CBJ JANUARY 2026

43 HOW TO MAKE CRM WORK FOR YOU JANUARY 2026 « The Canadian Business Journal 42 investing is bigger as it can result in customer dissatisfaction and loss of business. Investing in the right CRM allows companies to leverage industry-specific best practices, focus resources on innovation and differentiation, and decrease time-to-value. Proper CRM integration is vital to the return on your investment. Financial customers, for example, cannot be served properly without a comprehensive view of all their interactions. Focusing on transactions (not a typical shared function point) can reveal facets of customer behavior that ultimately drive more sales, while processes like ‘Know Your Customer’ also make a big difference in familiarizing you with your customer on a deeper, more relatable level. Modern, integrated CRM helps alleviate administrative burden for advisors, which is the primary cause of high turnover among financial advisors. It’s compatibility with other existing business systems allows users to effectively manage different setups, from message-based to shared database to user interface (UI) mashups. Integrated CRM not only relieves companies of documentation-heavy, client-facing tasks, it also takes business growth to the next level. Many companies need to innovate digitally, which is why it is critical to invest in a sound, intelligent CRM system. Artificial Intelligence Choosing a CRM with AI capabilities has a number of practical benefits. Intelligent CRM with built-in AI offers a cost-effective and efficient method of leveraging enterprise client data stored in legacy systems, combining vertical-specific industry best practices with a modern, service-oriented architecture. This gives organizations the ability to capitalize on their existing data and applications to deliver timely information and actionable insights. Among the chief benefits of an AI-assisted CRM system is its social media management capabilities. Social media permeates every part of our daily lives, and intelligent CRM allows you to easily streamline your marketing initiatives by centralizing all of your social media efforts into one platform. Additionally, intelligent CRM offers automation capabilities that give you back more time and productivity. AI identifies the repetitive day-to-day tasks and how to simplify them. You can also suggest and schedule personal touches that will make a difference to your client. By pulling data from back-office systems and third-party applications, your CRM can do all the heavy lifting. Let it automatically prompt you with timely, appropriate reasons to call your clients, whether it’s a birthday, upcoming retirement, or the birth of a new family member. More than just meeting the needs of your customer, building authentic, lasting relationships are essential to your business’ long-term success. An AI-powered CRM makes this all possible by delivering a comprehensive customer view, automating workflows, and delivering actionable insights to facilitate intelligent interactions, enhance customer service, and ultimately increase profitability. Customers are No.1 There’s no arguing with the demand for differentiated customer experiences and the related need for processes, and technology to enable organizations to better serve and support their customers. Technology is constantly evolving, and it’s nearly impossible to stay competitive in today’s marketplace without implementing a CRM solution. The Nucoro study estimates that nearly half (45%) of companies won’t be around in 10 years’ time if they fail – or worse, choose not – to innovate digitally, which is why it is critical to invest in a sound, intelligent CRM system. Intelligent CRMs that provide seamless integration and intelligent information can be a big advantage for advisors. With the right CRM for your business, its’ much easier to adopt a client-centric business model that understands your client’s needs, motivators, and interests, while at the same time fostering their loyalty to your brand. Adam Edmonds is Vice President of Products with NexJ Systems, which develops Intelligent Customer Management products for the financial services industry.