Relationship

In CRM, a Relationship refers to the managed connection between two entities — between an account and a contact, between two accounts (such as a parent company and a subsidiary), between a partner and the deals they are pursuing, or between a contact and the opportunities they influence. Relationship data gives context to individual records: knowing that a contact is the CFO at a parent company who influences purchasing decisions for three subsidiary accounts changes how a sales team prioritizes engagement with that individual. CRM platforms model relationships through lookup fields, junction objects, and contact role assignments that capture both the nature of the relationship and the degree of influence or authority involved in commercial decisions.