What a CRM is, what it's for and how to choose one for your business
A CRM is the system where a business keeps who its customers are, what has already been discussed with each one and where each sale stands. The acronym comes from English: Customer Relationship Management. It exists so nobody is left without a reply and so the owner knows how much there is to close.
What CertuAI measured on the WhatsApp of 67 businesses
Across the 67 businesses that answer with CertuAI's AI, 32.5% of the 122,720 customer messages arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (July 30 to September 30, 2026). Half of the AI's replies went out within 11.7 seconds, and 9 in 10 within 20.7 seconds (38,908 replies). 34.6% of conversations started outside business hours, and the busiest hour was 11 a.m.
| What was measured | Result | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customer messages outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 32,5% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Weekend messages | 15,8% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Conversations that start outside business hours | 34,6% | 19,900 conversations |
| Time until the AI replies (half of the replies) | within 11.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Time until the AI replies (9 in 10 replies) | within 20.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Hour of the day with the most customer messages | 11h | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
Source: CertuAI's customer service database, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person; no imported history, no test contacts and without CertuAI's own sales chats. July 30 to September 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. Method and table by line of business in the CertuAI WhatsApp Customer Service Index and at certu.com.br/dados.
Named customers, Jul 30 to Oct 10, 2026
| Customer | Customer messages | AI replies | Conversations handled | Outside business hours | AI replies in (median) | Days with messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Gás Água e Rações gas and water distributor | 42.832 | 23.351 | 6.479 | 33,6% | 9,8 s | 70 |
| CEMIP medical clinic | 12.472 | 6.484 | 2.436 | 18,7% | 11,4 s | 37 |
| Nikiti Auto Center auto center | 4.912 | 3.548 | 900 | 19,5% | 14,4 s | 47 |
| Imobiliária Rodrigues & Ribeiro real estate agency | 6.090 | 2.759 | 823 | 33,2% | 18,4 s | 34 |
| Alpha RH human resources | 3.082 | 1.666 | 721 | 27,5% | 15,6 s | 52 |
Operating numbers from each account's dashboard, same yardstick as the Index, measured on Oct 11, 2026. Published with each owner's permission. Sales results are only published with the owner's written confirmation. Full list at certu.com.br/casos.
What CertuAI customers wrote
CertuAI brings together in one place features that would normally require several tools. Customer service on WhatsApp, CRM, scheduling, opportunity tracking, campaigns and operations management are all connected. Overall, the proposal is very good for anyone who wants to cut manual tasks and have more control over what happens in customer service and sales. [...]
Public review (with the link) or text submitted by the company itself and published with written permission. The rating only appears when the source has a rating.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
Bernardo Villela · CEO, CertuAI
Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp? Build your agent, no sign-up needed.
Summary in 7 facts
- A CRM is the system where a business keeps who its customers are, what has already been discussed with each one and where each sale stands.
- The acronym comes from English: Customer Relationship Management.
- It exists so nobody is left without a reply and so the owner knows how much there is to close.
- Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp?
- A CRM is the system that records every customer, every conversation and every sale in progress at the business.
- The acronym stands for Customer Relationship Management.
- If you want to design your own, see sales funnel: what it is, stages and how to build one.
What is a CRM?
A CRM is the system that records every customer, every conversation and every sale in progress at the business. The acronym stands for Customer Relationship Management.
In practice it's a contact list with a memory. Instead of digging through a notebook, a spreadsheet and old conversations, you open the person's name and see what they asked for, what was agreed and what the next step is.
What is a CRM for?
- Don't forget anyone. Every contact has a next step with a date.
- Know how much there is to close. Sales in progress are totaled by stage.
- Split customer service. Each team member knows which customers are theirs and what has already been said.
- Get back in touch with people who already bought. The history shows who is due to buy again.
- Find where sales get stuck. You can see at which stage the most people drop off.
What does a CRM need to have?
| Part | What it stores |
|---|---|
| Contact | Name, phone and where the person came from |
| History | What was discussed, on which channel and when |
| Deal | The sale in progress, with value and stage |
| Task | The next step, with an owner and a date |
| Report | How many contacts came in, how many closed and why the others didn't |
The stages of a deal form the funnel. If you want to design your own, see sales funnel: what it is, stages and how to build one.
Want to see how much money sits idle in unanswered messages? Run the numbers in the calculator.
Spreadsheet or CRM: when to switch?
A spreadsheet works as long as only one person handles customers and the contacts fit in memory. It starts to fail when a customer is served by two people, when a proposal goes out with no follow-up date or when nobody can say how many sales are open.
The clearest sign is a customer who says they already talked to you and nobody can find the conversation.
How to choose a CRM for a small business?
- See where your customers talk to you. If it's on WhatsApp, the CRM needs to receive the conversation from there, without anyone copying and pasting.
- Count how many people will use it. The price of almost every CRM grows per user.
- Test adding a contact. If it takes more than a minute, the team will stop filling it in.
- Check that the stages are editable. The funnel must use the names of your own sales stages.
- Look at what happens with people who stop replying. A reminder for the team is the minimum. An automatic follow-up message is better.
How does the CertuAI CRM work?
At CertuAI, every conversation becomes a contact, a deal and a task on its own. The AI answers on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, and what it talked about is already in the customer's history. The pipeline stages are editable and the automatic follow-up calls back people who stopped replying.
See the CRM for WhatsApp page.
Read also
Frequently asked questions
- What is a CRM?
- It's the system that records every customer, every conversation and every sale in progress at the business. The acronym stands for Customer Relationship Management.
- What is a CRM for?
- So you don't forget any contact, know how much there is to close, split customer service among the team and get back in touch with people who already bought.
- What's the difference between a CRM and an ERP?
- The CRM takes care of the customer and the sale in progress. The ERP takes care of what happens inside the company after the sale, such as inventory, finance and tax invoices.
- Does a small business need a CRM?
- Yes, once more than one person handles customers or contacts no longer fit in your memory. Before that, a spreadsheet with a next step and a date does the job.
- Can you use WhatsApp as a CRM?
- WhatsApp keeps the conversation, but it doesn't show the sales stage, the value or a next step with a date. A CRM connected to WhatsApp receives the conversation and adds those pieces.
Keep reading
In short
A CRM is the system where a business keeps who its customers are, what has already been discussed with each one and where each sale stands. The acronym comes from English: Customer Relationship Management. It exists so nobody is left without a reply and so the owner knows how much there is to close.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
