CRM Software Trends 2019 in German SMEs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 8:34 am
The advantages of German software products lie in the language and localization. Most international tools are not available in German and do not provide a direct contact or customer support for Germany. Problems can also arise when integrating the currency.
The most important, however, are the legal aspects. German providers usually have data centers in Germany. This means that data is stored in Germany in accordance with German legal norms. There are also tools that require Germany-specific standards and norms such as GoBD (tax office requirements for IT-supported accounting) or labor laws in the software. These specific functions are particularly complex to develop and are often responsible for the price difference compared to American products.
German software providers have become more important, especially since the GDPR came into force in May 2018. Many American software providers do not offer GDPR compliance. Other providers have registered with the so-called "Privacy Shield". American companies that want to process personal data of EU citizens commit themselves to complying with European data protection regulations by registering with the Privacy Shield. However, the Privacy Shield has been subject to widespread criticism and is viewed by many lawyers as a legal gray area.
Conclusion
Customer journey and customer experience are terms that we have been familiar with for some time now. The main idea of customer experience management is to increase the number of contact points or touchpoints between a company and its customers. The current state of customer experience in Germany was examined as part of an IDG study . The larger the company, the greater the israel telegram data likelihood that the company has a CX contact person. Small and medium-sized companies still struggle with CX and are lagging far behind. Software can actively support companies. Customer experience software collects and measures the experience that customers have with a company in order to improve it.
New trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) also require the use of software . AI will revolutionize sales and customer relationship management. AI methods have been used for some time now to address the right people at the right time in the right place. AI software can understand the content of customer messages, conduct dialogues, connect with the right employees and analyze the large amount of data to determine how the customer can best be reached.
Finally, we asked Nils Hafner what needs to change in German SMEs to increase software usage. Mr. Hafner explains that this has everything to do with the level of competition: "If I notice that my competitors are better able to adapt to my customers, this could be due to greater customer knowledge as a result of the evaluations from the CRM system. Or it could be because my organization is simply too slow to meet customer needs at the required speed."
Then, as an entrepreneur, I have to ask myself what I can do to better understand what my customer wants or needs, or to become faster in marketing, sales and service and to be able to keep up with the competition. According to Mr. Hafner, "costs also play a major role here. Inefficient resources in marketing and sales simply cost too much. Depending on where my competitors produce, there are also cost advantages in production. So if I'm already expensive, I have to be better. CRM systems have been proven to help with this."
The most important, however, are the legal aspects. German providers usually have data centers in Germany. This means that data is stored in Germany in accordance with German legal norms. There are also tools that require Germany-specific standards and norms such as GoBD (tax office requirements for IT-supported accounting) or labor laws in the software. These specific functions are particularly complex to develop and are often responsible for the price difference compared to American products.
German software providers have become more important, especially since the GDPR came into force in May 2018. Many American software providers do not offer GDPR compliance. Other providers have registered with the so-called "Privacy Shield". American companies that want to process personal data of EU citizens commit themselves to complying with European data protection regulations by registering with the Privacy Shield. However, the Privacy Shield has been subject to widespread criticism and is viewed by many lawyers as a legal gray area.
Conclusion
Customer journey and customer experience are terms that we have been familiar with for some time now. The main idea of customer experience management is to increase the number of contact points or touchpoints between a company and its customers. The current state of customer experience in Germany was examined as part of an IDG study . The larger the company, the greater the israel telegram data likelihood that the company has a CX contact person. Small and medium-sized companies still struggle with CX and are lagging far behind. Software can actively support companies. Customer experience software collects and measures the experience that customers have with a company in order to improve it.
New trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) also require the use of software . AI will revolutionize sales and customer relationship management. AI methods have been used for some time now to address the right people at the right time in the right place. AI software can understand the content of customer messages, conduct dialogues, connect with the right employees and analyze the large amount of data to determine how the customer can best be reached.
Finally, we asked Nils Hafner what needs to change in German SMEs to increase software usage. Mr. Hafner explains that this has everything to do with the level of competition: "If I notice that my competitors are better able to adapt to my customers, this could be due to greater customer knowledge as a result of the evaluations from the CRM system. Or it could be because my organization is simply too slow to meet customer needs at the required speed."
Then, as an entrepreneur, I have to ask myself what I can do to better understand what my customer wants or needs, or to become faster in marketing, sales and service and to be able to keep up with the competition. According to Mr. Hafner, "costs also play a major role here. Inefficient resources in marketing and sales simply cost too much. Depending on where my competitors produce, there are also cost advantages in production. So if I'm already expensive, I have to be better. CRM systems have been proven to help with this."