CRM: what it is, what it is for and how it differs from a CDP
FLYDE Glossary · November 9, 2026 · 4 min read
A CRM (customer relationship management) is the system where a company records and manages its contacts with customers and sales opportunities: who each contact is, what has been discussed, where each deal stands and which tasks are pending.
What a CRM is for
- Sales: managing the pipeline, forecasting revenue and never losing track of a customer.
- Customer service: having each person's conversations, cases and orders at hand.
- Marketing: segmenting contacts and sending communications, especially in B2B.
Types of CRM
- Operational: automates day-to-day sales, marketing and service. The most common.
- Analytical: analyses customer data to understand behaviour and profitability.
- Collaborative: shares customer information across departments and with partners.
CRM and CDP: how they differ
| CRM | CDP | |
|---|---|---|
| For whom | Sales and service | Marketing, CRM and analytics |
| Which data | What the team records: contacts, calls, deals | All customer data: store, ecommerce, app, CRM, email, advertising |
| Anonymous customers | No | Yes, and it merges them into the profile once identified |
| Purpose | Managing one-to-one relationships | Unifying, segmenting and activating audiences across channels |
They do not compete: the CDP takes the CRM's data, joins it with everything else and gives the CRM back a fuller view of each customer. We cover it in depth in differences between CRM, DMP and CDP.
When a CRM falls short
When most of your customers buy in store or online without ever talking to a salesperson, the CRM only sees part of the relationship. This is typical in retail and consumer brands: the CRM holds thousands of contacts, but purchase behaviour lives in the store system, the ecommerce platform and the loyalty programme.
The CRM and FLYDE
FLYDE connects to your CRM (see the integrations) and joins its contacts with each customer's purchases, browsing and campaigns. Your team keeps working in its CRM and FLYDE adds what the CRM cannot see: each customer's value, their churn risk and segments ready to activate.
Frequently asked questions
What does CRM stand for? Customer relationship management. The term is used both for the strategy and for the software that supports it.
What is a CRM used for? To record and manage relationships with customers and sales opportunities: contacts, conversations, open deals, tasks and sales forecasts.
What is the difference between a CRM and a CDP? A CRM manages one-to-one relationships with the data the team records; a CDP unifies all customer data from every source, including anonymous visitors, to segment and activate in marketing. They complement each other.
Is a CRM enough for retail? It works for customer service and B2B sales, but falls short for understanding purchase behaviour in store and online. For that it is combined with a CDP.