Small business spending on CRM software grew 15% in 2003

The SMB CRM market grew significantly during 2003, and indicators are that this growth will continue during the next five years, according to Gartner. CRM-software spending among SMBs (which Gartner defines as companies with less than 1,000 employees) grew by 15% in 2003 over 2002, while spending on the part of large companies dropped by 18% for the same time period. Gartner's report on worldwide 2003 CRM market share found that the overall CRM software market declined by 4.4%, compared with 2002. However, considering the steep declines of previous years, a mere 4.4% drop actually was good news.