Spotlight

Report:

The Forrester Wave™: Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services, Q1 2025

How does Forrester define the Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services market in 2025?

The CRM landscape for financial services is bifurcating between vendors deepening financial services-specific capabilities with purpose-built AI (BUSINESSNEXT, Creatio, Salesforce, ServiceNow) versus vendors focusing broadly on AI and automation with enterprise-grade building blocks requiring customization (Microsoft, Oracle, Pegasystems). The market has evolved from on-premises solutions to SaaS, with the pandemic accelerating adoption of industry-specific CRMs and out-of-the-box solutions for banking, insurance, and investment management. Modern CRM is becoming the new core that connects organizational silos across customer and employee journeys, from front to middle and back office, serving as critical technology infrastructure for delivering next-generation financial services.

Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services, Q1 2025 in 2025

How did the Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services market evolve in 2025?

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

What are the common features of top products in the Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services space?

No common features specified.

Scope Exclusions

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting

Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research evaluates the seven most significant CRM providers for financial services across current offering capabilities, strategic vision and execution, and customer feedback. It assesses vendors' financial services-specific functionality across retail banking, insurance, and investment/wealth management, including prospecting, sales, service, analytics, AI capabilities, integration, and employee collaboration tools.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: Financial services CRM customers should use this research when making purchasing decisions to understand vendor positioning, capabilities, and strategic alignment. Prioritize vendors based on: 1) Strategic alignment with short and long-term business goals, 2) Path to value considering ROI of customization versus out-of-the-box solutions, and 3) AI capabilities at scale with financial services-specific models and robust trust/compliance practices.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: Vendors must have financial services industry focus covering at least two of three industries (retail banking, insurance, investment/wealth management), generate over $50 million in financial services CRM revenue with customer references, offer enterprise-grade CRM suitable for complex requirements including global scale and large data volumes, and have significant Forrester client mindshare through inquiries or competitive mentions.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

A:

  • Insufficient financial services revenue (below $50 million threshold)
  • Limited industry coverage (only one financial services vertical)
  • Lack of enterprise-grade capabilities for complex organizations
  • Inability to scale globally or handle large customer data volumes
  • Insufficient Forrester client interest or market presence
  • Missing end-to-end business process management capabilities

Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?

A:

  • Strategic alignment - Prioritize vendors with vision, innovation, roadmap, support, and capabilities that align with short- and long-term strategic business goals, as modern CRM is critical technology infrastructure connecting organizational silos
  • Path to value - Calculate ROI of customization versus OOTB solutions; prioritize vendors with strong support services and technology roadmaps for ongoing optimization; consider whether complex needs require customized solutions or if verticalized solutions can accelerate time to value
  • AI at scale - Prioritize vendors that include AI at all license tiers; provide cohesive toolset for predictive AI, genAI, and AI agents; have robust AI trust, compliance, and security practices; consider whether financial services-specific AI capabilities are needed for faster adoption and ROI

Q: How has the Customer Relationship Management Software For Financial Services market evolved in 2025?

A:

  • Market bifurcation between verticalized financial services-specific solutions and horizontal enterprise platforms requiring customization
  • Integration of AI at all levels - predictive, generative, and agentic - to boost productivity and deliver personalized customer experiences at scale
  • Shift from lightweight SaaS to comprehensive platforms connecting front, middle, and back office
  • Focus on faster time to value through out-of-the-box solutions versus customized implementations
  • Increased emphasis on AI trust, compliance, and security practices
  • Evolution of CRM from supporting tool to strategic core infrastructure for financial services delivery

Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?

A: Strength of Offering evaluates the current capabilities of each vendor's CRM platform, focusing on functional features across prospecting, customer management, analytics, account opening, self-service, engagement, integration tooling, AI capabilities, and marketplace ecosystems. It represents what vendors can deliver today. Strength of Strategy assesses each vendor's future direction and market approach, including their vision for the market, innovation capabilities, product roadmap, partner ecosystem strength, market adoption, pricing models, community engagement, and support services. Strategy indicates where vendors are heading and how well-positioned they are for future success.

Reference

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