SMBcrm 2024 Year in Review: A Year of Growth and Innovation

As the end of 2024 approaches, we at SMBcrm want to take a moment to reflect on a year defined by relentless innovation, product evolution, and unwavering commitment to the success of small businesses around the world. In total, we rolled out 778 feature updates—each one designed to empower our customers with cutting-edge tools for smarter, more efficient business operations. None of this would have been possible without the support of our incredible customers, partners, and dedicated team. Thank you for making 2024 one of our most transformative years yet!

1. Key Innovations of 2024

AI Advancements

In 2024, SMBcrm redefined how businesses operate by introducing advanced AI tools tailored to streamline processes, enhance customer interactions, and eliminate the need for multiple software solutions. Our innovations this year make it easier than ever to run and grow your business.

• Voice AI Launch: This year, we didn’t just tweak call limits—we reinvented what’s possible with business communications by introducing Voice AI. Whether you’re a busy call center juggling thousands of daily calls or a growing small business that wants to deliver swift, personalized service, our Voice AI technology helps you manage calls more efficiently and free up resources for higher-level tasks. Voice AI has had the quickest uptake of any major feature we’ve introduced.
• Funnel AI: Need to create a stunning, high-converting funnel but don’t have the time to build it from scratch? Funnel AI helps you instantly design pages that look great and are optimized to convert. Just provide prompted details about your business, and this AI tool will generate 60-70% of the design and structure you need. From there, you can add customization to fit your brand—no coding experience required.
• Reviews AI: Simplify reputation management with Reviews AI, which automates review requests and responses. Tailor responses for platforms like Google and Facebook, ensuring your brand voice is consistent across review channels. Use auto-pilot mode to handle reviews automatically based on star ratings, or switch to suggestive mode to personalize responses before sending.
• AI Workflow Assistant: Introducing the AI Workflow Assistant—a game-changer in how workflows are built and optimized. This tool intelligently suggests workflow steps based on your business needs, helping you create smarter workflows in minutes. It’s perfect for streamlining processes, reducing errors, and empowering teams to focus on strategic tasks.
• Conversations AI Chatbot: Meeting customers where they are often means having the right digital conversation at the right time. Our new Conversations AI Chatbot is designed to do exactly that: it fields customer inquiries 24/7, learns from interactions, and gradually improves its responses to common questions. Businesses benefit by having a “virtual team member” that enhances lead generation, shortens response times, and handles routine tasks—letting real staff members focus on the critical work of building relationships and closing sales.

Enhanced Communication Tools

• Email Bounce Classification & Group Chat for SMS: Streamline your marketing and outreach with better bounce tracking and real-time SMS group messaging. This ensures your emails and texts are landing in the right inboxes and reaching your audiences with fewer hiccups.
• Expanded Integrations: From WhatsApp to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok—SMBcrm’s deeper integrations give you a single platform to manage conversations and campaigns, saving you time and making every customer touchpoint count. Now with added integration to LinkedIn Messaging, your CRM communications toolkit is more powerful than ever.
• Video Messaging Support: Stand out in your marketing and sales outreach with integrated video messaging—a dynamic way to connect with customers and leads, driving engagement like never before.

Tailored Workflows & Automations

• Custom Object Workflows: Build more robust automations with advanced branching, giving you the flexibility to create processes that reflect your unique operational goals—whether it’s lead nurturing, pipeline management, or post-sale support.
• Workflow Marketplace Updates: The refreshed UI and better app discovery empower you to easily find or share workflow templates, kick-starting efficiency in areas like onboarding, invoicing, and customer follow-ups.
• Automated Task Management: Never miss a follow-up again with advanced task assignment automations. Assign tasks to the right team members based on real-time triggers or custom conditions.

New Customer-Focused Tools

• Client Portal Enhancements: Empower your clients with a redesigned portal that provides clear insights into project progress, invoicing, and communication—all in one accessible place.
• Social Planner Enhancements: From TikTok to Instagram Reels, manage your social media planning and publishing with tools tailored for today’s most impactful platforms.

2. Metrics That Matter

• 778 Feature Updates: From small UX tweaks to major AI advancements, we pushed the boundaries of innovation every step of the way—ensuring you always have fresh tools to tackle real-world challenges.
• 99.9% Uptime: Our dedication to reliability means SMBcrm stays up and running, so you can serve your customers without interruption.
• AI Adoption: AI-driven tools (like our new Voice AI and Conversations AI Chatbot) saw a surge in usage, proving their value in automating tasks that free up your team’s time for strategic, relationship-building activities.
• Growing User Base: We welcomed a record number of new SMBcrm customers in 2024—testament to small businesses continually seeking integrated, future-ready CRM solutions. Many of these businesses have found they no longer need to rely on multiple software solutions to run their operations.

3. User-Centric Highlights

Productivity Tools

• Improved Contact Merging: Merge duplicate records in one click, reducing data clutter and ensuring your sales and support teams focus on what matters—serving the right customer at the right time.
• Streamlined Payments & Recurring Invoices: With PayPal Pay Later, Stripe, ACH, and SEPA integrated, collecting payments becomes a breeze. Plus, enhanced recurring invoices reduce manual tracking, so you can spend time growing your business.
• Evergreen Content Queues: Automate recurring campaigns by cycling through high-performing posts in social media or email, ensuring that no lead—or opportunity—slips through the cracks.

E-commerce Enhancements

• E-Commerce Store Launch: 2024 marked the introduction of SMBcrm’s E-Commerce Stores, empowering businesses to create and manage their online storefronts seamlessly within the platform. With a user-friendly setup and robust tools, businesses can launch a professional online presence in no time.
• Flexible Storefront Designs: Present your products more creatively with countdown timers, product labels, and column layouts, giving your online store a polished look that appeals to today’s savvy digital buyers.
• Integrated Payment Methods: Adding Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal Pay Later options encourages shoppers to buy more—and buy quickly—boosting your bottom line.

Security & Compliance

• 2FA & Password Management: Your data’s safety is paramount. We introduced two-factor authentication and strengthened our password management flows to give you and your customers greater peace of mind.
• HIPAA-Compliant Improvements: We enhanced data handling and privacy controls for our customers in healthcare or similarly regulated industries, ensuring they can operate confidently and securely.

4. Celebrating Customer Wins

We measure our success by your success stories—and in 2024, we heard more of them than ever:

• Reduced Labor Hours: One local service provider reported saving the equivalent of 15 staff hours per week by offloading initial phone inquiries to Voice AI and routine Q&As to the Conversations AI Chatbot.
• Faster Deal Closures: A B2B SaaS startup used our improved e-signature workflows to cut days (and sometimes weeks) off their sales-to-onboarding timeline.
• Integrated Marketing Insights: Companies leveraging WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram integrations can now view their campaign performance in a single dashboard—driving better ROI tracking and faster pivots on marketing strategies.

These real-world results confirm our commitment to helping you work smarter and focus more on building relationships that lead to sales growth and long-term customer loyalty.

5. Looking Ahead to 2025

As we celebrate the successes of 2024, our eyes remain fixed on the future:

• Continued AI Innovation: Expect next-level conversational AI, more precise predictive analytics, and tighter integrations with popular platforms your customers rely on.
• Richer Analytics: We’re developing new dashboards that dive deeper into your customer journey and provide actionable insights to drive even more growth.
• Customer Success Initiatives: Look forward to extended in-platform guidance, comprehensive training, and resources that will help you make the most of SMBcrm’s robust toolset.

Conclusion

From launching Voice AI and Conversations AI Chatbot to enhancing e-commerce storefronts and everything in between, 2024 was a banner year for SMBcrm. But none of it would matter without you—our customers—who use these innovations to bring real value to the marketplace every day.

Thank you for your trust in us. We’re honored to be your partner in growth and look forward to helping you reach new heights in 2025 and beyond. As always, your feedback is invaluable. Let us know how we can continue to evolve SMBcrm to serve you better in the coming year.

Here’s to a remarkable 2025—together!

— The SMBcrm Team