CRM Glossary: Essential terms you need to know

A

API (Application Programming Interface): An interface that allows two software programmes to exchange data. Essential for connecting your CRM to your ERP, website, marketing tool, or telephony system.

CRM Automation: Implementation of scenarios that automatically execute recurring tasks (follow-ups, lead assignments, email sends, status updates) to save time and improve process reliability.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): A strategic marketing approach focused on target accounts, where marketing and sales coordinate actions around a limited list of high-potential companies.

CRM Tender: A formal procedure by which a company consults several vendors or integrators based on specifications to objectively compare their proposals.

B

Customer database: A structured set of information relating to customers and prospects (contact details, purchase history, interactions, segmentation). As the heart of the CRM, its quality determines the effectiveness of all actions.

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing): A sales qualification method that evaluates a prospect based on their budget, decision-making power, need, and timeline.

Business Intelligence (BI): A set of tools and practices used to transform CRM data into dashboards, reports, and indicators to support decision-making.

B2B / B2C: Refers to Business-to-Business (corporate clients) or Business-to-Consumer (individual clients) contexts. Expected CRM functionalities differ significantly between these two models.

C

CRM Specifications: A reference document describing the context, objectives, and functional, technical, and service requirements of the project. It serves as the basis for consulting vendors and integrators.

Sales Cycle: The set of stages a prospect goes through from initial contact to signing, and then retention. Its modelling in the CRM structures the sales pipeline.

Customer Journey: A representation of touchpoints between a customer and the company, from initial interest to after-sales. Used to align marketing, sales, and service.

Customer Data Platform (CDP): A platform that unifies customer data from multiple sources to build a single view, often used alongside a CRM for advanced marketing use cases.

Churn (attrition): The rate of customers lost over a given period. CRM helps to track, analyse it, and trigger retention actions.

D

Data Quality: The level of reliability, completeness, and freshness of CRM data. Poor quality destroys user trust and skews decisions.

Dashboard: An aggregated view of indicators (KPIs) used to manage sales, marketing, or service activity in real-time.

Deduplication: The process of identifying and merging duplicates (contacts, accounts, leads) to ensure a single customer view.

Drip campaign: A sequence of scheduled emails triggered automatically based on the recipient's behaviour or profile.

E

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Integrated management software (finance, stock, production, purchasing). Its integration with the CRM allows for the sharing of products, orders, and invoicing.

Email marketing: The practice of sending targeted email campaigns or scenarios, generally managed from the CRM or a connected marketing tool.

CRM Vendor: A company that designs and markets a CRM solution (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho, Sellsy, etc.).

F

Funnel: A representation of the successive stages prospects pass through (visitors, leads, MQL, SQL, opportunities, customers).

Forecast: A projection of expected revenue, calculated from the opportunities in the sales pipeline and their probability.

Retention: All actions aimed at prolonging the customer relationship (programmes, follow-ups, reminders, services). The CRM is the central tool for this.

G

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): The European regulatory framework governing the collection and processing of personal data. Any CRM project must integrate its requirements (consent, retention periods, individual rights).

Opportunity Management: Structured tracking of ongoing deals in the pipeline (amount, stage, probability, expected closing date).

I

CRM Integrator: A service provider that sets up, customises, and deploys the chosen solution. They handle scoping, configuration, integrations, change management, and training.

Integration: Technical connection between the CRM and other systems (ERP, marketing automation, website, telephony, accounting), via API or connectors.

Inbound marketing: A strategy consisting of attracting prospects via useful content (articles, white papers, webinars) rather than through outbound prospecting.

K

KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A key performance metric tracked via the CRM (conversion rate, average cycle length, average basket size, NPS, etc.).

Knowledge base: A knowledge repository used by customer service to respond quickly and consistently to requests.

L

Lead: An identified contact who has shown interest in the offering but is not yet qualified as a sales opportunity.

Lead scoring: Automatic assignment of points to a lead based on their characteristics and behaviour to prioritise sales actions.

Lead nurturing: A set of marketing actions (emails, content) intended to develop a lead until they reach sales maturity.

LTV (Lifetime Value): The total value generated by a customer over their entire relationship with the company. A central indicator for deciding acquisition investments.

M

Marketing automation: Tools and scenarios that automate marketing campaigns and journeys (emails, forms, scoring, segmentation).

MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): A lead deemed mature enough by marketing to be handed over to sales.

Multichannel / Omnichannel: The ability of the CRM to manage multiple interaction channels (email, phone, chat, social media) and coordinate them consistently.

O

Opportunity: An identified and qualified sales lead, with an amount, pipeline stage, and probability of closing.

Onboarding: The stage of integrating users (training, support) or a new customer (initial usage, setup).

P

Sales Pipeline: A visual representation of current opportunities, sorted by sales stage. A central tool for sales management.

Pilot (POC, Proof of Concept): A limited testing phase allowing for the validation of the CRM solution on a restricted scope before full deployment.

Personalisation: Adapting messages, offers, or journeys according to the contact's profile and behaviour.

DRP / BCP: Disaster Recovery Plan / Business Continuity Plan, ensuring the availability of CRM data and services in the event of an incident.

R

Reporting: The production and distribution of indicators and activity reports based on CRM data.

ROI (Return On Investment): Measurement of the return on investment for a CRM project, by comparing expected gains (productivity, additional turnover, retention) against costs (licences, integration, run).

Run: The ongoing operational phase of the CRM after deployment (maintenance, evolutions, support).

Single Customer View: A consolidated and reliable view of a customer's data, shared across all departments.

S

SaaS (Software as a Service): A cloud-based software distribution model based on subscription, dominant for modern CRMs.

Segmentation: Dividing the contact base into homogeneous groups to personalise marketing and sales actions.

SLA (Service Level Agreement): A contractual commitment from a vendor or integrator regarding service levels (availability, support response times).

SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): A lead qualified as ready to be contacted by sales.

Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Sellsy, Zoho: Leading CRM solutions on the market, each with its own strengths and positioning.

T

AMS (Application Maintenance Services): Managed services ensuring the corrective and evolutionary maintenance of the CRM after it goes live.

Conversion Rate: The ratio between incoming leads or opportunities and closed sales, a key indicator of sales performance.

Ticketing: A module for managing customer service requests, based on the creation and tracking of tickets.

U

UX (User Experience): The quality of the experience had by CRM users. An ergonomically poorly designed CRM leads to low adoption.

Upsell / Cross-sell: Sales techniques consisting of offering an upgrade (upsell) or complementary products (cross-sell) to an existing customer.

V

360° Customer View: The ability to display, on a single screen, all information and interactions related to a customer (orders, communications, contracts, tickets).

Data Validation: Automated rules that control the quality and consistency of data entered into the CRM.

W

Workflow: An automated sequence of steps or tasks triggered by an event (creation of an opportunity, signature, high-priority ticket, etc.).

Webhook: An integration mechanism that allows one system to send a real-time notification to another via an HTTP request.

How to use this glossary

This glossary is not intended to be read in one go. It primarily serves as a reference during the key phases of a CRM project:

• During scoping, to align vocabulary between business units and IT.
• During the drafting of specifications, to use the correct terminology.
• During vendor demonstrations, to decode what is being presented.
• During implementation, to follow discussions with the integrator.

To go further

To explore certain terms further in context, see our article on the definition of a CRM, on the main functionalities of a CRM, and on the specific vocabulary used in a CRM tender.

Key takeaways

• A shared CRM vocabulary between business units, IT, and service providers accelerates projects and minimises misunderstandings.
• Concepts such as specifications, pipelines, data quality, and ROI provide structure to the entire approach.
• Mastering acronyms (MQL, SQL, SLA, GDPR, SaaS, ROI) makes it easier to evaluate proposals from software vendors and integrators.

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