What is the difference between a CRM and a lead generation platform?

The difference between a CRM and a lead generation platform is purpose and placement in the funnel: a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a system for storing contacts, tracking interactions, managing pipelines, automating follow-ups, and measuring customer lifetime valueit’s built to nurture, close, and retain customers. A lead generation platform focuses on attracting and capturing new prospectsrunning ads, landing pages, forms, prospecting tools, and intent scoring to feed qualified leads into your process. Think of the lead generation platform as the top-of-funnel engine that creates and qualifies opportunities, and the CRM as the central nervous system that organizes those opportunities, enables sales and marketing automation, tracks conversion metrics, and manages ongoing relationships; together they convert clicks into customers.