You don’t need to spend hours combing through spreadsheets or compiling reports to start making data-driven business decisions. Modern analytics tools like customer relationship management (CRM) software can simplify data collection and analysis once they’re set up for your preferences and needs.
Learn more about how to choose and use a CRM dashboard to help make your company’s data more accessible and helpful.
What is a CRM dashboard?
CRMs contain a wealth of data—from customer contact info to their behavioral patterns—and CRM dashboards are the entry point into all of it. CRM dashboards use user-friendly graphs and charts to summarize key data points and display information from various parts of your CRM software. Most CRM dashboards are customizable, allowing you to choose between data sources and visualization options.
With custom configuration, teams can design a tool supporting their daily workflow. CRM dashboards may be especially helpful for customer service, marketing, sales, and executive teams. A dashboard displaying outstanding support tickets, for example, might help customer support teams improve customer satisfaction.
With a different dashboard setup, the same CRM could help sales managers identify qualified leads and monitor the sales pipeline. Choosing to include statistics like conversion rates and sales performance can help teams track progress toward sales goals. For a marketing team, a dashboard could include key engagement metrics such as customer lifetime value and customer retention rates.
Key CRM dashboard features
These are some of the key features to consider across CRM systems and CRM dashboards:
- Real-time data syncing. This ensures you’re always looking at the most current data on your dashboard, rather than wasting precious time with outdated information.
- Customizable display. This allows you to build a dashboard around the specific metrics that make the most sense for your business. This can be done by employee role, so different teams can track their own key performance indicators (KPIs).
- User-friendly design. Great design helps build an intuitive, useful dashboard. Well-designed charts, graphs, and other data visualizations should be clear at a glance.
- Smooth integration. A CRM that integrates with your other marketing and communications tools simplifies data management and saves time. With CRM integration, your dashboard can collect and display key metrics from various platforms, serving as a single source of truth.
- Dashboard creation. Some CRMs offer templates and prebuilt widgets for easy, no-code dashboard construction. Others offer highly customizable tools that can deliver nuanced insights but require an engineer to implement.
CRM dashboard examples
Here are some example CRM dashboards from five popular platforms, as well as their key features and pricing:
Salesforce
Salesforce is a platform with a customizable CRM dashboard and advanced analytics capabilities, including data forecasting and projections. Salesforce dashboards are interactive—users can click on highlighted statistics to access a more in-depth CRM report. Although Salesforce is scalable and well-suited for both medium and large companies, its setup and installation may be too resource-intensive for small businesses.
Pricing: Salesforce offers a Starter Suite for $25 per user per month, a Pro Suite for $100 per user per month, and an Enterprise plan for $175 per user per month, all billed annually. Dashboards are included in every tier; forecasting is included beginning at the Pro Suite level.
HubSpot
HubSpot’s CRM offers several dashboard templates to help simplify the setup and customization process. Users can choose the data and visual style that works best for their needs. Other features include automated lead scoring, which may support sales workflows and a log of customer interactions displayed as a straightforward timeline. HubSpot is well-suited to new or small businesses, since it offers a free CRM with essential features.
Pricing: HubSpot offers a free plan for accounts with up to two users. Larger teams can choose between a Starter plan for $15 per user per month, a Professional plan for $50 per user per month, and an Enterprise plan for $75 per user per month. Pipeline and contact management are included at every level, while AI insights are offered with the Enterprise level.
Zendesk
Zendesk offers several prebuilt CRM dashboards and a library of drag-and-drop widgets for easy customization. Users can select the features they want and arrange the layout to their liking. Live data components are available with the highest-level plan. It also brings together multiple communication channels, like email, chat, voice, and social media, into one place, making it easier to manage customer interactions.
Pricing: Zendesk offers four pricing plans, ranging from $19 per user per month to $169 per user per month, and customizable dashboards are available at every subscription level.
Monday.com
Monday.com’s CRM is a no-code platform designed for easy implementation. Within this platform, users create boards to manage and organize their work. Monday.com’s dashboards are directly connected to these boards; they pull data from and summarize activity on specific boards.
Its custom dashboards feature tools that simplify marketing efforts, including the ability to send social media and text messages directly from the dashboard. It can also support the sales process through features like lead generation and lead scoring.
Pricing: For three users, billed monthly, the Basic tier costs $15 per user, per month, and dashboards can only display data from one board. The Standard tier costs $20 per user, per month, and includes dashboards based on five boards, while the Pro tier at $55 per user, per month, offers dashboards that can pull data from up to 33 boards.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM includes a robust component library with prebuilt widgets for custom dashboard creation. Each dashboard can display up to 20 components. Users can navigate between multiple dashboards and perform basic editing functions, such as cloning, with this platform’s dashboard management view.
Pricing: Zoho offers a free plan for accounts with up to three users. Paid plans range from $14 to $52 per user per month when billed annually. The Standard plan includes 10 customizable dashboards. Unlimited customizable dashboards are available starting at the Professional tier.
How to create a CRM dashboard
Although the exact construction process will vary depending on your platform, here are some common steps involved in making a user-friendly, information-packed CRM dashboard:
1. Define the audience
Start by thinking about who will use it, since the dashboard will need to be customized according to which specific teams will access it. That could be any department, from sales and marketing to customer service or executive leadership.
Consider the relevant audience’s workflow, and look for tasks or projects that could benefit from enhanced analytics or tracking. The sales team, for example, may be most interested in statistics like accounts won and features like lead scoring. A business owner, on the other hand, might prefer high-level statistics to help keep track of each team’s progress.
2. Consult the people who will use it
To help optimize the CRM, get information from its intended users. Find out how they currently work with your business data and take note of any tools or platforms they currently use to access it. This will give you an opportunity to simplify their workflow.
For example, you learn the marketing team uses three different tools to collect email campaign performance metrics. You could integrate this data into your CRM and create a dashboard that collects and visualizes this information for a more efficient system.
3. Gather relevant metrics
Combine your insights with those of your future CRM users and make a list of key metrics for your dashboard. Review the prebuilt templates or widgets available in your CRM and select the options that best fit your needs.
Typically, you want to place the most important metrics at the top of the board. Graphs, charts, and leaderboards can make your dashboard more visually stimulating, so team members may be more likely to engage with it. A line chart, for example, may be the most intuitive way to monitor trends, while a pie chart might be more effective for tracking progress toward a numerical goal.
4. Get feedback
Once implemented, share the dashboard with its intended users. After a review period, collect feedback on both design and function. Ask users how they’ve incorporated the tool into their workflow and if there are other features or changes that could make it more useful. Apply any updates and check in periodically to further optimize the dashboard.
CRM dashboard FAQ
What are CRM dashboards?
A CRM dashboard is a data visualization tool that collects and displays key customer relationship management, sales, marketing, or financial performance statistics. Viewing a CRM dashboard is a quick way for marketing, customer service, executive, and sales teams to access key performance metrics.
What is a key benefit of using a CRM dashboard?
CRM dashboards provide easy access to real-time performance tracking. Using a CRM ensures everyone on your team has access to the same information, promoting alignment and supporting informed decision-making.
What is an example of a CRM?
Customer relationship management (CRM) software collects and stores customer information, tracks customer activity, and serves as a centralized information hub. CRMs are designed to help businesses manage every aspect of customer relationships. Companies that offer CRMs include Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and Zoho.
