Acquiring new customers has never been more expensive.That's why some of the fastest-growing businesses are investing heavily in CRM.

Done well, CRM can increase customer retention, improve lifetime value, drive repeat purchases and create more personalised customer experiences. Done badly, it's just another marketing channel sending irrelevant emails.

If you're hiring a Head of CRM or CRM Manager, finding somebody who understands the difference can have a huge impact on your growth.

Start By Defining The Challenge

Before you begin your search, it's worth understanding what success looks like in your business.

Different organisations need very different types of CRM professionals.

Are you looking to:

• Increase customer retention?
• Improve repeat purchase rates?
• Build customer loyalty?
• Reduce customer churn?
• Launch a new CRM platform?
• Improve customer segmentation?
• Develop automated customer journeys?
• Build a CRM team?

The right hire will depend on the challenge you're trying to solve.

What Does A Head of CRM Actually Do?

CRM has evolved significantly over the last few years.

Modern CRM leaders are responsible for much more than email campaigns.

A typical Head of CRM will oversee:

• Customer lifecycle strategy
• Email marketing
• Marketing automation
• Customer segmentation
• Personalisation
• Loyalty programmes
• Retention marketing
• Customer journey optimisation
• CRM technology platforms
• Customer insight and analytics
• Team leadership and development

Ultimately, they're responsible for building stronger relationships with customers and generating more value from those relationships over time.

The Skills Every Great CRM Leader Needs

“The biggest shift in CRM has been the pace at which technology is changing the role. We’re no longer just looking for great marketers—we need people who are curious, data-literate and eager to embrace AI and automation, while never losing sight of the customer and the commercial outcomes we’re trying to achieve.”

Jodie Gardner - Head of CRM Performance & Operations at Awaze

“AI is impacting the CRM space and in a really positive way. It's freed teams from a lot of the manual grind and elevated our insight and reporting, so we can optimise much faster. That means more time for strategic thinking, personalisation and future planning.

As a result, we're looking for talent who can think strategically, embrace a fast-changing landscape, get creative with AI, and support their teams through that change.”

Lyndsey Kennerley - Customer Director, SimpliSafe

Customer Lifecycle Expertise

The strongest CRM professionals understand the entire customer journey.

They know how to engage customers at every stage, including:

• Acquisition
• Onboarding
• Activation
• Engagement
• Retention
• Loyalty
• Win-back

They don't simply send campaigns.

They build journeys that move customers through a lifecycle.

Marketing Automation Experience

Automation has become one of the most important areas of CRM.

Candidates should have experience with platforms such as:

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud
• Braze
• Bloomreach
• Klaviyo
• HubSpot
• Adobe Campaign
• Dotdigital
• Iterable

More importantly, they should be able to explain how they've used these platforms to improve business performance.

Data and Segmentation Skills

Personalisation is only as good as the data behind it.

The best CRM leaders understand:

• Customer segmentation
• Behavioural targeting
• First-party data strategies
• Customer profiling
• Audience creation
• Predictive modelling
• Customer analytics

Modern CRM is increasingly powered by data rather than intuition.

AI and Personalisation

AI is transforming CRM at an incredible pace.

The strongest candidates will already be thinking about:

• AI-driven personalisation
• Predictive customer journeys
• Send-time optimisation
• Automated content generation
• Customer behaviour prediction
• Next-best-action modelling

The future of CRM is becoming increasingly intelligent, personalised and automated.

Commercial Awareness

Great CRM leaders understand that engagement metrics only tell part of the story.

They should be focused on:

• Customer lifetime value
• Repeat purchase rates
• Revenue growth
• Retention rates
• Churn reduction
• Profitability

Open rates and click-through rates are useful indicators, commercial outcomes are what matter most.

What Separates Good CRM Professionals From Great Ones?

They Understand Customers This sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly rare.

The best CRM professionals combine data with customer empathy. They understand what motivates customers, what causes them to disengage and what drives long-term loyalty. They Obsess Over Testing because CRM is a discipline built on continual optimisation.

Strong candidates should be able to talk about:

• A/B testing
• Journey optimisation
• Subject line testing
• Personalisation experiments
• Segmentation improvements

The best CRM leaders are constantly looking for marginal gains.

They Balance Creativity and Data

CRM sits at the intersection of marketing, technology and analytics. The strongest candidates can combine creative thinking with analytical rigour. They understand both the science and the art of customer engagement, and think beyond email.

This is one of the biggest differences between average and exceptional CRM leaders.

Great candidates understand that CRM now extends across:

• Email
• SMS
• Push notifications
• In-app messaging
• Loyalty platforms
• Direct mail
• Customer service touchpoints

They think about the customer experience as a whole rather than individual channels.

QuestionsTo Ask During a CRM Candidate Interview

Consider asking:

• How do you measure CRM success?
• What role does AI play in the future of CRM?
• Tell us about a customer retention strategy you've implemented.
• How do you approach customer segmentation?
• What CRM platform have you had the most success with and why?
• How would you reduce churn in a subscription business?
• What does great personalisation look like in 2026?
• The strongest candidates will talk about business outcomes rather than campaign metrics.

Salary Expectations

Salary levels will vary depending on industry, team size and platform expertise, but as a guide:

CRM Executive: £30,000 - £40,000

CRM Manager: £45,000 - £65,000

Senior CRM Manager: £60,000 - £80,000

Head of CRM: £80,000 - £120,000+

CRM Director: £120,000+

Candidates with experience across major CRM platforms, customer data strategy and retention-led growth are increasingly commanding premium salaries. You can use our new Marketing & Digital Salary Guide for more detail on salaries!

Looking For A Head of CRM?

Whether you're building your first CRM function or hiring a senior leader to drive customer retention and loyalty, finding the right person can have a significant impact on long-term growth. At Forward Role, we help businesses hire exceptional CRM, Customer Marketing, Lifecycle Marketing and Retention specialists across the UK.

If you're planning a CRM hire and would like advice on salaries, market trends or building a best-in-class CRM function, we'd be happy to help. Get in touch with the team today!