Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"When I looked into implementing a CRM system, I found there were so many options that I didn't know which one to choose."

This type of voice has increased dramatically in the last year or two.

Until the early 2020s, the CRM market was largely dominated by the "three major players": Salesforce, HubSpot, and kintone.
Then, between 2024 and 2025, the market was completely transformed by the rapid spread of AI and the rise of new players.

In this series, we will first organize the latest CRM tool market, and then, over three installments, explain EMOROCO CRM Lite's position and the criteria for choosing it.
The first session will provide an overview of "what is happening in the current CRM market."

Three seismic shifts that will transform the CRM market in 2024-2025

Crustal Shift ①: A Shift Towards a "Simulation that All Employees Use AI"

Starting in 2024, the AI ​​functionality of various CRM companies changed from being an "option" to a "standard" feature.

Salesforce's Einstein Copilot, HubSpot's Breeze, and Microsoft Dynamics 365's Copilot—companies are beginning to integrate generative AI into the core of their CRM systems. The choice is shifting from "use AI or not" to "what kind of AI to use."

However, this is often more a case of "connecting an AI API to an existing CRM" rather than "the CRM becoming smarter with AI." As we discussed in the previous article (Comparing AI-Native CRMs) , the difference between a "CRM with AI added later" and an "AI-native CRM" lies in the fundamental design.

Crustal Shift ②: The Rise of "Vertical SaaS" - The Increase in Industry-Specific CRMs

The shift from "general-purpose CRMs that can handle all industries" to "CRMs specialized for specific industries" is accelerating.

"Vertical CRM" systems, which are designed from the outset to accommodate the unique business workflows of each industry—such as healthcare, real estate, hotels, and manufacturing—are becoming increasingly common.
There is a growing recognition that it is more rational to use a CRM designed from the outset for a specific industry than to customize a general-purpose CRM to suit that industry's needs.

Crustal Shift ③: The Collapse of Freemium – From Free/Low Price to High Price

HubSpot's free version restrictions are being tightened, and Notion is accelerating its move towards paid services—making the "start for free and continue using it" strategy more difficult between 2024 and 2025.

Many users have had the experience of "starting with what they thought was free, only to find themselves paying 5 yen a month," leading to a trend towards "choosing tools with transparent pricing from the start."

The current CRM market can be categorized into "five categories".

When we organize the CRM market as of 2025-2026, it can be broadly classified into five categories.

Category ①: Large-scale integrated CRM (for enterprises)

Representative products: Salesforce Sales Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle CX

Features: Targeted at large enterprises with hundreds to tens of thousands of users. Integrates marketing, sales, customer service, and analytics into a single platform. Possesses extensive AI capabilities (Einstein, Copilot), but requires a dedicated administrator and specialized knowledge. Implementation costs range from several million to tens of millions of yen.

Suitable companies: Publicly listed companies, mid-sized and large companies with global operations, and companies with qualified product holders on staff.

Category ②: Inbound Marketing-Type CRM

Representative products: HubSpot CRM, Marketo (Adobe), Pardot (Salesforce)

Features: Supports inbound strategies that attract new customers through content SEO, social media, and email marketing. While a free version is available, a high-priced paid plan is required for full utilization. Enhanced AI-powered content generation and lead analysis, including Breeze (HubSpot), are included.

Suitable companies: Companies focusing on digital marketing, e-commerce site operators, and B2B SaaS companies.

Category 3: No-code business process building CRM

Representative products: kintone, Microsoft Power Apps, Zoho CRM

Features: This is a "business application building platform," not a dedicated CRM system. While it offers a high degree of flexibility, CRM-specific functions (emotional temperature, GIS, industry templates) must be built by the user. An engineer or staff with high IT literacy is required.

Suitable companies: Companies with unique business processes, mid-sized companies with in-house IT staff, and organizations with many kintone users.

Category ④: AI-native emerging CRM

Representative products: Clay, Twenty, folk, Breakcold, Attio

Features: A new generation of CRM that emerged between 2022 and 2025, designed from the outset with AI in mind. It has specialized functions such as outbound automation, network management, and social selling. It is mainly aimed at startups and tech companies, and Japanese language support is limited.

Suitable companies: Tech startups, global teams in English-speaking countries, and companies with engineering resources.

Category 5: CRM 4.0 Type — CRM specializing in emotional resonance and relationship deepening

Representative product: EMOROCO CRM Lite (Arcus Japan)

Features: At the core of its design is the CRM 4.0 philosophy of "from management to co-creation." It features an AI-native design that integrates emotional temperature, narrative, and ICX (tacit knowledge) with quantitative data. It includes GIS maps, industry-specific templates, self-hosting, and full Japanese language support. It is priced at ¥1,500/user per month, making it "easy for small and medium-sized enterprises to start using today."

Suitable companies: Small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan, companies that focus on door-to-door sales and deepening relationships with existing customers, and companies that want industry-specific designs.

"Questions for selecting a new CRM in 2025-2026"

When choosing a CRM, the main questions used to be "Does it have many features?" and "Is it cheap?". There are five new questions for 2025-2026.

Question 1: What kind of AI are you using? — Is it "aftermarket AI" or "AI native"?

Most CRMs now claim to use AI. The important question is, "What is the purpose of the AI?" Is it AI for streamlining operations, or AI for emotional connection with customers? Is it AI that learns only from quantitative data, or AI that integrates qualitative data as well?

Question 2: Can it grow using our own data? — "General-purpose model" or "Computer-optimized model"?

A CRM system that adds general-purpose AI later can only analyze "general patterns." A CRM system with a model that continuously learns from a company's own data can discover "winning patterns unique to that company."

Question 3: Is the design such that the people on site "want to input data"?

No matter how advanced an AI is, it won't function if no data is entered. Is it designed so that users benefit from entering data? Does it offer a user experience (UX) that allows users to complete operations in three clicks or less? These factors determine the retention rate of a CRM system.

Question 4: Can you record "emotions and context"?

In customer relationships, information that cannot be expressed numerically—such as "words that resonated," "the atmosphere of the situation," and "the emotional state of the person in charge"—has a significant impact on decision-making. Whether or not a system is designed to record and utilize this information is the dividing line between CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0.

Question 5: Are there any "hidden aspects" of the costs?

CRMs that start for free often require paid features for full utilization. Even with zero initial costs, implementation support, customization, and training fees will add up. Can you calculate the total cost after one and three years from the beginning?

Next notice

In the second installment, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest CRM tools by category, comparing representative products from each category based on their features, price, and suitability for different situations. We will offer a practical comparison table to help you determine which category is right for your company.

The series continues in the next article:
[Part 2] A Comprehensive Overview of the Latest CRM Tools by Category – Criteria for Choosing Based on Use, Scale, and Objectives
[Part 3] Where does EMOROCO CRM Lite stand amidst the latest CRM trends? – Key considerations for the Japanese market.

Related article

• What is an AI-native CRM? — Why EMOROCO CRM Lite is fundamentally different from tools that "added AI later."
• Comparing "AI-Native CRMs"—Differences in Design Philosophy between Salesforce Einstein, HubSpot Breeze, Microsoft Copilot, and EMOROCO CRM Lite
• Comparing AI-native CRMs: The Design Philosophies of Clay, Twenty, folk, Breakcold, and EMOROCO CRM Lite
• What is CRM? – A complete explanation of its evolution from "customer management" to "co-creation with customers," up to CRM 4.0.
• Why choose EMOROCO CRM Lite over Salesforce, HubSpot, or kintone? A comparison of the key differences from a CRM 4.0 perspective.