CRM, API and Webhooks – What The Hell?

These 3 bullies stick together like a motorbike gang in a fight!

CRM
Client Relationship Management sounds like you are running a dating service, but luckily, you’re not.

What it is, is a great tool to create and manage a set of rules and actions that convert leads into customers and customers into fans.

They gather information and react if something happens, or when it doesn’t! CRMs do what you have told them to do, like send an email reminder to the client or the responsible salesman.

Some of the main attributes of CRM systems:

• They store customer information in a central location for easy access by any employee.
• This facilitates collaboration leading to increased levels of customer service.
• The automation of lead nurturing and sales forecasting leads to greater business efficiency.
• The personalised service offered by these programs leads to increased customer loyalty.
• By tracking marketing campaigns, CRMs provide useful information on customer behaviour.

CRMs are totally awesome for business and amazingly most of the best systems have a free version, perfect for small businesses. Here are some of the best free CRM platforms in 2023 according to Stackby.com: TechRadar, CRM.org and Zapier and then the best CRMs overall according to BizReport rankings:

Clearly ZOHO, HubSpot and Freshsales rank at the top of both lists with Salesforce the fourth CRM appearing on both lists. These are therefore the free CRMs which we recommend to link to LeadADD.

But to do that you need to use a webhook or an API. Don’t panic, I got you!

Onto Webhooks:
A webhook connects two programs together in real time to transfer data – in this case your CRM and LeadADD. Webhooks are Event-Based, meaning they send or push information as they receive it.

It is not a difficult process and most systems, including LeadADD, have portals to allow for this connection and communication.

Next up, APIs:
Some programs use an Application Program Interface instead of webhooks. It is very similar to a webhook in that it also facilitates communication between two applications, or programs. How it differs, essentially, is that an API is Request-Based, meaning it responds to a request for information from a third-party application, and sends the information in response.

And there you have it – CRMs, APIs and Webhooks, sorted.