Social CRMs for WeChat: 4 Top Picks in 2024

CRMs are a great way to connect with clients efficiently, streamline marketing efforts, track and grow sales, as well as analyze your brand’s overall performance.

So, if you are looking for the best CRMs that integrate with China’s super app, you have come to the right place. Discover Zendesk, Charket, Tencent Qidian, and Weimob to leverage the power of WeChat.

The China experts at WeChat Advertising reveal how to boost brand loyalty and drive sales within the WeChat app with the help of CRM tools, but also across other social media apps.

Now, let’s jump right in.

CRM vs. SCRM

To begin with, let’s get the definitions down. Both terms refer to customer relationship management, and sometimes, the words are used synonymously. But how do they differ?

What is CRM?

In short, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools are systems to manage your brand’s interactions with current clients and prospects. The biggest and most famous CRM you probably have heard of already: Salesforce. But did you know that there are more than 1,300 CRM providers across the globe?

The goal is to grow your business by having good relationships with your customers and getting new clients on board. Therefore, it’s no surprise that 9 out of 10 companies with 10 or more employees use a CRM.

What is SCRM?

More specifically, SCRM stands for social customer relationship management. It combines social media with traditional CRM methods to better understand your customer, interact with them, and meet their needs.

SCRMs can be used to communicate with customers, market your brand, as well as build trust and reputation. Therefore, SCRMs are ideal for Chinese social media management, in particular, WeChat.

Prices for SCRMs (and CRMs) vary according to the scope of services, the number of users, customization and support needs, as well as other parameters, but usually cost a few thousand USDollars per month.

CRM and SCRM Comparison

While traditional CRMs focus on managing customer data, sales processes, and customer service, SCRMs bring in the dimension of social media interactions. This is particularly important in the Chinese market and has additional benefits.

In terms of the (social) CRMs, we are presenting in this article, they are categorized as follows:

Next, let’s dig a little bit deeper!

CRMs in more Detail

Let’s examine the technical side of SCRMs and CRMs as well as their role in China, and who can benefit from using (s)CRMs.

Types of CRMs

Regarding use, there are three types of CRM:

• Operational CRM: streamlines sales, marketing, and customer service (front-office)
• Collaborative CRM: customer communication and interaction across channels
• Analytical CRM: evaluating customer data for strategic decision-making

In terms of installation, it can be differentiated between

• Standard CRMs (physical)
• SaaS CRMs (cloud-based)

Standard CRMs are installed on a device and need hardware/IT to be implemented on-site. Conversely, SaaS CRMs are cloud-based, and, therefore, can be accessed online or via a mobile app without any installation.

CRMs Beyond Customer Support

What is important to know is that CRMs go way beyond customer support, especially in China. By channeling contacts coming from different touchpoints (website, sales system, WeChat, etc.), user interactions can be managed in one central point.

SCRMs and CRMs in China

In the “Middle Kingdom”, the majority of companies use local Chinese CRMs for their customer relations, most of which are SCRMs and WeChat-based. This is not surprising, as WeChat is by far the largest social media platform in the Chinese market with 1.3 billion monthly active users. 

Zendesk is the CRM market leader in China with more than 12%, while Charket, Tencent Quidian, and Weimob (WeChat-based solution) have smaller market shares.

The advantage of native WeChat CRMs is that they don’t require an API or additional external software to operate. They are basically plug-and-play solutions.

As far as the Chinese CRM market is concerned, it is projected to reach 5.36 billion USD in 2024.

Who can Benefit from Using (Social) CRMs

With many advantages under their belt, CRMs benefit many types of businesses. However, as it typically also requires a financial investment as well as human resources to manage the CRM, it is not for everyone.

Now that we have the basics down, let’s look at specific CRMs that integrate with WeChat and our take on them.

4 Best CRMs for WeChat

All following data on CRMs that support WeChat is from 2024.

1. Zendesk

Started in 2007, Zendesk, Inc. offers seamless integration with WeChat. 

Zendesk stands out with the option to integrate multiple communication channels, user-friendliness, scalability, and advanced reporting options. Zendesk functionalities go way beyond customer support, and include sales, call center, knowledge management, and live chat.

On the downside are the costs (especially for smaller businesses) and complexity.

The key features include 

• unified inbox
• automated workflows
• customer profiles
• analytics and reporting
• customization options

Next, let’s take a look at Charket.

2. Charket

Founded in 2017, Charket is an AI company and a Salesforce native app that directly connects WeChat (and WeCom) into Salesforce Customer 360. 

Since Salesforce is recognized as the most comprehensive CRM system worldwide, being able to manage all WeChat customer interactions through Charket is useful and allows brands to apply their most effective social media strategy.

Charket can be connected to WeChat service and subscription accounts, and brands can manage their WeChat official accounts, including customer support, automated replies, and more.

This CRM comes with many advantages, including scalability, an international focus and support, continuous improvement, and highest data security.

On the main downside is Charket’s price, which makes it unattractive for many smaller and medium size brands.

The key features of Charket include

• seamless integration with WeChat
• quick request and response times (1 second on average) between WeChat and Charket 
• flexibility and scalability (runs on Salesforce lightning platform)
• data security (Charket does NOT have access to customer data)
• GDPR compliance (only WeChat CRM to have this status)
• support of Salesforce Cloud solutions
• strong business intelligence (BI) capability (reports, dashboards, etc.)
• continuous data and AI driven improvements

Next, let’s take a look at a WeChat-native social CRM and how it compares to the more internationally focused CRMs Zendesk and Charket.

3. Tencent Qidian

Established in 2008, Qidian by Tencent (the parent company of WeChat), seamlessly integrates with 

• WeChat Official Accounts
• WeChat Mini-Programs

This allows simple and efficient customer management all in one place. The specific advantages of Tencent Qidian include access to the WeChat ecosystem, focus on customer support (also via phone!), ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.

On the other hand, Qidian is focused on the Chinese market (WeChat, Chinese language), it has limitations in regard to customization and scalability, making it less suitable for larger brands with more complex CRM requirements.

However, Tencent Qidian plays a crucial role in the Chinese market, providing SMEs and local businesses with a cost-effective solution that is directly integrated into the popular WeChat app.

The key features of Qidian include

• WeChat integration
• e-commerce support to manage WeChat shops and webpages
• customer profiles including purchase history, interaction logs, and so on

Finally, let’s take a closer look at Weimob, a native WeChat SCRM.

4. Weimob

Created in 2013, Weimob allows marketers to design and optimize WeChat stores and mini-programs with templates. This allows users to closely manage the customer journey with highly industry-specific solutions.

On the plus side stand Weimob’s strong WeChat integration, cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, comprehensive features, and scalability. 

Since Weimob focuses on WeChat and also supports the mini-program function, micro websites and WeChat official accounts, it’s easy for clients to integrate their brand and take advantage of all WeChat functions in one CRM place.

On the other hand, Weimob has limited language support, basically depends on WeChat, has customization limitations, and may seem complex to non-WeChat users. Moreover, integration with non-WeChat systems is very limited.

Nonetheless, Weimob plays a significant role in the Chinese market with its in-depth WeChat integration.

The Weimob key features include

• WeChat integration
• omnichannel management
• marketing automation
• e-commerce support
• customer data management
• in-depth analytics and reporting
• loyalty programs

This brings us to the end of the analysis of the best CRMs that work with WeChat.

Best CRMs for WeChat: The Takeaway

A CRM for WeChat can help you to boost your brand’s success in the Chinese market more effectively and efficiently:

• connect with clients
• run targeted marketing campaigns
• boost leads and sales

From international giants like Charket (Salesforce) and Zendesk to native WeChat CRMs such as Tencent Qidian and Weimob, each solution offers unique advantages for various business needs.

• Zendesk is used by most clients around the world for WeChat CRM
• Charket scores with compatibility with the internationally used CRM Salesforce
• Qidian is a native product by Tencent (the same company behind WeChat) and has a strong focus on customer support (including phone support)
• Weimob supports many WeChat functions like mini-programs, micro-websites, and more

When it comes to selecting a suitable social CRM for WeChat integration, you can consider the following criteria: 

• Compatibility with WeChat and your management systems
• Ease of integration
• Features and functionality
• Security and compliance
• Language support
• Customer service and training

Are you keen to get started with a social CRM for the Chinese market?