Many small businesses today have a very reliable customer pool. Most businesses manage to control all of their customer’s needs and wants on pen and paper but there is a better up-to-date system. Customer relationship management (CMR) systems were created to help businesses get a better insight into their customers and help with scaling operations.
It is important to pick the right CRM for your needs as a company so that is why we compiled a list of the top 11 best CRM systems for small businesses.
Top 11 Best CRM Systems
- Pipedrive – Best Overall
- HubSpot CRM – Runner-Up for Best Overall
- Salesforce – Biggest CMR for Small Businesses
- Bonsai – Best For Understanding The Needs Of Clients
- Capsule – Best for Small Sales Teams
- Nimble – Best for Social Media
- Insightly – Best for Integration with Google
- Daylite – Best for iOS Users
- Streak – Best for Emails
- Keap – Best for In-Home and E-Commerce Businesses
- Freshworks – Best for Basic CMR Needs
1. Pipedrive – Best Overall
PRICING: $12.50 per user/per month billed annually, and $15 billed monthly all for the basic plan
Pipedrive is a CMR tool that is designed to help people collect the leads that they need while also being a simple management tool for people to use. It is designed to boost sales while not being hard to operate. Pipedrive is also easy to set up and learn so you can jump straight into business. Pipedrive also has it so that you can automate tasks so you can work more on other objectives rather than wasting time on a simple task.
KEY FEATURES:
- Integrates with several apps
- iOS and Android friendly
- Drag and drop feature
REASONS TO BUY:
- Great for lead tracking
- Strong mobile potential
- Chatbot tool
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Not the best for larger businesses
- No native helpdesk
2. Hubspot CRM – Runner-Up for Best Overall
PRICING: Free and unlimited number of users; $300/mo for premium
Hubspot’s CRM software is free, making it ideal for small firms that simply want the most basic features. However, it has received positive feedback and provides a robust set of capabilities, making it a viable option for SMBs trying to boost sales.
Hubspot CRM has a simple dashboard that allows you to sort transactions and keep track of all relevant data, which can be sorted by lead status, name, amount, or custom filters, allowing businesses to see their sales funnel in real-time. The software integrates with Gmail and Outlook and features a slew of free communication options, including live chat, cross-team emails, and a single inbox for sales, marketing, and customer care teams to keep track of interactions.
KEY FEATURES:
- Make phone calls in the CRM
- Customizable email templates
- Well-developed free version
REASONS TO BUY:
- Free software
- Unlimited users
- Can have up to 1 million contacts
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Basic software program
- No forecasting tools
3. Salesforce – Biggest CRM for Small Businesses
PRICING: Offers a free trial; $300/mo for the premium package
Salesforce is a CRM solution for small businesses that starts at $25 per user per month. Unlike the conventional Salesforce Lightning CRM, which is intended for large corporations with extensive customization requirements, this version is aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. Despite the fact that Salesforce Essentials only has a subset of the large product’s features, it is nevertheless backed by Salesforce’s CRM experience, great support engine, and vast ecosystem of value-add partners, which are typically out of reach for small businesses customers.
KEY FEATURES:
- Pipeline management
- Email routing
- 24-hour support
REASONS TO BUY:
- Easy to read interface
- Great mobile apps
- Access to Salesforce technology stack
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Expensive
- Limited reports
- Integrations could be improved
4. Bonsai – Best For Understanding The Needs Of Clients
PRICING: The entry price of Bonsai is $24 a month, but you can reduce it to $17 a month by paying a one-time bill annually.
Small businesses must understand the needs of their clients to offer them excellent service and expand their company with ease. Bonsai will help you do that in less time due to its robust CRM software. You can organize existing and potential clients using the tagging method.
The software also offers different form templates to collect client information. You may use an event planning intake form to gather relevant data from your customer if your small business specializes in that sector. Forms for collecting client information, contact, and feedback are also available on Bonsai.
It is also easy to customize these forms and include questions relevant to your business. The company also offers questionnaires to get thorough details from a client about their project needs and goals.
KEY FEATURES:
- Automate leads by using different Bonsai integrations
- Track the progress of a project and the hours you have spent on specific tasks
- Manage relations with clients by talking to them using the client portal system
- Add internal notes to projects to update the customer with the latest information
- Use various form templates for collecting different details from clients
- Create unique customer profiles by using contact information or rates
REASONS TO BUY:
- Easy to navigate
- Helps you collect client information within minutes
- Allows you to organize customer lists, project tasks, and documents using the intuitive dashboard
- You can collaborate with other team members to assign them tasks
REASONS TO AVOID:
- There is a limit to the number of collaborators, depending on your Bonsai package
4. Capsule – Best for Small Sales Teams
PRICING: Free version for up to two users; $18/mo for a professional version
Capsule works to elevate all of your business relationships, not just your customer ties. And it accomplishes so in a straightforward manner, with a simple user interface and no learning curve.
Rather than cramming in extra features, Capsule focuses on being exceptionally good at managing daily tasks. You can quickly learn what’s happening with your sales pipeline (bids, lead generation, proposals, client data, and so on), as well as what your team needs to do and when.
KEY FEATURES:
- Calendar and management tools
- Gmail integrations
- Two-factor authentication
REASONS TO BUY:
- The sales pipeline is easy to use
- Customer support is responsive
REASONS TO AVOID:
6. Nimble – Best for Social Media
PRICING: $12/mo for contact edition; $25/mo for business edition
Nimble is a simple social media CRM with intelligent social search and sophisticated market segmentation options. It interfaces with Office 365 and G Suite, allowing you to effortlessly import and manage contacts from your existing platform.
With a decidedly contemporary user interface and agile, simple to use, this CRM contains all the classic features you’d expect from this type of program.
KEY FEATURES:
- Can link to many different social medias
- Cross-channel contact
- Social listening tools help generate new leads
REASONS TO BUY:
- Easy to integrate social media
- Contacts are imported into the CRM
- Real-time marketing
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Pricey
- More customization is needed for certain apps
7. Insightly – Best for Integration with Google
PRICING: $29/mo for the basic plan; $99/mo for Enterprise plan
Insightly is available on the web as well as on mobile devices for Android and iOS. It also works with Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. The software is known for its seamless pipeline connection between CRM functions such as maintaining contacts and customer data, tracking opportunities (also known as sales leads), and assigning tasks to team members via to-do lists. Insightly also has a side bar that a Chrome add-on that allows you to save Gmail messages directly to your CRM for easy contact cross-referencing.
KEY FEATURES:
- Territory management
- Lead management
- Pipeline visualization
REASONS TO BUY:
- Very organizational
- Easy for multiple users
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Harder to remove multiple files
- There is not much information on certain integrations
8. Daylite – Best for iOS Users
PRICING: Offers free trial; $39/mo per seat
Daylite is a customer relationship management (CRM) and business productivity program that helps small businesses strengthen client relationships and close agreements, then follow through on their promises effectively, resulting in increased revenue. Unlike traditional CRMs, which are created for “the boss” to report on sales with beautiful charts, Daylite is built to assist, not generate, day-to-day activity. Unlike other web-based CRMs, Daylite is a native macOS and iOS program that integrates with many of the built-in Apple apps as well as all of your Apple devices. Daylite also doesn’t require a fleet of administrators, in keeping with the elegance and power of popular Apple programs. In Daylite, ordinary teams may achieve extraordinary results with their enterprises.
KEY FEATURES:
- Workflow management
- Custom fields
- Apple mobile access
REASONS TO BUY:
- Great features that help with workflow
- Helps track the overall process of tasks
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Can be slow
- Can be difficult to install
9. Streak – Best for Emails
PRICING: $15/mo for solo, $129/mo for enterprise package
Streak is a Gmail-based cloud-based sales email tracking application. Streak is described by the seller as “CRM in your email,” with the goal of allowing users to manage their whole enterprises from their inboxes. View tracking information, mail merge, snooze, send later, snippets, and thread splitter are among the email power tools included. Sales, Product Development, Deal Flow, Fundraising, Support, Hiring, and Real Estate are just a few of the teams who use Streak.
KEY FEATURES:
- Best for emails
- Connects seamlessly to Gmail
REASONS TO BUY:
- Integration with Gmail
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Pricing
- Customer service
- Lots of technical issues
10. Keap – Best for Automation
PRICING: $79/mo for the basic plan; $159/mo for Max
Keap is a CRM that strives on helping people succeed in their business. With their automation tools, people can get back to the tasks they need to complete while everything else is running in the background. Some of the aspects that the automation takes control over are sales and marketing, payments and e-commerce, emails, and more.
KEY FEATURES:
- Landing pages
- Lead scoring and grading
- Custom reports
- Role-based workflow
REASONS TO BUY:
- Marketing automation
- Opportunity tracking
- Tagging abilities
- reporting
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Email builder lacks some features
- E-commerce is weak
- The user interface needs to be upgraded
11. Freshworks – Best for Basic CRM Needs
PRICING: $19/mo for marketing cloud/ $29/mo for Customer-for-Life plan
Freshworks CRM (previously Freshsales) is an all-in-one sales CRM software that includes built-in phone and email, lead scoring, a visual sales funnel, reports and dashboards, automation, and mobile apps, so sales professionals don’t have to bounce between numerous tools to get the job done. Freshworks CRM, according to the vendor, is simple to use and has a straightforward user interface, which means sales professionals spend less time onboarding.
Freshworks CRM has auto-profile enrichment and activity tracking, allowing sales professionals to receive a complete picture of their leads. The AI-based lead score function, according to the provider, will assist sales reps in better understanding and prioritizing their leads.
KEY FEATURES:
- Customer data management
- Integration with email client
- Interaction tracking
REASONS TO BUY:
- Maintaining hot prospects
- Sales sequence
- Importing contacts and accounts
REASONS TO AVOID:
- The interface could be made easier to understand
- Tech support is not up-to-date
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is CRM data stored?
The CRM takes all of the user’s data such as client numbers and information and is stored across different areas called the “cloud.” Instead of having all of your information in one place on your hard drive, the cloud stores it across different places to make sure that it saves the most space.
Why is using CRM important for sales?
CRM is important for sales because it is used to manage your customer data. It helps to keep track of everything and make sure that there are no mistakes in your work. It also allows you to create a sales pipeline once your strategy for sales has been finalized.
References
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/freshworks-crm/reviews#reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/keap/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/streak/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/daylite/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/insightly/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/nimble/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/salesforce-com/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/capsule-crm/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/hubspot-crm/reviews
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/pipedrive/reviews
- https://www.streak.com/pricing
- https://crm.org/crmland/best-crm-for-small-business
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