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Building a Competitive Edge: Empowering Marketing Graduates with CRM Technology Training

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Title: Building a Competitive Edge: Empowering Marketing Graduates with CRM Technology Training
Language: English
Authors: April F. Kemp, J. Ricky Fergurson, David E. Fleming, Timothy D. Butler
Source: Marketing Education Review. 2025 35(2):160-170.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Graduates, Marketing, Business Education, Sales Occupations, Consumer Economics, Salesmanship, Integrated Curriculum, Technology, Training, Experiential Learning, Skill Development, Course Objectives, Student Attitudes
DOI: 10.1080/10528008.2025.2467138
ISSN: 1052-8008
2153-9987
Abstract: In today's competitive job market, marketing and sales graduates must be equipped with advanced technology skills to thrive, particularly in utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This research examines the critical need for CRM skills within marketing and sales education and explores how integrating CRM training into curricula can better prepare students for the workforce. Despite the growing emphasis on sales technology, recent studies indicate a lack of structured CRM education in many sales programs. This paper examines existing literature on CRM pedagogy and provides practical implementation guides for educators to incorporate CRM training effectively. It highlights various approaches to integrating CRM across marketing courses, from basic exposure to advanced, hands-on experiences. By adopting the recommended strategies, universities can better align their programs with industry needs, fostering graduates proficient in CRM and prepared to excel in modern sales environments.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1474100
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0185386663;fm401jun.25;2025May27.02:00;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0185386663-1">Building A Competitive Edge: Empowering Marketing Graduates With CRM Technology Training </title> <p>In today's competitive job market, marketing and sales graduates must be equipped with advanced technology skills to thrive, particularly in utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This research examines the critical need for CRM skills within marketing and sales education and explores how integrating CRM training into curricula can better prepare students for the workforce. Despite the growing emphasis on sales technology, recent studies indicate a lack of structured CRM education in many sales programs. This paper examines existing literature on CRM pedagogy and provides practical implementation guides for educators to incorporate CRM training effectively. It highlights various approaches to integrating CRM across marketing courses, from basic exposure to advanced, hands-on experiences. By adopting the recommended strategies, universities can better align their programs with industry needs, fostering graduates proficient in CRM and prepared to excel in modern sales environments.</p> <p>Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is like a customer roadmap for organizations. Communication and follow-up are two of the most important parts of building customer relationships, especially for marketing and sales teams. Organizations must properly use CRM to ensure communication and follow-up intersect to maximize sales, so it is crucial that CRM is being taught in marketing courses today.</p> <p>-Feedback from a sales manager on the importance of CRM training</p> <p>A 2024 Forbes article highlighted that hiring managers believed U.S. graduates lacked the proper skills relating to communication, collaboration, and critical thinking (Forbes, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref1">6</reflink>]). The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) defines competency in critical thinking as the ability to "identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information." They define competency in technology competency as the ability to "understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals" (NACE, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref2">14</reflink>]). Based on these definitions, it is clear that engaging sales and marketing students with dynamic technology like a CRM would address current student deficiencies and support student growth in these necessary areas of career readiness.</p> <p>Additionally, existing research makes it clear that to succeed, sales and marketing graduates entering the workforce would be well served by familiarity and comfort with CRM. Rodriguez and Honeycutt ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref3">17</reflink>]) noted that CRM serves as a method to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and collaboration, which all lead to increased sales performance, while Rodriguez et al. ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref4">18</reflink>]) found that effective CRM utilization improves sales processes, which should lead to better sales outcomes. Giovannetti et al. ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref5">8</reflink>]) found that the infusion of sales technologies in an ecosystem leads to greater ambidexterity and, thus, positive outcomes in those who embrace sales technology. However, the landscape of sales enablement technologies, including CRMs are constantly changing, as evidenced by Rodriguez and Boyer ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref6">16</reflink>]) in their work on mobile CRM (mCRM) and its impact on performance in high collaboration environments. Student familiarity with CRM is also necessary for success in sales competitions (Unger et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref7">21</reflink>]). Based on these findings, students would benefit from CRM training.</p> <p>The ability to integrate technologies such as CRM into daily work is crucial for graduates to stand out in the job market as it allows them to contribute to organizations' sales efforts and strategies quickly. Therefore, sales and marketing faculty interested in equipping students with relevant career skills should feel compelled to enhance students' knowledge of and comfort with using these technologies. Sales and marketing graduates need more advanced technology training, including CRM training, to be prepared for the workforce. Adding these skills can assist new graduates in improving their work efficiency by streamlining tasks such as lead management, follow-ups, and reporting. Leveraging CRM to be more structured and organized allows them to focus more on direct, revenue-generating activities instead of time-consuming, clerical tasks. Further, this focus aligns with augmenting the NACE Career Competencies of Technology and Critical Thinking. New graduates who were exposed to hands-on CRM training in undergraduate curricula are more likely to prioritize data-driven decision-making, which is harder to learn in more traditional, lecture-based classrooms. Applied learning using CRM equips graduates with tangible skills to analyze data and extract actionable insights.</p> <p>Ample opportunity exists for marketing and sales educators to revise courses to include new technology training (Ferrell & Ferrell, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref8">5</reflink>]). The challenge with teaching technology, as well as critical thinking, is giving students opportunities to engage in situations where they can make hands-on decisions based on gathering and analyzing information, specifically when it comes to CRM. One tool that allows faculty to incorporate CRM into their coursework smoothly is the SmartFox University Academy (SmartFox), which includes training modules that can be incorporated throughout marketing and sales curricula. This manuscript aims to look at the literature surrounding CRM in the marketing and sales pedagogical literature. In addition, actionable guidance for faculty implementing CRM training using SmartFox is provided.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-2">Experiential Learning Theory</hd> <p>Experiential learning has been utilized as a way for students to learn by doing and helps students move beyond concepts to gain knowledge through higher-order thinking (Laverie et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref9">12</reflink>]). Originally proposed by Kolb, experiential learning theory is the foundation of this research (Kolb, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref10">11</reflink>]). There are many experiential learning activities to explore, such as service-learning, study abroad, internships, and projects. Experiential learning theory emphasizes four phases of learning:</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-3">Concrete Experience</hd> <p>CRM training includes hands-on learning activities where students interact with software. They learn how to navigate the system, including how to input data, manage leads, and track campaigns. This direct engagement with the software guides the concrete experience phase.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-4">Reflective Observation</hd> <p>After engaging with CRM software, students can reflect on their experiences, discuss features of CRM systems, and explain how the systems can be applied to real-world scenarios.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-5">Abstract Conceptualization</hd> <p>Students can conceptualize principles underlying CRM software, such as customer lifecycle management and data-driven decision-making. This phase allows students to connect the theory to their practical experience.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-6">Active Experimentation</hd> <p>In the final stage, students actively experiment by applying what they have learned in scenarios or experiences. They can analyze data or develop strategies to enhance customer relationships. This phase allows students to practice their understanding of the concepts learned.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-7">Effectiveness</hd> <p>As discussed, many marketing graduates will work in sales in some capacity, and CRM is the main technology used. This innovation fills the gap in the training needed to be better prepared through hands-on learning. CRM training provides experience with software tools to manage relationships and will be applicable in many careers. This type of training gives students more tools for their toolkits, including data analysis, problem-solving, adaptability, and strategic thinking. Implementing CRM processes effectively requires collaboration, effective communication skills, and working toward common organizational goals. Using experiential learning tools to enhance technical training skills is essential for career readiness for today's graduates to be confident going into the real world.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-8">Challenge Addressed by the Innovation</hd> <p> <emph>The need for CRM in Sales Education</emph> </p> <p>As the number of sales programs across higher education has grown, so have the number of articles looking at how to structure the pedagogy surrounding them; however, Cummins et al. ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref11">1</reflink>]) note that less than 6% of sales pedagogy articles from 2005–2020 looked at sales technology. Many of these manuscripts note that including sales technology, especially CRM, is necessary to prepare students for the modern workforce properly. In Deeter-Schmelz and Kennedy ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref12">3</reflink>]) surveyed department chairs and sales faculty to examine the state of college sales curricula. They found that over 38% of schools with sales programs and 11% without a sales program taught a standalone CRM course; around 20% of these courses were taught virtually. Dugan et al. ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref13">4</reflink>]) noted that sales enablement technologies, including CRM, are causing stress for firms and employees due to additional oversight and administrative requirements of such systems. Additionally, the researchers asked if sales technologies will level the playing field between salespeople or, alternatively, whether sales technologies create skill gaps. Both of these concerns can be mitigated by exposing students to CRM throughout their educational journey to reduce the amount of training and oversight graduates will need when they join the workforce, as well as giving students familiarity with technology so that they are not being detrimentally impacted by skill gaps when trying to secure career opportunities.</p> <p>Spiller et al. ([<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref14">20</reflink>]) found that over 50% of sales professors believe that a CRM course should be part of their curricula, and 65% believe that a closely related course on sales analytics should be included. The good news is that, in their qualitative analysis of sales graduate self-efficacy, Knight et al. ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref15">10</reflink>]) found that those interviewed indicated that they were prepared or had the skills to learn the required sales technologies in their entry-level roles. This recent finding suggests that the graduates of sales programs are exposed to at least an acceptable level of CRM and sales technology. In their deep dive into sales center structures, Rippé et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref16">15</reflink>]) found that 33% of current and 25% of planned sales centers had a course that focused on sales technology, and 26% had a course focused on sales analytics. The Rippé et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref17">15</reflink>]) study also noted that it is important to integrate CRM education across multiple courses to reinforce student learning and enable students to apply CRM knowledge in various contexts. Further, this study found that 29% of advanced sales, 2% of sales management, 16% of internships, 8% of sales team/competition courses, 67% of sales technology, and 86% of sales analytics courses included CRM software training. Taken together, the extant literature demonstrates the need for including CRM and sales enablement technology in sales and marketing curricula while also showing a need for additional growth and integration. While this is good insight, the literature does not provide clear guidance about ways to incorporate CRM in these courses or structure a CRM course. Next, we review the existing knowledge about implementing CRM in the classroom.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-9">Current Pedagogy Literature on CRM in the Classroom</hd> <p>One of the challenges with implementing CRM across the sales/marketing curriculum is that scant studies provide guidance on how to incorporate CRM in the classroom. A thorough dive into this space in the literature revealed only three journal articles and two conference proceedings that even touch on the pedagogical implementation of CRM in the classroom. In addition, each of these manuscripts highlights the challenge of giving students a true-to-life experience in utilizing the CRM system. One reason for the difficulty may be that if a school obtains site licenses for Salesforce through the Salesforce student licensing program or their affiliation with an organization such as the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA), it is just the base software without any data. Hence, the faculty must obtain or create the data for any assignments utilizing Salesforce. Faculty members may lack the experience or ability to create a hands-on experience using CRM for their students. This was evidenced at the 2017 USCA meeting, where the director of the sales program at a large R1 (very high research activity) university shared with the attendees that they had to hire an outside Salesforce consultant (at a significant cost) to help them configure the Salesforce interface to allow their students to utilize the CRM as part of a course project. These types of resources are not often available, especially with respect to smaller and more recently developed programs. Consequently, another goal of this literature review was to look at what suggestions pedagogical literature offers to help faculty overcome this faculty skills and/or resources gap. What follows is a review of each of the five identified articles and conference papers.</p> <p>Wang et al. ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref18">22</reflink>]) published a manuscript on including a CRM 2.0 requirement in sales courses. Their description focuses on using a social networking CRM to track students' contacts with prospective employers and conduct traditional sales activities such as follow-up and research on prospective clients. While this application mirrors the social networking sites students are familiar with and makes implementation easier, it does not include any analytics, metrics, or other processes that CRM is typically utilized to accomplish. While their structure can be used across multiple courses to create continuity in CRM education, their implementation description also does not share what platform was used nor how it was constructed, so while giving good ideas in theory, it is difficult to create a course or assignment around it without more details.</p> <p>Harrison and Ajjan ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref19">9</reflink>]) proposed a twelve-week, three-phase experiential learning-based approach to CRM education in a full semester course. The first phase focuses on analytics and uses the IBM Community dataset (which is no longer accessible on the IBM link in their manuscript) to allow students to engage in predictive analytics. The second phase focuses on CRM through Salesforce Academic Alliance (now replaced with Salesforce student licenses) and Trailhead, though they do not specify the data used for the Salesforce part of the lessons. In phase three, the students work in groups to engage in a simulated CRM project using faculty-supplied data. Again, this structure is an excellent guide for designing a CRM course, but it does not provide currently accessible resources for the early phases, nor does it give specifics on the data used in the final project or how they structure the interface. In addition, this article does not guide integrating CRM across multiple courses.</p> <p>Lokuge et al. ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref20">13</reflink>]) propose a structure for a CRM course that combines the business and technical sides. This 13-week structure includes CRM basics, design, strategy, execution, analytics, and insights from industry experts. This design also incorporates multiple CRM systems and tutorial sessions. As with the other articles that discuss CRM pedagogy, this manuscript provides a framework for creating a course, in this instance, one that crosses disciplinary lines between business strategy, information systems, and marketing. As with the other manuscripts, it too does not provide specifics on creating the hands-on assignments that they utilize, such as where they get or how to create the data for student use, and there is no mention of any sort of large capstone-style assignment that would capture the entire skill set needed for students entering a sales career. This manuscript also does not address how to incorporate CRM across the curriculum.</p> <p>In their conference proceedings, Knight et al. ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref21">10</reflink>]) take a slightly different track on teaching CRM. They discuss using Trailhead to teach CRM, but they employ a gamified approach, where students are awarded based on the number of badges in Trailhead they earn, along with quizzes and exams. They also mention that the use of Trailhead and the gamified structure were in response to previous complaints that the CRM course was too theoretical, which further emphasizes the need for experiential learning when teaching this topic. Again, this short proceeding does not provide specifics on the Trailhead assignment. It also does not contain a comprehensive CRM project and is for a single course design.</p> <p>Most recently, Fyles and Guy ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref22">7</reflink>]) laid out a method for teaching digital prospecting as a five- to six-week module in an Advanced Selling course. This module includes a session on CRM's capabilities and limitations, how a CRM (specifically Salesforce) enhances the sales process, and some assignments in Trailhead. That said, the design is focused more on digital prospecting, and CRM is only one of fourteen lessons. It does not contain a full use-case experience in Salesforce that mimics what new sales representatives would need to know.</p> <p>While each of these manuscripts provides sound guidance, none of this existing literature provides a comprehensive road map for implementing CRM, especially for those programs that do not have access to an institutional CRM or the ability to get licenses for a CRM platform through an outside entity. Additionally, none of the identified studies address the issue of custom data or interface-specific assignments. Luckily, with the advancement and increased technology accessibility, faculty have access to resources to assist in training students in hands-on learning. The following sections will examine how faculty can find the necessary resources or third-party support to effectively create a CRM course or incorporate CRM across their sales and/or marketing curriculum and how these resources can be used in different programmatic structures.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-10">Choosing Appropriate CRM Educational Resources</hd> <p>As shown in Appendix B, there are various options in terms of ways to educate students about CRM, including Salesforce Trailhead, Hubspot Academy, Stukent Simternship, StratX Simulation, SmartFox Technologies, and Zoho. Salesforce is used by 90% of the Fortune 500, and their 2023 market share was 21.7%, which is more than the next four competitors (Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and Adobe) combined (Cyntexa, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref23">2</reflink>]). Salesforce Trailhead is a learning platform created by Salesforce to help individuals develop competencies and skills related to Salesforce. However, helping faculty incorporate CRM into their courses is outside the scope of Trailhead. Smartfox Technologies directly assists faculty in their efforts to include CRM training in their courses, hence why Smartfox Technologies offers the most turnkey solution.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-11">Adaptability Across Marketing Courses</hd> <p>CRM training can be utilized in multiple marketing courses. Courses that align well with CRM content include Introduction to Professional Sales, Advanced Professional Sales, Sales Management, Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Integrated Marketing Communications, E-Commerce Marketing, or Social Media Marketing. For example, in an introductory sales course, the focus may be on understanding basic CRM functions, uses, or dashboards, while the marketing and sales analytics courses may focus on data visualization or utilizing information for decision-making.</p> <p>As previously noted, SmartFox assists faculty in incorporating CRM into their coursework. Specific ways that various schools have incorporated the SmartFox University Academy across their course are shown in the levels of implementation section below. SmartFox provides an easy entry point for faculty looking to add CRM instruction to their various courses because the SmartFox LMS handles all of the backend management and grading, and the data for each prepackaged module is included, which makes the implementation and grading simple. It truly is a plug-and-play solution for those faculty unfamiliar with the Salesforce interaction and/or building out CRM projects. The students simply sign up for a SmartFox University Academy account (the cost of which can be bundled through select collegiate bookstores) and complete the assigned modules within SmartFox's ecosystem, which automatically grades the student's performance on the module. There are currently six different prepared modules that students can access as part of the SmartFox program, and they are willing to work with faculty to create customer projects or cases in their ecosystem. This eliminates the challenge faced when using the educational versions of other CRM software (e.g., HubSpot, Zoho, etc.) or even accessing Salesforce through direct licenses from the Salesforce Foundation, as none of these options include pre-filled data sets or assignments and grading structures which are included in the SmartFox modules. By incorporating CRM training into marketing courses, students gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills in using CRM technology to enhance marketing strategies, improve customer engagement, and drive growth.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-12">Four-Step CRM Implementation Guide</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185386663-13">Curriculum Integration</hd> <p>The first step in implementing CRM training is to identify the applicable courses. As context for this project, three universities (referred to as Campus A, Campus B, and Campus C) provide examples of various ways to integrate CRM into the curriculum (see basic-, mid-, and high-level examples below). The courses most amenable to CRM include Introduction to Sales, Advanced Sales, and Sales Management. Additional course options to consider are Marketing Management, Business to Business Marketing, Digital Marketing, and Marketing Analytics courses.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-14">Aligning Student Learning Objectives</hd> <p>Step 2 in implementing CRM training in the classroom is aligning the activities with specific student learning objectives, ensuring students gain skills and knowledge applicable to the workforce. Using the three levels of integration, below are potential learning objectives to consider:</p> <p> <emph>Understanding CRM Fundamentals (Basic-Level)</emph> </p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Define CRM and its significance in modern sales processes</item> <p></p> <item> Explain the core components of CRM systems</item> </ulist> <p> <emph>Sales Process Optimization (Mid-Level)</emph> </p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Analyze how CRM tools support the sales pipeline, from lead generation to conversion and customer retention</item> <p></p> <item> Discuss strategies for building and maintaining customer relationships through CRM-driven interactions</item> </ulist> <p> <emph>Hands-on Experience (High-Level)</emph> </p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Gain practical experience through CRM software simulations or case studies</item> <p></p> <item> Apply CRM concepts and tools to real-world marketing and sales scenarios</item> </ulist> <p>By developing learning objectives like these, faculty can ensure that marketing graduates understand CRM technology and how the training applies in real-world contexts.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-15">Selecting Appropriate CRM Resources</hd> <p>The third step involves choosing appropriate resources based on several factors, including the level of engagement, cost/resource availability, and type of implementation. Each level below is a real example of how schools at various implementation levels have executed the SmartFox University Academy program in their marketing and sales curricula.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-16">Basic-Level Example</hd> <p>Campus A was amid a curricular redesign that eliminated sales and marketing management paths for marketing majors and instead exposed all marketing students to both the sales and more traditional aspects of marketing. Before an examination, the curriculum had a very light emphasis on CRM. As part of a redesign, the plan includes CRM implementation as a focus across the new curriculum. This included basic CRM exposure in an Introduction to Sales course. The Sales and Marketing Analytics course incorporated digital marketing, big data, and foundational hands-on activities in Salesforce, including basic Trailhead Badges. Students complete quizzes or challenges to earn points at the end of the chosen units for a trail. Once units in a module are completed, badges are earned for students to display and promote on their resume and LinkedIn profiles. They also included CRM and sales analytics modules in their Advanced Selling course and a project-based experience applying the CRM knowledge from the other courses to a set of simulated data to use a live CRM to engage real clients in a capstone selling project. The Advanced Selling course also required additional Salesforce Trailhead badges and culminated in a third-party CRM certification. To maintain continuity across courses, SmartFox University Academy was selected as a training platform as the base design includes modules that fit the needs of each course and provides a single repository of all of the students' badges and certifications.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-17">Mid-Level Example</hd> <p>Campus B wanted to implement more applied cases so students would have to use more critical thinking skills through potential scenarios. In the past, they had used more minor hands-on activities in Salesforce and Salesforce Trailhead Badges. Additionally, students had previously used Hubspot. With teaching a professional selling course, an advanced selling course, and a business-to-business marketing course, they needed a solution that could integrate across all three courses and give access to real-world situations and cases. They partnered with SmartFox Technologies to implement the Salesforce Trailhead Badges and scenario-based cases so students could analyze situations and make recommendations.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-18">High-Level Example</hd> <p>Campus C wanted to give students an applied sponsorship sales project for a golf tournament where students would use a CRM to manage interactions with teams and sponsor leads. In the tournament's first year, students used a Google Sheet to track stages in the sales process for each lead. In the second year, students used Hubspot, which helped them experience how CRM actually works. In the third year, companies gave feedback for more Salesforce-specific training since it was the most popular CRM system used in industry, so the university partnered with SmartFox Technologies to build a working environment in Salesforce for students to update and track interactions. Faculty worked with SmartFox to customize the Salesforce environment to enable students to experience the benefits of CRM while learning.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-19">Evaluation</hd> <p>Step 4 involves continuous evaluation after each semester. Feedback from students and employers should be solicited to evaluate the resources and make adjustments. For example, in one university example, there were opportunities to adjust the badges assigned in Salesforce Trailhead and use a different CRM option until it was the right fit. In addition, the SmartFox LMS automatically grades the assigned module for a given course so that faculty can evaluate student performance. These module grades are based on student performance on quizzes, cases, and other activities, such as completing Trailhead badges. These grades can then be transcribed into the faculty member's University LMS and, in some cases, can be set to port the data to select LMS systems.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-20">Assessment Results</hd> <p>We collected feedback from recent graduates who were exposed to the CRM training options identified in this innovation while in school and from employers who hire sales graduates. Both support the need for CRM knowledge and training to prepare for the workforce.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-21">Feedback from Recent Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> I use CRM daily, from looking at sales reports and analyzing data to logging each sales call and tracking our KPIs. All of our bonuses and performance numbers are directly tied to what we put into our CRM system. It is crucial to have CRM training to have a smooth transition from school to a career. Even though some companies may have different systems, CRM training in college helped me be more prepared going into the workplace.</item> <p></p> <item> When I started working in sales, I saw CRM as a hassle that did not matter, even though I was exposed to it while in college. I saw positive results once I got on board with using it to focus on my goals and keep my information organized. As I learned more, I could convert leads to meetings, do better at forecasting, and see it as a valuable tool.</item> <p></p> <item> Having CRM training before graduating made the transition EXTREMELY helpful. While not all jobs will have the same system, it is helpful to understand why the software is important to be successful.</item> <p></p> <item> Some days, it's hard to stay motivated to make your calls or even think of what needs to be done for the day to be a success. When you lack direction, your CRM is there to help guide you back to where you need to be. You will never remember all the information from previous sales calls, nor will you be 100% motivated daily to make a sale. It is imperative to learn and use CRM to stay true to your sales process, even on days when you are drained from constantly communicating with people.</item> <p></p> <item> If there is one good reason to train to use a CRM, it is that your competition is using one. Opposing agencies are likely in contact with the same person or company, trying to earn their business. The more prepared agency that calls more often, remembers minuté details, and has had more past success will likely be who that person or company chooses to work with. It is more likely that the agency that utilizes a CRM will fit that description compared to those that do not.</item> <p></p> <item> CRM training has been crucial for me to effectively manage and nurture client relationships with the goal of repeat business. By learning CRM systems, I can organize customer data, track interactions, and identify opportunities, which are important steps to help me achieve my targets and maximize revenue. Using a CRM has helped me to personalize experiences to enhance customer satisfaction.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0185386663-22">Feedback from Employers</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> CRM training is an important tool for customer management. All information is available on customers and potential customers. It makes the transition easier for new hires. I call information in the CRM system "tribal knowledge" because it is available to everyone on the team and is crucial to understanding how to use it. I encourage my team to use it as a tool to complement their market knowledge. My most successful sales representatives are inputting as much information into the system as possible and using it for strategic pre-call planning.</item> <p></p> <item> We use Salesforce so much that having CRM experience is a plus for a recent graduate. That would stand out to me on a resume and make me want to have at least a first interview with that candidate.</item> <p></p> <item> I think using CRM is a valuable exercise. Incorporating CRM into processes makes a lot of sense. I know many companies use CRM to track deal flow from start to finish.</item> <p></p> <item> CRM training provides insight into what we use in the true working environment. Whether that's Salesforce or an internal program, they vary but are similar.</item> <p></p> <item> Familiarity with a CRM program makes the transition smoother when the student enters the workforce and has to use the program. Everything from daily interactions, meetings, pipelines, prospects, etc., is important. Having a centralized system to handle data and customer relationships is a huge piece. When a student understands the basics of CRM, it shortens the training process when they graduate and allows them to hit the road sooner as a true salesperson.</item> <p></p> <item> CRM is one of the most important tools in a salesperson's toolbox. Sales students must be instructed on CRM because of the value they will receive from an everyday perspective in sales. This not only gives the student a great skill to put on their resume, but it also gives them the ability to be educated in an area that is arguably the most important in sales. CRM gives employees the tools needed to build strong customer relationships, improving company profitability. Training students on CRM helps them stand out in a job interview and better prepares them for success in their future sales roles.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0185386663-23">Implications and Discussion</hd> <p>Throughout this article, we have sought to address not only the need for including CRM software in the classroom but also offered insights into how this can be accomplished. We discussed how CRM technology can be incorporated into the classroom regardless of your sales program's development level. We finished by offering feedback from students and employers on the importance of CRM training in the classroom.</p> <p>There are some potential challenges with implementing CRM into the classroom. The first challenge relates to budget. The cost could be challenging for some faculty, but different levels allow options in different classroom settings. For the basic level, Salesforce Trailhead badges can be set up for free. A faculty member just needs to sign up for an account, create a trailhead, and decide which badges to have students complete as part of their journey. For campuses with some funds available or that can have students pay for resources, a mid-level engagement opportunity could include partnering with a company like SmartFox, which has built cases where students can apply their knowledge. For campuses with more resources and who want more personalized engagement, a high-level option includes hands-on learning in Salesforce. This could include partnering with a company like SmartFox to create a learning environment for a project or paying for student access to Salesforce to set up a custom learning environment. New integrations are available that include AI and BI capabilities that take this learning to an even higher level. Students can learn to use the data, including forecasting and behavioral economics, to nudge sales teams to success.</p> <p>Access to computers could also be an issue. One way to give students access to computers without access to a computer is to build time in class in a computer lab or give students information about computer labs available on campus. Some universities offer programs for students to borrow laptops, which is a potential avenue to explore as well.</p> <p>Future research also needs to be undertaken to examine how these CRM training programs' gamified and badging structure impacts student learning. Specifically, a look at student retention of the material learned through these gamified systems, as well as their ability to apply it in other contexts, is warranted to see if this type of gamified training is as effective in a technical learning context (like CRM) as it has been in general based on the meta-analysis of gamification on cognitive, motivational and behavioral learning by Sailer and Homner ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref24">19</reflink>]).</p> <p>Finally, not every campus has access to good CRM data for students to work with, so implementing it at the highest level may be a challenge. The basic or mid-level options might be the best option for campuses that need guidance in setting up resources without spending as much time and money laying the groundwork.</p> <p>This research has given a framework for marketing educators to integrate CRM from basic to advanced levels based on their available resources. The more faculty adopt hands-on experiences like the ones discussed in this research, the more students will be prepared for the workforce. Future research will continue to be needed in this area as technology is always evolving.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-24">Disclosure Statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-25">Ethical Statement</hd> <p>This research falls outside the scope of IRB review and was exempt from approval as it involved normal educational practices in an established educational setting.</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-26">Appendix A. Checklist for Implementing CRM in the Classroom</hd> <p>___ Do students have access to computers for training?</p> <p>*Access to computers is an important part of CRM Training.</p> <p>___ What is your budget?</p> <p>___ What level of CRM training best suits your situation?</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Basic Level: Does not require money. Do you want students to have basic knowledge of the language and processes of using CRM?</item> <p></p> <item> Mid-Level: Do you have some budget or resources available? Do you want students to assess a scenario to gain a deeper understanding of how CRM processes can be applied in the real world?</item> <p></p> <item> High-Level: Do you have a healthy budget? Do you have a project you would like to use for students to get hands-on training in using CRM? Do you have existing data to use in Salesforce (or other CRM)?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0185386663-27">Based on the level chosen in the prior question</hd> <p>___ Basic Level: Salesforce Trailhead Badges or Hubspot Certifications might be the best option to give your students knowledge in using CRM systems.</p> <p>Potential Resources: trailhead.salesforce.com, <ulink href="http://academy.hubspot.com/certification-overview">http://academy.hubspot.com/certification-overview</ulink></p> <p>___ Mid-Level: You can implement Case Studies or Simulations where students apply their knowledge in a real-world setting.</p> <p>Potential Resources: SmartFox Technologies, Stukent, StratX</p> <p>___ High-Level: You can partner with a company like SmartFox Technologies or Salesforce to assist in customizable, hands-on learning environments.</p> <p>Potential Resources: SmartFox Technologies, Salesforce, Zoho</p> <hd id="AN0185386663-28">Appendix B. Comparison of CRM Resources</hd> <p></p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Platform</td><td>Key Focus</td><td>Learning Style</td><td>Features</td><td>Other details <italic>*including costs as of Nov 2024</italic></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Salesforce Trailhead</td><td>Salesforce CRM skills and industry certifications</td><td>Self-paced, modular</td><td>Badges, certifications, Salesforce ecosystem focus, various CRM tools</td><td>Free trailheads with badges for students to complete</td></tr><tr><td>HubSpot Education</td><td>Inbound marketing and CRM fundamentals</td><td>Self-paced, certification-based</td><td>CRM courses, inbound marketing certifications, practical tools for CRM and automation</td><td>Free certifications, but have to pull in own data to use Salesforce Education CRM</td></tr><tr><td>StukentSimternship</td><td>Hands-on business simulations</td><td>Simulation- based, role-specific</td><td>Semester-long simulations, role-based tasks, autograding, integrates with LMS</td><td>$70 per semester, per student</td></tr><tr><td>StratX Simulation</td><td>Strategic marketing and decision-making</td><td>Competitive, scenario- based</td><td>Simulation that emphasizes market segmentation, customer insights, and strategic decisions in B2B sales contexts</td><td>$40 per semester, per student, not specifically focused on CRM training but components of the sales process</td></tr><tr><td>SmartFoxTechnologies</td><td>Data analytics and customers insights on CRM</td><td>Project- based, data-driven</td><td>Emphasis on customer segmentation, data analytics, and CRM strategies</td><td>$96 per student (4 month access) for 6 courses</td></tr><tr><td>Zoho</td><td>Customizable CRM for sales and marketing automation</td><td>Self-paced, modular</td><td>Integrates CRM, marketing, automation, reporting, AI insights, customizable dashboards</td><td>Free up to 100 students</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185386663-29">Appendix C. Potential Marketing Courses for CRM Implementation</hd> <p></p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Marketing Course</td><td>Potential Training Topics</td><td>Example Activity</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Introduction to Professional Sales</td><td>Basic level CRM topics such as customer data management and customer segmentation.</td><td>Build a free trailhead for students to work on CRM badges all semester in Salesforce Trailhead to add to their resume.</td></tr><tr><td>Advanced Sales</td><td>Investigate the CRM implementation process, customer data management, and how to use CRM for marketing automation and customer segmentation.</td><td>Stukent's Advanced Selling Simternship<bold>™</bold>, allows students to work as account executives for SalesHub, a fictitious customer relationship management (CRM) company.</td></tr><tr><td>Sales Management</td><td>Dive into how teams are effectively managed in CRM systems and their systems.</td><td>SmartFox Technologies Salesforce allows students to get hands-on experience using CRM tools through the various sales process stages.</td></tr><tr><td>Digital Marketing/Social Media Marketing</td><td>Show students how CRM systems can integrate with social media platforms to track interactions, manage campaigns, and analyze data for engagement metrics.</td><td>Students can customize a CRM such as Hubspot or Zoho for sales and marketing automation campaigns.</td></tr><tr><td>Marketing Analytics</td><td>Discover best practices for data migration projects, including change management principles, service offerings, and data mapping.</td><td>Hubspot CRM Data Migration Certification best practices for data migration and CRM implementation success.</td></tr><tr><td>Integrated Marketing Communications</td><td>Include CRM training to illustrate how systems support integrated marketing communications strategies, including consistent channel messaging and personalized customer interactions.</td><td>Students can design a multi-channel campaign that could be implemented into a CRM, focusing on maintaining a consistent brand message across e-mails, social media, and SMS.</td></tr><tr><td>Marketing Internship</td><td>Hands-on learning in an internship focused on using CRM software.</td><td>An intern could assist the inside sales team by updating customer records, tracking leads, and managing data entry within the CRM to gain hands-on experience with the system. Additionally, they could support the outside sales team by generating reports, analyzing client interactions, and ensuring CRM accuracy for field representatives, learning how both teams use CRM for effective sales coordination.</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ref id="AN0185386663-30"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref11" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Cummins, S., Nielson, B., Peltier, J. W., & Deeter-Schmelz, D. (2020). A critical review of the literature for sales educators 2.0. Journal of Marketing Education, 42 (3), 198 – 216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475320941917</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref23" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Cyntexa. (2024). Salesforce statistics, 2024: Customers, employees, acquisitions, revenue, marketing share & more. https://cyntexa.com/blog/salesforce-statistics/</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref12" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Deeter-Schmelz, D. R., & Kennedy, K. N. (2011). A global perspective on the current state of sales education in the college curriculum. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 31 (1), 55 – 75. https://doi.org/10.2753/PSS0885-3134310104</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref13" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Dugan, R., Rangarajan, D., Davis, L., Bolander, W., Pullins, E. B., Deeter-Schmelz, D., LeBon, J., & Agnihotri, R. (2020). Sales management, education, and scholarship across cultures: Early findings from a global study and an agenda for future research. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 40 (3), 198 – 212. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2020.1781649</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref8" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Ferrell, O. C., & Ferrell, L. (2020). Technology challenges and opportunities facing marketing education. Marketing Education Review, 30 (1), 3 – 14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2020.1718510</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref1" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Forbes. (2024). 2024 graduates lack skills in communication, collaboration and critical thinking, study finds. Retrieved October 30, 2024, from https://<ulink href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/06/17/2024-graduates-lack-skills-in-communication-collaboration-and-critical-thinking-study-finds/">www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/06/17/2024-graduates-lack-skills-in-communication-collaboration-and-critical-thinking-study-finds/</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref22" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Fyles, J. J., & Guy, B. S. (2023). Teaching integrated digital prospecting in the advanced sales course. 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Higher Education, Skills & Work-Based Learning, 12 (1), 26 – 49. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-12-2020-0254</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Laverie, D. A., Hass, A., & Mitchell, C. (2022). Experiential learning: A study of simulations as a pedagogical tool. Marketing Education Review, 32 (1), 3 – 17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2020.1843360</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lokuge, S., Sedera, D., Ariyachandra, T., Kumar, S., & Ravi, V. (2020). The next wave of CRM innovation: Implications for research, teaching, and practice. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 46 (1), 560 – 583. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.04623</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> NACE. (2024). What is career readiness?. 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Butler</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref20"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref24"></nolink>
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  Data: In today's competitive job market, marketing and sales graduates must be equipped with advanced technology skills to thrive, particularly in utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This research examines the critical need for CRM skills within marketing and sales education and explores how integrating CRM training into curricula can better prepare students for the workforce. Despite the growing emphasis on sales technology, recent studies indicate a lack of structured CRM education in many sales programs. This paper examines existing literature on CRM pedagogy and provides practical implementation guides for educators to incorporate CRM training effectively. It highlights various approaches to integrating CRM across marketing courses, from basic exposure to advanced, hands-on experiences. By adopting the recommended strategies, universities can better align their programs with industry needs, fostering graduates proficient in CRM and prepared to excel in modern sales environments.
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