital marketing tools, including Chili Piper, Clay and Gong

For broader sales management jobs, such as pipeline tracking, deal management or reporting, you’ll need to connect LeadIQ to a CRM. You can integrate Pipedrive via LeadIQ’s API or Zapier.

LeadIQ pricing: LeadIQ’s tiered pricing ranges from $50 to $95 per month per user. All plans include limited contact credits and options to purchase more.

A LeadIQ user’s view:

– via G2.com

Each of these six HubSpot Breeze alternatives offers unique strengths, so your choice will depend on your size, goals, budget and existing tech stack.

HubSpot AI alternative must-haves: what to look for

Five main qualities separate truly valuable sales AI tools from disappointing investments. Here they are:

1. A UI that makes AI powerfully simple

The best HubSpot Breeze alternatives make AI easy for everyone to use. Technical experts and novices can use powerful intelligence tools without confusion.

With ease-of-use front of mind, look for:

Salespeople built Pipedrive to be easy for other salespeople to use. The all-in-one sales system has been tested and approved by over 100,000 companies and rated “easiest to use” by The Motley Fool.

2. Customization options to build the perfect assistant

Customizable AI lead management and data enrichment tools present the most relevant information in ways that suit your business – supporting you in making better decisions.

For example, you should be able to do all of the following:

• Specify what fields you want the system to fill instead of making do with generic profiles and datasets

• Build custom reports and dashboards showing the most helpful sales and customer insights

• Map your sales process in custom pipelines so you can see your prospecting and lead management efforts paying off

• Integrate your Breeze alternative with other sales and business tools to sync company data and automate workflows

In Pipedrive, you can add custom data fields to any lead/deal, person, organization, product or project screen.

For instance, adding the best contact times to all leads’ records would help salespeople reach prospects at the right moments and strengthen their customer relationships. You could also include secondary contacts and phone numbers to stop deals from going cold.

3. Truly flexible pricing that scales with your business

HubSpot Breeze’s credit system may initially feel flexible but can quickly become expensive. If that uncapped spending is your reason for wanting a different tool, look for these qualities:

• Straightforward packages that make it clear what you’ll get for your money

• Transparent costs for any add-on options (e.g., email marketing automation tools or enhanced onboarding)

• The freedom to switch between different tiers as your needs change

• A free-trial option for testing real-world performance

If your tool is complex, you may need to pay extra for training and implementation. Also, factor in the cost of team members’ time as they transition to the new system.

Getting a user-friendly HubSpot alternative that makes sense from day one is more cost-effective. For example, G2Crowd rates Pipedrive as the “easiest sales tool to implement”.

4. Reliable, always-on customer support

Fast, around-the-clock access to support will prevent business bottlenecks, keeping deals moving forward and sales productivity high.

For example, if a sales rep finds that the enriched customer data they need isn’t showing just before a call, a 48-hour wait for help could ruin the deal. They need immediate support.

It’s why the following support features are non-negotiable:

• A range of convenient support channels, such as phone, email and live chat

• Self-guided options, including tutorials, webinars and a detailed knowledge base

• Support in the languages your team speaks

For example, Pipedrive’s help page has links to check server statuses, contact support, learn about onboarding and access a comprehensive knowledge base.

User communities can also be helpful support resources. They provide free, experience-backed tips for getting more value from your Breeze alternative and answers to common questions.

5. Absolute proof that the tool will deliver

Look for evidence that the HubSpot Breeze alternative has helped other teams or businesses like yours (i.e., social proof).

Case studies and testimonials help you understand a tool’s tangible benefits. They may be biased, so dig deeper to find genuine user reviews, industry media coverage and candid discussions in online communities – as in this Reddit thread:

If you can’t find the necessary information, ask for input. Many business owners and software users are happy to help others, so you should get an answer quickly.

Final thoughts

Ready to sell more with a great HubSpot Breeze alternative? Focus on finding a tool that improves your sales process, is easy to use from day one and doesn’t have unpredictable costs.

While Breeze has some solid AI capabilities, its pricing model and user experience have many teams looking elsewhere. If you’re one of them, take advantage of other options’ personalized demos and free trials to find a solution your team will get value from every day.

If you want to see how Pipedrive can help your marketing and sales teams, sign up for a free 14-day trial today.

B2B video marketing is a powerful tool for influencing business buying decisions. For small business owners, video is a smart way to educate customers, showcase their expertise and build trust with B2B stakeholders.

In this article, you’ll discover how to use B2B video marketing to promote your small business and win new customers. You’ll also learn to develop an effective B2B video marketing strategy for maximum impact.

What is B2B video marketing?

B2B video marketing uses video content to attract, engage and convert other businesses into customers.

The power of video lies in its ability to both “show” and “tell”, allowing companies to speak directly to business decision-makers.

B2B video marketing includes content like:

• Product demos that explain how your software works

• Webinars that showcase your company’s expertise

• Customer success stories that establish trust with prospects

• How-to videos or tutorials that educate and support customers

For small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) with a subtle value proposition to communicate or a complex product to bring to life, video can support and enrich a creative content marketing strategy.

Video helps your company stand out in a crowded market by putting a face to your brand. It also allows you to build trust with customers by demonstrating your company’s expertise in a dynamic and engaging format.

B2B video marketing supports a wide range of marketing and sales objectives, including:

Here’s an example of a B2B brand using video as part of its small business marketing strategy:

In the video, SaaS (software-as-a-service) company WalkMe uses animation to introduce viewers to its digital adoption platform.

Before creating impactful B2B videos, it’s important to understand how B2B video marketing differs from its B2C counterpart.

The difference between B2B and B2C video marketing

As with B2B and B2C sales jobs, there are several significant distinctions between B2B and B2C video marketing.

Here’s a breakdown of the key characteristics of video marketing across B2B and B2C contexts.

B2B video marketing supports broader B2B content marketing objectives, helping B2B buyers to:

• Understand value propositions – what differentiates you from competitors

• See how your solutions address their specific business challenges

• Justify their purchasing decisions to business stakeholders

As a result, video marketing can influence key business decisions and drive B2B sales.

Different types of videos in B2B video marketing

Here’s a detailed look at the most effective formats for creating B2B video marketing that resonates with your business audience.

Explainer videos

Explainer videos are short, engaging clips that break down what a company does or how a product works.

These videos are ideal for the top of the marketing funnel as they help buyers grasp value propositions quickly. Tutorial-style explainer videos also help simplify complex services or technical solutions.

Here’s an example of a video that helps buyers understand how to set up a sales pipeline in Pipedrive:

The combination of screenshots and commentary brings the product feature to life for viewers.

Explainer videos are a popular choice among video marketers. According to B2B video marketing statistics from video production company WyzOwl, 73% of video marketers created explainer videos in 2025.

Use cases for videos

Explainer videos emerged as the most widely used format, suggesting their effectiveness in engaging buyers early.

Case studies

Case study videos showcase real-world success stories from existing customers. In the videos, customers talk about their experience with a company, often describing how it helped solve a problem.

For B2B audiences, seeing and hearing a real customer share their story can be convincing. Customer testimonials usually include data-driven results to build even greater credibility.

In this video, a business owner explains how Pipedrive supports the growth of her cloud accountancy SMB:

In B2B marketing, case studies drive lead generation and conversion rates. The videos help buyers see how a product or service could fix their business pain points.

Webinars

Webinars are live or recorded videos that offer in-depth insights on:

• Industry topics

• Product features

• Customer challenges

Webinars allow B2B companies to engage directly with potential customers. Webinar presenters can answer customer questions in real time, demonstrating the company’s expertise.

Audiences can either participate live or watch a recording of the content.

In this webinar, the Pipedream team explains the software’s AI functionality for quicker sales wins:

Webinars provide valuable, educational content to qualified audiences, supporting B2B decision-making.

Product demos

Product demo videos provide a visual walkthrough of a product in action, sometimes to support the launch of new products and features.

In B2B marketing, product demos are especially helpful for explaining complex tools and showing how users can get started.

Here’s an example of a product demo from Slack, a B2B SaaS company:

The video provides new Slack users with a clear guide for getting started.

Product demos provide evidence of a product or feature’s usability. This knowledge can help buyers evaluate solutions and gain buy-in from other decision-makers.

Brand videos

Brand videos focus on telling a brand’s story. They also communicate a company’s mission and values.

Here’s an example of a brand video from Pipedrive:

Companies can share brand videos across multiple channels, including:

Brand videos build an emotional connection with consumers and support your brand positioning. Rather than driving sales, they aim to strengthen awareness and long-term recognition.

Thought leadership videos

In thought leadership videos, industry experts offer insight and guidance on topics B2B audiences care about. The purpose is to provide value and reinforce a brand’s credibility.

In B2B videos, thought leaders are often company founders and executives. Sometimes, they’re internal subject-matter experts.

Thought leadership videos can also feature guest experts from a relevant industry or discipline.

Here’s an example of a thought leadership video from B2B accounting and invoice software brand FreeAgent:

In the video, two accountants – including FreeAgent’s in-house expert – answer common business bookkeeping questions.

The video offers significant value to FreeAgent’s audience by featuring industry leaders with deep expertise in the field.

B2B video marketing spans a wide range of formats, each tailored to specific goals. By leveraging different video types, businesses can reach buyers at every stage of the decision-making process.

What is the value of B2B video marketing for SMBs?

Video marketing isn’t just for large or enterprise B2B companies. It’s also a cost-effective tool for SMBs to stand out in a competitive market.

Here’s how B2B video marketing delivers value across the SMB customer journey.

Growing brand awareness

Raising awareness is a core objective of SMB marketing, particularly for new brands and startups. Brand awareness can increase website traffic and support SEO-driven lead generation.

According to WyzOwl’s 2025 research, 96% of video marketers said video helped them increase brand awareness.

The most effective videos for growing awareness introduce B2B audiences to the company. The frequent appearance of CEOs and founders gives the brand a face and voice to the name.

Leaders usually explain what their company does and how it helps customers, humanizing their brand and engaging decision-makers more directly.

Boosting engagement

Many audiences find watching a video a quick and enjoyable way to take in information.

In the same WyzOwl study, 78% said they’d most like to watch a short video to learn about a product or service. By contrast, only 9% prefer a text-based article.

How would you like to learn about a product or service?

By investing in B2B video marketing, companies can engage with a larger target audience and reach a wider group of B2B decision-makers, potentially shortening the sales cycle.

Building trust, authority and credibility

Video marketing can help SMBs nurture trust with their B2B customers. Video can also demonstrate a company’s credibility in a market or industry.

Case studies and thought leadership videos are especially effective for achieving these objectives.

Testimonial videos create a strong sense of authenticity by showing a real person talking about real results. Customer stories also provide strong social proof – an essential part of social selling.

Thought leadership videos allow companies to showcase the human expertise behind their product or services. They boost trust and credibility further by offering educational value to customers.

Simplifying complex products or services

For SMBs with a complex value proposition, video simplifies complex products or services. Short demos and animated explainers break down complicated systems or software in minutes.

Video brings products and services to life for B2B audiences. This clarity helps decision-makers see how the product could overcome their business challenges.

The explainer video format is one that audiences understand and may even expect from B2B brands. According to WyzOwl, 98% of people watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service in 2025.

Supporting SMB sales

In many SMBs, sales teams use video to boost sales. Reps use video to nurture their sales pipeline and move prospects to the next stage of the funnel.

B2B video marketing also gives salespeople content to use in follow-up emails with leads and to overcome sales objections.

Sales video software allows companies to personalize videos and send them at scale. Many platforms integrate with customer relationship management systems (CRMs) like Pipedrive to automate video outreach through existing sales and marketing funnels.

For example, Pipedrive’s integration with Bonjoro sends videos automatically at key points in the sales cycle.

5 best practices for an effective B2B video marketing strategy

With a clear content strategy in place, video can be a go-to marketing tool for B2B companies.

Here are five best practices for an effective B2B video marketing strategy, particularly for SMBs.

1. Understand your audience and their video needs

A deep understanding of your target audience is fundamental to the success of a video marketing strategy. Knowing your customers’ goals, challenges and pain points helps you create videos that drive value at different stages of their journey.

For example, videos telling positive customer stories might be most effective if buyers are unsure about partnering with a new or smaller business.

To improve your understanding of your target audience and their needs:

Here’s an example of how LinkedIn uses surveys to research audience needs and preferences:

Once you know what kind of video content your customers want, connect your plans to your sales and marketing goals.

2. Align your efforts with marketing and sales objectives

Video needs to be more than just “content” to be an effective tool for B2B marketing. It must support your sales and marketing objectives alongside clear business goals.

For example, if a startup wants to raise brand awareness, a brand video will have a greater strategic impact than a detailed product demo.

Here are some types of video you can align with common B2B marketing objectives:

Ensure every video you plan serves a strategic purpose, ultimately moving your audience closer to a decision.

3. Decide how to execute your video strategy

Deciding how to create your video is as important as identifying which type of video to make. The format and production method both impact the message you want to communicate.

Short video content with a “homespun” feel can show a brand’s human side, which may appeal to prospective B2B customers and future employees. Companies can create these videos relatively easily using smartphones and editing apps.

In this example, enterprise software company SAP uses a casual type of video to showcase its corporate culture. The video also sheds light on the company’s purpose:

This “lo-fi” video production approach in B2B marketing works in specific contexts.

Depending on the topic or brand positioning, a company might not need to show its “human” side in every video. Certain content, like brand videos and thought leadership, may benefit from high-quality production.

As a result, some small businesses hire a B2B video marketing agency to create some of their videos.

With a few basic investments, you can save on budget by making videos in-house. A tripod, light ring and lapel microphone will help you generate professional-looking videos independently.

4. Have a distribution plan for each video

Content distribution is about ensuring your videos reach your audience. A clear distribution plan maximizes the impact of video across the buyer’s journey.

With proactive and strategic planning, you can reach buyers in a timely and relevant way. It can make all the difference in determining whether buyers watch your video and take the next step.

Most B2B brands publish video content on a dedicated YouTube channel as a starting point. While this is good practice, getting your videos in front of the right audience is unlikely.

To ensure B2B decision-makers see your videos, identify where your audience spends time.

B2B buyers are typically active on professional networks like LinkedIn. Depending on your small business’s target audience, your customers may also spend time on trend-driven platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Grammarly uses TikTok to share relevant hints and tips with its audience.

You likely already have a good sense of which social media platforms best fit your brand and audience. To further strengthen your understanding, consider asking customers about their platform preferences when conducting audience research.

Video distribution isn’t just about social media. Sales reps and other teams interacting with prospective buyers also play a significant role.

Let these team members know when new video content is live and help them share it with their professional networks. Provide information such as:

• The purpose of the video and the target audience

• Some suggested wording they can use to share the video among their networks

• The video URL, ideally with web visitor tracking for measurement purposes

Email campaigns and your company website are also essential distribution channels for video. Including videos in your emails can support video email objectives like open rate and click-through rate – alongside email marketing engagement metrics.

In addition to video email, you can publish videos in your blog posts or content hub to encourage visitors to stay on your site.

For example, Pipedrive has a video tutorials section with helpful tool walkthroughs:

Video content also supports the buyer’s learning journey as they browse the site.

5. Have a plan for measuring the success of each video

Measuring video performance helps refine your marketing strategy. By tracking metrics like views, engagement and conversions, you can evaluate what’s working and what needs to improve.

For example, you could monitor the click-through rate of a video CTA (call to action) to gauge how well your video prompts viewers to take the next step.

You could also measure how frequently viewers take other actions, such as:

The video performance data will be available in your online video hosting platform or via web visitor tracking in Google Analytics. The insights you gain will help you optimize your video marketing over time.

How your CRM can support B2B video marketing

As a small business owner, you’re likely already using a CRM system to stay on top of your sales performance. Some platforms – like Pipedrive – also work well for tracking marketing activities.

Here are three ways Pipedrive can support your B2B video marketing efforts.

1. Capture leads directly from video pages

Pipedrive’s Web Forms feature lets you source and qualify leads from your video landing pages.

Sales reps can contact leads after they watch a video and move them through the sales funnel. They can also home in on the best-fit buyers using Pipedrive’s custom fields and lead scoring functionality.

You can create eye-catching forms that match your company’s branding, such as this example in action on a Pipedrive video page:

Web Forms help you navigate the challenges of collecting data from video viewers. By securely storing customer data and communicating directly with your CRM, the feature removes the need for third-party apps – reducing the risk of data breaches.

2. Boost personalized follow-up emails with video

Pipedrive supports video distribution through both individual emails and wider email marketing campaigns.

Sales reps can quickly and easily embed video links in their follow-up emails to prospects. Adding video content can bring extra value to recipients, maximizing sales opportunities.

Here’s an example of what this kind of personalized email could look like in Pipedrive:

Pipedrive also supports another critical form of video distribution: email campaigns.

3. Add video to targeted email campaigns

With Campaigns, Pipedrive’s email marketing software, companies can create video-led email marketing campaigns.

Marketers can add video content blocks quickly and easily using the drag-and-drop editor in Campaigns:

They can also segment email audiences based on size, industry and sector. In video-led email marketing, customer segmentation helps ensure audiences see the videos that offer them the most value.

Final thoughts

Video can be an effective marketing tool for supporting your overall strategy and growing your B2B small business.

B2B video marketing showcases your company’s value and grows trust between you and potential customers. These are key steps in nurturing leads and guiding prospects toward a purchase.

Pipedrive gives small business owners the tools to get the most from their B2B video marketing efforts. Sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how the CRM can support your B2B video marketing strategy alongside streamlining your sales efforts.

Artificial intelligence (AI) improves business forecasting by analyzing vast quantities of data, spotting patterns and using predictive analytics to make accurate projections.

Small business owners apply the technology to predict customer demand or future revenue – helping them make informed decisions.

In this article, you’ll discover what AI means for forecasting, its benefits and how to get started. You’ll also learn how to overcome common AI forecasting challenges.

What is AI forecasting?

Business owners use AI forecasting to predict future outcomes or events. Machine learning algorithms excel at analyzing vast amounts of historical data and other variables to identify patterns and trends that human analysts may miss.

Imagine a fashion retailer that wants to predict demand for its summer collection. With AI-based forecasting, it can assess:

If the model predicts exceptionally high demand, the store can invest heavily in new stock, confident that sales will increase.

Various industries leverage AI forecasting. Healthcare companies use it to estimate patient demand and outcomes. Financial services firms can predict market outcomes and make high-frequency trades to outperform traditional strategies.

AI forecasting vs. traditional forecasting

Previously, businesses made predictions using traditional methods like statistical modeling. AI-driven forecasting improves traditional forecasting techniques in several ways.

Here’s how the two forecasting methods compare:

Traditional forecasting happens slowly – a handful of technical experts generate insights from small datasets. AI forecasting occurs at scale, delivering more accurate, real-time insights to businesses of any size.

5 benefits of AI forecasting

AI-powered forecasting surpasses traditional methods, generating more reliable, nuanced and complex forecasts faster.

Here are five ways that AI improves forecasting for your business:

1. More accurate predictions – delivers more precise predictions by analyzing more data and uncovering patterns human analysts may overlook.

2. Better and faster decision-making – real-time AI data processing allows business owners to capitalize on emerging trends.

3. Lower costs – reduces unnecessary expenses by helping small and medium businesses predict demand accurately to optimize inventory levels.

4. Higher scalability – automates much of the prediction process, significantly improving efficiency. SMBs can focus on high-value tasks while the tool creates forecasts in the background.

5. Happier customers – increases customer satisfaction by ensuring sufficient product availability based on demand prediction. AI forecasting also anticipates future trends, helping businesses meet changing customer needs.

Ultimately, AI forecasting allows small businesses to compete with larger companies by creating fast and accurate forecasts without hiring a dedicated team.

How does AI forecasting work?

AI forecasting uses machine learning models that process vast amounts of data. Companies use various model types to forecast their data.

Here are some of the most popular AI forecasting techniques in data science:

The forecasting process stays the same regardless of the AI algorithms you use. It looks something like this:

• Data collection. Gather relevant information from CRMs, marketing software, customer data platforms (CDPs) and third-party data sources.

• Data processing. Clean and format data to prepare it for analysis. Remove duplicates, complete missing values and ensure data is error-free.

• Model selection and training. Choose an AI forecasting model that aligns with your data and business or sales goals. Train the model using your prepared data.

• Forecasting. Apply the model to new data to generate predictions about future events or outcomes.

• Evaluation and adjustment – Measure the effectiveness of your model using relevant KPIs. Check for biases and incorrect predictions.

Companies can follow these steps to turn raw data into accurate, actionable forecasts for improved planning and performance.

4 ways SMBs can use AI forecasting to improve their business

Pipedrive’s The State of Sales and Marketing Report 2023/24 found that the uptake of AI technologies is higher among smaller companies.

42% of respondents in businesses with up to 10 employees reported using AI, compared to 23% of companies with 100+ staff.

Here are four ways small businesses can adopt AI forecasting technology:

1. Forecast future sales and find high-value leads

AI can analyze your company’s sales pipeline and historical sales data to predict how much revenue your salespeople will generate by year-end.

AI forecasting models can also analyze live sales data to predict which deals will most likely convert. With these insights, sales reps can prioritize their efforts and close more deals.

For instance, Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant evaluates deal, sales prospect and email data to pinpoint high-potential leads and suggest next steps.

The AI assistant might remind a sales rep to follow up with a high-value, high-priority lead – or recommend moving on from a deal that’s unlikely to convert.

AI forecasting also gives sales managers accurate, real-time revenue predictions. It allows them to adjust their sales strategy confidently to hit targets or make budgetary decisions.

2. Predict customer demand

Demand forecasting models analyze sales, customer behavior, seasonality​​ and other data sources to predict product and service demand fluctuations.

They help business owners and managers optimize inventory levels and streamline production planning.

Imagine a tech e-commerce store preparing for Black Friday. Instead of relying on last year’s sales data alone, AI forecasting considers additional factors like economic shifts and competitor behavior.

The forecast predicts a dip in sales, helping the retailer maximize revenue without overstocking – likely inevitable without AI-powered predictions.

The seller can then use CRM data to support marketing efforts and grow sales opportunities.

With Pipedrive, businesses can turn forecasts into action. The CRM tracks real-time customer interactions for a complete view of the customer journey.

In Campaigns by Pipedrive, they can launch targeted email marketing campaigns using customer segmentation and custom filters. The feature also monitors performance metrics like open and click rates to help optimize engagement and conversions.

Together, AI forecasting and Pipedrive’s CRM tools allow businesses to anticipate and meet customer demand proactively.

3. Improve supply chain management

Manufacturers can use AI inventory management to forecast supply and demand levels, ensuring they have enough raw materials to supply customer orders.

For example, a solar energy installation company can use an AI model that predicts how many materials they need for production by analyzing factors like:

• Buying trends

• Customer demand

• Economic indicators

• Seasonality

It can double-check the forecast’s accuracy using Pipedrive’s product revenue forecast reporting function – which predicts expected revenue from different product lines.

To create the report, go to Pipedrive’s Insights feature and click “+ Add item > Report > Revenue forecast > Product revenue forecast”.

By forecasting how many products will sell and when orders will come in, the manufacturer can align their production and inventory strategies to avoid stockouts.

4. Analyze price changes

AI forecasting helps business owners predict the impact price rises will have on demand before deciding.

Imagine a SaaS company wanting to understand the price rise’s impact on subscription levels. It uses an AI forecasting tool to analyze sales data, customer purchasing habits and other market trends.

The AI tool simulates different pricing scenarios to predict how customers will respond. It finds that a 10% rise leads to 5% higher customer churn but an increase in revenue. However, upping prices by 20% results in 30% more churn and a significant revenue drop.

The SaaS brand uses the first scenario to optimize its pricing strategy, knowing that further increases will likely reduce operating income.

The company could later test the accuracy of predictions using AI. Pipedrive’s AI report generation tool lets customers create reports without technical knowledge or training using a simple prompt.

For example, an executive can ask, “How has the conversion rate changed over the last three months?” or “What’s our customer churn rate?” to understand whether 10% of customers left after the price increase.

The tool – part of the Insights feature – will use your input to generate a report. You can chat with the AI bot to request additional information or tell it to start over if the report isn’t helpful.

How to start AI forecasting

It’s relatively straightforward to add AI forecasting into your small business workflow.

Follow these simple steps to start using AI forecasting successfully:

Get your data ready

AI tools need lots of high-quality, accurate data for analysis. The better your data, the more accurate your predictions.

Use the following strategies to assess your data readiness and get your data AI-ready:

Measure data quality using dedicated tools like Decide AI. The software integrates with Pipedrive to spot duplicate entries, missing fields and errors.

Now is also a good time to establish data governance practices, highlighting how you store and protect your business information. Ensure you have policies defining data ownership and strong access controls preventing unauthorized use.

Define a use case

Choose a specific objective you want to achieve with AI forecasting. A clear use case will help you align with business goals and pick an appropriate tool.

Picture an IT sales organization struggling to predict pipeline value accurately. It can implement sales forecasting software to evaluate historical data, existing prospects and open deals to forecast future revenue.

Then, it sets a SMART sales goal to keep efforts on track. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

For example, the IT sales executive looking to predict pipeline value might set the following SMART goal:

This implementation will give the executive confidence to decide budget, recruitment and sales targets.

Choose a suitable tool

There are plenty of AI forecasting solutions for small business owners. Some serve specific purposes, like optimizing warehouse inventory, while others are more general.

Find the best tool for your team by assessing the following qualities:

Evaluate software usability and intuitiveness through sales demos and free trials. Check each tool’s website to find integration, training and pricing information.

If you already use Pipedrive, the platform’s AI-powered Marketplace will help you find forecasting tools that integrate with your sales CRM.

There are two methods you can use:

1. AI-powered Marketplace search. The search engine recognizes natural language queries, so you can quickly find tools without knowing the correct terminology. Simply type “What apps can I use to forecast revenue?” into the search bar.

2. SmartApps recommendations. The feature automatically suggests relevant software based on your company size, industry and apps that similar companies use.

In either scenario, you’ll find valuable tools that integrate with your CRM in a fraction of the time.

Integrate AI models with other data sources

Integrating AI software with the rest of your technology stack ensures data moves smoothly and automatically between each tool. Machine learning models will also have access to enough data to run accurate predictions.

Start with your existing tech setup. For example, integrating an AI forecasting system like Dear Lucy with Pipedrive’s sales technology will give your AI forecasting model access to:

• Sales prospects and other contacts

• Current and historical deals

• Interactions between sales reps and prospects

It will help you predict revenue by salesperson, business area, country and product in real time.

Add external data sources like social media activity, economic analysis and weather forecasts to improve forecast accuracy further.

Integrations are particularly effective for businesses with limited historical data. They let business owners make forecasts as soon as they launch their startups.

Measure and refine

Make your forecasts as accurate as possible using ongoing performance measurement and refinement.

Start by assessing your forecast accuracy using the following strategies:

• Compare your predictions to real-world data. For example, see how closely your forecasted quarterly revenue matches the actual amount sales reps brought in over three months.

• Track relevant sales KPIs and performance metrics like average order value and email marketing conversion rate.

• Ask your employees for feedback. Use surveys to determine whether predicted trends materialized and collect suggestions for improvement.

The above strategies help you learn how much faith to place in your predictions. They also promote transparency and uncover specific ways to improve your AI forecasting results.

AI forecasting challenges and how to overcome them

AI forecasting is powerful, although not perfect. Here’s how you can overcome some of the most common stumbling blocks:

Data quality

AI forecasting tools rely on lots of high-quality data to make predictions. Flawed, incomplete or inaccurate information leads to poor insights and predictions.

A great first step is removing data duplicates, correcting errors and reformatting entries before running forecasts.

Additionally, you can improve the quality and accuracy of all future data sources using the following three policies:

1. Build clear data governance frameworks. Define roles, responsibilities and processes for managing data quality across your organization.

2. Run regular data audits. Conduct periodic reviews to assess data accuracy, completeness and reliability. Alternatively, automate the process with a tool like Decide AI.

3. Implement user training. Educate employees about the importance of data quality and how their actions impact it. For example, encourage sales reps to complete every customer contact field with all the relevant details.

Model bias and staleness

Any forecast model, even AI ones, has the potential for bias. Without supervision, AI tools may learn from and repeat inaccurate forecasts.

The model’s training data can cause these issues. Ensure your model can access high-quality, relevant data from your tech stack and third-party sources. Using integrations to provide new data regularly will stop your model from becoming irrelevant.

The underlying model itself can be a problem. The solution is to choose a provider that regularly updates its models, patches software and releases new features.

Product announcement pages show how committed companies are to updating their software.

For example, Pipedrive – whose AI CRM recommends sales actions and generates sales reports to aid forecasting – runs a dedicated blog featuring regular software feature updates:

Every new AI functionality gets a dedicated blog post detailing how it works and how customers can use it.

Consider trialing alternative AI forecasting tools if your provider doesn’t release frequent updates.

Data security

AI forecasting tools can be targets for cybercriminals owing to the large volumes of sensitive data they hold. Data breaches can result in stolen data, reputational damage and financial loss.

Protect your data by choosing forecasting tools with the following features:

Ask about cybersecurity features during product demos. Alternatively, review the security features page on the tool’s website to understand how it can protect your data.

Final thoughts

Incorporating AI into forecasting efforts helps small businesses predict future trends with unprecedented accuracy. As a result, they can optimize operations to increase profitability and make faster, better data-backed decisions.

AI forecasting tools work better as part of a collaborative technology stack. Pipedrive’s AI-powered CRM integrates with other AI tools to centralize customer data and deliver deeper insights. Start your 14-day free trial to see how Pipedrive can help you predict demand and forecast revenue more intelligently.

Effective marketing attracts your ideal customers, builds trust and drives growth. Yet, many SMBs struggle to get it right. Without a clear strategy, it’s easy to waste time and budget on campaigns that fall flat.

In this article, you’ll learn the essentials of building a strong digital marketing strategy as an SMB. You’ll also discover practical tips, tools and advice for creating successful marketing campaigns.

What is marketing?

Marketing is the process of attracting customers to your company to generate revenue. It’s about getting to know your audience and showing them how your product or service can help them.

Take a small e-commerce business, for instance. The company’s marketing professionals might combine billboard ads, social media campaigns and paid online ads to build its brand and reach its ideal customers.

When done well, marketing tactics create a consistent, memorable presence across different channels. The marketing process builds trust and nurtures customers through the customer journey, leading to more sales and stronger brand loyalty.

Here’s how this might work for the e-commerce business in our example:

• The billboards spark awareness, getting the SMB’s name and messaging in front of a broad audience

• Engaging social media posts (like behind-the-scenes videos or customer testimonials) build familiarity and trust

• Paid online ads target those already interested, offering special promotions or helpful content to guide them further along the buying journey

By consistently showing up across different touchpoints and providing value at each stage, the business makes it easier for potential customers to move from curiosity to purchase.

Why is marketing essential for SMBs?

Effective marketing drives growth for small- to medium-sized businesses that want to scale. Marketing helps companies attract and retain customers, differentiate their brand and make informed decisions that support long-term success.

Here’s how marketing supports SMB development:

• Drives growth. Effective marketing generates high-quality leads, builds brand awareness and nurtures customer relationships – all essential for long-term growth.

• Builds trust and credibility. Consistent, value-driven marketing positions your business as reliable and professional, boosting customer trust and encouraging potential customers to buy from you.

• Maximizes your return on investment (ROI). For companies with limited sales budgets and resources, strategic marketing ensures that every dollar spent reaches the right audience.

• Differentiates your brand. Marketing helps your business stand out in crowded markets, allowing you to compete against larger and more established companies.

• Informs business decisions. Marketing metrics (like website traffic and engagement) give you valuable insights into what your audience wants, which messages resonate and where your brand can improve. These insights help you better align your products or services with customer needs.

With the right tools and strategies, marketing teams can help SMBs grow and stay flexible in a changing market.

5 tips for creating an effective digital marketing strategy as an SMB

A digital marketing strategy outlines how you plan to use online channels and tactics to reach and engage your target market. The right marketing tactics maximize reach, drive sales and build lasting customer relationships with limited resources.

Here are five expert tips on how to create an effective digital marketing strategy:

1. Use a ready-made marketing strategy template

Starting from scratch can feel overwhelming for SMBs with limited time and resources. A template provides a structured framework, saving time and ensuring they cover all critical elements of a successful strategy.

An ideal marketing strategy template should have the following features and information:

• Customizations. Ensure the template allows you to adjust it to your unique business needs and goals.

• Key areas of a marketing strategy. Ensure the template addresses essential elements of a marketing strategy, such as the target audience, goals, tactics and budget.

• Clear structure. Find a template with a logical, easy-to-follow layout that helps you organize your thoughts and marketing plans.

• Measurable goals. Look for templates that include sections to track key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can measure success.

• Actionable steps. Choose a template that outlines concrete actions and timelines to keep you on track.

You can find free templates tailored for small businesses with tools like Canva or Notion.

Pipedrive’s customizable Sales and Marketing Strategy Template is also a valuable resource for businesses looking for a comprehensive approach. The template aligns sales and marketing efforts, helping SMBs create a unified strategy with realistic and measurable goals.

2. Understand the marketing mix

The marketing mix (also known as the four Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion) is a framework that helps businesses align their marketing efforts with customer needs.

Using the four Ps ensures that your digital marketing strategy is based on a solid understanding of the following:

Imagine you run a SaaS company that offers project management software. By applying the marketing mix, you ensure your digital strategy aligns with your product’s value, meets customer needs and effectively reaches your target audience.

Whether refining the pricing model, choosing the right distribution channels or optimizing the user experience, the marketing mix helps create a balanced approach that drives customer engagement.

Here’s a breakdown of how to use the marketing mix:

By leveraging the marketing mix, you can build a strategy that attracts the right customers and effectively promotes your business.

3. Learn about the different types of digital marketing

Understanding the different types of digital marketing helps SMBs effectively reach and engage their target audience. By selecting the right approach, you can maximize your marketing efforts and achieve better results.

For example, if you aim to build long-term customer relationships, email marketing and content marketing might be ideal for nurturing leads over time. If your goal is to drive immediate sales, paid search ads or social media ads could provide faster results.

By understanding these options, you can better tailor your marketing efforts for the best outcomes.

Here are some of the most common types of digital marketing:

Each method offers unique benefits depending on your audience, budget and goals. Knowing what you want to achieve from your marketing efforts will help you determine which marketing activities are right for your business.

4. Understand your ideal audience and how to reach them

Targeting the right people ensures you spend your marketing budget on consumers more likely to engage, convert and become loyal customers. This approach helps SMBs maximize their impact – even with a smaller budget.

For example, instead of running broad ads that reach thousands of uninterested viewers, a business could focus on a specific customer segment, like small business owners or tech startups.

Targeting this segment results in higher engagement and better returns with a much smaller spend.

Here are some practical ways to learn more about your ideal audience:

• Create an ideal customer profile (ICP). An ICP helps you outline the characteristics of your perfect customer, such as demographics, job roles, industry and pain points.

• Find the channels they use. Research which channels your audience uses the most. Are they active on social media? Do they respond to email campaigns? Do they search for solutions via Google? Identifying these touchpoints helps you choose the right platforms to engage with them.

• Understand the buying journey. Know what motivates your audience at each stage of the buying journey (awareness, consideration and decision) so you can tailor your messaging accordingly.

By deeply understanding your audience, you can create more targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to their needs and interests.

5. Implement the right tools and systems

Digital marketing tools help SMBs run campaigns efficiently and scale operations without needing a large team. Tools that automate, track and optimize campaigns enable you to focus more on growth and less on manual work.

Consider an email marketing tool as an example. The software allows you to schedule and personalize email campaigns at scale, helping you nurture leads and stay top of mind without sending every message manually.

Here are some common types of marketing tools:

• CRMs. A sales CRM like Pipedrive helps you manage leads, track customer interactions and organize your sales and marketing efforts in one place. The software helps SMBs stay on top of every deal and campaign without losing track.

• Email marketing software. Platforms like Mailchimp help you create and automate email campaigns to nurture leads and engage existing customers.

• SEO systems. Tools like SEMrush help you optimize your website and content to rank higher in search results and drive organic traffic.

• Social media management platforms. Software like Hootsuite schedules posts, monitors engagement and manages multiple social accounts from one dashboard.

• Analytics tools. Google Analytics and similar platforms provide insight into website traffic, customer behavior and campaign performance so you can make smarter marketing decisions.

Choosing the right mix of tools streamlines your marketing efforts, giving you better visibility into how to drive consistent, sustainable growth.

How to use Pipedrive to enhance your digital marketing

SMBs need tools that make marketing simpler, more targeted and more effective without adding complexity. Pipedrive’s simple CRM helps SMBs centralize lead management, personalize outreach, track marketing performance and help you convert more leads with fewer resources.

Here’s how Pipedrive can support your SMB marketing efforts:

Centralize all lead and customer data

Pipedrive’s customer data management features save all customer data and interactions in the platform. This centralization aligns the sales and marketing departments, reducing the chances of losing important information and making creating personalized, timely campaigns easier.

Important information can easily slip through the cracks when customer data is scattered across spreadsheets and emails.

Here’s a look at how to visualize customer data in Pipedrive:

Segment your audience for targeted campaigns

With Pipedrive’s filters and custom fields, you can easily group contacts by behavior, acquisition source, location or lifecycle stage. These customizations allow SMBs to easily create targeted email campaigns, enhancing personalization and improving the customer experience.

Generic, one-size-fits-all marketing wastes time and fails to appeal to customers who want personalized experiences. Statista found that 64% of consumers prefer to buy from companies that tailor their experiences to their wants and needs.

Track marketing campaign performance in your pipeline

Pipedrive connects leads to specific marketing campaigns or channels, giving you a clear view of which efforts drive conversions.

Here’s an example of the email campaign data you can analyze in Pipedrive:

Investing in marketing without knowing what’s working can be frustrating. With Pipedrive, SMBs can quickly identify their most effective marketing strategies, double down on what’s working and cut spending on underperforming channels.

Automate email follow-ups and nurture sequences

With Pipedrive’s automations, you can automatically trigger follow-up emails when leads take specific actions (like filling out a form or downloading content).

Here’s an example of the types of automations you can create in Pipedrive:

Manually following up with every lead drains time and leads to missed opportunities. These automations save time, helping SMBs engage prospects without manually managing every touchpoint.

Integrate with your favorite marketing tools

Pipedrive connects easily with platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Lead Ads and Zapier, allowing you to automatically sync lead data and keep your marketing systems working together.

Here’s an overview of the popular Pipedrive workflows to use when integrating Facebook Lead Ads (via Zapier):

Disconnected marketing tools can create lead management gaps and slow down workflows. These integrations allow SMBs to maintain a seamless customer experience across channels.

Score and prioritize your best leads

Pipedrive’s lead scoring CRM identifies which leads will likely convert based on custom criteria, such as deal size or source channel.

Take a look at the image below to see how lead scoring appears in Pipedrive:

Wasting time on cold or unqualified leads can drain your team’s energy and budget. Qualifying leads this way allows SMBs to focus their marketing and sales efforts on the highest potential opportunities, increasing ROI without spreading resources too thin.

Visualize the customer journey

Easily map and track each stage of the customer journey with Pipedrive’s pipeline view, from the first interaction to closing the deal.

Here’s an overview of how to use the pipeline view:

For SMBs, this visual clarity prevents bottlenecks, allows sales reps to optimize touchpoints and creates a smoother marketing experience that moves leads toward conversion.

It’s challenging to spot bottlenecks or improve conversion rates without a clear view of the customer journey.

Marketing FAQs

Final thoughts

Effective marketing helps SMBs connect with their audience, build trust, drive growth and make informed decisions. By using a strong strategy, understanding the marketing mix and leveraging the right tools, SMBs can create impactful campaigns that deliver real results.

Connecting marketing and CRM data helps you create targeted, personalized campaigns based on customer behavior.

Pipedrive brings your marketing and sales data together in one place, making it easy to segment audiences, track campaign performance and guide your ideal customers through the sales funnel.

Sign up for a free trial today to run smarter, more efficient marketing campaigns.

Sales mirroring can turn awkward meetings into fluid conversations. Matching your customer’s communication style makes them feel understood, creating instant rapport that builds trust.

In this article, you’ll learn mirroring sales techniques across different channels. We’ll provide a framework you can follow to develop a natural approach that feels authentic to you and your prospects.

What is sales mirroring?

Sales mirroring is a technique in which salespeople adapt their communication style to match or “mirror” their prospect. When done authentically, mirroring shows prospective clients you’re listening to them and trying to understand their issues, which creates trust and builds rapport.

Genuine mirroring isn’t about manipulating prospects or copying them. Instead, your goal is to be genuine in your intent when you match their communication style. When mirroring feels forced or insincere, it often backfires and damages trust.

Mirroring in sales can be both instinctive and deliberate. Some salespeople are naturally charismatic and mirror prospects without thinking about it. For other professionals, it’s a sales skill they develop consciously.

Communication happens through three main channels: words, tone of voice and body language. While each channel matters in sales conversations, its importance varies depending on context and situation.

Here are the key elements of mirroring in detail:

These aspects of mirroring can significantly impact your sales communication, and we’ll share tips for leveraging each later in the article.

Why sales mirroring is important

Effective sales mirroring can lead to shorter sales cycles and higher close deal rates. As sales prospects feel heard rather than sold to, you create stronger customer relationships that boost sales over time.

Sales mirroring aligns with value-based selling. While traditional selling focuses on features, value-based selling is about understanding customer needs. It focuses on understanding customer needs and communicating in a way that resonates with them.

According to Pipedrive’s state of sales and marketing, 36% of sales professionals believe value-based selling will impact sales strategies in the future.

When you mirror your prospects, you create comfort that encourages them to share more. They reveal pain points, priorities and objectives they might otherwise keep hidden. Matching their communication style helps you sell based on their needs, not your products.

Sales mirroring techniques for different situations

In-person meetings allow you to mirror prospects across words, tone and body language. However, sales mirroring can be challenging when you can’t see your prospect face-to-face.

Each communication channel offers different opportunities. The right mirroring approach will help you connect with prospects, regardless of circumstances or your communication style. Here’s how to use sales mirroring for different channels.

In-person meetings

Face-to-face meetings provide the best sales opportunity to apply mirroring techniques. You can use all the dimensions of mirroring (e.g., voice, tone and body language).

Body language is most relevant for in-person meetings. You can notice and respond to physical cues that aren’t visible in other channels.

Here are some key strategies for in-person mirroring:

• Match posture. If your prospect sits with their back straight and hands on the table (formal), adopt a similar posture. For prospects with legs stretched and arms spread wide (casual), mirror this relaxed position. Wait several seconds before mirroring these gestures. If you do it instantly, it can appear insincere and forced.

• Use industry terminology. Listen for technical terms or jargon your prospect uses, especially when discussing pain points. Weave these terms naturally into your responses without overusing them.

• Adapt the speaking pace. If your prospect speaks quickly and enthusiastically, increase your energy. For methodical prospects, slow down and incorporate strategic pauses after key points.

• Reflect gestures. Notice the hand movements your prospect uses when making important points. Incorporate similar (but not identical) movements when speaking.

• Mirror eye contact patterns. Pay attention to how your prospect uses eye contact. If they maintain steady eye contact, do the same. If they periodically glance away during conversation, incorporate similar patterns.

Notice how your mirroring changes throughout longer in-person meetings. Comfort levels increase as conversations develop. Your mirroring should become less conscious and more fluid.

Video calls

You can still use all types of mirroring in video meetings – with limitations. Prospects can only see your face and upper body, so you’ll have to emphasize your facial expressions and upper body language while relying heavily on words and tone.

According to McKinsey, in 2021, approximately two-thirds of buyers preferred remote human interactions or digital self-service. Since buyers prefer virtual meetings over face-to-face interactions, the shift toward digital selling has become the new standard.

Mirroring techniques can help you stand out in on-screen sales conversations.

Here are some strategies for video call mirroring:

Video calls need stronger mirroring than in-person meetings. The screen creates distance, so your matching needs to be more noticeable while still feeling natural.

Phone conversations

During phone calls, you miss the visual cues completely. You’ll have to rely on words and tone mirroring without visual feedback.

There’s a gap between what sales reps think they’re delivering and what customers experience. In fact, 62% of sales reps say they listen to prospects’ needs, but 83% of buyers with negative experiences say this wasn’t their experience.

In light of this discrepancy, your word choice and ability to show customers you’re listening become especially important on the phone.

For example, you might think you’re actively listening to how a prospect describes their challenge. You might nod along with what they’re saying (which the prospect can’t see). However, when you immediately move to pitching the solution, the prospect feels unheard.

Instead, you want to show you understand their specific situation. Start by repeating or rephrasing what you heard.

Former FBI negotiator Chris Voss explains that his mirroring technique is simpler than most people think:

Here are a few ideas for strengthening mirroring techniques on the phone:

Take notes of your prospect’s vocabulary and communication style.

• How do they transition between topics? Use similar transition phrases.

• How do they typically greet you on calls? Mirror their greeting style.

• Do they prefer getting straight to business or starting with small talk? Follow their conversation structure.

For tone, focus on your pace, volume and energy. Phone mirroring techniques rely not only on what you say but also on how you say it.

Mirror their speech patterns and use of emphasis. Do they emphasize through volume, elongating words or pitch changes? Also, track their energy levels throughout the call and follow a similar pattern.

Email and written communications

Written communication may be one of the easiest ways to mirror. Unlike in-person meetings, video and phone calls, you don’t have the pressure of instant back-and-forth. You can take your time to plan the best way to respond to your prospect.

For this, note the other person’s writing style (e.g., professional, casual, humorous) and mirror it appropriately. You don’t want to be overly professional when your prospect sends you a friendly email.

Match their level of personal vs. professional content. Some people include personal touches in their emails, while others stay on business topics. Mirror their use of humor, analogies, metaphors or even emojis (if appropriate).

Also, pay attention to communication patterns beyond the message itself. Use your sales calendar to track when specific customers typically respond and adjust your timing to match. For instance:

• If they respond to emails immediately, prioritize quicker replies

• If they take their time to respond, allow for similar delays between messages

You don’t want your prospect to feel like you’re making them wait or pressuring them to reply.

If it’s your first time contacting a prospect, you may be unsure of their writing style. In this case, start with a formal yet friendly approach. When they reply, match their communication style.

Common sales mirroring mistakes to avoid

Sometimes, sales mirroring can damage rapport-building. Misapplied techniques can seem manipulative or awkward, creating distrust at critical points in the customer journey.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when using mirroring techniques in sales.

Mirroring too obviously

Copying your prospect’s body language and behaviors immediately and exactly can feel unnatural. Instead, you should subtly mirror their behavior with slight delays.

Even though the concept of mirroring is self-explanatory, you don’t want to do it to the last detail. Prospects notice when you mirror them too obviously and become uncomfortable.

Mirroring inappropriate language or behaviors

Certain behaviors can damage your professional image and credibility. While sales mirroring aims to build a connection, you must maintain professional standards. You should avoid mirroring:

Also, avoid mirroring negative body language, such as crossed arms or impatient gestures, that will make you come off as defensive or frustrated.

Trying to mirror too many elements at once

Focus on mirroring one or two aspects of communication at a time. Attempting to mirror every word, tone or gesture feels mechanical and divides your attention.

Begin with simple elements, such as speaking pace and energy levels. When you’ve made progress on these, change to more complex mirroring tactics.

5 steps to practice sales mirroring

While mirroring should be natural and authentic, it may require practice. You can’t control every signal you send, and much of body language is unconscious.

The harder you try to manage every aspect of your communication, the more unnatural you’ll appear. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t practice and improve your mirroring skills.

The following framework will help you develop your mirroring skills until they become second nature. Use them to learn how to apply these techniques in low-risk environments before applying them with real prospects.

Step 1: start with observation

Before copying gestures or repeating words, develop your observation skills through active listening. Notice not only what people say and do, but also the patterns in their communication style.

What to observe:

• Topic-based shifts. Notice how their style changes between subjects. Some prospects speak slowly about technical details but speed up during small talk.

• Dominant communication elements. Identify if they communicate through words, tone or body language more often. Some prospects barely move but use precise language. Others gesture a lot but speak more generally.

• Verbal patterns. Listen for phrases they repeat, industry jargon or transition words they favor (“essentially”, “fundamentally”, “the thing is”).

Step 2: practice with colleagues

Unnatural mirroring in customer interactions could cost sales. Practicing with colleagues allows you to experiment and refine your techniques.

The feedback will help you identify what feels natural versus what looks forced. Possible practice exercises include:

• Role-play of sales scenarios

• Record practice sessions (with permission) to review your mirroring

• Mirror exaggerated styles to make patterns easier to identify

• Take turns being the mirror and the observed

Step 3: apply one technique at a time

Don’t try to mirror everything at once, which can lead to awkward and mechanical interactions. Instead, start by developing one technique before combining them.

Here’s how you can build your skills progressively:

• Week 1 – Focus on matching the speaking pace

• Week 2 – Add vocabulary mirroring while maintaining pace-matching

• Week 3 – Incorporate basic postural mirroring

• Week 4 – Include tone and energy matching

Step 4: gather feedback

Without feedback, it’s difficult to know if your practice sessions are working. Here are a few ways to get some insights into how you’re doing:

If a trusted colleague is joining you on a customer call, ask them to observe your interactions and provide feedback.

If you record sales calls, review the recordings to see whether your communication style matches your prospect’s.

• Do your efforts seem forced or natural?

• Are there any specific improvements you should apply?

• Did your customer feel understood or uncomfortable?

Take notes about the technique applied, the prospect’s reaction and your comfort level. Documenting will help you understand what worked and what didn’t rather than relying on memory.

Step 5: refine and personalize

Effective mirroring feels authentic because it aligns with your natural style. The final step is adapting techniques to fit your personality and strengths as part of your sales strategy.

First, identify which mirroring techniques feel most natural to you. A good way to understand this is to notice the type of prospects with whom you connect easily. Common prospect types include:

• Analytical types. Those who communicate with precision and focus on details. They speak methodically with minimal gestures and an even vocal tone.

• Expressive types. Those who communicate with enthusiasm and focus on the big picture. They speak quickly and use frequent gestures and facial expressions.

• Driver types. Those who communicate directly and focus on efficiency. They have a strong posture, use some gestures and prefer brief conversations.

• Amicable types. Those who communicate warmly and focus on relationship building. They speak in a friendly way and display open body language.

Once you’ve identified which you naturally connect with and which require more conscious effort to mirror, create specialized approaches for challenging personality types.

How to use Pipedrive to refine your sales mirroring

You can use Pipedrive’s CRM as a customer data platform to document, analyze and improve your sales mirroring over time. Effective sales reps document sales activities and customer patterns to build stronger relationships.

Documenting customer communication preferences

With Pipedrive’s labels and notes, you can record your prospect’s communication patterns. Create labels or custom fields for communication style preferences like:

• Speaking pace (e.g., fast, medium, slow)

• Formality level (e.g., casual, moderate, formal)

• Preferred communication channel (e.g., phone, video, email)

After each interaction, update these fields based on your observations.

In the notes section of your lead details, you can describe the contact’s communication style or body language. These notes can help you and other sales team members with future interactions.

Planning before important calls

Before important sales calls, review your Pipedrive notes on the prospect’s communication preferences. Create call scripts or talking points that incorporate words or phrases they commonly use.

After a sales conversation, update your Pipedrive records accordingly. Note which mirroring techniques were effective. Be specific about what worked well and what got negative feedback.

Analyzing patterns in successful conversations

Sales reporting features allow you to spot patterns in your successful deals. Create labels for different mirroring techniques or for specific communication styles.

Review your sales data from successful sales and analyze their similarities. You can identify which approaches work best with different prospect types from your notes.

Did prospects who preferred direct communication close more quickly? Did technical buyers respond better to detailed explanations? The patterns help refine your mirroring strategy for prospects with similar profiles.

Sales mirroring FAQs

Final thoughts

Sales mirroring transforms awkward conversations into meaningful connections. By matching your prospect’s communication style, you create trust that leads to stronger sales relationships.

Start with careful observation, focus on one technique at a time and practice in low-risk situations. Document what works in Pipedrive to build a personalized mirroring approach that feels natural to you and your prospects.

Sign up for a free trial to see how Pipedrive can help you track communication preferences and develop mirroring skills that close more deals.

The better you understand your customers, the easier it is to sell to them. For small businesses with limited time and resources, knowing exactly what their buyers need helps them tailor pitches and close deals faster.

In this guide, you’ll learn the different types of customer needs and how to spot them early. You’ll discover how to build a more customer-centric sales strategy and leverage customer needs to grow your business.

What are customer needs?

Understanding customer needs means you can position your product as the right solution.

In B2B sales especially, identifying customer expectations is critical because purchasing decisions involve multiple stakeholders and provide longer-term value.

The four main types of customer needs are:

• Functional needs. These are practical requirements. For example, a small tech business might need a scalable customer relationship management (CRM) system to track leads. In finance, a firm might look for software that automates compliance management.

• Emotional needs are personal drivers. For example, a sales manager might want the peace of mind that comes from having complete visibility into their team’s sales pipeline.

• Social needs. These are related to perception. A manufacturing company might adopt high-quality automation software to demonstrate operational capabilities to potential partners.

• Process or service needs. These are about solution delivery. For example, a small IT consultancy might value 24/7 technical customer service more than advanced features.

When you know the above needs, you can meet them directly and provide a better customer experience. By giving buyers what they’re looking for, you’ll shorten the sales cycle and build lasting customer relationships.

How to identify and meet customer needs in 5 steps

To meet customer needs, you first have to recognize them. That means asking better questions, listening closely and knowing what to look for.

Here’s how to conduct an effective customer needs assessment.

1. Map out the needs of existing customers

Analyze your existing customers’ reasons for buying to find patterns on which to position your brand. Understanding these needs highlights the problems your product solves and why people choose it over other options.

Start your customer needs analysis by identifying your best-fit customers. Look for buyers who:

• Closed quickly with minimal friction

• Continue using your product or service successfully

• Have provided positive feedback or referred others

Next, uncover and assess what each customer was looking for. Review emails, sales calls and notes – anything that gives you clues about their motivations.

A CRM system like Pipedrive lets you pull customer data (like win/loss reasons and customer-specific notes) from your deals and activities.

Summarize your findings into a short list of top customer needs. Here are four examples of customer motivations from a fictional tech startup looking to buy CRM software:

This list will become the foundation for how you talk about your product. Don’t worry if you don’t have much data yet – even a small sample will help you get closer to what matters to your most loyal customers.

2. Build customer personas for better targeting

The next step is to create a few customer profiles so that you can speak to each customer more consistently in your sales and marketing.

Customer personas are simple snapshots of your core customer types. Focus on who they are, what they’re trying to solve and what helps them move forward.

Here are the main components of a customer profile and why they matter:

Small businesses should ideally aim for 2–4 distinct buyer personas. Focus on your most common customer types and refine them as you learn more.

Use the customer motivations from your research to fill out each persona. Here’s an example of a tech buyer persona for a company selling CRM software (based on the example motivations outlined in the last step):

Keep your personas light – clarity is the goal. A half-page summary gives your team something they can easily refer to when writing emails, running demos and answering questions.

3. Use conversations and research to dig deeper

Ask the right questions to uncover the specifics that drive each deal forward. While personas give you a powerful starting point, they only hint at what customers want.

Conversations are helpful, whether you’re speaking with new leads, long-time customers or sales prospects who didn’t convert. You can determine the “why” behind their decisions and improve your sales strategy accordingly.

Instead of asking surface-level questions like “What are you looking for?”, shift to open-ended prompts like:

• What’s not working about your current setup?

• What triggered you to start looking for a solution now?

• What’s the most frustrating part of your sales process right now?

• Are you trying to solve this for yourself or someone else (like your manager or client)?

You can also spot deeper needs by listening for patterns. For example:

These questions help you uncover context to match your solution to real customer needs.

Surveys are another effective way to direct customer feedback on the user experience and establish what your target audience values most. You may also discover unmet needs that could inform new product or service features.

Use short customer surveys to measure customer satisfaction and find new opportunities across your customer base.

Ask open-ended questions like, “What was the biggest challenge before using our product?” or “What would make this easier to use?”

4. Adjust your messaging according to your findings

Use what you’ve learned to update how you talk about your product. Small messaging changes can significantly affect how customers respond, engage and convert.

Start with small changes that focus on how you frame your offer.

Many small businesses focus too heavily on just features (“Here’s what we offer”) without addressing needs (“Here’s what it helps you solve”). Customers might respond better when they hear solutions to their problems.

Here are different ways you can frame your messaging according to your audience:

Once you’ve adjusted the framing, refine how you deliver the message. Some customers want you to get straight to the point, while others respond better to warmth and reassurance.

Try testing direct language against something more supportive or empathetic:

• Clear and direct. Builds authority and momentum for no-nonsense buyers who value speed and clarity. For example, “Track sales tasks, send proposals and follow up – all from one interface”.

• Supportive and empathetic. Builds trust with uncertain buyers and reduces hesitation. For example, “If admin work keeps piling up, we’ll help you stay ahead without the stress”.

The way you ask someone to act also matters. Match the tone and urgency to the buyer’s stage of decision-making.

Here are a few ways to experiment with different calls to action (CTAs):

These minor adjustments can help you turn what customers have told you into sharper messaging that reflects their needs. However, you won’t know which message works best until you test it.

5. Test and refine your insights with real customer data

After you change your messaging or sales tactics, check if your findings hold up in real situations. What customers say isn’t always what drives sales – sometimes they’re uncertain or find it hard to explain precisely what they’re looking for.

Start by reviewing 5–10 recent customer interactions. These could be sales deals you closed or prospects who showed interest but didn’t follow through.

For each one, note:

• What the customer said they were looking for

• What questions or concerns they raised

• What happened next – did they buy, ask for a demo or disappear?

Then, look for simple patterns. Did conversations stall when pricing came up? Were particular needs (like simplicity or key features) more likely to lead to a sale?

Here are two customer needs example scenarios for a tech business trying to sell its software:

A/B testing also helps you compare different ways of talking about your solution and assess which marketing tactics and messaging perform best.

To run a simple A/B test:

1. Choose one part of your message to test – a headline, sales pitch, email subject line, CTA or social media messaging

2. Create two versions – use your original phrasing in one and new copy that reflects a different need, benefit or tone in the other

3. Show each version to a similar group of customers or leads – split your email list or alternate the versions in upcoming sales calls

4. Track what happens next – monitor whether more people reply or move forward with a decision for either option

Start with a few small tests. If one version consistently drives higher customer engagement or closes more deals, that’s a clear path to profitability.

How to track and deliver on customer needs with Pipedrive

Pipedrive’s sales CRM helps you track and act on customer needs from first contact to deal closing. It makes it easy to record specific needs, personalize follow-ups and spot patterns to boost sales.

Here’s how to set Pipedrive up and use it in your day-to-day work to determine client requirements.

1. Create a custom field to capture the main customer need

Start by creating a custom field you can apply to any deal record. Here, you’ll log the buyer’s primary goal or pain point to make it more visible to team members throughout the entire sales cycle.

Go to Settings > Data fields and click + Custom field.

Name the field “Primary customer need”, then add options like “Save time” that reflect the most common customer needs you encounter.

2. Use notes and activity history to add context

Pipedrive’s deal view includes a complete timeline of notes, calls and emails for each of your sales leads.

Here’s what you can do with each component:

• Use notes to capture key details from your conversations to track what each lead cares about

• Log each call and add summaries to spot common objections or repeated questions

• Review email threads to see which messages drive engagement

Use the deal view to capture context from sales conversations and inform your strategy.

After each meeting, add a short note summarizing what matters to that customer. For example, “Wants something simple – last tool needed too much setup”. This way, your team will always know what to expect if they take over that deal.

3. Tag deals with labels for added flexibility

Some customers have multiple priorities or specific buying conditions (like pricing concerns and urgency). Pipedrive’s labels let you quickly flag these nuances without cluttering your deal view or creating too many extra fields.

Use labels to highlight things like:

• “Urgent timeline” – deals with tight deadlines

• “High-touch” – prospects that need more guidance or personal contact

• “Needs integrations” – customers asking about technical compatibility

• “Price-sensitive” – leads likely to push back on cost

Labels appear on each deal card, so you can quickly scan your pipeline and determine who needs extra attention.

4. Build reports to see which needs convert best

Once you identify customer needs, use Pipedrive’s Insights tool to see which ones convert more. You can create reports to answer questions like:

• Which customer needs close deals faster?

• Are sales deals with certain needs more likely to stall?

• What need types are linked to higher-value deals?

To build a report, go to Insights > + Create and choose Report from the drop-down menu.

Select a sales metric report type like deal Performance or Duration, and use your primary need custom field as a breakdown category.

Use these reports to optimize your messaging and focus on what converts best.

You may also find trends you can leverage for better product development decisions.

For instance, say “Save time” is a common need you’ve tagged in your CRM. Time-sensitive deals close 30% faster, which tells you these buyers need an urgent fix and see your product as a quick solution.

It shows that your time-saving features resonate strongly. Highlighting their benefits in your marketing content and messaging could help you close similar deals faster.

5. Use integrations and AI to uncover deeper customer insights

Pipedrive connects with many apps that discover buying signals and predict customer intent. Here are some of the integrations available in the Pipedrive Marketplace:

• Pano. Pipedrive’s Pano integration shows which contacts are active and whether their interest is shifting. It pulls signals from email opens and website visits to help spot purchasing intent.

• Decide AI for CRM. Helps you predict customer behaviors. You can track intent signals from your site or emails and adjust your outreach based on who shows real buying interest.

• Sherlock. Score and segment leads based on how they interact with your product or service in real time. Sherlock helps sales teams see when a customer is actively engaging, so you can follow up with hot leads at the right time.

Additionally, use Pipedrive’s built-in AI tools to prioritize key deals and improve customer retention over time.

Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant highlights at-risk deals, suggests your next best actions or flags deals that are stalling.

The prompts keep stakeholders on track without manually digging for valuable insights.

Pipedrive’s built-in AI email writer helps you respond faster with context-aware suggestions for each deal.

Its summarization functionality analyzes your email conversation history to uncover buyer sentiment and intent. Then, the email assistant crafts customer-centric responses using relevant details – helping you reply promptly to convert quickly.

Final thoughts

Tracking customer needs helps you tailor conversations, overcome objections and build momentum. The better you understand your customers, the faster you can move deals forward.

Pipedrive gives you the tools to capture and act on those insights at every stage. Start your 14-day free trial and see how Pipedrive can turn your customer needs into closed deals.

Getting new customers is one of the hardest parts of running a B2B business. Long sales cycles, hard-to-reach decision-makers and rising costs make customer acquisition feel like an uphill climb.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to build a simple B2B customer acquisition strategy that works in today’s market. We’ll cover the top channels, key sales tactics for 2025 and the metrics that matter most.

What is B2B customer acquisition?

B2B customer acquisition is the process of attracting and converting new business customers.

It involves marketing and sales teams working together to move sales prospects through the funnel, from first touch to final purchase.

The process is longer and more complex than in B2C, often requiring multiple touchpoints and engagement with several stakeholders.

Customer acquisition typically includes a mix of:

• Inbound marketing

• Outbound marketing

• Search engine optimization (SEO)

• Email marketing

• Social media marketing campaigns

• Paid advertising (e.g., Google Ads, LinkedIn, retargeting)

• Sales outreach and cold calling

• Webinars and events

• Content marketing (e.g., blogs, reports, videos)

• Account-based marketing (ABM)

The exact mix of channels you should use depends on your business goals, ideal customer profile (ICP) and which sales tactics have historically driven the best results.

For example, a medium-sized SaaS company with strong LinkedIn engagement might focus on building trust and awareness through employee posts and thought leadership content from its C-level executives.

On the other hand, another SaaS might focus on SEO and publish a lot of high-quality, in-depth content to drive qualified B2B leads.

In both cases, success comes down to alignment. When your messaging, channels and outreach are built around your target audience’s needs, your acquisition efforts are more likely to convert.

Why so many companies struggle with B2B customer acquisition

Even with the right tools and a solid product, many B2B companies still struggle to turn interest into action. The problem isn’t always the market; it’s often the strategy.

Sales cycles are getting longer. According to Databox, it takes more than two months to close an average B2B deal. For SaaS companies, it’s closer to 2.5 months.

Sales cycle length directly impacts the B2B SaaS customer acquisition cost and the resources needed to keep leads moving.

There’s also been a shift in how buying decisions get made. A study by Wynter found the average B2B deal now includes five decision-makers. And by the time a buyer is ready to engage, 78% have narrowed their list to just three vendors.

If you’re not on that shortlist, you don’t get the meeting.

Without a clear, focused B2B customer acquisition strategy, it’s easy to get lost in the noise before you even get the chance to pitch.

How to build a B2B customer acquisition strategy

There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook for winning new customers. A strong strategy starts with knowing who you’re targeting, how they buy and which channels move the needle.

Here’s how to set your foundation.

Define your ICP and buyer personas

The first step in building a solid B2B customer acquisition strategy is knowing exactly who you’re selling to.

Create an ideal customer profile (ICP) based on company size, industry, location and the decision-maker’s job title.

Here is an example of an ICP for a B2B SaaS company.

Once you know the type of business you’re selling to, build buyer personas for those involved in the buying process. Buyer personas help shape your messaging, content and outreach to match what each person cares about most.

For example, let’s say you’re targeting a marketing agency. Key personas could include:

• The managing director who wants growth and better pipeline visibility

• The sales lead who needs automation and faster follow-up

• The head of marketing who’s focused on lead quality and campaign performance

Below is an example of a buyer persona for a sales manager:

With these details in place, you can communicate your value proposition at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Speaking to a specific buyer makes it more likely they’ll engage and convert.

Understand the B2B customer journey

The B2B customer journey includes every step a prospect takes from learning about your business to becoming a paying customer.

It’s not always a straight line, but there are two main stages of lead management to focus on: lead generation and lead nurturing.

Lead generation is about getting on your buyer’s radar. You might get their attention through a blog post, a LinkedIn ad or a webinar.

At this stage, your marketing strategy should focus on visibility and value. Educational content, SEO and social media are great ways to attract potential customers who match your ICP.

Lead nurturing kicks in after someone shows interest. Once you’ve got their attention, you can build trust and help decision-makers move forward.

Use follow-up emails, whitepapers, retargeting ads and demos to answer questions and guide them through the sales funnel.

For example, here’s how a small IT support provider might target mid-sized manufacturers looking to outsource help desk operations.

1. A visitor downloads a guide on reducing downtime through proactive monitoring

2. The contact is added to a follow-up sequence

3. Over the next two weeks, they receive an email lead nurturing series, a client success story and an offer for a free network audit

The goal of each touchpoint is to build trust, confidence and eventually encourage conversation.

Understanding the buyer’s journey helps you meet potential customers where they are and move them forward with the right content, tools and timing.

Choose the right marketing channels

The right marketing channels support strong lead qualification and drive real revenue. A multichannel approach can work well, but only if it’s data-driven. Focus your time and budget on what’s proven to convert.

Review where your best leads come from. Look at conversion rates, lead quality and the time it takes for those leads to move through the sales funnel.

Channels like Google Ads, email marketing or LinkedIn might all play a role, but your mix should be shaped by what’s actually delivering results.

For example, a financial advisory firm might see most of its high-quality leads come from referral traffic and in-person events. Rather than invest heavily in social ads, they focus their marketing efforts on developing sales referral techniques and running webinars.

Stay flexible. Your highest-performing channels today may shift over time as customer behavior changes.

Track performance regularly. Double down on what’s working and don’t be afraid to drop channels that aren’t moving the needle.

When every channel clearly plays a role in your strategy, your acquisition efforts become more focused, efficient and scalable.

9 B2B customer acquisition tactics and channels to try in 2025

The smartest B2B companies focus on the tactics that move leads through the funnel and fit how their buyers want to engage.

Below are nine proven tactics and marketing channels to help you attract high-quality leads, build trust and close more deals.

1. LinkedIn: the best place for B2B brand building

LinkedIn remains the top social platform for B2B companies in 2025.

With over 1.2 billion members and 1.77 billion monthly visits, the site gives sales and marketing teams direct access to the people who influence decision-making.

LinkedIn is especially strong for targeting and engagement. Nearly half of B2B marketers say the social site is their most valuable platform, and 86% use it for digital marketing.

For example, Exit Five, the B2B marketing community led by Dave Gerhardt, has used LinkedIn as a PR channel to grow its reach and build its following to 73,000 and paid memberships to over 5,000.

By consistently posting insights and engaging with other marketers, Exit Five has built an audience and generated business without spending heavily on ads.

2. Email marketing: still delivering strong ROI

Despite the explosion of new channels like TikTok over the last few years, email remains one of the highest ROI tools in B2B marketing. It’s direct, flexible and easy to personalize.

That said, not all industries see the same results. According to Litmus, travel and tourism companies report ROI as high as 53:1, while software and tech companies see lower returns.

Here are a few things to keep in mind to make emails work:

• Email frequency. Too few or too many can hurt performance. The sweet spot is 5–8 emails per month.

• Email list size. Bigger lists tend to deliver higher ROI. Focus on growing your list alongside sending campaigns.

• A/B testing. The more you test, the better your results. Try split testing subject lines, content formats like case studies and your CTAs with every send.

For larger teams, email supports large-scale outreach, ABM campaigns and multi-touch nurture programs across complex sales cycles.

For SMBs, it’s a cost-effective way to stay top of mind and build personalized relationships.

One great example comes from Submission Technology, a lead generation agency. The company combines advanced list segmentation with ongoing A/B testing, fine-tuning its messaging based on real engagement data.

In one campaign, they saw a 31.14% open rate and a 5.3% click-through rate. These results are well above industry benchmarks, with open rates 69% higher than average.

Submission Technology also segmented lists by traits like gender or subscriber status (new vs. returning) so they could deliver more relevant content, increasing engagement and deliverability.

3. Account-based marketing (ABM): personalize to grow your pipeline

The average buyer sees hundreds of marketing messages a day. It’s no surprise that 82% of SaaS marketing leaders say breaking through is harder now than it was a few years ago.

ABM flips the script on the traditional marketing funnel. Instead of casting a wide net, you start with a carefully selected list of high-value accounts, then build personalized messaging and experiences around each one.

It works because it’s specific. Research from Momentum ITSMA shows most ABM programs drive real business impact, including pipeline and revenue growth.

A great example comes from subscription management platform RevenueCat.

They built a personalized ABM campaign that targeted key decision-makers at mobile app companies. Visitors from target accounts saw personalized headlines, content and calls to action based on their company details.

RevenueCat saw a 30% increase in demo requests and a 75% lift in conversion rates from their priority accounts.

Done well, ABM sharpens your messaging and accelerates deals with the accounts that matter most.

4. Influencer marketing: trusted voices drive results

Influencer marketing isn’t just for consumer brands anymore. In 2025, it’s become a core part of the B2B customer acquisition strategy.

According to recent industry data, 75% of B2B companies are already using influencer marketing.

B2B buyers trust people more than logos. The key is partnering with the right voices – industry experts, creators or consultants who have credibility with your target audience.

These aren’t high-follower “celebrities”, but niche thought leaders who regularly speak to your ideal customer.

Here are some tips on how to build an effective B2B influencer marketing plan:

• Start with your ICP. Identify the people your buyers already follow. Look for creators with reach inside your ideal industries, company sizes and roles.

• Choose the right platforms. LinkedIn, YouTube and niche newsletters are often more effective than mass platforms.

• Pick the right format. Consider what’s most useful to your audience: webinars, social posts, podcast interviews, guest blog content or co-branded assets.

• Make it valuable, not promotional. Focus on education or insight, not a product pitch. The goal is to build credibility and trust.

• Track impact. Monitor engagement, demo requests, inbound lead quality and influence on deal velocity to measure success.

A great example is Devin Reed, former Head of Content at Gong. With over 91,000 followers on LinkedIn, Devin shares weekly posts on storytelling, content strategy and revenue leadership.

He rarely talks about tools directly, but when he does, it works because the tool is relevant to his audience and he frames the post around a story or pain point that’s relevant to them.

Take the example below, where Devin is promoting Notion:

When you collaborate with the right people and focus on delivering real value, your brand becomes part of conversations that matter.

5. Interactive demos: convert interest into action

Modern B2B buyers don’t want to book a sales call just to see how your product works. They want to explore it on their own terms.

That’s why interactive product demos are becoming one of the most effective tools in B2B.

Navattic’s State of the Interactive Product Demo 2025 report shows that companies using interactive demos see a 20–25% lift in website conversion rates. These demos reduce friction in the sales funnel by showing value up front and helping qualify leads before a rep even reaches out.

One company implementing these demos is Ramp, a finance automation platform. Using Navattic, the company added a self-guided product tour to its website.

Since launch, interactive demos have contributed 15% of all leads collected through Ramp’s site. More importantly, Ramp reports a significantly higher conversion rate among prospects who complete the demo.

These increases prove that buyers who experience the product early are more likely to become customers.

6. Paid advertising: fast-track awareness and lead generation

Paid advertising continues to be one of the fastest ways to reach your target audience. It’s especially important for businesses entering new markets, launching new products or trying to generate quick results.

According to Statista, global advertising spending reached $791.61 billion in 2024, with digital ads accounting for 70% of that total. The momentum isn’t slowing down.

Google alone is forecast to generate $340 billion in ad revenue by 2027, holding its spot as the top channel for digital ad investment.

For B2B companies, paid media still works because it’s measurable, scalable and precise.

Whether using Google Ads to capture high-intent searches or running LinkedIn campaigns to target specific job titles and industries, paid advertising allows you to control your reach and message at every funnel stage.

Here’s how to approach paid advertising in 2025:

• Start with intent-based targeting. Focus on keywords or audiences that show buyer intent. For Google Ads, this means bottom-of-funnel terms like “best CRM for agencies” or “compare pricing CRM tools”.

• Choose the right platform for your audience. Use LinkedIn for job title targeting, Google for search intent and retargeting platforms to stay top of mind.

• Use dedicated landing pages. Drive ad traffic to tailored pages that match the messaging in your ad and include a clear, relevant CTA.

• Test and iterate often. A/B test headlines, visuals and CTAs to improve conversion rates. Start with smaller budgets and scale what’s working.

• Track CAC and ROI from day one. Monitor cost-per-lead, conversion rates and customer acquisition cost to stay efficient.

When done well, paid ads help fill pipeline gaps, support ABM campaigns and amplify organic marketing efforts by quickly getting your message in front of decision-makers.

7. Gifting: stand out in a crowded digital space

Gifting has emerged as one of the most effective ways to cut through digital noise and connect with decision-makers personally.

According to a study from Coresight Research, the corporate gifting market is projected to hit $312 billion by the end of 2025. This market growth is being driven by B2B companies looking for new ways to build trust and improve response rates.

Gifting works because it taps into psychology. It’s unexpected, thoughtful and human. Whether it’s a personalized coffee gift, a branded swag box or a donation on a lead’s behalf, the right gift can create a memorable touchpoint that gets your message noticed.

For example, Verkada, a cloud-based building security platform, used gifting to boost pipeline growth and win over hard-to-reach accounts.

They launched a targeted outreach campaign that combined personalized gifts with direct mail and email follow-ups. One of their standout campaigns included sending prospects a YETI mug with a custom note before booking meetings.

Verkada’s gifting campaigns drove 300% ROI and increased response rates across their top enterprise accounts. More importantly, the approach helped build rapport with decision-makers and move conversations forward faster.

Gifting adds a human layer to your acquisition efforts and gives your brand a better shot at expanding its customer base with qualified, engaged buyers.

8. SEO: rethink visibility in the age of AI

SEO is still a powerful content marketing strategy for customer acquisition. How it works, however, is changing fast.

The rise of AI-powered search, like Google’s AI Overviews, is reshaping how users interact with content. More users now get their answers directly from summaries at the top of the search results, often without clicking through to a page. This shift in search behavior has led to a noticeable drop in top-of-funnel traffic for many websites.

That doesn’t mean SEO lead generation is dead. It just means the strategy needs to change.

Today’s winning strategies are about visibility, credibility and intent alignment. The strategies are less about chasing high-volume keywords and more about answering specific questions, creating trust signals and structuring content to show up in AI summaries.

Here’s how to build an SEO strategy that works in the AI era:

• Write for AI snippets. Structure content with clear subheadings, bullet points and direct answers. These formats are more likely to be pulled into AI summaries.

• Answer TOFU questions. Even if clicks are lower, top-of-funnel (TOFU) queries still drive awareness. Cover common pain points and industry FAQs to stay visible in early research.

• Lean into subject matter expertise. Google’s EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals matter more than ever. Involve internal experts or executives in your content to increase credibility.

• Balance AI and human input. Use AI tools to scale research, outlines or drafts – but layer your brand voice with unique POV and real-world examples to stand out.

• Focus on conversion-first pages. Prioritize landing pages, feature comparisons and intent-driven keywords that convert, even if they bring in less traffic overall.

9. Sales outreach: still essential, and now smarter with AI

Sales outreach is still one of the most direct and effective ways to convert leads into paying customers. In 2025, sales teams are under more pressure to deliver pipeline growth.

According to Outreach’s Sales 2024 report, SDRs (sales development reps) are expected to carry a significant share of the load, especially at larger companies.

• Among all respondents, 26% expect SDRs to generate 31%–40% of pipeline leads

• At companies between $250M–$1B in revenue, 38% expect SDRs to generate 41%–50% of pipeline leads

Despite the pressure, there’s optimism. According to Pipedrive’s State of Sales and Marketing report, 76% of respondents have a positive outlook and believe AI can support their teams in doing better work.

For SDRs, that means smarter outreach, faster qualification and more time spent selling.

Here are a couple of tools to help sales teams work more efficiently.

AI chatbots. Website AI chatbots qualify leads in real time by asking pre-written questions and capturing contact info.

Pipedrive’s lead generation software, LeadBooster, is a great example. It includes an AI chatbot that engages visitors automatically and routes qualified leads to the right rep so your team can follow up while interest is high.

AI-assisted prospecting. Instead of digging through disconnected lists, reps can now use AI tools to surface the best-fit contacts based on criteria like job title, company size or industry.

Pipedrive’s Prospector tool does just that. It helps you discover verified leads directly inside your CRM.

With the help of AI and automation, sales teams can focus less on admin and more on building real conversations with the people who are ready to buy.

Key metrics to measure B2B customer acquisition success

The hard work is all for nothing if you’re not tracking the right metrics. Here are the most important metrics to monitor and how to track them.

Tracking these metrics consistently helps you understand which parts of your sales strategy are working and where to optimize. The goal isn’t just more leads, but better ones that convert faster and stay longer.

How to streamline B2B customer acquisition with Pipedrive

B2B customer acquisition is complex, but the right tools can make it easier. That’s where Pipedrive comes in.

Pipedrive is a CRM tool built for sales and marketing teams at B2B companies of all sizes. It’s trusted by over 100,000 companies to drive new business and improve conversion rates across the sales funnel.

Pipedrive stands out for its ease of use, built-in automation and growing set of AI business development tools that help sales teams do more with less.

Here are a few features designed to make acquisition faster, smarter and more effective:

Find the right leads faster with Smart Contact Data

Smart Contact Data pulls publicly available info about your contacts (like job title, company size and social profiles) so your team can qualify leads without manual research.

This video offers a quick overview of how Smart Contact Data works:

Once you add a new contact, Pipedrive automatically enriches the profile using online sources. This instant data entry helps your sales team prioritize who to contact, personalize messaging and reduce time spent on admin.

For example, if a rep adds a new lead from LinkedIn, Smart Contact Data might reveal the company’s size, revenue and industry. This information gives you instant context before any outreach begins.

See what’s working across your pipeline with Pipedrive Pulse

Pipedrive Pulse gives your team real-time insights into your sales activity. It shows which actions drive results, who’s hitting targets and where leads are getting stuck in the pipeline.

Pulse tracks activity such as calls made, emails sent, deals created and follow-ups logged. The visual dashboard helps sales managers quickly spot what’s working and coach their teams more effectively.

Let’s say a rep is booking many meetings but not closing deals. Pulse might show they’re skipping a key follow-up step. Now you know where to train and where to improve.

Never miss a follow-up with the AI Sales Assistant

The AI Sales Assistant analyzes your activity and suggests smart next steps to keep deals moving. It flags deals at risk of going cold, highlights which contacts to follow up with and even recommends the best times to reach out.

It’s like having a co-pilot for your pipeline. AI Sales Assistant reps stay on track without relying on guesswork.

Watch this quick overview to learn how this tool helps reps stay on track without relying on guesswork:

For example, if a deal hasn’t moved in five days, the AI Assistant might suggest sending a product comparison or scheduling a follow-up call. That kind of proactive prompt helps keep leads engaged and increases win rates.

Write smarter, faster outreach with the AI email writer

Pipedrive’s AI email writer helps reps draft clear, personalized emails in seconds. Just input your goal – like booking a meeting or following up after a demo – and the AI generates a message that’s on-brand and ready to send.

The tool also adapts your tone and pulls in contact data so your outreach feels human, not robotic.

For instance, if a rep wants to follow up after a webinar, they can generate an email that thanks the lead for attending, recaps key takeaways and invites them to book a call.

Final thoughts

B2B customer acquisition is getting harder, but it’s far from impossible.

With a good strategy, smart targeting and the right tools, your team can attract high-quality leads, build trust and turn interest into paying customers.

Pipedrive helps simplify and scale every step of the customer acquisition process. From tracking outreach to optimizing follow-ups, it’s built to support teams focused on complex B2B sales.

Start your free 14-day trial of Pipedrive today, no credit card required.

Marketers can use artificial intelligence to deliver better results with fewer resources. With so many tools available, the challenge lies in finding the right fit.

In this article, you’ll find reviews of nine helpful AI B2B marketing solutions and examples of how to use them. You’ll also learn what AI B2B marketing looks like and how you can overcome some of its biggest challenges.

What is an AI B2B marketing solution?

An AI B2B marketing solution is a digital tool that uses machine learning algorithms, natural language processing and large language models to support or automate marketing tasks for business audiences.

As a result, your AI marketing strategy boosts your B2B sales efforts.

Small business B2B marketing teams can use AI to automate and improve lead generation campaigns. For example, marketing departments can:

AI B2B marketing solutions come in various shapes and sizes. Some, like Pipedrive, are comprehensive and serve many purposes, including smart content production, AI sales forecasting and AI report generation.

Other, more specialized tools serve a single purpose. For instance, Surfer SEO helps B2B marketers with SEO lead generation by improving their Google rankings. It doesn’t improve PPC or social media management activities.

AI tools won’t replace B2B marketers, though. Humans still need to oversee these solutions, proofread and fact-check outputs and create the overarching campaigns.

5 AI B2B marketing solution use cases

AI can support B2B marketers in small business management in dozens of ways, from fighting writer’s block to delivering exceptional customer experiences.

According to Pipedrive’s 2024 State of Sales and Marketing report, 76% of professionals think AI will support them.

Here are five of the most impactful use cases.

1. Accelerate content creation

Generative AI (Gen AI) tools like ChatGPT help overworked B2B marketers create copy and images.

According to Pipedrive’s 2024 State of AI in Business report, 79% of businesses that adopted AI cite its ability to improve productivity as the primary motivation.

Higher productivity means marketing teams with tight budgets can create dozens of go-to-market assets, such as customer stories, case studies, blog posts and email newsletters, without hiring expensive freelancers or agencies.

2. Streamline and automate workflows

AI tools free marketers to focus on more strategic, high-value tasks by automating workflows and time-consuming, repetitive tasks. They help B2B marketers improve time management.

According to Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index, 90% of AI users save time, with 85% saying it helps them focus on tasks.

For example, account-based marketers can use MeetRecord to transcribe sales calls automatically rather than review them individually.

AI-generated briefs help marketers quickly determine customer pain points, eliminating the need to take notes. Automatic transcription also minimizes errors, thereby improving the quality of insights.

3. Forecast future trends or results

CMOs can use AI to predict customer churn and increase retention rates by analyzing user behavior, market trends, transactions and intent data.

Predictive analytics tools run segmentation analysis to classify customer types by identifying signs of churn, such as a decline in product use and an increase in customer service requests.

Once it identifies at-risk buyers, an AI tool creates targeted retention strategies, such as personalized offers, to encourage customer loyalty.

4. Personalize the customer experience

AI technology lets B2B marketers create personalized emails, go-to-market content and other customer interactions at scale using data from past behavior and encounters.

More relevant, tailored communication improves customer engagement, builds trust and increases conversion rates.

For example, marketers can use customer relationship management (CRM) data to send prospects a bespoke outreach message with Pipedrive’s AI email writer.

Automating the personalization process could make the content sound robotic. However, AI helps small business marketers deliver custom messages to more prospects using natural language.

Personalization is critical in today’s marketing – customers now consider it table stakes. You can deliver that tailored, human touch without sacrificing time with AI.

Moreover, McKinsey’s research finds that teams combining generative AI and personalization efforts are 1.7 times more likely to increase market share. Customers will appreciate the customized service, and executives will thank you for helping the bottom line.

5. Automate prospect nurturing

Conversational AI tools nurture leads and customers around the clock, helping B2B companies long after human marketers log off.

For example, brands can use AI chatbots like Tidio’s Lyro AI Agent to engage website visitors automatically. The bot provides detailed responses to common questions using company data and recommends products or services.

Speaking to a robot may not be for every customer, but many will love the convenience and personalized address of an AI-powered chatbot.

What are the top AI B2B marketing solutions?

The B2B AI tool you choose for your small business can determine your success. Use the reviews below to find the right tool for your use case.

1. Pipedrive: best for optimizing marketing and sales processes

Pipedrive is an AI-powered CRM that helps B2B marketers and sales reps streamline, improve and automate various parts of the customer journey.

Here are the tool’s most powerful AI features to support a well-aligned sales and marketing strategy.

AI email writer

Pipedrive’s AI email writer scales outreach efforts by enabling marketers and sales reps to create engaging email marketing messages from a simple prompt.

For instance, use the tool to write a follow-up message to an initial marketing inquiry highlighting your offering and USP. The tool can also personalize emails, using CRM data to address specific pain points or describe a relevant use case.

Prospector

Pipedrive’s AI can find your next customers. Prospector, part of LeadBooster, surfaces potential leads from a database of over 400 million profiles built on buyer personas.

The powerful AI engine updates and verifies up to 800,000 profiles daily to ensure you get accurate and up-to-date contact information.

Campaigns

Use Campaigns as a marketing automation tool to create and manage email marketing campaigns. Craft engaging email templates with a drag-and-drop builder and personalize them using your CRM data.

Campaigns also makes it easy to segment lists and measure your success with email analytics.

Use this information to improve your marketing outreach.

Marketplace and SmartApps

Pipedrive’s AI-powered Marketplace can help you find other AI tools to add to your tech stack. Instead of manually browsing through applications, the SmartApps recommendations automatically suggest relevant tools based on your workflows and behavior.

User opinions

Here’s what Pipedrive customers say about the AI CRM tool:

• Users love the platform’s intuitive and highly visual design

• AI and automation features make users significantly more productive

• Integrations let users save time on context-switching

Price: Plans start at $14 per month when billed annually. There is a 14-day free trial.

2. ChatGPT: best for all-around help

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a generative AI model that uses natural language processing (NLP) techniques to create text based on training data.

ChatGPT’s primary strength is its versatility. It can help overworked B2B marketers with a wide range of tasks.

Imagine a cybersecurity firm’s marketing team wants to promote a new product offering. They can use ChatGPT to:

• Brainstorm content ideas for a new whitepaper

• Write a first draft of the whitepaper and supporting landing pages

• Create images to promote the product on LinkedIn

• Repurpose long-form content into shorter formats for social media and newsletters

• Find relevant publications to cover the story

Here’s an example of ChatGPT’s output when asked to brainstorm content ideas:

The more information you give ChatGPT, the better its output will be. A marketing team could improve the example above by providing the tool with information about the target audience’s pain points.

User opinions

Here’s what ChatGPT customers say about the tool:

• Marketers feel ChatGPT accelerates their content generation process, creating first drafts quickly

• The app is easy to use, and marketers like that they can incorporate it into their daily workflows

• Users find that results sometimes lack novelty, as they can be too general and repetitive

Price: A limited version of ChatGPT is available for free. Plus, Pro, Team and Enterprise plans are also available from $20 per month.

3. Surfer: best for improving organic presence

Surfer is an SEO tool that optimizes marketers’ on-page content to improve Google rankings and attract more organic visitors.

Surfer analyzes the top-ranking pages and tells users which topics to cover, how long the content should be and which keywords marketers should include.

For example, ClickUp used Surfer to aggregate search data and find dozens of ways to improve existing content. With Surfer’s help, ClickUp grew non-branded traffic by 85%.

User opinions

Here’s what Surfer customers say about the tool:

• Surfer reportedly consistently outperforms competing on-page tools

• Users highly rate Surfer’s customer support staff

• Surfer can be expensive, especially for power users

Price: The Essential plan starts at $79 per month, billed annually. The Scale plan costs $175 per month when billed annually. Enterprise pricing is available upon request.

4. Hootsuite: best for organized social media

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that helps B2B marketers schedule posts, monitor engagement and analyze performance across multiple social channels.

Hootsuite has AI tools for every part of the social media marketing process. For example, marketers can create photo captions using a generative AI feature instead of brainstorming from scratch.

They can also use an AI scheduling tool to maximize engagement by finding the right time to post.

Hootsuite also has an AI chatbot that answers customer questions outside office hours.

User opinions

Here’s what Hootsuite customers say about the tool:

• Users find the all-in-one nature of the platform convenient

• AI tools make it easy to automate and optimize social strategies

• The analytics are inconsistent with native platforms

Price: Hootsuite’s Standard plan costs $99 per month, billed annually. The Advanced plan costs $249 per month with annual billing. Custom pricing is available upon request.

5. Canva: best for quick and easy design

Canva is a design platform that lets B2B marketers create graphics, ads and pitch decks by following a simple prompt.

The platform’s AI tool, Magic Studio, turns prompts into professional-quality designs. Marketers can also use it to:

• Expand and resize images

• Remove backgrounds

• Animate designs

For example, technology firm Madwire uses Canva’s AI tools to improve design team productivity, employing Magic Studio to quickly create in-house presentations.

User opinions

Here’s what Canva customers say about the tool:

• Magic Labs makes design accessible to everyone, regardless of skill

• It’s intuitive to use and easy to edit designs

• Some users don’t like the inability to work offline

Price: A limited version of Canva is free to use. Premium plans start at $100 per year.

6. Jasper: best for on-brand content creation

Jasper is an AI content marketing platform for B2B marketers. It allows them to create blog posts, ad copy, product descriptions and social media content that aligns with brand voice guidelines.

Jasper’s Brand Voice feature helps maintain consistency across all content, reducing the need for extensive editing.

For example, the digital adoption platform WalkMe used Jasper to scale its content production, saving over 3,000 hours.

User opinions

Here’s what Jasper customers say about the tool:

• The wide range of templates makes the tool versatile

• Users rate customer support highly

• Some users think the platform has a fairly steep learning curve to get the most from AI features

Price: The Creator plan costs $39 per seat and the Pro plan costs $59 per seat, billed annually.

7. Smartly.io: best for optimizing digital marketing campaigns

Smartly.io is an AI platform that automates ad creation, testing and optimization across digital advertising platforms.

Its creative suite lets marketers automate the ad creation process using generative AI, meaning they can create more ads with fewer resources and no specialized skills.

With Smartly, Uber Freight created 25 unique video ads to attract new truck owners and shippers. Smartly.io’s split test helped them identify the best-performing creative, resulting in a 108% increase in click-through rate and a 43% lower cost-per-click.

User opinions

Here’s what Smartly.io customers say about the tool:

• Users like the level of customer support and the insights the tool can offer

• Campaign management is easy thanks to unified dashboards that blend cross-channel reporting

• The learning curve can be steep, with some users recommending expert help

Price: Smartly charges a percentage of your total media spend.

8. HeyGen: best for unlimited video generation

HeyGen is an AI video generator that uses AI avatars and voice synthesis to convert text into videos.

Marketers can create product explainer videos and demos or deliver personalized video messages to prospects without hiring a production team.

For example, resilience platform Tomorrow.io’s marketing team uses HeyGen to scale personalized content production without increasing its budget.

User opinions

Here’s what HeyGen customers say about the tool:

• Users positively review the platform’s hyper-realistic avatars

• The customer support team is reportedly quick to solve issues

• It can be challenging to find the right tone of voice or to convey the desired emotion

Price: A free plan lets marketers create up to three monthly videos. Paid plans start at $24 per month when billed annually.

9. Fullstory: best for easy-to-implement analytic insights

Fullstory is a behavioral data analysis platform that helps B2B marketers understand how customers interact with websites so they can enhance the user experience.

StoryAI, the platform’s built-in artificial intelligence tool, surfaces insights. Its AI agents can summarize recent sessions, alert you to a drop in conversion rate and tell you where users experience the most friction.

User opinions

Here’s what Fullstory customers say about the tool:

• AI features mean users get insights and avoid having to sit through hours of session replays

• The platform is reportedly easy to use

• The learning curve can be steep, and businesses need to invest a lot of time to set up the platform

Price: Fullstory offers three plans: Business, Advanced and Enterprise. Pricing for all of them is available upon request.

How to compare B2B AI tools

You need a way to compare potential AI tools quickly. The quicker you pick a tool, the sooner you’ll start reaping AI’s benefits.

Evaluate tools for your small business using these criteria:

Shortlist a couple of tools and sign up for a sales demo or free trial to evaluate each one’s functionality. Involve employees to get their opinions and encourage faster adoption.

How to find and implement an AI B2B marketing solution

Successful implementation starts long before you choose an AI tool. Follow these steps to give yourself the best chance of success:

• Assess your needs. Pinpoint the sales and marketing tasks you want to automate or improve using the power of AI. It could be a task you currently struggle with or an outcome you want to achieve. Understanding your needs will focus your search and stop you from getting distracted by tools that don’t serve a purpose.

• Choose the right solution. Use the table above to evaluate various AI tools and find an appropriate system for your business. Use free trials and demos to test each tool’s effectiveness before purchasing.

• Integrate your AI tool with the rest of your tech stack. Integration ensures data flows seamlessly between applications and helps AI tools create relevant and high-quality outputs. For example, connecting your CRM with a generative AI tool lets you personalize a nurturing email using a previously stated pain point.

• Train your team to use AI tools. Marketers who feel confident using AI tools can scale and enhance campaigns effectively. Host an interactive onboarding workshop where you demonstrate the tool’s functionality. Share guides, videos and other support resources to help employees answer questions.

• Monitor the performance of your tool and team. Setting KPIs may not apply if you leverage AI to create content. Instead, hold regular meetings with your team to evaluate your AI tool’s performance and identify ways to improve workflows.

While it might be tempting to implement several AI solutions at once, focus on one tool first. Use what you’ve learned to install future tools more quickly and effectively.

How to overcome common AI B2B marketing challenges

While AI B2B marketing solutions can significantly impact your marketing processes, they aren’t infallible.

Increase the chances of a successful implementation by learning to address the most common AI challenges.

B2B marketers must also accept AI tools’ limitations. While solutions will be well-suited to some tasks, like brainstorming content ideas, they’ll struggle at others, like writing a thought leadership article.

Knowing each tool’s shortcomings will stop employees from getting frustrated and ensure they use them properly.

Final thoughts

The right AI B2B marketing solution will help your team generate more leads without significantly increasing the budget or resources.

Use an AI-powered CRM like Pipedrive to align your sales and marketing activity, personalize outreach messages and predict the likelihood that marketing leads will close. It will save you time and drive more conversions.

Sign up for a free 14-day trial to test how Pipedrive’s AI features can improve your B2B marketing efforts.

Revenue cycle management (RCM) helps maintain a steady cash flow, allowing you to track payments and invoices throughout the customer journey. RCM can also reduce revenue loss, which is crucial for small businesses with limited time and resources to spare.

However, managing an effective revenue cycle can be challenging. Inaccurate invoicing, delayed payments and inefficient collections can disrupt cash flow and strain operations.

In this article, you’ll learn what RCM entails, why it’s important and how to overcome the key challenges. You’ll also see how tools like Pipedrive can simplify and optimize the revenue cycle for better cash flow management.

What is revenue cycle management?

Revenue cycle management involves managing every step of revenue generation – from initial customer interactions to final payment collections. Activities like quoting, sales invoicing, payment processing and resolving billing issues are all part of this process.

Effective RCM keeps cash flow strong, minimizes revenue loss and helps businesses get paid accurately and on time.

Example of a revenue cycle management: healthcare organizations

RCM is a well-known and essential process for healthcare providers. Given the complexity of healthcare services (including insurance claims, copayments, reimbursements and patient care), RCM helps providers get paid on time while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.

Here are the key elements of healthcare revenue cycle management and their definitions:

Does RCM exist outside of healthcare?

RCM is commonly associated with the healthcare industry, but is widely used across other industries. In B2B settings, it’s also known as “revenue management” or “order-to-cash”. The process generally includes:

Here’s how RCM processes exist across other sectors:

• SaaS sales and subscription businesses. The process involves handling customer subscriptions, billing cycles, renewals and tracking payments. These businesses often refer to RCM as “subscription management” or “revenue recognition”.

• Professional services firms (like law or consulting). RCM covers client invoicing, tracking project milestones and ensuring timely payment in these industries. It’s often known as “billable hours management” or “project billing”.

• Manufacturing and logistics. For manufacturing companies, RCM involves overseeing customer orders, production schedules, shipping and invoicing. The process also focuses on tracking inventory turnover to maintain a consistent cash flow.

• Education. Schools and universities (especially private institutions) implement RCM to process tuition payments, student accounts and financial aid, ensuring proper invoicing and payment collection.

Regardless of the industry, RCM’s core goal remains the same: to create a predictable, efficient flow of income that supports long-term growth and financial stability.

Why effective revenue cycle management is critical for business success

Effective revenue cycle processes directly impact cash flow, operational efficiency and overall profitability. By streamlining billing, reducing errors and accelerating payment collection, businesses can ensure financial stability and focus on growth.

Here’s a closer look at why RCM is essential for driving business success:

• Improve cash flow and financial stability. A streamlined revenue cycle helps you collect payments efficiently and on schedule. Reducing the time between service delivery and payment receipt improves your cash flow and financial stability.

• Optimize billing accuracy. RCM helps you capture financial data (like invoice amounts and payment due dates) accurately and promptly. This data helps with forecasting, sales budgeting and making other financial decisions.

• Boost customer retention. A well-managed revenue cycle ensures you bill customers correctly and on time, improving their overall experience and potentially increasing retention rates.

• Increase operational efficiency. Effective RCM eliminates bottlenecks and inefficiencies within the billing process, reducing administrative costs and freeing up resources for core business operations.

• Perform accurate financial reporting. RCM helps you capture financial data (like invoice amounts and payment due dates) accurately and promptly. This data helps with forecasting, budgeting and making other financial decisions.

• Minimize the risk of revenue leakage. An effective strategy reduces leakage by improving billing accuracy, ensuring timely collections and addressing discrepancies before they impact cash flow.

Implementing RCM also strengthens overall business performance. The process reduces risks, boosts efficiency and strengthens customer relationships, increasing the chances of long-term success.

5 common challenges of RCM – and how to overcome them

Effective RCM is vital for organizations to stay financially healthy, but it comes with operational and administrative challenges. These challenges can affect cash flow, efficiency and overall profitability.

Here’s a closer look at common issues and how to tackle them:

1. Inaccurate invoicing

Inaccurate invoicing involves errors in the invoicing process, such as incorrect payment amounts, missing details or wrong payment terms. These mistakes can cause payment delays, create customer disputes and impact cash flow.

Say that you bill a customer for the wrong amount. Here’s what can happen:

• You reissue the invoice. Issuing a new invoice (which includes reviewing and checking the correct amount) takes valuable time and resources away from other activities, such as pursuing new sales opportunities.

• You don’t receive payment on time. Invoicing an incorrect amount means having to reissue a new invoice, which can disrupt the payment timeline, disrupt your cash flow and cause financial strain.

• The customer is unsatisfied with their experience. Billing errors can negatively impact customer trust and satisfaction, affecting their likelihood of future business.

These issues affect your immediate cash flow and can damage long-term customer relationships. To mitigate these issues, you must ensure total invoice accuracy.

How to solve this problem

Businesses can solve the problem of inaccurate invoicing by implementing effective strategies that minimize errors and ensure timely payments. Two key solutions include automating the invoicing process and using standardized templates.

Let’s look at these solutions in more detail:

• Automate invoicing processes to reduce human error. Use invoicing software like QuickBooks or Xero to generate and send accurate invoices. These tools can also send automatic payment reminders to ensure timely follow-up.

• Implement a standard invoice template to improve consistency. Create a consistent template with all necessary details, such as payment terms and amounts. Standardizing this process makes it easier to spot errors and ensure accuracy before sending.

If an error does occur, follow up promptly to address the issue. Apologize to the customer and correct the mistake quickly to maintain trust and avoid payment delays.

2. Delayed payments

Delayed customer payments can disrupt cash flow and affect business operations. Overdue invoices can lead to cash shortages, difficulty covering operating expenses and delays in growth initiatives, which can affect business performance.

Think about an SMB that relies on timely payments to pay suppliers. If customer payments don’t arrive on time, the company might struggle to pay these suppliers.

The business may face delayed shipments or stock shortages, leading to operational disruptions and fewer sales.

How to solve this problem

To reduce delayed payments, businesses need simple strategies to speed up collections and help customers pay on time. Here are a few suggestions:

• Set clear payment terms. Establish clear payment terms in contracts or agreements, including payment due dates, late fees and any early payment discounts. Ensure customers understand these terms to set expectations and minimize confusion.

• Offer multiple payment methods. Make it easy for customers to pay by offering different payment options, including credit cards, bank transfers or online payment portals like Stripe. The more convenient you make it for customers to pay, the less likely they are to delay payments.

• Send timely reminders. Use invoicing technology to automatically send reminders before the payment due date and follow up on overdue payments. Incorporate polite but firm language in your reminders, and consider offering multiple touchpoints (emails, phone calls or SMS) to ensure the message gets through.

By establishing clear payment terms, sending timely reminders and offering flexible payment options, SMBs can reduce delays and maintain steady cash flow.

3. Lack of revenue visibility

Lack of revenue visibility can hinder financial planning and disrupt business operations. Without a clear view of your revenue cycle, it becomes difficult to track outstanding payments, spot inefficiencies and forecast future cash flow accurately.

Consider invoicing as an example. Without real-time visibility into overdue invoices or late-paying customers, predicting incoming revenue is harder. As a result, it’s difficult to budget effectively or plan for growth.

How to solve this problem

Overcome this barrier by using invoicing tools with real-time insights into the revenue cycle. These platforms allow for better tracking and more accurate financial forecasting.

Here are some systems and features to look for:

• Revenue cycle management technology like Chargebee can analyze data, forecast demand and adjust pricing or availability accordingly. The system provides a full view of the payment lifecycle, from invoicing to collections.

• CRM tools like Pipedrive allow you to manage interactions with current and potential customers. The software centralizes customer data and transaction history, making it easier to track payments and spot revenue trends.

• Subscription billing platforms like PayKickstart manage recurring payments and subscriptions. The software provides a clear overview of subscription revenue, giving you real-time insights into your renewals, payment collections and financial health.

When choosing revenue cycle management services, look for systems that provide customizable dashboards.

These dashboards provide a clear, at-a-glance view of key financial metrics. Visualizing these metrics makes monitoring cash flow and payment statuses easier, helping you stay on top of your revenue cycle.

With Pipedrive’s insights dashboard, for example, you can easily view conversions, revenue forecasts, average deal value and so on. You can choose what you see to ensure total visibility of your revenue cycle.

Here’s an example of a customizable dashboard in Pipedrive:

4. Inefficient collection processes

An inefficient collection process doesn’t just slow down payments – it puts your revenue at risk.

Without a clear and consistent approach to chasing outstanding invoices, businesses can face cash flow troubles, missed income and even strained customer relationships.

Imagine that you fail to follow up on overdue invoices. Not only will you delay your income, but you’ll also damage trust with customers – especially if they feel neglected or confused about what they owe.

These inconsistent follow-ups can also lead to mounting receivables, which can put pressure on day-to-day operations and finances.

How to solve this problem

A structured and proactive approach to following up on payments is a good place to start. Implementing automation and clear communication strategies helps reduce delays, improve cash flow and maintain strong customer relationships.

Here are some ways to build a more efficient collections process:

• Develop a streamlined process for tracking overdue accounts. Set up a clear internal workflow that outlines when and how to follow up on overdue invoices – for example, setting reminders after a certain number of days, assigning responsibilities to sales team members and keeping records of all communication.

• Create automated payment reminders. Use tools that automatically send payment reminders before and after due dates. These gentle nudges keep your business top-of-mind for customers and reduce the need for manual chasing.

• Establish a dedicated collections team. For customers who are consistently late or unresponsive, having a team or specialist who can step in is key. You can focus on other key operations while experienced professionals handle sensitive or complex collections.

Implementing these strategies helps you build a more efficient and effective collections process.

5. Manual, time-consuming processes

Relying on manual tasks for payment tracking consumes valuable time and hinders overall efficiency and accuracy.

Think about manually entering payment details into accounting systems as an example. The chance of making a mistake is much higher, potentially leading to incorrect payment amounts or overlooked transactions.

If you use revenue cycle management solutions to handle the process, the chances of errors are much less.

How to solve this problem

Using software to handle key revenue activities reduces the need for manual intervention. Automating repetitive tasks frees up valuable time to focus on more strategic activities, like closing deals.

Automation also improves accuracy, ensuring your payment processes run smoothly and keeping your cash flow healthy.

Here are some tips for choosing software to handle manual activities:

• Invest in automation tools. Use software to automate tasks like invoicing, payment reminders and account reconciliation to save time and reduce errors.

• Integrate with accounting and CRM systems. Select software that connects with your existing tools to ensure consistency across platforms.

• Train employees on best practices. Provide training on how to use the software effectively to maintain efficiency and minimize errors.

The right revenue cycle management software reduces manual effort and gives your team the clarity, speed and confidence to manage revenue more effectively.

Take control of your revenue cycle with Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales CRM that helps businesses manage leads, track deals and automate sales processes to drive revenue growth. Here are some of the ways Pipedrive improves revenue management:

Streamline the sales pipeline

When you don’t track deals properly, you risk losing revenue opportunities. Pipedrive gives you a clear, visual sales pipeline, so you can monitor deals at every stage and keep revenue flowing.

Here’s how to visualize your sales pipeline in Pipedrive:

With everything laid out, you can spot bottlenecks, prioritize efforts and close deals faster.

Automate follow-ups and reminders

Manual follow-ups slow down collections and let payments slip through the cracks. Pipedrive automates reminders, assigns tasks and triggers workflows that keep your team on schedule and your customers informed.

Watch this video for an overview of how to use Pipedrive’s automations:

Send, track and manage invoices from the CRM

Switching between systems to handle invoicing wastes time and increases the risk of mistakes. With Pipedrive’s Smart Docs and invoicing feature, you can create, send and track invoices directly from within the CRM.

Here’s how the invoicing feature appears in the CRM:

Centralizing this information ensures quicker turnaround and offers visibility into invoice status, so nothing slips through the cracks.

Forecast cash flow with real-time visibility

Guessing your future revenue can lead to planning mistakes like overcommitting resources and underestimating cash needs. Pipedrive gives you real-time dashboards and revenue reports so you can track deal progress, spot potential gaps and forecast your cash flow confidently.

Here’s a breakdown of how to forecast revenue with Pipedrive:

Integrate with billing and payment tools

Disconnected systems make invoicing slow and error-prone because you manually transfer data between platforms, increasing the risk of mistakes. Pipedrive connects with revenue tools like QuickBooks and Stripe so you can manage billing and payments directly from your CRM.

The image below outlines the billing overview when integrating with Quickbooks:

Revenue cycle management FAQs

Final thoughts

Effective revenue cycle management is crucial for maintaining a steady cash flow and profitability. For SMBs with limited time and resources, ensuring a healthy cash flow is essential for business success.

A centralized CRM like Pipedrive helps businesses track and manage revenue. Real-time insights, automated follow-ups and seamless integrations give teams complete control over their revenue cycle.

Sign up for a free trial today to see how Pipedrive can help you manage your entire revenue process.

Connecting to customers is key to building strong relationships and growing your small business. Yet tracking calls and follow-ups takes time, especially when using basic tools.

The right call center software handles all the admin for you. It logs calls and automates routine tasks so your team can focus on sales and support.

In this article, you’ll discover the best call center software for small businesses. Find the perfect tool to help you respond to customers faster and close more deals.

9 best call center software solutions for small businesses

There’s no one-size-fits-all call center solution. Some platforms support outbound sales, others focus on customer service and a few offer a mix of both.

Ultimately, your choice of contact center as a service (CCaaS) tool depends on your team’s size, business goals and how you connect with customers.

To help you decide, here’s a breakdown of each tool’s features and what makes them stand out.

Outbound-focused call center platforms (for sales-driven teams)

Outbound call center software helps sales teams reach more leads in less time. These tools include features like power dialers, call logging and data syncing to keep your sales pipeline moving steadily.

Here are the best outbound sales platforms, their key features, ideal use cases and how each supports faster outreach.

1. Pipedrive: best call center software for CRM-first call management

Pipedrive is a sales-focused customer relationship management (CRM) solution that provides essential calling features for small businesses. While it doesn’t replace call center software, its built-in tools and integrations manage calls directly within your call center CRM.

How small teams use Pipedrive for calls:

• Make and log calls from user-friendly contact and deal views in the web or mobile app

• Start calls from your desktop that ring through your mobile

• Automate follow-ups and reminders after each logged call by setting custom triggers, saving time on manual data entry

• View full call history alongside email, notes and activities for each deal

• Integrate a wide range of call center solutions, including JustCall, CloudTalk, Kixie and Aircall, to increase call center capabilities like call routing (more on these later)

Here’s a closer look at how these call features work in Pipedrive.

You’ll see the customer’s phone number in Pipedrive’s contact view. Next, click Start call.

You can leave notes after each call about how the conversation went and what you need to do next. These details will appear in your call history.

You can also call contacts directly from the Pipedrive mobile app. Tap the phone icon to launch the call through your native dialer.

If you prefer using your mobile for calls but work mainly from a desktop, Pipedrive’s web-to-mobile feature bridges the gap.

With the mobile app installed, you can start a call from the browser and have it ring through your phone (on the Advanced plan and higher).

After a call ends, Pipedrive prompts you to log the activity. Add notes, schedule a follow-up or trigger workflow automations like reminders or deal updates.

Every logged call appears in the contact’s timeline, so your team always knows what happened last.

Pipedrive also offers call tracking and insights. You can filter calls by outcome, rep or date and review activity to see which calls convert into sales deals.

These insights help sales managers spot performance trends and provide better sales coaching.

2. CloudTalk: best high-volume outbound call center software

CloudTalk is a cloud-based solution for outbound and blended sales teams (that also provide support – more on these later). It offers features like power dialing, call tagging and real-time analytics, with native integrations for CRMs like Pipedrive.

CloudTalk provides local numbers for over 160 countries to improve connection rates. For an additional fee, users can add conversational intelligence to get AI-generated call summaries, sentiment analysis and topic extraction.

How outbound teams use CloudTalk:

• Get unlimited inbound calls and 500 outbound minutes per user per month (Starter plan)

• Analyze key call center metrics like average handling time and agent activity (Essential plan) to improve productivity

• Integrate with your CRM and other tools for added functionality (Essential plan)

• Handle more calls with fewer people with custom interactive voice response (IVR) menus like “Press 1 for support” (Essential plan)

• Run automated outbound call campaigns with a power dialer that pulls numbers directly from your contact list (Expert plan)

3. JustCall: best for outreach with voice and SMS

JustCall is a cloud-based business phone system that allows sales teams to operate a mix of calls, SMS and other communication channels. It integrates with CRMs like Pipedrive to streamline outreach and follow-up activities.

JustCall’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools include call transcription, sentiment analysis, real-time agent assistance and more. These features are only available on the Pro Plus and Business plans.

How sales teams use JustCall:

• Automatically transcribe calls and quickly generate summaries with AI (Team plan)

• Set up custom interactive voice response (IVR) menus to route calls efficiently (Team plan)

• Run automated outbound campaigns using predictive dialers that call multiple numbers at once and connect answered calls to available agents (Pro plan)

• Monitor and coach agents live during calls for added support (Pro plan)

• Use multi-channel AI note-taking and sentiment analysis to get more context (Pro Plus plan)

4. Kixie: best for automated outbound sales

Kixie is a calling and texting app that connects to your CRM to reduce manual outreach steps. It provides a business phone service, SMS capabilities and rule-based routing from the lowest-tier plan.

You can set up automated actions – like sending a text or placing a call – based on CRM updates. The app also provides a sales leaderboard, reporting dashboard and the option to create custom IVR menus.

Kixie integrates with Pipedrive to provide power dialing, local area codes, AI-generated call summaries and more.

How sales teams use Kixie:

• Launch the Kixie Power Dialer to click-to-call or click-to-text numbers from websites (Integrated plan)

• Set up ring groups to route each call to the right agent (Integrated plan)

• Show sales management every agent’s live status and daily performance (Integrated plan)

• Leave pre-recorded messages and speed up outreach with the voicemail drop feature (Professional plan)

• Detect human speech, track sentiment and reduce spam filtering using AI (Ultimate Revenue plan)

Blended call center platforms (for sales and support)

Blended call center software supports both sales and customer service teams, which is especially useful for small business founders and sales leads juggling multiple roles. These tools combine outbound features with inbound call routing, IVR systems and shared inboxes.

Here are the top blended call center platforms, with a breakdown of core features, use cases and how each handles both sides of the customer experience.

5. Ringover: best for teams who need an all-in-one communication suite

Ringover is a communication platform that includes voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls, messaging and video. Teams use it to handle phone sales and respond to incoming support requests from the same system.

For outbound interactions, Ringover provides click-to-call, call recording and automatic activity logging through CRM integrations. For inbound, it includes IVR menus, call queues and smart routing.

Teams can also host quick video calls internally or use chat to manage handovers or check details mid-call. The Ringover-Pipedrive integration lets you call from the CRM and log activity to the relevant deal.

How teams use Ringover:

• Make unlimited calls to 90 countries, with a local number in 43 (Smart plan)

• Sync your mobile, web and desktop apps for better team collaboration (Smart plan)

• Route customers with advanced IVR, call groups and queues (Business)

• Provide sales rep coaching with double listening and whispering options (Business)

• Use the Power Dialer and voicemail drop to speed up outreach (Advanced)

6. Toky: best for startups needing a simple voice solution

Toky is a cloud-based voice-calling system for sales and support teams. Teams can make and receive calls through a desktop or mobile app and set up forwarding, links and queues to simplify call handling.

The platform includes basic monitoring tools like call recording and real-time status visibility on the higher plans.

How teams use Toky:

• Create agent groups and basic routing rules to stay responsive without a dedicated support team (Entrepreneur plan)

• Integrate with most CRMs, including Pipedrive (Entrepreneur plan)

• Set up custom IVR phone trees like “Press 1 for sales, 2 for support” to save time by directing callers to the right team without manual transfers (Entrepreneur plan)

• Send text messages and make calls with per message/call charges (Entrepreneur plan)

• See basic reports (Entrepreneur plan) or complete call KPIs (Business and Enterprise plans)

7. VoiceSpin: best AI call center software

VoiceSpin is a cloud contact center solution for handling large call volumes. Its higher plans include a predictive dialer, skill-based routing and live monitoring tools. The platform also integrates with CRM systems like Pipedrive.

Sales teams use the predictive dialer to place multiple calls simultaneously and connect only when someone answers. On the support side, teams route incoming calls based on language, product line or customer tier.

How teams use VoiceSpin:

• Route calls efficiently based on ring groups and set up custom IVR menus (Basic plan)

• Monitor and record calls in real-time and see reporting and analytics (Basic plan)

• Use an AI auto dialer and local caller IDs to improve pickup rates (Advanced plan)

• See number reachability scores and send bulk SMS messages to enhance productivity (Advanced plan)

• Use AI to summarize conversations, analyze speech and send quick replies (Enterprise plan)

8. KrispCall: best for remote teams

KrispCall is a cloud-based phone system for remote and distributed teams. It provides virtual phone numbers, a unified workspace and routing tools.

Teams can assign local, toll-free or international numbers to different departments. KrispCall charges per minute (for calls) or segment (for messaging), regardless of your plan.

How teams use KrispCall:

• Have team members access and update the same threads in a shared workspace (Essential plan)

• Use a built-in lightweight CRM or integrate with more powerful options like Pipedrive (Essential plan)

• Listen in to calls, whisper to team members on calls or talk to the customer directly for prompt support (Essential plan)

• Use Power Dialer to skip unanswered calls and leave automated greetings (Standard plan)

• Record calls and get insights and reports about key metrics (Standard and Enterprise plan)

Inbound-focused call center solutions (for support teams)

Inbound call center software focuses on receiving customer phone calls. These platforms include call routing, queues and shared inboxes to direct inquiries to the right person and reduce response times.

Here are the top inbound call center tools, with a breakdown of how each handles support requests for small teams.

9. Twilio Flex: best for developers building custom call workflows

Twilio Flex is a communications platform that lets you create a custom interface to match your business needs. You can customize the routing, call flow, layout and more to provide a personalized customer experience.

You can pay per hour, scaling up or down with seasonal uptime fluctuations. Twilio Flex also offers per-user pricing, which gives you predictable costs.

How teams use Twilio:

• Add custom channels (like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WebChat) and manage them through Flex Twilio’s interface

• Integrate customer data from custom sources like your CRM for enhanced visibility

• Use Studio, a drag-and-drop builder, to craft and streamline call flows

• Automate actions that trigger after agents handle different tasks

• Add custom widgets and integrations to get more features as required

Why call center software matters for small businesses

Contact center software provides a single interface for managing outreach and customer support. It streamlines communications for small teams that wear many hats, saving time and sales budget.

It goes beyond calls and messaging – with the right call center software, you can:

You gain even more benefits when your virtual call center syncs with your CRM. For instance, you can track customer engagement across any digital channel. The call center will automatically link the information to a unified customer profile, giving your sales team crucial context for selling.

What to look for in call center software that connects with your CRM

There are many types of call center software, each with varying levels of CRM integration. If you want to get the most out of your call center operations, look for these key call center features:

Connecting your call center and CRM software lets you make the most of these software features. Next, you’ll learn how to create call center integrations with Pipedrive.

How to connect your call center software to Pipedrive

Choose a call center software provider that integrates with Pipedrive. Tools like JustCall and CloudTalk offer native integrations in the Pipedrive Marketplace.

Ensure you’re logged into your Pipedrive account and your call center tool with admin access. To connect them, you’ll need permission on both sides.

In your call center software, go to the integrations or settings section and find Pipedrive in the list of available connections. Click to link them, and the platform will redirect you to Pipedrive so you can log in and approve access.

Here’s how the Pipedrive integration looks in JustCall:

Next, set your sync preferences. You can usually choose what information to share (like contacts, call logs or notes) and whether updates go both ways or just one.

If possible, map your fields so data flows into the right places. For example, link your call center’s “contact name” field to the correct field in Pipedrive.

To ensure everything’s working, log a test call and check that it appears correctly in Pipedrive under the relevant contact or deal.

Once you’re live, show your team how the integration works so they can operate more efficiently. Point out where the platform logs calls are and how to trigger new ones in Pipedrive (if your tool supports that).

Existing Pipedrive users can also add integrations directly from their CRM dashboard.

Search for a compatible tool on the Pipedrive Marketplace, then click Install. Follow the instructions on the tool’s Marketplace page to finalize the installation, sync your data and get started.

Final thoughts

When your call center and CRM work together, your team spends less time chasing details and more time closing deals – which is crucial for small businesses with limited resources. Connecting the two means calls, notes and follow-ups log automatically so nothing slips through the cracks.

Pipedrive integrates with a range of the best call center solutions. Start a 14-day free trial today to see how connecting Pipedrive to your call center can streamline customer interactions and boost sales.

Customer relationship management (CRM) data entry is a core part of everyday sales. It keeps your records complete, your team aligned and your deals moving forward.

If you run a small business, you’ve had to jump between spreadsheets and apps to keep everything up to date. Efficient CRM data entry helps you skip the hard work and focus on closing sales.

In this guide, you’ll learn why CRM data entry matters and five tips to keep your CRM organized without spending hours on manual processes.

What is clean CRM data entry (and why does it matter)?

Accurate CRM data keeps your sales process running smoothly. Your sales team stays organized, follows up at the right time and can build strong relationships with leads.

Here’s how keeping your CRM system clean benefits your small business.

It frees up time for sales

Automatic and accurate data entry reduces the manual work burden, so your team can focus on closing deals instead of searching for information. When contact details, activity logs and pipeline stages are easy to find, your sales reps spend less time figuring out where they stand.

It keeps your data reliable and easy to use

A clear data entry process helps small teams capture the correct information the same way every time. It ensures that you have cleaner records and better sales team collaboration across the board.

It makes your CRM easier to navigate

With a simple CRM, you can immediately find what you need, whether customer information or stalled deals. Intuitive navigation reduces confusion and keeps your sales pipeline easy to scan as your small business grows.

It helps you deliver a better customer experience

With clean data, you can personalize your customer outreach. Your reps will have access to each lead’s full story and can reference past conversations, pick up where others left off and send relevant follow-ups.

It helps you stay on top of your pipeline

When your CRM data is easy to follow, you can see where to focus your time. It makes it easier to plan your day and prioritize the best leads. Your team can monitor which deals are moving and where others are getting stuck.

Clean data entry is all about giving your sales team a solid foundation to work on. In the next section, you’ll learn what data to track for the best sales results.

7 types of CRM data you should track

To keep your CRM clean and effective, you must understand the data you’re working with. Each data type plays a role in keeping your sales plan organized.

Here are the key types of CRM data your team should maintain:

Having accurate data means your CRM functions will be more efficient because everything’s in the right place when needed. The question is, how do you clean up your CRM data in the first place?

5 ways to clean up your CRM data (and keep it that way)

Maintaining your CRM’s health takes consistent effort. With the right habits and tools, you can cut clutter and manual work at the same time.

Once you understand what CRM and data entry best practices look like, you can organize your system to better support your small business.

Here are five practical ways to clean up your CRM data for good.

1. Automate routine data entry

Automating routine and repetitive tasks helps keep your CRM clean without relying on reps to remember every detail. On the other hand, manual data entry slows your team down and leads to human errors.

Here’s what you can automate in most CRMs to keep data accurate and things moving smoothly.

Task automations reduce errors caused by skipping steps or rushing updates. You’ll keep records up to date and give your team members more time to prioritize high-value sales conversations.

How to use Pipedrive’s automations to streamline data entry

Start with email sync. This feature automatically logs emails to the right contacts and deals, so your communication history is always complete. There’s no need to forward threads or guess who followed up last.

To turn this on, go to Settings > Email sync and connect your Gmail or Outlook account. You can also connect your calendar under Calendar sync to show meetings under the relevant deal. Watch this video to access the email sync feature in Pipedrive’s CRM:

Enable the Smart Contact Data feature to avoid missing key contact details. When you add a new contact with a work email, Pipedrive will automatically fill in public information like job title, company name and location. You’ll find this feature in Company settings > Smart Contact Data.

Once you’ve covered the basics, add in workflow automation. Head to Automations and click + Add automation to choose a template or build your own:

The feature lets you create rules that trigger actions, like sending reminders when a deal progresses.

2. Standardize conventions and set data entry guidelines

Setting clear data entry rules helps your staff find and leverage your customer information database. Here’s what to standardize across your team:

CRM entry guidelines help you organize data so that it’s easy to search and filter. You’ll also avoid duplicate or inaccurate data records and be able to segment customers for better marketing campaigns.

How to standardize fields and set entry guidelines in Pipedrive

Start by reviewing how your team currently uses fields. Look for inconsistencies like deals missing values or misused tags. Document a short set of naming and formatting rules your team can follow.

Next, clean up your CRM to match the new standards. You can bulk-edit fields in Pipedrive to fix common issues like inconsistent capitalization or duplicate company names.

Whenever possible, use​​​​ custom field types like drop-downs or single-option selects instead of free text. You’ll find these under Company > Data fields.

Structured fields also make it easier to filter data and prevent minor variations (like “customer” versus “Customer”) from splitting your data.

Finally, share your guidelines in a checklist so everyone follows the same approach. The more consistent your team is, the less time you’ll spend cleaning things up later.

3. Audit your data regularly

Even with strong processes, sales data quality can drift over time. Regular audits help you catch issues early before they affect reporting or customer communication.

In small and medium-sized business (SMB) sales, knowing your customers is crucial for scaling smartly and avoiding missed opportunities.

A data cleaning review each month improves customer data accuracy and usability. Here’s what to check during an audit:

Regular CRM data validation helps you spot and fix data management issues before they escalate. For instance, you can identify recurring data entry mistakes that point to unclear processes and uncover automation gaps where manual updates slow your team down.

How to audit your CRM in Pipedrive

Start by using Pipedrive filters. In your contact, deal or activity views, create filters for missing values (like “Job title is empty”) or stalled deals (“Last activity was more than 30 days ago”). Here’s how in more detail:

Save the filters you set up for easy access in future audits.

To address duplicate data, use Pipedrive’s Merge Duplicates tool. It scans for records with matching names, emails or phone numbers and lets you review them side by side before merging.

You’ll find this under Tools and apps > Merge duplicates. If you come across irrelevant records (like test entries), it’s safe to delete them, but always double-check first.

For other issues, manually scan your deals for obvious problems. Choose one area to focus on each month, like contact quality in April and deal health in May. A regular audit cycle helps you avoid overwhelming your team.

Keep in mind that not every field needs to be editable by everyone. In Pipedrive, you can limit who can update sensitive fields to prevent unwanted changes.

To adjust permissions and visibility, go to Manage Users > Permission sets and update role-based access controls.

4. Train your team on CRM best practices

CRM training sessions show your team how to use your CRM system more effectively. Good training doesn’t need to be formal or time-consuming – it just needs to be clear and repeatable.

Here are the main topics to train your team on:

CRM training helps you improve your team’s productivity and decision-making abilities. You also reduce one-off inaccuracies that pile up into bigger cleanup jobs, building long-term habits that protect your data quality internally without outsourcing work.

How to train and onboard reps in Pipedrive

When training your reps, start with a walkthrough of your sales process and customer lifecycle. Create a test sales deal and move it through each stage. Show key actions like how to add notes and mark activities complete.

Next, go over what good data looks like. Pull up real examples of complete contact records, clear activity notes and properly tagged deals. Explain why the details matter – like making automatic follow-ups easier or helping sales managers spot stalled deals faster.

Wrap up with a few hands-on tasks, like creating a contact or logging a sales call. Keep a simple guide in a shared folder so new hires can refer to it later.

5. Use integrations to sync and centralize your data

Proper integration means less time switching tabs and cleaning up manual imports.

Your CRM data often comes from other tools, including email platforms, support software and lead generation forms. Properly connecting your systems avoids manually copying data between platforms.

Pipedrive integrates natively with hundreds of tools across customer service, finance, operations, sales and marketing. Here are some powerful apps and Pipedrive add-ons to check out:

Integrations help you reduce manual entry and sync delays. They also keep deal and contact data consistent across tools and make Pipedrive the single source of truth for your team.

When it comes to small business management, integrations reduce time-consuming admin tasks. They also cut the cost of patchwork systems, keeping data clean without stretching your budget.

Check the Pipedrive Marketplace for other available tools. Use Pipedrive’s AI search engine and SmartApps recommendations to see which apps best match your business needs and processes.

It’s also important to back up your data so that you don’t lose everything if something goes wrong. In Pipedrive, you can export contacts, deals, organizations and other records in CSV format this way:

Navigate to your CRM’s main menu and click … > Export data to download your records.

Final thoughts

Clean CRM data entry helps small teams focus on closing deals. With the right tools, your team knows what to do next without second-guessing the data.

Pipedrive simplifies data input and management for your small business. Features like Smart Contact Data, email sync and workflow automation keep your CRM software accurate without slowing your team down.

Start a 14-day free trial to see how Pipedrive can help you keep your data in good shape and your pipeline moving.

Investing in B2B sales consulting can help SMBs improve sales and overcome performance plateaus. Consultants bring a fresh perspective to help teams convert more leads, shorten sales cycles and close more deals.

Knowing when to bring in a consultant, and whether it’s worth the investment, can be tricky. With limited resources, small businesses and startups need to be sure that hiring an outside expert is worth the time and money.

In this article, you’ll learn what B2B sales consultants do, how to know if you need one and what to look for when hiring. You’ll also get tips on how tools like Pipedrive can offer a powerful alternative if hiring isn’t the right fit.

What is B2B sales consulting?

B2B sales consulting involves sales experts helping businesses improve how they sell to other businesses. A B2B sales consultant helps companies optimize their sales strategies, processes and team performance to drive revenue growth.

Here are some common tasks sales consultants perform:

Do you need a B2B sales consultant? Key signs to watch for

If your B2B company struggles to grow or hit sales goals, a sales consulting service could be the solution.

Here are some of the common signs that you’re ready to hire an outside sales consultant:

Your sales are stagnant despite strong lead flow

Your business generates a steady stream of qualified leads, but sales professionals struggle to convert them into sales. Their performance leads to low conversion rates, less revenue and slower business growth.

A consultant can help by analyzing your sales process to pinpoint bottlenecks. They bring an outside perspective and specialized expertise, enabling them to identify issues that internal sales managers, who may be too close to the process, might overlook.

For example, a consultant might spot that salespeople spend too much time on unqualified leads. Sales leaders might overlook this by focusing on immediate opportunities instead of high-potential leads.

The consultant can then implement a more effective lead qualification system, helping the team prioritize high-value leads and improve conversion rates.

Your sales cycle is longer than industry standards

If your deals take longer to close than the industry average, you may have inefficiencies in your sales pipeline, like delayed follow-up emails or inconsistent sales communication. These inefficiencies prolong your sales cycle, meaning you miss out on revenue.

The challenge is knowing how to optimize your pipeline and shorten the sales cycle. A consultant’s specialized expertise enables them to weigh your sales pipeline against industry norms to identify opportunities for improvement.

For example, they can compare your sales reps’ follow-up times, messaging consistency and lead qualification process to those of your top competitors. This comparison will help them pinpoint where you’re falling behind and suggest improvements.

You’re expanding into a new market or offering a new product

Entering unfamiliar territory means navigating new customer needs, competitive landscapes and buying behaviors. An expert can help guide your market strategy in this new environment.

A consultant, for example, might have expert knowledge and experience in the market you want to enter. They can help you define ideal customer profiles (ICP), refine messaging and train your team on industry-specific objections and positioning.

Your team struggles to convert high-ticket or enterprise sales

Enterprise deals typically involve longer sales cycles, multiple stakeholders and a more complex decision-making process than SMB sales. If your team is shifting from smaller deals to enterprise clients, a consultant can guide you in nurturing leads and closing more deals.

For example, they can provide training on complex deal structures, multi-stakeholder selling and relationship management. The training will help your team build stronger relationships with key stakeholders, manage longer sales cycles more effectively and confidently close deals.

The ultimate checklist for finding the right B2B sales consultant

An effective B2B sales consultant will have industry insight, understand your business needs and help you improve performance to increase revenue. However, knowing which sales consultant is right for your business can be challenging.

Download this checklist and use it to establish a process for finding potential consultants with the right experience, approach and mindset to meet your business goals:

Pipedrive B2B sales consulting template

Let’s take a look at the checklist items in more detail:

1. Define areas for improvement

Clarify what you want to improve – whether it’s increasing conversions, shortening the sales cycle or expanding into new markets. Understanding your specific challenges helps you identify a consultant with the right expertise and ensures their strategies align with your business goals.

Say your goal is to optimize and shorten your sales cycle. With this in mind, you can look for a consultant who specializes in process efficiency.

Here are some of the ways to clarify your areas for improvement:

• Review your current performance. Look at key sales metrics like conversion rates, sales cycle length and revenue growth to pinpoint areas for improvement.

• Talk to your sales team. Get feedback on the challenges they face in closing deals, managing leads or targeting new markets.

• Identify gaps. Look for processes, tools or skills your sales team needs to perform their best.

Defining these areas of improvement helps you understand what skills and experience to look for in a sales consultant.

2. Look for industry experience

Choose a consultant with a track record in your industry or with businesses like yours. Industry-specific experience means they can offer relevant insights, avoid trial-and-error approaches and apply proven strategies that work for your niche.

How to find a consultant with industry experience:

• Check their portfolio. Look for past clients in your industry or similar businesses. A strong portfolio in your field is a good indicator of relevant expertise.

• Get industry recommendations. Talk to colleagues or industry peers who have worked with consultants. Personal recommendations can point you to the right fit.

• Attend industry events. Engage with consultants at conferences, webinars or forums specific to your sector. These events often attract professionals who are familiar with your industry.

Focusing on proven industry experience helps you choose consultants with the right insights, strategies and understanding to drive results for your business.

3. Schedule a consultation call

A consultation call (or discovery call) allows you to assess whether a consultant is a good fit for your company culture.

Observing how they communicate and interact can help you learn more about their personality and communication style. Do they listen actively, ask thoughtful questions and show genuine interest in your team’s dynamics?

You can also determine whether they align with your team’s way of working. For instance, if your team prefers a collaborative approach, you might look for a personable and approachable consultant who enjoys working as part of a team.

Here are some of the other things to look for on a discovery call:

• Clear communication. A good consultant should be able to explain complex ideas without using jargon.

• Interest in your goals and KPIs. A consultant should show a strong understanding of your specific business objectives and how they can help you achieve them.

• Clarity about next steps. A consultant should be able to outline clear action items or a roadmap for how they would proceed after the consultation, giving you a sense of their organizational skills.

A candidate’s tone, language and willingness to adapt their approach indicate how well they’d fit into your team environment.

4. Check case studies and testimonials

Checking case studies and testimonials to verify a consultant’s track record. These success stories also provide insights into the consultant’s ability to solve problems similar to yours.

Say you’re a software company looking to optimize your sales cycle. You find a consultant who helped a similar software company reduce its sales cycle by 25% and increase revenue by 20% within six months.

These results indicate that their approach could help your business achieve similar outcomes.

Here are some other things to consider when reviewing case studies and testimonials:

• Timing. Check that the case study is recent to ensure the consultant’s strategies are up-to-date with current trends and technologies.

• Metrics. Look for clear, quantifiable results such as percentage increases in sales or improvements in efficiency to understand the real impact of their work.

• Scope of work. Review the specific issues the consultant addressed, such as sales process optimization or training, to determine whether their expertise aligns with your business needs.

Evaluating case studies and testimonials helps you confirm a consultant’s ability to produce results for your business.

5. Assess their coaching and training approach

Assessing a consultant’s coaching and training approach ensures they can help your team build skills for lasting success.

For example, if your team needs hands-on guidance, you might prefer a consultant who offers interactive workshops or role-playing exercises. If your team requires more strategic insight, a consultant focused on one-on-one sessions or group discussions may be more effective.

Here are some questions that can help you learn more about a consultant’s approach to sales training programs:

6. Discuss customization

The right consultant will tailor their approach to your business needs and goals, helping your team drive better results and long-term success.

Imagine you’re a SaaS company struggling to convert leads from a recent marketing campaign. You find a sales consultant who fits your ideal requirements, but they typically focus on lead nurturing and closing strategies.

To support your needs, the consultant tailors their offerings to optimize your lead scoring system and implement specialized sales scripts for converting these specific leads.

Here are some key things to look for when it comes to customization:

• Creating tailored strategies. Ensure the consultant adapts their strategies to address your specific challenges, such as adjusting their approach to focus on lead conversion if your campaign is struggling.

• Using industry-specific adjustments. Confirm that the consultant is willing to customize their approach based on the nuances of your industry, like adapting their strategies to account for sales cycles or regulatory requirements for your sector.

• Data-driven recommendations. Ensure they use data to adjust their strategies to match your current sales performance, ensuring the approach is grounded in actual results.

Customization helps the consultant focus on your challenges, building a stronger and longer-lasting B2B sales strategy.

7. Weigh costs against potential ROI

Weighing costs against projected ROI helps determine whether a consultant’s professional services provide enough value to justify the investment. Instead of only looking at the upfront cost of their work, you get a better idea of how their strategies deliver long-term benefits.

Imagine that a consultant’s upfront fees are $10,000. However, you predict that their work will help you:

• Generate 30% more high-quality leads

• Increase your revenue by $50,000 over the next six months

Based on these figures, the cost is worthwhile.

Predicting ROI in advance perfectly is impossible, but there are ways to make informed projections. Here’s how to compare costs with potential ROI:

• Review past results. Look at the results the consultant achieved with similar businesses.

• Evaluate opportunity costs. Compare the potential benefits of hiring the consultant to the cost of missing out on improvements or sales growth.

• Factor in scalability. Assess whether the consultant’s solutions can grow with your business.

• Estimate long-term value. Consider how the consultant’s strategies can drive sustainable growth, such as increasing lead quality, improving conversion rates or boosting sales efficiency.

Weighing the costs against potential ROI gives you more confidence in your investment in B2B sales consulting services.

Tackle sales obstacles head-on with Pipedrive

Using a sales consultant might not always be the best option for your business, whether because of cost restraints or limited time to get up to speed with solutions. In these instances, sales technology can help.

A sales CRM like Pipedrive gives your sales team the tools to overcome common challenges – like poor lead quality, stalled deals and inconsistent follow-ups – so you can close more deals faster.

Here are some of the features that help you tackle these obstacles:

Improve lead quality

Pipedrive’s lead generation tools – like the LeadBooster Add-on, with Web Forms and Chatbot features – help you attract and identify prospects that match your ICP.

Once you have more leads in your pipeline, you can use customer segmentation tools to prioritize the ones most likely to convert.

These tools and processes will help improve lead quality so your team can spend less time chasing the wrong leads and more time closing the right ones.

Here’s an overview of how the LeadBooster Add-on works:

Nurture leads effectively

Pipedrive lets you track and nurture leads through every stage of the buying journey to ensure leads receive the right messaging at the right time. Here are some ways to leverage Pipedrive features to improve lead nurturing:

• Access templates with the Email Builder. Create consistent, on-brand messages tailored to different lead segments or sales funnel stages. Save time while ensuring your outreach remains relevant.

• Launch drip campaigns. Send a series of timed, personalized emails that guide prospects from initial interest to conversion without constant manual input.

• Use email follow-up automations. Stay on top of every opportunity by triggering tasks after specific actions, like a meeting, call or form submission, so you never miss the right moment to engage.

Here’s an example of an automated email in Pipedrive’s interface:

Pipedrive’s AI also pinpoints key opportunities within your sales performance, allowing you to optimize your lead nurturing.

The AI Sales Assistant monitors your sales activities in real time and delivers smart suggestions, such as which leads to follow up with, which deals are at risk or which tasks you’re falling behind on.

The image below shows how Pipedrive recommends actions based on past interactions:

Optimize your sales cycle

Pipedrive’s visual pipeline allows you to identify where deals are stalling and make data-driven decisions to streamline your sales operations. Here’s how it works:

• Customize pipeline stages to build a workflow that mirrors your actual sales process

• Click on each deal to see its full history of inside sales activity (emails sent, calls made, notes and tasks) and make informed decisions about the next steps

• Flag deals that sit in the same stage for too long with Rotting indicators so you know where to focus your attention

Watch the video below for a full breakdown of the Pipeline View:

Final thoughts

Hiring a B2B sales consultant can be the right choice when your business faces stalled growth or a lengthy sales cycle. The right consultant provides tailored strategies, expert coaching and industry-specific insights that drive better performance and lasting revenue growth.

If hiring a consultant isn’t the right fit for your sales organization, a powerful sales tool like Pipedrive offers a practical alternative.

Pipedrive’s B2B CRM helps you overcome the same sales obstacles consultants typically address, such as poor lead quality, inconsistent follow-ups and pipeline inefficiencies.

Sign up for a free trial to see how Pipedrive can help your sales team work smarter and close more deals.

Every growing business has a point where its support team reaches critical mass, with tickets coming in through email, phone, social media and other channels.

Helpdesk software changes how businesses handle customer support. The software brings all customer inquiries into one system, so nothing gets lost and customer satisfaction stays high. However, this can be a significant expense for most businesses.

In this article, you’ll learn whether you need helpdesk software and what features to look for. We’ll also share three top helpdesk software solutions.

What is helpdesk software?

Helpdesk software is a customer service tool that centralizes and organizes support interactions across communication channels. It enables businesses to provide efficient support at scale, whether for external customers or internal IT.

Most helpdesk systems operate in cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service). However, on-premise options are available for enterprises that need robust security.

For day-to-day service management work, helpdesk web software offers features like:

• Ticket management to organize customer requests

• Automatic routing to send issues to the right team members

• Templates for common customer complaint responses to save time

• Performance tracking to measure response times

• Knowledge bases where customers can find answers themselves

In email-based support, messages can get lost in crowded inboxes. With helpdesk software, you have visibility into the status of each request (e.g., “open”, “in progress”, “closed”).

The system also provides tracking for IT support teams handling numerous technical issues daily. For example, imagine a small online store.

Not having helpdesk software to deal with customers creates a fragmented approach, which can make the customer experience feel disjointed.

However, this scenario changes with a proper helpdesk solution.

Helpdesk software vs. CRM: what’s the difference?

CRM software manages sales relationships and tracks potential customers before and during sales. An IT help desk or helpdesk software manages support tickets and customer issues after the sale.

Here are the main differences when it comes to purpose, users and key features:

When CRM and helpdesk software work together, you get a complete view of the customer journey. Support agents can see purchase history and customer relationship details.

Sales teams can view the support history when talking to clients. They can find sales opportunities from support conversations.

Moreover, giving each team access to the same customer data helps them manage customer interactions better. For example, support agents can personalize responses according to the customer’s history, while sales representatives can identify cross-sell or upsell opportunities.

How to use Pipedrive as your helpdesk solution

If your business handles only 15–20 support requests daily, you may not need a dedicated helpdesk software yet. At this stage, you can use Pipedrive’s CRM as both sales and support software.

Here’s how to extend Pipedrive’s functionalities to manage your customer support.

Create a pipeline for support tickets

Start by creating a separate pipeline for your support tickets. Pipedrive offers a Kanban-style interface for visualizing and tracking requests.

Set up stages that represent your support workflow (e.g., “new requests”, “in-progress”, “waiting on customer” or “resolved”). Enter each customer request as a deal that moves through these stages.

Use Pipedrive’s Rotting feature to alert you if a request has been idle for too long to ensure you don’t overlook any requests.

Capture support requests from multiple channels

Pipedrive offers several ways to collect customer support inquiries. You can get requests from web forms, email and live chat. The requests will appear in your Leads Inbox, where you can filter, sort or label them.

You can also check the request’s source from the Lead Inbox. When you’re ready to convert a lead into a request ticket, click on Convert to deals and select the support requests pipeline you set up.

Add custom fields for your support requests, such as issue type, priority level and resolution notes.

When to invest in dedicated helpdesk software

While Pipedrive works well as an initial support system for smaller teams, there may come a time when you need a dedicated helpdesk software. Consider upgrading your support tools when:

• Your support team handles issues that need ticket routing

• Your sales process involves multiple stages

• Your departments need customized workflows

• You need reporting on support metrics and SLA (Service Level Agreement)

• You’re supporting customers across multiple regions or languages

The right approach depends on your business size, team structure and the specialized nature of your sales and support processes.

Benefits of helpdesk software

Switching to helpdesk software provides significant benefits when businesses outgrow basic email support.

Beyond simply organizing tickets, these systems enhance how your team delivers customer support. Helpdesk software changes your approach from reactive to proactive. Instead of acting only when customers report problems, you can look for patterns to anticipate their needs and fix recurring issues.

Companies that implement helpdesk software see the following benefits.

Increased customer satisfaction

Help desk software boosts customer satisfaction by providing fast and personalized support. According to research, 62% of customers will give your business only one or two chances after a bad experience before going to a competitor.

With helpdesk software, you have a complete record of each customer’s previous issues. You don’t have to ask the same questions, which creates a smoother experience.

In the above study, 81% of customers said minimal hold times are important to a good customer service experience. Helpdesk software also helps you respond faster. It automatically routes tickets to the right team member and provides templates for common issues.

Reduction of support costs

Helpdesk software cuts costs by making your team more efficient.

With automation features, you can streamline your support process and handle more requests in less time. Assigning tickets, sending follow-ups and routing issues to specialists now happen automatically.

Self-service options, like a knowledge base or chatbot, solve problems without creating tickets, as customers can immediately find answers to their questions through these online resources.

Better visibility across the support process

Helpdesk software creates transparency in your support system. It eliminates the “black hole” where customer requests disappear without being solved.

With helpdesk ticket system software, you know who’s handling each issue. The system can track ticket ownership, response times and resolution progress.

This visibility reveals important patterns for managers. You can spot which issues take the longest to solve, which team members might need more training and where bottlenecks happen.

Detailed tracking helps IT teams manage complex technical problems across the organization and allows customers to track the status of their requests.

Key features to look for in helpdesk software

There are countless helpdesk software programs on the market. It’s easy to get distracted by flashy non-essentials that look promising but don’t improve your specific support process.

Your service desk should do three fundamental things:

1. Organize your customer communications in one place

2. Make your support team more efficient

3. Provide visibility (i.e., performance and status)

The following essential features support these fundamentals. When you’re choosing helpdesk software, prioritize these features over nice-to-haves based on your specific needs:

Whatever solution you choose, don’t overlook planning your CRM data migration. Moving your existing customer information and purchase history to a new system takes time.

Look for customizable options that adapt to your workflow. Ask potential providers about their migration tools and support. You want to ensure a smooth transition without losing customer context.

Who needs helpdesk software?

Not every business needs helpdesk software right away. Small businesses with just a few customers can manage customer requests through email support.

However, as your business grows, your team might start missing emails. Customers could complain about repeating their problem to different agents, and you might not know if all the issues are solved.

Here are the companies and roles that benefit from having helpdesk software:

3 best helpdesk software solutions

Now that you know what to look for in helpdesk software and whether you need it, let’s explore some of the available options.

We’ve highlighted three standout options specific to business needs and situations.

1. SupportBee: best for low-volume support

SupportBee is a simple yet powerful solution that focuses on ease of use. It’s a good fit for low-volume support because it offers essential features without complexity.

SupportBee’s user-friendly email-based support with a shared inbox approach makes it stand out. Teams transitioning from regular email will have an easier time adjusting to the software.

SupportBee has a collaborative web-based space you can access through mobile apps, desktop and email clients.

Key features:

• Shared inbox. See your “answered”, “unanswered”, “assigned” and “unassigned” support tickets from one centralized place. Your team can comment on support tickets privately (i.e., customers can’t see them) to involve another team member.

• Knowledge base. SupportBee offers a search functionality to help your customers find information quickly. Create multiple knowledge bases for different brands under the same login. The software’s text editor enables you to create neatly formatted articles.

• Customer portal. Your customers can access the history of ongoing and past support tickets with a private link. They can also reply to existing tickets or create new ones within the portal.

SupportBee is ideal for startups or small businesses with 1–5 support members. Consultancies or agencies can use this software instead of managing support via email.

2. Herodesk: best for mid-volume support

Herodesk offers a balance between simplicity and powerful features that growing businesses need. It’s perfect for mid-volume support as it includes automation tools that reduce manual work.

The software directly integrates with major webshop providers (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce, Dandomain, etc.). Your agents can access purchase history and shipping details without switching between systems.

Herodesk also offers a free help desk starter plan that allows your team to test the platform before committing.

Key features:

• Multiple inboxes. You can customize inboxes according to your needs. Group them by team, language, priority or support channel queues.

• Multi-channel. Connect Herodesk to all your support channels. The channels can include email, social media, website forms or live chats. Messages from all these channels will appear in one unified inbox (or custom inbox), making them easier to manage.

• Smart folders. Automatically sort and categorize tickets based on custom rules. Your team will have an easier time prioritizing and handling incoming requests.

• Integrations. Herodesk integrates with webshop providers and multiple communications channels. Your team can manage all communications from a single interface while checking orders and customer data.

• Automations. Use autoresponders, custom rules and bulk updates. With these automation capabilities, mid-volume support teams handle more tickets without increasing staff.

Herodesk is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses (e.g., growing e-commerce and SaaS). Teams needing multi-channel support but not ready for enterprise solutions would benefit from this software.

3. Re:amaze: best for high-volume support

Re:amaze is a helpdesk platform built to handle customer support at scale. It excels at high-volume support due to its ability to manage multiple brands or websites under a single account.

What sets Re:amaze apart is its multi-channel capabilities. Your agents manage conversations from email, live chat, social media, SMS, VoIP calls and app notifications.

The software also includes live monitoring features, allowing you to check where your customers are on your website or app. You can track their activities in real time to find selling opportunities.

Key features:

• AI-powered automation. Respond, summarize, translate and ask questions with AI across channels. Since OpenAI’s GPT models power the feature, you can train Re:amaze to answer common questions.

• FAQ or knowledge base. Create and organize your articles with ease using simple drag-and-drop functionality. The software also allows you to write public and internal articles.

• Inbox collaboration. Collaborate with your team by setting assignments, leaving notes or sharing dashboard views. With Re:amaze, you can check each team member’s response time metrics by brand and period.

• Chatbots. Set bots for different functions (e.g., “Hello Bot”, “Order Bot” or “FAQ Bot”) or customize them. Create automated campaigns with conditions called cues to help you up-sell or cross-sell.

• Status page. Keep customers updated on any incidents or issues with a public status page. Re:amaze allows you to be transparent with your customers while keeping a history of previous issues.

Re:amaze is ideal for large businesses or companies managing multiple brands. E-commerce stores and enterprises with complex customer service needs would benefit from this platform.

How to choose the right helpdesk software

Finding the right helpdesk software requires careful consideration of your specific business needs. Follow these strategies to make the best choice for your team and customers.

Assess support volume and number of channels

Start by analyzing your current support volume. Keep track of the number of customer inquiries you get daily across all channels.

Also, look at which channels your customers use most frequently to contact you. Do they prefer email, social media, live chat or a web form?

Use a support channel matrix to understand which channels are essential based on your support volume. For example:

The right helpdesk software should support all the channels your customers use and any you plan to add.

Consider peak periods too. If your support volume varies by season, choose software that scales easily. Some solutions charge based on feature set, while others charge per agent.

Identify any integration needs with existing software

Create a list of all the tools your team currently uses that should integrate with your helpdesk. Your CRM system is the most critical integration point since it holds valuable customer data.

Check if the helpdesk solutions you’re considering offer native integrations with your tools. Native integrations are usually more reliable than third-party connections.

Remember future needs. If you plan to add new tools in the coming months, verify that potential helpdesk options can accommodate them.

Plan your budget

Look beyond the advertised monthly price to calculate the total cost of ownership for the software you’ll use (e.g., setup fees, training costs and customization expenses).

Compare pricing structures carefully. Some vendors charge per agent, while others charge per feature set. Choose the model that best suits your support team’s operations.

Also, consider scalability costs, such as adding temporary staff during busy seasons or growing your team. Some platforms offer discounts for annual payments but lock you into a fixed number of licenses for the entire year. Monthly plans may cost more per seat, but they let you adjust as your team size changes.

Test with free trials

Use free trials to test different hepdesk software. When trying each solution, focus on your most common support scenarios. Rather than exploring every feature, test the ones you’ll use to help you narrow down your options.

You can create a checklist with your daily workflows, most frequent issues and required reporting. For example, your checklist might look like this:

Ensure your support team is involved in testing ease of use and features, as they’ll use the system daily. Watch how quickly they adapt to the new user interface and whether it speeds up their work.

Final thoughts

Choosing the right helpdesk ticketing software can change your customer support from reactive to proactive. You can identify recurring issues before they affect other customers and provide self-help options so customers have instant access to support.

Whatever your software choice, seamless integration with your CRM is essential. It ensures you provide consistent customer experiences across sales and support teams.

Pipedrive’s CRM works with major helpdesk solutions in the market. Your agents get instant access to customer information. At the same time, your sales teams stay informed about support interactions.

Start your free Pipedrive trial today! See how a powerful CRM complements your helpdesk software.