TECH BASICS
CRM
The database companies use to keep track of every customer relationship.
The simple version
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is software that stores everything a company knows about a customer or lead — contact info, conversation history, deal stage — so sales and support teams stay organized instead of relying on memory.
For example
When a salesperson logs a call and sets a reminder to follow up next week, they're almost always doing it inside a CRM like Salesforce or HubSpot.
Go deeper
CRMs have grown well beyond sales — support teams, marketing teams, and even recruiters use CRM-style tools to track people they're building a relationship with over time. "CRM Admin" is its own specialized job at many companies.
Why it matters
If a job description mentions "CRM hygiene" or "pipeline management," it's almost always about keeping this system accurate — a very real, very common day-to-day task.