Executive summary
Our annual CRM survey of fund managers and allocators reveals a striking gap between expectations and reality: 48% feel neutral or worse about their CRM. Support ranks as the weakest feature at just 2.7 out of 5.
Integration remains the biggest missed opportunity as only 20% of fund managers and 10% of allocators connect their CRM to fund administrators or data providers, despite ‘data accuracy and integration’ being rated as the most important CRM feature.
How satisfied are you with your CRM?
Feeling underwhelmed by your CRM provider? You’re not alone. Our annual CRM survey revealed that 48% of fund managers and allocators feel neutral or worse about their CRM.
These statistics paint a picture of widespread CRM dissatisfaction across the asset management industry, leaving many professionals unsure whether this important tool is pulling its weight.
But the problem may not lie solely with the technology, it could be how it’s used. What practical guidance can be followed to get the most from our CRMs and make the system worth the investment?
Read on to explore:
Bringing hidden CRM opportunities to light. Despite CRM’s promises, many firms face frustration due to low integration rates with data providers and administrators, leading to missed opportunities.
Industry-specific CRMs: supporting business goals. CRMs tailored to asset management drive higher satisfaction because they offer relevant features out of the box.
Getting the CRM support you need. Support is the lowest-rated CRM feature, especially in general-purpose systems, highlighting the need for better vendor help and user training.
Making your CRM work for you. Frustration often stems from implementation, not technology, and firms can improve outcomes by investing in tailored setup, clean data, purposeful reporting, and strong support.
Bringing hidden CRM opportunities to light
For many, a CRM holds the promise of data transformation: a single source of truth, greater efficiency, and improved reporting. In practice, it often leads to frustration due to inefficient workflows, poor data quality, low usage, and lost opportunities.
Fund managers and allocators prioritized ‘data accuracy and integration’ in their CRM.
Yet, integration with data providers and fund administrators was limited, with only 20% of respondents reporting to integrate with either. Uptake was slightly higher among fund managers at 20%, compared to 10% of allocators.
Expanding integration
Outlook remains the most commonly integrated tool with CRMs. While synchronization with an email application is essential, it doesn’t provide business intelligence that fund managers and allocators increasingly expect.
Despite its high importance to both groups, ‘data accuracy and integration’ received an average satisfaction rating of just 3.2 out of 5. That low score may reflect limited integration with administrators and data providers, as well as concerns around cost, as reflected in comments such as “every other feature seems to come with an additional cost” and “no ability to connect to fund admin.”
Improving data accuracy
Maintaining accurate data requires both discipline and technology. Users must establish regular data hygiene routines. This involves reviewing contact accuracy, updating deal statuses, archiving inactive records, and ensuring categorizations align with current business objectives.
It’s not glamorous work, but it underpins every valuable CRM function. Without regular audits, even the best CRMs will degrade over time.
Industry-specific CRMs: supporting business goals.
Satisfaction increases to 61% among those using a CRM specifically designed for asset management.
That’s no surprise. After ‘data accuracy and integration’, the next most valued features were ‘usability and customization’ and ‘deal and workflow tracking.’
Interestingly, users of general-purpose CRMs were more likely to prioritize ‘usability and customization.’ This isn’t a coincidence. Purpose-built systems work better because they align with familiar workflows and include relevant features out of the box.
Choosing a fit-for-purpose CRM can make a significant difference. Still, if switching isn’t an option, the principles that make industry-specific systems successful can often be applied to general-purpose platforms. The key is understanding what you’re trying to achieve and setting up your system accordingly.
Build reports that drive action
Reports should drive better inputs, not just summarize past activities. When reports answer specific questions, highlight pipeline gaps, flag neglected relationships, and surface missed opportunities, that insight can be used to improve data entry practices and workflows.
Match your CRM to your process, not the other way around
Usability could improve dramatically if users understand both what their CRM is being used for and what capabilities they might not be leveraging. Too often, teams implement a system for one primary purpose (such as contact management) but fail to explore features that could achieve additional business objectives.
Getting the CRM support you need
Fund managers and allocators are, by far, most dissatisfied with the level and quality of support they receive from their CRM providers. Support received the lowest average rating across all features, just 2.7 out of 5.
There’s a clear pattern: the less satisfied users are with their CRM overall, the lower they rate the support they receive.
So, where is support falling short? Once again, general-purpose CRMs lag behind their industry-specific counterparts.
Although the burden of better support falls largely on CRM vendors, there are proactive steps you can take. CRMs are far more effective when users are trained in relevant features and follow best practices.
Whether working with your provider or in-house teams, develop a training plan that includes hands-on sessions, detailed documentation, and ongoing support.
Investing in comprehensive, role-specific training can help boost adoption, reduce frustration, and improve the long-term maintenance of your CRM.
Making your CRM work for you
Our survey highlights that CRM frustrations often stem not just from the technology itself, but from how it’s implemented, integrated, and supported.
The gap between what fund managers and allocators need and what they get is most apparent when it comes to data accuracy, integration, and support. These three areas are critical to realizing the full value of a CRM.
General-purpose systems may struggle here, but many of the same principles that make industry-specific CRMs successful, such as tailored workflows, thoughtful set-up, and strong training, can be applied more broadly.
Whether you’re re-evaluating your platform or simply want to get more out of the one you have, you will need to invest in better processes, maintain cleaner data, ask more from your reports, and provide your teams with the support and training they need.
With a clearer understanding of your goals and a CRM aligned to meet them, it’s possible to turn frustration into function and make your CRM a tool that genuinely works for your business.
Whether you’re re-evaluating your platform or simply want to get more out of the one you have, you will need to invest in better processes.
