What Is a CRM? Core Features and What to Watch For When Adopting One

With so much emphasis today on understanding the customer, a shared internal view of each customer and an approach tailored to them matter more and more.
The key to deepening those connections is CRM (customer relationship management). It has become an essential tool for building and growing customer relationships.
This article covers CRM thoroughly, from the basics to its features, the points to watch when you roll it out, and how to use it successfully.

Read on if any of the following applies to you.
・You want to manage customer data but do not know how
・You know about CRM but are not making good use of it
・You want to use CRM to grow the business further

1. What is CRM (customer relationship management)?

CRM (customer relationship management) refers to managing customer details, behaviour history and the relationship itself in order to build and foster good relationships with customers, or to the tools and systems that deliver that。

The aim of CRM is to raise customer satisfaction, maximise LTV (lifetime value) and, through that, raise your own revenue.

From the customer’s side, a company that understands their situation and responds and communicates accordingly comes across as dependable and trustworthy. As that trust grows, upselling and cross-selling to fit their situation become easier, which raises LTV.

2. Why CRM is needed

So why is CRM now needed by companies and sole traders alike, in both B2B and B2C? Because it has the power to solve business problems such as the following

1. More customer touchpoints, information scattered
Email, phone, the website, social, face to face: touchpoints keep multiplying, while the information sits in separate hands department by department and person by person, so nobody can tell who had what exchange, and when.

2. Lost opportunities when everything rests on individuals
Responses tend to rest on the experience and instinct of the individual in sales or support, so a change of hands means a rough handover and no knowledge builds up.

3. Winning new business is harder, and LTV matters more
With the cost of winning new customers climbing, maximising LTV, by deepening relationships with existing customers and encouraging repeat purchases, upselling and cross-selling, has become essential to growth.

4. Inefficient strategy not grounded in data
Decisions are often made on instinct, effective marketing activity and sales strategy never take shape, and money is wasted.

A CRM system solves these problems, making all customer information visible and shared, and and it is the foundation for raising productivity across the organisation and delivering a consistent customer experience with high satisfaction.

3. How CRM differs from MA and SFA

Whenever CRM comes up, it tends to be compared with MA (marketing automation) and SFA (sales force automation).
All three support customer management, but each approaches customer information differently.
CRM is mainly about recording and managing information on customers and deals across the whole company, and building good customer relationships.
Bringing together data from sales, marketing, customer service and other departments gives you an overall view.
It also aims to raise LTV by maintaining relationships with people who have already become customers.

MA, on the other hand, is mainly about automating marketing activity such as lead generation and lead nurturing, based on the data held in CRM.
It helps you give prospects the information they want, when they want it, in the best way, so you can expect more meetings.

SFA is mainly about using prospect information to make sales work more efficient and more productive.
Putting to use what contact has been made so far and how the prospect responded can raise the rate at which meetings turn into orders.

More and more CRM tools now include SFA features, so you need to judge whether a product has what you need.

4. CRM features and the advantages of using one

CRM covers a wide range of features, and putting them to use lets a company run effective marketing.
You do not need to use all of them, but do know which ones matter to you.

4.1 Customer records

A database that updates in real time holds all customer information in one place.
Alongside basics such as name, company and contact details, holding and building up information on acquisition source and purchase history makes the patterns and characteristics across your customer base easier to see.
In B2C, knowing customers’ preferences lets you personalise what you offer, so they are more likely to find the product or service that suits them, which raises satisfaction.
Analysing the characteristics of customers who convert well may also sharpen your targeting.
In B2B the data updates with every new deal and interaction, supporting decisions in sales and marketing.

4.2 Meeting management

You can keep track of what was discussed, how far it has progressed and how likely it is to close.
Sharing that with everyone involved lets the salesperson take specific, effective action.
That can raise the success rate of meetings.

4.3 Sales activity management

CRM builds up a single record of communication: calls and emails, of course, but also visits, documents sent and requests from the customer.
Prioritising the better prospects from the lead data lets salespeople concentrate on the promising ones, which can raise the close rate.

It also handles tasks and scheduling, so important events and follow-ups do not get missed.

4.4 Data analysis

CRM can analyse customer data and produce customisable reports and dashboards. That gives a company a quick view of performance and results, and information that matters when setting strategy and allocating resources.
Email sending
CRM can send email to a particular customer segment. Tailoring the message to each recipient makes the communication land better.

4.5 Enquiry management

There are also features for managing enquiries on the customer support side.
Answering enquiries quickly and appropriately raises satisfaction.
CRM lets you look back at past enquiries and how they were handled, so similar problems get a consistent answer, which helps build trust.

4.6 AI assistance

Recent CRMs, HubSpot in particular, come with AI built in.
AI uses past data to suggest which meeting to prioritise now and what to do next, so even a less experienced colleague can act like a professional, and productivity across the organisation rises dramatically.

5. The disadvantages of CRM

5.1 Cost of rollout

Rolling out a CRM takes an initial investment.
The cost differs between cloud and on-premise, where you own and run the software yourself.
There are also staff costs for training.
Over the long run, though, this leads to more efficient work and higher revenue.

5.2 Change from how things are now

A new system comes with changes to internal culture and processes.
Staff need training and communication to adapt to a new tool.

6. Three things to judge a CRM on: features, usability, support

CRM systems differ widely in what they are good at.
To pick the system that suits you best out of the many available and maximise the return, compare them on the following three points.

Point	Why it matters	What to look at
①Features and extensibility	Whether it meets your aim and can keep up as the business grows	・Are SFA and MA features built in? ・Can it connect to outside systems such as accounting and core business systems? ・Does it handle what your industry needs (complex B2B deals, B2C repeat-purchase activity and so on)?
②Usability and take-up	Whether the people doing the work will use it daily, so data keeps building up	・Is the interface intuitive and clear? ・Does it work smoothly on mobile? ・Does it have plenty of automation to lighten data entry?
③Support and track record	Whether it will settle your worries during rollout and keep delivering results afterwards	・Is there solid support in Japanese? ・Is there chat support as well as email and phone? ・Does it have a strong record with companies in your industry and of your size?

6.1 ①Features and extensibility: judging the range of features and how well it connects

Check that it has exactly the features you need to meet your aim, whether that is more efficient selling, stronger customer follow-up or something else.

For small and medium-sized or growing companies in particular, we recommend a platform that combines CRM, SFA (sales support) and MA (marketing automation) all in one.
That way no one has to cross between systems department by department, the customer experience stays consistent, and the data does not fragment.

As the business grows you will need to connect to other tools: accounting, core business systems, the website CMS. Choosing a system with flexible API connections that can take future expansion matters a great deal in the long run.

6.2 ②Usability and take-up: will the people doing the work keep using it?

However capable a CRM is, if the people using it find it awkward, data entry stalls and the system becomes an empty shell. Whether a CRM rollout succeeds comes down to take-up It is no exaggeration to say so.

When choosing, always make use of a free trial and check the following points.

・Intuitive to use
Is it designed so you can tell what to do next without reading a manual?

・Mobile support
Can salespeople who are often out of the office enter and check data smoothly from a phone, on the move or straight after a meeting?

・Lighter data entry
Does it have plenty of features that save effort, such as pulling in activity history and email automatically? A CRM that is simple to use and achieves high take-up leads directly to good data quality, which makes accurate analysis and strategic decisions possible.

6.3 ③Support and track record: is someone there to walk the road with you?

A CRM rollout is a tool for changing how you work.
So support once it is live matters enormously, not just data migration and setup at the start.

・Quality of Japanese-language support
Can you get prompt, accurate support in Japanese when something goes wrong?

・A specialist partner
Is there a specialist rollout partner, such as NowVillage, who will advise not just on how to use the system but on the strategy of how to turn it into revenue?

・Track record
Checking whether there are plenty of case studies at companies of your size and in your industry gives you a sense in advance of whether it will fit your business.

Generous support removes the worry during rollout and running, and leaves you free to concentrate on your own business.

7. Preparing so the rollout does not fail

For a CRM rollout to succeed, lay the groundwork properly before you choose a tool.
Use the following to check where you stand.

7.1 Setting targets and expected results

Can you answer clearly why you are bringing in a CRM?
Push ahead with a vague aim and you may end up with a capable system nobody uses. Start by using the following to set the aim out clearly and specifically, as numerical targets (KPIs and KDIs)。

Example problem	Example aim	Example KPIs and KDIs to set
Selling rests on individuals	Standardise and share sales know-how	・100% of deals have their progress entered ・Average days from meeting to order cut by 20%
Lost opportunities	No prospect goes unfollowed	・80% of leads passed from marketing to sales are high quality
Slow response to customers	Answer customer enquiries faster	・Customer satisfaction (CSAT) up 5 points ・Time to resolve an enquiry cut by 30%
More revenue from existing customers	Encourage upselling and cross-selling to existing customers	・Raise the share of revenue from existing customers to XX% ・Keep churn below 5%

A CRM is used across the whole company, so driving it from one department’s needs alone makes take-up hard.

To meet these aims, it is essential to pick project members from the departments that will actually use it, such as marketing, sales and customer support, and set up a cross-departmental team.

7.2 Understanding your current processes

Some people hesitate because their work is complicated, but treat it instead as an ideal chance to expose the waste and inefficiency you have now.

Write out in detail how work flows today, from winning a prospect through to the order and on to support (As is: how things stand), then use the following to identify the bottlenecks.

・Fragmented information
Where is customer information scattered: spreadsheets, business card tools, mailboxes?

・Inefficient manual work
How much time goes on manual work such as writing quotes and reporting progress? Is anything being entered twice?

・Barriers to communication
How much effort does it take to share necessary information between departments?

Telling that A thorough grasp of the current state (as is) is what gives you a solid foundation for setting the target state (to be) — that is, for designing the process you will run once the CRM is in place.

Doing this step together with an outside specialist lets you work more objectively and more efficiently.

7.3 Securing budget and resources

The cost of a CRM is not just the monthly licence fee. The key to success is securing the following costs as a whole, with adoption and results after go-live in mind.

Cost and resource category	What it covers
System costs	・Initial setup fees ・Monthly or annual licence fees ・Fees for any add-on features you need
Data migration costs	・Migrating customer data from existing systems or Excel files ・Data cleansing
Staff and training costs	・Time set aside for project members ・Training and education for the teams who will use it
External support costs	・Fees for a specialist partner (configuration, strategy design and ongoing support)

In particular, what the project lead or a specialist partner delivers in-house —“training and operational support” — is the single most important factor, directly tied to adoption and results after go-live.
Work out which features and what level of support you need, and rather than treating go-live as the finish line, secure budget and resources that look ahead to the point where your teams are using it well and getting results.

8. Points to watch when introducing a CRM

A CRM is not finished at go-live; it is meaningless unless you build an environment in which it actually gets used.
Below are the points to watch during the rollout.

8.1 The purpose of the CRM is unclear

It is essential to approach a CRM rollout with a plan.
Communicate closely with stakeholders, clarify the goals and set a schedule; being clear about what you want to improve by introducing the CRM is what drives adoption.
That may also bring a need for customisation to fit your own requirements. Identify the specific requirements before go-live and prepare an environment in which the CRM can be used to its full potential.

8.2 The CRM is in place but has not caught on internally

It takes time to get used to a new way of managing records, so it is common for staff to find it a chore, skip data entry, and leave you unable to use the CRM as intended.
Alongside understanding what matters to the people on the ground, it is important to produce a manual for the software and to help them understand why the CRM is needed in the first place.
Rather than trying to use every feature at once, starting small and expanding is another way to let people get used to it gradually.
Keep these points in mind to make the rollout a smooth one.

9. How to use a CRM effectively

Using a CRM effectively calls for the right approach.
Here are the points that make the difference: improving the quality of your customer data, joining up sales and marketing, and running training regularly.

9.1 Keep your customer data accurate

To prevent entry errors and duplicates, set out entry rules and a process for validating data. That means standardising data formats and entry conventions and writing them into an internal manual.
Update and clean the data regularly as well.

9.2 Strengthen the link between sales and marketing

Put regular meetings and a mechanism for sharing information in place to bring sales and marketing closer together. Share common goals and KPIs, and make sure both sides understand how the CRM should be used to reach them.

9.3 Run training and education regularly

Teach the staff who use the CRM why data quality matters and stress the importance of accurate entry.
Repeating the message that maintaining data quality is part of everyone’s job raises awareness.
Introducing a training programme that keeps staff up to date on new features and best practice is effective too. Make a point of helping them learn new features and understand how best to use the system.
Cover these points and you will be able to run your CRM effectively.

10. The CRM we recommend: HubSpot

What we at NowVillage recommend is “ HubSpot.

HubSpot is an all-in-one CRM platform chosen by more than 299,000 companies in 135 countries (as of May 2026) and by a great many companies in Japan.

The reasons HubSpot is chosen are that it is an all-in-one tool that builds on CRM to give you MA, CMS, SFA, customer support and commerce in a single platform, and it is very easy to use

Because it brings together the features each department needs, sharing information across departments becomes very smooth.

And because Its intuitive, easy-to-follow user interface is a strength, and it achieves high adoption even at companies that are not used to IT tools。

The flexible plan structure is another draw: you can start on the free plan and add only the features you need as the business grows.

HubSpot supports winning new customers, lifting revenue, making work more efficient and delivering a joined-up customer experience all at once. For more on HubSpot, the article below is worth a read.

Related article:
What is HubSpot? Features, functions, pricing and points to watch

11. Growing with a CRM

A CRM is a powerful tool for deepening customer relationships and making business processes more efficient in business today.
Used in the way that suits your own needs, it becomes something that underpins a customer-centred business seen from the customer’s point of view. Why not consider a CRM as a way to earn customer trust and sharpen your competitive edge?
With the leading cloud-based CRM, HubSpot we hold certified partner status in the HubSpot Solutions Partner Programme.
We aim to broaden and improve our existing marketing support services, and we offer platform implementation and operational support services in the marketing and sales space.