CRM Companies: Slogans and Branding Stories

Introduction

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has become an essential tool for businesses of all sizes looking to manage and optimize their customer interactions. The CRM market is populated by numerous companies, each with their unique value propositions, target audiences, and brand identities. This report examines 20 leading CRM companies, exploring their slogans and the stories behind their brands.

A company’s slogan and brand story provide valuable insights into its values, mission, and market positioning. These elements are carefully crafted to communicate the essence of what makes each CRM solution distinctive in a competitive landscape. By understanding these aspects, we can gain a deeper appreciation of how these companies position themselves and the promises they make to their customers.

This report presents a comprehensive overview of each company’s slogan and branding narrative, offering a window into the diverse approaches and philosophies that shape the CRM industry today.

Table of Contents

1. Salesforce
2. HubSpot
3. Zoho
4. Microsoft Dynamics
5. Oracle NetSuite
6. SAP
7. Pegasystems
8. ServiceNow
9. Zendesk
10. SugarCRM
11. Appian
12. Freshworks
13. Kustomer
14. Sage
15. eGain
16. Pipedrive
17. Insightly
18. SuperOffice
19. Nutshell
20. monday.com

1. Salesforce

Slogan

“We’re Salesforce, the #1 AI CRM.”

Branding Story

Salesforce was founded in 1999, pioneering Software as a Service (SaaS) by bringing Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) to the cloud. Since opening their doors, they’ve had a singular focus – helping customers improve their customer relationships.

Their brand messaging emphasizes several key themes:

• “We’re innovating our way into customers’ hearts.”
• “A history of firsts that put customers first.”
• “Helping customers succeed. It’s a Salesforce thing.”

Salesforce has positioned itself as a leader in AI for over 10 years, focusing on fueling productivity for their customers to deliver exceptional experiences. Their brand story highlights key milestones:

• 1999: Salesforce opens its doors, pioneering SaaS CRM
• 2009: Service Cloud transforms customer service with unified customer information and automation
• 2012: Gartner ranks Salesforce #1 in CRM
• 2016: Einstein is born, ushering in the AI CRM era with predictive insights and personalized recommendations
• 2024: Agentforce defines a new era of customer engagement with autonomous agents

With over 150,000 companies worldwide trusting Salesforce, their brand story emphasizes innovation, customer success, and leadership in the CRM space, particularly in AI-driven solutions.

2. HubSpot

Slogan

“Grow Better”

Branding Story

HubSpot was founded in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, who were fellow MIT graduate students. Their brand story begins with an observation they made in 2004 about a major shift in consumer behavior: buyers didn’t want to be interrupted by ads; they wanted helpful information.

This insight led to the creation of HubSpot, which was founded to help companies leverage this shift through inbound marketing. Their core philosophy is captured in their slogan “Grow Better,” which emphasizes quality growth over mere size.

As stated on their website: “We believe not just in growing bigger, but in growing better. And growing better means aligning the success of your own business with the success of your customers. Win-win!”

HubSpot’s brand messaging emphasizes several key themes:

• “Crafted, not cobbled” – highlighting their integrated approach to product development
• “Frictionless customer experience” – focusing on seamless interactions
• “Helping millions of organizations grow better” – their mission statement

Over time, HubSpot expanded beyond marketing into a comprehensive suite of products built on an AI-powered Smart CRM platform. The company is led by CEO Yamini Rangan and has grown to include 15 global offices with over 8,200 employees, serving more than 248,000 customers worldwide.

Their brand identity is closely tied to the concept of helping companies create meaningful connections with customers through helpful, relevant content rather than interruptive advertising.

3. Zoho

Slogan

“Made in India. Made for the world” and “The Operating System for Business”

Branding Story

Zoho’s brand story begins in the 1990s in a small apartment in the suburbs of Chennai, India, where a simple yet revolutionary idea was born: “Build smart technology to help businesses work better.” This founding philosophy has guided the company’s evolution into a world-class technology provider.

The name “Zoho” comes from the acronym SOHO (Small Office Home Office), reflecting the company’s initial focus on serving employees in small or home offices. Over time, Zoho has expanded its vision while maintaining its core values.

Zoho’s brand identity is deeply rooted in its approach to software development, which they view as a craft. As expressed by Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder and Chief Scientist: “Building software is best done in small teams, in informal environments. Numbers and metrics-only-driven approaches destroy creativity and result in soulless products.”

The company sees software creation as an art form, requiring “tireless effort, countless iteration, and patient refinement.” This craftsmanship philosophy permeates their product development approach.

Key aspects of Zoho’s brand story include:

1. Independence and self-reliance: Zoho is privately held, profitable, and proud of this status. They’ve never taken venture capital funding, allowing them to focus on long-term value rather than short-term gains.
2. Commitment to privacy: Long before GDPR, Zoho built data privacy into their corporate values. They’ve never sold customer data or made money from third-party ads in their products.
3. R&D focus: Zoho invests heavily in research and development, spending twice as much on R&D as on sales and marketing.
4. Sustainability: The company has established a 5 MW solar energy farm to power their offices and data centers in India, saving nearly 7,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
5. Alternative education: Through Zoho Schools, they provide an alternative to conventional college education, offering contextual training to students.
6. Rural revitalization: Zoho has moved away from the “mega-office” model to open smaller offices in rural communities, bringing high-tech jobs to areas with limited employment options.

Their tagline “Made in India. Made for the world” emphasizes their proud Indian heritage while highlighting their global reach and impact. The company’s other slogan, “The Operating System for Business,” underscores their commitment to providing comprehensive, integrated software solutions for businesses of all sizes.

4. Microsoft Dynamics

Slogan

“Transform your business”

Branding Story

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, now part of the broader Dynamics 365 ecosystem, has a rich history dating back to the early 2000s. The product’s origins can be traced to 2000 when Microsoft acquired iCommunicate.net, a web-based CRM solution with just 10 employees. The developers from iCommunicate moved to Redmond and began developing a modern, web-based CRM application with Microsoft’s team.

The first version, officially named “Microsoft Business Solutions Customer Relationship Management 1.0,” was released in January 2003. The product underwent significant evolution over the years:

• In 2005, Microsoft introduced the “Dynamics” brand to harmonize its business software portfolio, and the product became Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0.
• With version 3.0, Microsoft introduced the concept of “XRM” (eXtended Relationship Management), positioning the platform as more than just CRM but as a comprehensive business application platform.
• In 2007, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released with multi-tenant capabilities, enabling both on-premises and cloud deployments.

The branding story of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is closely tied to Microsoft’s broader business software strategy. In 2005, Microsoft announced “Project Green,” an ambitious initiative to combine all its business products onto a single code base. While this specific project was later abandoned, the vision of integrated business applications continued to evolve.

Today, Microsoft Dynamics 365 represents the culmination of this vision, offering a suite of integrated business applications that span CRM and ERP functionalities. The product is positioned as a comprehensive solution that helps organizations transform their business processes through digital technology.

Microsoft’s brand messaging for Dynamics 365 emphasizes several key themes:

• Digital transformation
• Integrated business processes
• AI-powered insights
• Seamless connection with Microsoft’s broader ecosystem (Office 365, Power Platform, Azure)

The evolution from a standalone CRM product to part of an integrated business application suite reflects Microsoft’s strategic vision of providing comprehensive, connected solutions for businesses of all sizes. This transformation is captured in their current slogan, “Transform your business,” which emphasizes the platform’s ability to drive organizational change through technology.

5. Oracle NetSuite

Slogan

“Everything you need to grow, all in one place.”

Branding Story

Oracle NetSuite’s brand story begins in 1998 when it was founded as NetLedger, following a five-minute phone call between Evan Goldberg and Larry Ellison. The company was one of the world’s first cloud companies, pioneering the Software as a Service (SaaS) model before it became mainstream.

In 2003, NetLedger was rebranded as NetSuite, and in 2007, the company went public. A significant milestone in NetSuite’s history came in 2016 when it was acquired by Oracle and joined the Oracle family, strengthening its position in the enterprise software market.

NetSuite’s brand identity is built around several key themes:

1. Cloud-first approach: As “the world’s first cloud company,” NetSuite emphasizes its pioneering role in cloud-based business solutions. Their brand story highlights their early adoption and continued leadership in cloud technology.
2. Unified business management: Their core message is about unification – bringing all business functions into a single platform. This is captured in their slogan “Everything you need to grow, all in one place” and reinforced by their mission statement: “Our mission is to deliver a unified and agile application that businesses can rely on to grow.”
3. Business visibility and agility: NetSuite positions itself as providing “visibility, agility, and control to make the right decisions quickly.” This emphasizes how their platform helps businesses respond to market changes and opportunities.
4. Global reach with local relevance: Supporting over 41,000 customers in 219 countries and territories, NetSuite emphasizes its global capabilities while maintaining relevance to local business needs.
5. Growth enablement: A recurring theme in NetSuite’s branding is growth. Their tagline at events like SuiteWorld – “Ready, Set, Grow!” – reinforces this focus on helping businesses scale and expand.

The company’s philosophy is captured in their statement: “We believe that with unified information, every business achieves their vision.” This underscores their commitment to providing integrated business solutions that give customers a complete view of their operations.

As part of Oracle, NetSuite continues to position itself as a comprehensive cloud-based ERP suite that includes CRM functionality, financial management, inventory management, HR, professional services automation, and omnichannel commerce modules – all designed to help businesses of all sizes grow and succeed.

6. SAP

Slogan

“Run Simple” (2015-present) Previously: “The Best-Run Businesses Run SAP” (2011-2015) and “Run Better” (2010-2011)

Branding Story

SAP’s brand story is rooted in its history as a pioneer in enterprise software. Founded in 1972 by five former IBM employees in Mannheim, Germany, SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing) has evolved from a small regional enterprise to one of the world’s largest software companies.

The company’s branding has evolved significantly over the years, with several notable taglines that reflect its changing focus and market position. In 2010, SAP used the slogan “Run Better,” which was followed by “The Best-Run Businesses Run SAP” in 2011. In 2014-2015, SAP introduced its “Run Simple” tagline, which represented a significant shift in the company’s messaging.

The “Run Simple” slogan was part of a broader strategy to address the growing complexity in business software. SAP recognized that many businesses were struggling with complicated IT landscapes and wanted to position itself as the solution to this problem. The company’s mission became focused on helping customers simplify their operations through cloud solutions and their HANA in-memory database technology.

In 2018, SAP refreshed its tagline to “The Best Run SAP,” a simplified version of its earlier slogan, emphasizing the company’s commitment to helping businesses operate efficiently.

SAP’s CRM and customer experience (CX) solutions are positioned under this broader brand umbrella. Their CRM messaging focuses on several key themes:

1. Customer-centricity: “The goal is simple: put the customer at the center of your business”
2. Integrated approach: “Manage relationships across the entire customer lifecycle, spanning departments like marketing, sales, digital commerce, and customer service”
3. Intelligence and insights: “SAP is redefining intelligence for customer experience” through interconnected, insightful, and adaptive solutions
4. Industry-tailored solutions: “Deploy industry-tailored customer experience (CX) solutions that are connected, insightful, and adaptive”

SAP’s brand identity in the CRM space emphasizes its ability to provide comprehensive, integrated solutions that connect all aspects of customer experience management. The company positions its CRM offerings as part of a broader ecosystem of business applications, highlighting the advantages of having customer data integrated with other business processes.

The company’s current branding continues to evolve, with a recent focus on AI integration and digital transformation, helping businesses navigate the complexities of modern commerce while maintaining their core promise of simplification and efficiency.

7. Pegasystems

Slogan

“Build for Change®” (long-standing tagline) Recent campaign: “GO!” (2021-present)

Branding Story

Pegasystems, often referred to simply as Pega, has a rich brand history dating back to its founding in 1983. The company has positioned itself as “The Enterprise Transformation Company™” that helps organizations adapt to changing business environments.

Pega’s long-standing tagline “Build for Change®” (which they’ve trademarked) reflects the company’s core philosophy and value proposition. This slogan emphasizes Pega’s commitment to creating software that allows businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, customer needs, and regulatory requirements. As described in their own materials, this tagline represents what their “software, people, and partners help clients do by delivering solutions that adapt to evolving business needs.”

In 2021, Pega launched a significant brand evolution with their “GO!” campaign. This represented a complete transformation from their earlier branding approach. As described by Jenna Cascio, Pega’s Associate Creative Director for Design, the GO! campaign is “bold, colorful, modern, and engaging” and “a complete 180 from where our branding started.”

The evolution of Pega’s brand reflects the company’s journey:

1. Early years (pre-2014): Pega lacked a cohesive brand identity, with disjointed visual elements across different materials. The company’s Associate Creative Director described this period as “The Fractal Prison Era,” characterized by inconsistent branding that didn’t reflect the unified nature of their platform.
2. Middle period: The brand was anchored by four colors and geometric shapes that were “rigid, inflexible, and impersonal” – ironically the opposite of their technology, which is designed to be adaptable and empathetic.
3. Current era (2021-present): The “GO!” campaign represents a significant shift. According to Carlos Perez, Pega’s Creative Director, “The GO! Campaign is about moving forward, going after possibility, and seizing the moment.” This campaign was launched at a time when organizations worldwide were looking to move forward after challenging periods, positioning Pega as the solution to help them advance.

Pega’s brand identity is built around several key values including trust, inclusivity, and innovation. Their messaging emphasizes cutting through business complexity – positioning complexity as “the enemy of success” and Pega as the solution that allows businesses to focus on “building, creating, innovating, and imagining” while Pega handles “the nitty-gritty complicated stuff.”

In the CRM space specifically, Pega positions itself as a provider of AI-powered solutions that help businesses manage relationships across the entire customer lifecycle, spanning departments like marketing, sales, digital commerce, and customer service. Their CRM offerings are part of their broader platform for workflow automation and AI-powered decisioning.

8. ServiceNow

Slogan

“Making the world work better for everyone”

Branding Story

ServiceNow’s brand story is built around a powerful purpose-driven mission that emphasizes positive global impact. Founded by Fred Luddy nearly 20 years ago, the company was established on two fundamental pillars: empathy and optimism. These values continue to guide their approach to business challenges today.

The company’s slogan, “Making the world work better for everyone,” encapsulates their core brand promise. This isn’t just a tagline but represents their commitment to creating meaningful change through technology. As they state in their own materials, “When our customers work, the world works. When industries work, the world works. When first response works, the world works.”

ServiceNow’s brand evolution has been deliberate and strategic. In 2022, they announced a significant brand transformation that aimed to better communicate their expanding impact and vision. As Jim Lesser, a key figure in their branding efforts, explained: “We’re on a mission to be the defining enterprise software company of the 21st century. For us to be a defining company, we also have to become a defining brand.”

The company’s brand identity emphasizes several key themes:

1. Optimism and problem-solving: ServiceNow approaches challenges with the belief that they can be solved, bringing technological solutions to complex problems.
2. Real-world impact: Their branding highlights tangible outcomes like accelerating vaccine rollouts and improving access to public housing, demonstrating how their technology addresses pressing global issues.
3. Enterprise transformation: ServiceNow positions itself as “The Enterprise Transformation Company™” that helps organizations adapt to changing business environments.
4. Global reach with significant influence: They emphasize their work with 80% of Fortune 500 companies, noting that “when the Fortune 500 companies work, the world works.”
5. Movement-building: Their brand strategy involves creating a movement that starts internally with passionate employees who become “brand evangelists” and radiates outward.

In the CRM space specifically, ServiceNow has been recognized as a leader in customer service management. Their approach to CRM emphasizes workflow automation, AI integration, and creating seamless experiences across customer touchpoints. Their CRM offerings are part of their broader platform that aims to unify and simplify business processes.

The evolution of ServiceNow’s brand reflects their growth from a workflow infrastructure company to a comprehensive enterprise software provider with a mission to transform how organizations operate and deliver value to their customers and employees.

9. Zendesk

Slogan

“Champions of customer service” New tagline (2023): “The intelligent heart of customer experience”

Branding Story

Zendesk’s brand story begins with three friends in Copenhagen who shared a startup dream. Founded in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour, the company was born from a simple ambition: to build something better than the clunky and confusing customer service software that dominated the market at that time.

What started as a mission to make customer service less painful has evolved into a broader vision: to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections. Over its 15+ year history, Zendesk has established itself as a leader in customer experience software.

Zendesk’s brand identity has undergone significant evolution. In 2023, the company unveiled a major brand refresh that marked a new chapter in its journey, especially after becoming a private company. The refresh was conceptualized, developed, and executed by Zendesk’s internal creative team of more than 40 professionals around the world.

The company’s slogan, “Champions of customer service,” reflects their dual commitment: both to be champions (advocates) for customer service as a discipline and to help their customers become champions at delivering great service. As they explain it: “We’re Zendesk. But you can also call us Champions of customer service.”

In 2023, Zendesk introduced a new tagline: “The intelligent heart of customer experience,” which emphasizes their position at the center of customer experience strategy and their focus on AI-powered solutions.

The 2023 brand refresh included several key changes:

• Moving away from their previous “kale” color and “relationshapes” to a more sophisticated palette
• New primary colors of espresso and cream, with secondary colors of berry and matcha (the latter inspired by their original chartreuse)
• Updated brand attributes: Distilled, Confident, Generous, and “Freshhhh” (with extra Hs for emphasis)
• A refined voice and tone that’s clearer and more confident, showcasing their expertise while remaining accessible
• New imagery designed to evoke the feelings they want customers to have when using Zendesk: comfort, joy, and confidence

Throughout its history, Zendesk has maintained a distinctive brand personality that balances professionalism with approachability. Their brand has been known for its quirky and humorous elements, though the 2023 refresh moved toward a more sophisticated expression while still maintaining their unique character.

The company’s brand evolution reflects their growth from a small startup to a global CX leader, with their brand identity maturing alongside their business to better represent their position in the industry and their vision for the future of customer experience.

10. SugarCRM

Slogan

“Let the platform do the work”

Branding Story

SugarCRM’s brand story begins in 2004 when it was founded by Clint Oram, Jacob Taylor, and John Roberts with a vision to enable companies to turn their customers into loyal fans. The name itself has an interesting origin story – John Roberts conceived of the idea and name while riding his mountain bike named “Sugar” in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

What started as a small startup has evolved into a significant player in the CRM industry over its 20-year history. SugarCRM began with a revolutionary approach to the market as one of the first open-source CRM solutions, making customer relationship management accessible to companies of all sizes at a time when many small businesses were still relying on spreadsheets and email to manage customer relationships.

The company’s brand identity is centered around its customer-centric philosophy and its commitment to simplifying complex business processes. This is captured in their current slogan, “Let the platform do the work,” which was introduced around 2021. This tagline reflects SugarCRM’s focus on automation and AI-driven solutions that reduce manual tasks and allow businesses to focus on building relationships rather than managing software.

SugarCRM’s brand evolution reflects its journey from a disruptive open-source, freemium CRM product to what they now describe as “a modern, robust, AI-driven cloud platform.” Throughout this transformation, the company has maintained its commitment to making CRM more accessible and user-friendly.

Key elements of SugarCRM’s brand story include:

1. Innovation through accessibility: By pioneering an open-source approach to CRM, SugarCRM democratized access to customer relationship management tools, allowing many companies to implement their first CRM system.
2. California entrepreneurial roots: As a fourth-generation California entrepreneur, founder Clint Oram brought a strong entrepreneurial spirit to the company, emphasizing hard work and community building.
3. Focus on simplification: SugarCRM’s brand messaging consistently emphasizes making complex processes simpler, removing “busy work,” and allowing businesses to focus on what matters most – their customers.
4. Evolution with technology: The brand has evolved from its open-source beginnings to embrace cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and automation, positioning itself as a forward-thinking technology company.
5. Community building: Throughout its history, SugarCRM has emphasized the importance of relationships – not just between businesses and their customers, but also within the ecosystem of employees, partners, and influencers that make up the SugarCRM community.

As the company celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024, its brand continues to evolve while maintaining its core focus on helping businesses create meaningful customer relationships through technology that simplifies rather than complicates.

11. Appian

Slogan

“The Process Company”

Branding Story

Appian’s brand story centers around its identity as “The Process Company,” a tagline that succinctly captures the company’s core focus on business process orchestration, automation, and intelligence. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Appian has established itself as a leader in the low-code platform market with a particular emphasis on process management.

The company’s branding emphasizes its role in helping organizations design, automate, and optimize important processes from start to finish. This focus on end-to-end process management is central to Appian’s identity and value proposition. Their messaging consistently highlights how their platform empowers business leaders to transform their operations through better process management.

Appian’s brand identity is built around several key themes:

1. Process Excellence: As “The Process Company,” Appian positions itself as the definitive expert in business process management. This specialization differentiates them from competitors who might offer broader but less focused capabilities.
2. Trust and Transformation: Appian describes itself as “the trusted company and platform for AI process automation,” emphasizing both reliability and innovation. Their messaging frequently references how they help drive “transformational process change” for top organizations.
3. Simplification of Complexity: A recurring theme in Appian’s branding is making complex processes simpler and more manageable. Their platform is positioned as a solution that brings clarity and efficiency to complicated business operations.
4. Values-Driven Approach: Appian explicitly communicates its company values, which include Respect, Constructive Dissent and Resolution, Work to Impact (Not “Completion”), and Ambition. These values are integrated into their brand story and reflect their approach to both internal operations and customer relationships.
5. Industry Leadership: Appian positions itself as an industry leader and pioneer, particularly in the low-code development space. The company was one of the first low-code platforms to hit the market, giving it a trailblazer status that features in its brand narrative.

In the CRM space specifically, Appian offers solutions that help organizations manage customer relationships through process optimization. Rather than positioning itself as a traditional CRM provider, Appian emphasizes how its process automation capabilities can enhance customer experience management and streamline customer-facing operations.

The company’s visual identity features a distinctive blue and purple color palette that conveys professionalism and innovation, aligning with its positioning as a trusted enterprise software provider that delivers cutting-edge process automation solutions.

12. Freshworks

Slogan

“Happy employees create happy customers”

Branding Story

Freshworks’ brand story begins in Chennai, India in 2010, when founder Girish Mathrubootham (often referred to simply as “G”) started the company as “Freshdesk” – a “fresh” helpdesk solution with a dream to make a dent in the world of customer support. The name itself reflected the company’s mission to bring a fresh perspective to customer service software.

The company’s journey is marked by a significant rebranding in 2017, when Freshdesk evolved into Freshworks. This transformation reflected the company’s expansion beyond its initial helpdesk product into a broader suite of business software solutions, including CRM, IT service management, and marketing automation.

At the core of Freshworks’ brand identity is their simple yet powerful mantra: “Happy employees create happy customers.” This philosophy has been central to the company since its inception and forms the foundation of their mission “to make it easy for businesses to delight their employees and customers.” This employee-first approach to customer satisfaction is woven throughout their brand messaging and product development.

The Freshworks brand is built around several key principles:

1. Accessibility: The company believes that everyone deserves access to quality software, regardless of company size or budget. This is reflected in their commitment to “products with uncompromising craftsmanship at affordable prices.”
2. User-Centric Design: Freshworks emphasizes creating intuitive and modern products that are “easy to try, easy to buy, and easy to use—even without any prior training or expertise.” This focus on simplicity and usability is a cornerstone of their brand identity.
3. Transparency: The company promises “transparent and customized pricing plans with no hidden costs,” positioning themselves as an honest alternative to complex, opaque pricing models common in enterprise software.
4. Customer Success: Freshworks emphasizes going “the extra mile to meet your needs and proactively work with you to achieve the results you want,” highlighting their commitment to customer outcomes rather than just selling software.

In 2021, Freshworks achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian SaaS company to go public on the Nasdaq, further cementing its position as a global player in the business software market.

The company’s visual identity features a vibrant green that symbolizes freshness and growth, complemented by a simple, modern aesthetic that aligns with their focus on user-friendly software. Their branding consistently emphasizes their mission of “creating delight” for both employees and customers, positioning Freshworks as not just a software provider but a partner in business success.

13. Kustomer

Slogan

“Creating zero-effort, exceptional customer experiences”

Branding Story

Kustomer’s brand story begins with its founding in 2015 by Brad Birnbaum and Jeremy Suriel, who set out with a mission to reimagine customer service. The company’s name itself is a play on “customer,” highlighting their customer-centric approach to CRM.

At the core of Kustomer’s brand identity is their mission statement: “Creating zero-effort, exceptional customer experiences.” This philosophy drives their product development and marketing strategy, positioning them as a company dedicated to making customer service effortless and delightful.

A distinctive element of Kustomer’s brand identity is their mascot “Kusty,” a smiling character that has been integrated into their logo. In their 2024 brand evolution, they updated their visual identity while maintaining this playful character, now embedded directly into their name by replacing the “u” in “kustomer” with the smiling Kusty icon. This character symbolizes their mission to create satisfied, supported customers through exceptional service experiences.

The company’s brand underwent a significant evolution in October 2024, when they unveiled a refreshed identity that reflects their growth and innovation while preserving their core values. Key elements of this brand refresh include:

1. A modernized logo featuring Kusty in a cheerful sunshine yellow color, which “expresses the optimism, energy, and warmth” of their customer experience
2. A lowercase “k” and letterforms that mimic Kusty’s smile, reinforcing their values of putting customers at the heart of everything they do
3. A warm color palette led by Sunshine Yellow, paired with Periwinkle and Slate Green, creating a brand palette that communicates delight, innovation, and trust
4. Typography that balances a storybook-esque font called Quincy (adding a narrative quality to reinforce that behind every support interaction is a human story) with a timeless sans serif for clarity and legibility

Kustomer positions itself at the intersection of being people-centric and technology-rich, emphasizing the human outcomes behind every support interaction while leveraging AI and technology to enhance these experiences. Their brand messaging consistently emphasizes the balance between technological innovation and human connection.

In 2024, Kustomer also began positioning itself as “the first AI-native customer service platform,” highlighting their focus on integrating artificial intelligence into their CRM solutions to revolutionize how businesses deliver customer experiences.

The evolution of Kustomer’s brand reflects their journey from a startup challenging traditional CRM approaches to an established player in the customer service platform space, with a consistent focus on creating exceptional, effortless customer experiences through the thoughtful application of technology.

14. Sage

Slogan

“Know your business, grow your business”

Branding Story

Sage’s brand story in the CRM space centers around its commitment to helping businesses manage customer relationships effectively through integrated software solutions. As part of the larger Sage Group, which was founded in 1981 in Newcastle, UK, Sage has evolved from an accounting software provider to offer a comprehensive suite of business management solutions, including its CRM offering.

The company’s CRM branding is built around the slogan “Know your business, grow your business,” which succinctly captures their value proposition: that deeper business insights lead to better growth opportunities. This message is consistently reinforced throughout their marketing materials and product positioning.

Sage CRM’s brand identity emphasizes several key themes:

1. Integration and connectivity: Sage positions its CRM solution as part of a fully integrated business management ecosystem. Their messaging frequently highlights how their CRM connects with other Sage products, particularly their accounting and ERP solutions, to provide a unified view of business operations.
2. Business insight: The brand emphasizes gaining reliable insights into business operations and customer relationships. Their marketing materials frequently mention the ability to “evaluate where your business stands, and make more informed business decisions you can be confident about.”
3. Customer understanding: Sage CRM’s branding focuses on helping businesses better understand their customers to “deliver an exceptional customer experience to improve customer retention and drive revenue growth.”
4. Collaboration and efficiency: The brand messaging highlights how their CRM solution helps teams work together more effectively, avoiding duplication of work and empowering teams to “work faster and smarter.”
5. Performance acceleration: Sage positions its CRM as a tool that equips sales teams with the information they need to “sell smarter and more efficiently, never missing out on an important deal.”

Visually, Sage CRM shares the broader Sage brand identity, which features a clean, professional aesthetic with a distinctive green color palette that conveys growth, stability, and reliability. The Sage logo and visual identity underwent a significant refresh in 2012 when the company rebranded many of its products to create a more unified brand architecture.

Sage’s approach to CRM branding emphasizes practical business outcomes rather than technical features, focusing on how their solution helps businesses understand their customers better, make more informed decisions, and ultimately drive growth. This pragmatic, results-oriented positioning reflects Sage’s broader brand identity as a trusted partner for businesses seeking reliable, integrated business management solutions.

15. eGain

Slogan

“#1 AI Knowledge Platform for Customer Engagement” Tagline: “One source of trusted answers”

Branding Story

eGain’s brand story centers around its position as a pioneer and leader in knowledge management solutions for customer engagement. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, eGain has evolved from a customer service software provider to become what they position as the “#1 AI Knowledge Platform for Customer Engagement.”

The company’s brand identity is built around the concept of “trusted knowledge” – a theme that permeates their messaging and product positioning. This focus on knowledge as a foundation for customer engagement reflects eGain’s understanding that effective customer service depends on having accurate, accessible information at the right time.

eGain’s branding emphasizes several key themes:

1. Knowledge as a Foundation: Their messaging consistently highlights the importance of a “trusted knowledge foundation” as the basis for effective AI and customer engagement solutions. This positions knowledge management not as a standalone function but as the essential infrastructure for modern customer service.
2. AI Integration: eGain has embraced artificial intelligence as a core component of their brand identity, positioning themselves at the intersection of AI and knowledge management. Their tagline “Ready to Hub Your AI Knowledge?” reflects this focus on bringing together AI capabilities with knowledge management expertise.
3. Unified Platform Approach: The concept of a “hub” is central to eGain’s brand messaging, emphasizing their ability to centralize knowledge that can then be deployed across multiple channels and touchpoints – captured in their phrase “Hub once, use everywhere.”
4. Efficiency and Cost Reduction: eGain’s brand messaging highlights the practical business benefits of their approach, promising to “eliminate silos, dispel chaos, cut costs” through effective knowledge management.
5. Speed and Scale: The company emphasizes the ability to “create and organize knowledge at unmatched warp speed with AI and experts working in tandem,” positioning their solutions as enabling both rapid deployment and enterprise-scale implementation.

Visually, eGain’s brand features a distinctive green and purple color scheme, with the “ai” in their name highlighted in purple to emphasize their focus on artificial intelligence. Their logo and visual identity convey a modern, technology-focused approach while maintaining a professional appearance appropriate for enterprise software.

In the CRM space specifically, eGain has been recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center, reflecting their innovative approach to customer relationship management through knowledge-powered solutions. Their brand positioning emphasizes how their knowledge management capabilities enhance and differentiate their CRM offerings from competitors.

16. Pipedrive

Slogan

“The one platform to grow your business” Previous tagline: “A CRM built by salespeople, for salespeople”

Branding Story

Pipedrive’s brand story begins in an Estonian garage in 2010, where its co-founders, who were salespeople themselves, set out to create a CRM solution that would address the shortcomings they experienced with existing tools. This origin story is central to Pipedrive’s brand identity, emphasizing their authentic understanding of sales challenges and their commitment to creating solutions from a salesperson’s perspective.

The company’s initial positioning was captured in their original tagline, “A CRM built by salespeople, for salespeople,” which highlighted their unique value proposition and differentiated them in the crowded CRM market. This positioning emphasized Pipedrive’s focus on creating tools that salespeople would actually want to use, rather than tools that were imposed on them by management.

In 2022, Pipedrive unveiled an evolved brand identity with a new tagline: “The one platform to grow your business.” This rebrand reflected the company’s strategic shift from being solely a sales-focused CRM to becoming a comprehensive growth platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The new positioning broadened their appeal while maintaining their core focus on helping businesses succeed.

Pipedrive’s brand identity is built around several key themes:

1. Empowerment: Their mission statement, “We empower SMBs to unlock their business potential and scale,” emphasizes their role in enabling business growth rather than just providing software.
2. Simplicity and Effectiveness: Pipedrive consistently describes itself as “the easy and effective CRM,” highlighting their commitment to user-friendly design and practical functionality.
3. Visual Sales Management: The platform was designed to be highly visual, helping users “streamline their processes and get more done” by providing clear visualization of the sales pipeline.
4. Small Business Focus: While many CRM companies target enterprises, Pipedrive has maintained a dedicated focus on small and medium-sized businesses, positioning themselves as champions for SMB growth.
5. Global Ambition with Local Roots: Despite growing into a “global unicorn” with a team of over 850 people across eight countries, Pipedrive maintains a connection to its Estonian origins and startup mentality.

In their visual branding, Pipedrive uses a distinctive green color that has become closely associated with their identity. In 2024, they launched a global marketing campaign featuring “The Pipedrive,” a striking green car used as a metaphor for the brand’s promise to empower small businesses on their road to success.

Backed by global investment firm Vista Equity Partners since 2020 (which valued the company at $1.5 billion), Pipedrive has continued to evolve its brand while maintaining its core mission of helping small businesses succeed through effective sales management and growth tools.

17. Insightly

Slogan

“The modern, scalable CRM teams love”

Branding Story

Insightly’s brand story is centered around its mission to help businesses build lasting customer relationships, captured in their core philosophy: “Relationships are the foundation of business.” Founded in Perth, Australia in 2009 by Anthony Smith, Insightly was originally designed to integrate with Google Apps products, reflecting its early focus on integration and accessibility.

The company’s branding emphasizes simplicity, modernity, and user-friendliness, as reflected in their tagline: “The modern, scalable CRM teams love.” This positioning highlights their focus on creating software that teams actually enjoy using, rather than tools that feel like obligatory corporate systems. The emphasis on being “loved” by teams suggests a focus on user experience and adoption – critical factors in the success of any CRM implementation.

Insightly’s brand identity is built around several key themes:

1. Relationship-Centric: Their core messaging emphasizes that relationships are fundamental to business success, positioning their CRM as a tool for relationship building rather than just a data repository.
2. Platform Approach: Insightly describes itself as delivering “a platform that can take businesses to the next level,” highlighting their comprehensive suite that includes CRM, marketing automation, customer service, and integration tools. This positions them as a unified solution rather than a point product.
3. Growth Enablement: Their messaging frequently includes phrases like “sell smarter, grow faster and build lasting customer relationships,” emphasizing the business outcomes their platform enables rather than just the features it offers.
4. Team Adoption: The emphasis on being a CRM that “teams love” addresses one of the most common challenges in CRM implementation – getting employees to actually use the system consistently.
5. Modern and Affordable: Insightly positions itself as both “modern” and “affordable,” appealing to businesses looking for contemporary solutions without enterprise-level pricing.

In 2023, Insightly became an Unbounce company, marking a significant milestone in its corporate history. This acquisition has been incorporated into their brand story, though they continue to operate under the Insightly name and maintain their core brand identity.

The company’s core values, which inform their brand and company culture, include “Customer first,” “Value individuality,” “High velocity decision making,” “Bias for action,” and “Results focused.” These values reflect their emphasis on being responsive, agile, and customer-centric.

Visually, Insightly’s brand features a distinctive orange color scheme that conveys energy and approachability, aligning with their positioning as a modern, user-friendly CRM solution. Their visual identity and messaging are designed to appeal to growing businesses seeking a comprehensive yet accessible platform for managing customer relationships.

18. SuperOffice

Slogan

“Building Relationships”

Branding Story

SuperOffice’s brand story is deeply rooted in its focus on relationship building, which is reflected in their slogan “Building Relationships.” Founded in 1990 by Une Amundsen in Norway, the company has positioned itself as a CRM solution that helps businesses connect with customers and colleagues through technology.

A distinctive and unique element of SuperOffice’s brand identity is their mascot, Hugo the Owl. The owl mascot has been part of the company’s branding almost since its inception, making it one of the earliest B2B companies to embrace a character mascot. According to company lore, the idea for the owl came from one of their customers – an artist who used SuperOffice CRM to increase sales.

The owl symbolism was chosen deliberately to represent what SuperOffice helps businesses do: gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of their market, customers, and prospects. Like an owl perched in treetops with perfect visibility of everything below, ready to strike at the right moment, SuperOffice positions its CRM as giving businesses the overview and insight they need to find, catch, and keep more customers.

In its early incarnation, Hugo was depicted as a business owl, complete with a suit, glasses, and a pen between his talons, emphasizing the professional business focus of the software. This character became deeply embedded in the company culture and was featured in various marketing materials, including animated videos and merchandise.

In 2015, SuperOffice underwent a brand refresh that reduced Hugo to a wireframe icon in the corner of their logo. However, in 2022, the company made a strategic decision to bring Hugo back as a full-fledged mascot, recognizing the distinctive brand asset they had created. The revitalized Hugo was redesigned with a rounder, softer appearance to match the rest of their brand, and was given the title “Hugo the Relationships Hero.”

This reintroduction of Hugo represents SuperOffice’s understanding that in a saturated market, having a distinctive character helps them stand out from competitors. It also reflects their commitment to being approachable and personable in an industry that can often feel impersonal and technical.

Beyond their mascot, SuperOffice’s brand identity emphasizes several key themes:

1. Relationship-centric approach: Their messaging consistently highlights the importance of building and maintaining relationships with customers.
2. Connectivity: They position their CRM as a tool that “connects people through technology and helps them achieve more.”
3. Comprehensive view: The owl symbolism reinforces their promise of providing businesses with a complete overview of their customer relationships.
4. European heritage: As a European CRM provider (founded in Norway), SuperOffice maintains a distinct identity in a market dominated by American companies.

The company’s visual identity features a teal/green color palette that conveys professionalism and reliability while remaining distinctive in the CRM space. This, combined with their unique owl mascot, creates a memorable brand that stands out in the B2B software market.

19. Nutshell

Slogan

“We make software that helps businesses sell more” Tagline: “The B2B Next Action Selling CRM”

Branding Story

Nutshell’s brand story centers around its mission to simplify and enhance the sales process for small businesses. Founded in 2009, the company was created with a clear purpose: to address the need for a better CRM solution in the market. As they state on their website, “Nutshell was founded in 2009 because we knew businesses needed a better CRM. So we made one.”

What distinguishes Nutshell in the crowded CRM market is their focus on what they call “Next Action Selling,” a methodology that emphasizes the actionable, repeatable steps sales representatives can take to move deals forward. This approach, also known as activity-based selling, has become a cornerstone of their brand identity and product philosophy. In fact, they position themselves as “the best Next-Action Selling CRM on the market,” making this methodology one of their three founding pillars.

Nutshell’s brand messaging consistently emphasizes simplicity, practicality, and effectiveness. Their straightforward slogan, “We make software that helps businesses sell more,” reflects their no-nonsense approach to business software. This direct messaging is designed to appeal to small and medium-sized businesses looking for practical solutions rather than complex enterprise systems.

The company’s brand identity underwent a significant evolution with a visual rebranding that moved away from their previous dot-based design elements. This refresh was part of their strategy to create a more modern, cohesive visual identity while maintaining their core brand values.

Nutshell positions itself as being dedicated to “helping small businesses grow their revenue and solving the most critical challenge of sales and marketing software: motivating teams to use it.” This focus on user adoption addresses a common pain point in the CRM industry, where many solutions fail due to poor team engagement.

Their brand voice is characterized by a friendly, approachable tone that emphasizes their passion for customer success. As they state, “We’re passionate about our customers’ success, and we love finding new ways to take the frustrations out of selling.” This customer-centric approach is reinforced by their emphasis on being a partner in their clients’ growth journey.

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with additional presence in Harrisburg, Nutshell maintains a strong sense of community and team culture, which they showcase as part of their brand story. Their team page highlights the diverse backgrounds and interests of their employees, presenting the company as a vibrant, human-centered organization rather than just a software provider.

In the competitive CRM landscape, Nutshell has carved out a distinct identity by focusing on practical sales methodologies, user adoption, and a straightforward approach to helping businesses improve their sales processes and outcomes.

20. monday.com

Slogan

“Work without limits” Tagline: “Made for work, designed to love”

Branding Story

monday.com’s brand story is centered around its mission to transform how teams work together by creating a platform that people actually love to use. Founded in 2012 by Roy Mann and Eran Zinman, the company was born out of the founders’ firsthand experience with the challenges of scaling organizations and their desire to build a solution that would address these pain points.

Originally launched from a small apartment in Tel Aviv, monday.com has evolved from a simple work management tool into what they now call a “Work OS” (Work Operating System) – a comprehensive platform that enables organizations of any size to build custom workflows and applications. This evolution reflects the company’s commitment to providing flexible, adaptable solutions that can grow with their customers’ needs.

The company’s slogan, “Work without limits,” encapsulates their core brand promise: empowering teams to achieve more by removing barriers and constraints to productivity and collaboration. This message was prominently featured in their first Super Bowl commercial in 2022, which marked a significant milestone in their brand development and represented their most comprehensive marketing campaign at that time.

monday.com’s brand identity is built around several key themes:

1. Transparency and empowerment: Their mission statement emphasizes helping “teams build a culture of transparency, empowering everyone” to work more effectively together.
2. Flexibility and customization: The company positions its platform as infinitely adaptable, allowing users to create workflows that match their specific needs rather than forcing them to adapt to rigid software structures.
3. User-centric design: Their tagline “Made for work, designed to love” highlights their focus on creating software that people genuinely enjoy using, addressing a common pain point in business software where user experience is often sacrificed for functionality.
4. Growth and scaling: Throughout their brand messaging, monday.com emphasizes their ability to help businesses scale rapidly while maintaining effective collaboration and communication.
5. Multi-product ecosystem: In 2022, monday.com evolved into a multi-product company with specialized solutions including monday CRM, monday dev, monday marketer, monday projects, and monday work management, reflecting their expansion beyond a single-product focus.

Visually, monday.com’s brand features a vibrant, colorful aesthetic with a distinctive logo that incorporates multiple colors, symbolizing the diversity of teams and workflows their platform supports. Their visual identity conveys energy, creativity, and a modern approach to work management.

The company’s growth story is an integral part of their brand narrative, with their timeline highlighting key milestones from their humble beginnings in 2012 to becoming a global company with offices across multiple continents, serving over 152,000 customers worldwide as of 2021. This growth story reinforces their credibility and positions them as a trusted partner for businesses looking to scale their operations efficiently.

Conclusion

This exploration of 20 leading CRM companies reveals the diverse approaches to branding in the customer relationship management software industry. From established giants like Salesforce and Microsoft to innovative challengers like Kustomer and Pipedrive, each company has crafted a unique brand identity that reflects its values, mission, and market positioning.

Several key themes emerge across these brand stories:

1. Evolution and Adaptation: Many of these companies have undergone significant brand transformations as they’ve grown and expanded their offerings. Companies like Zendesk, Pegasystems, and ServiceNow have refreshed their brand identities to better reflect their evolving capabilities and market positions.
2. Customer-Centricity: Across the board, these CRM providers emphasize their commitment to helping businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. This focus is evident in slogans like SuperOffice’s “Building Relationships” and Freshworks’ “Happy employees create happy customers.”
3. Simplification: Many brands position themselves as solutions to complexity, promising to streamline and simplify business processes. SAP’s “Run Simple,” SugarCRM’s “Let the platform do the work,” and ServiceNow’s “Making the world work better for everyone” all speak to this desire to make business operations more manageable.
4. Technology Integration: As artificial intelligence and automation become increasingly important in the CRM space, many companies are incorporating these themes into their brand messaging. Salesforce positions itself as “the #1 AI CRM,” while eGain brands itself as the “#1 AI Knowledge Platform for Customer Engagement.”
5. User Experience: A notable trend is the emphasis on creating software that people actually enjoy using. monday.com’s “Made for work, designed to love,” Insightly’s “The modern, scalable CRM teams love,” and HubSpot’s focus on “frictionless customer experience” all highlight the importance of user adoption and satisfaction.

The slogans and brand stories of these CRM companies offer valuable insights into how they perceive their role in the market and the unique value they bring to their customers. By understanding these brand identities, businesses can better evaluate which CRM solution might align with their own values, needs, and organizational culture.

As the CRM industry continues to evolve with advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and integration capabilities, these brand stories will likely continue to adapt, reflecting the changing landscape of customer relationship management and the innovative solutions these companies develop to address emerging challenges.