Wallonia, the world leader in CRM software

Do you know what CRM software is ?
And did you know that Wallonia is one of the world leaders in this sector ?
No ? Well, let me share this Walloon success story with you.

What is CRM software?

When you search for the definition of CRM software on Google, at the top of the results you will see a Belgian website with a very precise answer, "CRM or GRC software is a computer programme that allows you to manage your customer relationships. However, while CRM is defined in terms of its functional scope to include the sales, support and invoicing departments, CRM software, in order to meet users' needs to centralise information, covers a much broader scope, since much CRM software can also manage marketing, project management, purchasing, etc." (Source: logiciel-crm.be)

Simply put, CRM software allows your sales teams, as well as marketing, after-sales, and indeed every department in the company, to work together to boost the growth of your business.

It is remarkable to note that when searching for IT solutions on a ground-breaking subject, it is indeed a Belgian website that comes out on top on the Google search engine, which is more accustomed to suggesting French companies. This ranking is not a coincidence, but the reflection of an extremely dense technological ecosystem within Wallonia.

Wallonia is one of the world's leading producers of CRM solutions.

Yes, it's a fact; the three French-speaking leaders in the very closed world of CRM software are based in Wallonia. Odoo, Efficy and Simple CRM alone represent nearly 5% of the market.

Does 5% seem a little low to you ? What if I told you that the giant Microsoft accounts for only 2.1%... What do you think now ?

And I'm only talking here about the three leaders, because it is difficult to find the numbers for the smaller players.

How can we explain this concentration of CRM publishers in our country ?  No one has the answer to that question. And even more surprisingly, these different players are not even competing with each other, as each has managed to define a specific strategic niche:

• Odoo is more ERP oriented, with powerful innovations on the web side, as Odoo offers a CMS, for example.
• Efficy is a giant in mergers and acquisitions, the Efficy group's strategy being to buy publishers well established on the French, German, Spanish, etc. market.
• Simple CRM is specialised in AI and has designed its CRM around artificial intelligence that assists its users. A powerful example: the AI carries out virtual prospecting and passes on potential customers to the sales staff.

By each developing their own niche, they have been able to create added value, so that if you compare their CRM software, it is impossible to talk about competition, but rather complementarity.

With each of these publishers more than ten years old, there is a good chance that they will continue to follow a brilliant path, and who knows what will happen tomorrow; why should we not find Walloon companies at the top of the world's CRM publishers ?