As your company grows in size, collecting and organizing customer data also becomes increasingly important. There is a need for this because it enhances flexibility in administration and generating makes work easier.
It will certainly do to have a ready-made and structured system that your staff can call up anytime it is needed. There is so much information to be stored — customer names, phone numbers, emails, general contact details as well as transaction and communication records. This is where the customer database comes in.
A customer database is a system set in place to collect and organize client information in an easily accessible manner. Customer database software refers to software that does this, in addition to automatically recording new information and syncing it to your company database everything a new transaction is made with each client.
Top Eight Customer Database Software
- Salesforce – Best Industry In-demand Software.
- Zendesk – Best customer database software for flexibility for all business sizes.
- Hubspot – Best customer database software for versatility.
- Zoho – Best customer database software for customization tools and automated workflow.
- Monday – Best customer database software for teamwork and general productivity tools.
- Airtable – Best customer database software for creative businesses.
- Freshworks – Best customer database software for flexible user interface and features.
- Pipedrive – Best customer database software for sales data management.
1. SALESFORCE – BEST INDUSTRY IN-DEMAND SOFTWARE
Pricing – Paid Plan, $25 monthly per user with two weeks trial.
If you are into the traditional kind of customer database software, then you might want to check out Salesforce. What’s more, it has an option for cloud storage. This software is designed for team players and targeted at increased productivity and sales. It features artificial intelligence tools that facilitate data structuring and management, as well as sales forecast and management of leads. It was introduced in 1999, and has waxed strong ever since.
Key Features
- Workflow customization
- Mobile App feature
- Cloud and AI support.
Reasons to Buy
- Flexible tools and interface
- Email Marketing and Integration.
Reasons to Avoid
- It takes a lot to get it running.
2. ZENDESK – BEST SOFTWARE FOR FLEXIBILITY FOR ALL BUSINESS SIZES
Pricing – No free version; Basic paid plan starts at $19 monthly for small businesses.
Zendesk is one of the largest customer database software systems with over 4.6 million customer-company exchange histories in its record. They have also worked with well over 50, 000 enterprises, which has equipped them with ample customer interaction patterns, sufficient to inform the average business or organization on the right ways to cultivate effective communication with clients.
Zendesk software is an expandable model, and this means that as your business grows and transactions increase, you don’t need to manually update your software to house all your sales records. The software is specifically advanced so you never have to worry about technical malfunctions due to the automated integrations already set in place.
Key Features
- Secure cloud storage
- Easy accessibility via Mobile app
- Automated system integrations.
Reasons to Buy
- Maximum customer support service
- Data analytics reports feature.
Reasons to Avoid
- Single user access
- No provision for free plan.
3. HUBSPOT – BEST SOFTWARE FOR VERSATILITY
Pricing – Free Plan, for unlimited number of users; Paid Plan in various subscriptions, ranging from $23 – $45 and even up to $1200 monthly.
Hubspot is an excellent customer database software that you can use for free. Its free plan offers a wide range of incredible options and features. Especially tailored for small businesses, you can certainly get a deal out of this software with just the free version. It is easy to operate and even has a tracking feature that records web and email activity. It can be used to manage content, tasks, projects and even automate sales.
Key Features
- Active help center with customer support via phone, email and chatbox, as well as community engagement.
- Great tracking feature
- User-friendly interface
- Tool optimization.
Reasons to Buy
- Impressive features in free version
- Perfect for startups looking for a free database management system.
Reasons to Avoid
- Paid plan is very expensive and offers less for the amount specified.
4. ZOHO – BEST SOFTWARE FOR CUSTOMIZATION TOOLS AND AUTOMATED WORKFLOW
Pricing – Paid Plan (annual billing), ranges from $12 – $45 on different subscriptions.
Zoho customer database software was introduced in 2005, as one of the many software service options that Zoho offers. Its most appealing feature is definitely the dashboard feature which is customizable and helps users to easily perform their tasks on the software. It also enables the automation of workflows as well as lead management and correspondence with existing data. In addition, it features an AI assistant which is designed to help users navigate through stored data easily.
Key Features
- Workflow automation
- AI assistance
- Customizable dashboard feature.
Reasons to Buy
- Perfect for managing leads
- User-friendly.
Reasons to Avoid
- Not exactly ideal for small businesses.
5. MONDAY – BEST SOFTWARE FOR TEAMWORK AND GENERAL PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
Pricing – Free, for two users; Paid version, $8 – $16 monthly; Enterprise Version, contact Customer Support.
Monday is one software that is excellent for team partnership on the job. It is designed to allow multiple use and engagement, even when users are working remotely. Its tools also enable customization and it is able to organize information using relevant tools such as calendars and charts, which makes for ease of use. Its tools are available in a simpler model than most, so it is quite easy to navigate. In addition, it provides for all-day customer service support, but only in the paid version.
Key Features
- Mobile Version in both IOS and Android
- User-friendly interface
- Team Productivity features.
Reasons to Buy
- Option for free version
- Impressive customer service and support
- Flexible paid plans.
Reasons to Avoid
- To customer support on free version
6. AIRTABLE – BEST SOFTWARE FOR CREATIVE BUSINESSES.
Pricing – Free version, unlimited; Paid version, Plus and Pro plans ($10 – $20 monthly for one user); Enterprise Version, contact customer service.
Airtable used a spreadsheet-like interface, which may not be ideal for some users, but it makes up for this with several amazing features. It runs a centralized system which allows you to store all company information in one central location. It also helps you keep track of your editing history, so that you are abreast with all the changes made on your database. It also has collaborative features that enables you to create tools to further organize your data, such as charts, invoices, three-dimensional models, etc.
Key Features
- Runs a centralized database system
- Unlimited use with the free version
- Tracking feature for edits history.
Reasons to Buy
- For users who prefer a more traditional model, the spreadsheet interface is ideal.
- Flexible creative tools
- Unlimited free plan.
Reasons to Avoid
- Doesn’t support customization
- Expensive paid plans.
7. FRESHWORKS – BEST SOFTWARE FOR FLEXIBLE USER INTERFACE AND FEATURES
Pricing – Free version; Paid Plan, $15 – $39; Enterprise Plan, $69
What the Freshworks software lacks in customization tools, it makes up for with its impressive user interface, as well as advanced and seamless features for pipeline and leads management. Its interface was designed with clarity and focus in mind and is devoid of distracting features that may divide the user’s attention. This has made Freshworks arguably one of the best for increased productivity. It also features an AI Bot that assists the user with contact tracking and data analytics.
Key Features
- User-friendly interface
- Automated leads update with social media details
- Leads engagement
Reasons to Buy
- Advanced AI assistance
- Contact management
- Effective prospects tracking system
Reasons to Avoid
- No customization tools or features.
8. PIPEDRIVE – BEST SOFTWARE FOR SALES DATA MANAGEMENT
Pricing – Approximately $10 – $60 monthly
Pipedrive is a customer database software with an advantage, especially because it is easy to get it running and it largely supports sales data management. It also has flexible functionality, as it can integrate with other software tools to increase productivity and tools available for maximum efficiency. It allows for customization, email, pipeline and product management.
Key Features
- Mobile App feature
- Allows for automatic task repetition.
- Customized features such as pipeline management and chatbot
Reasons to Buy
- Great for organising sales data
Reasons to Avoid
- Does not support multiple tool features
References
- https://www.zendesk.com/service/ticketing-system/customer-database-software/
- https://magora-systems.com/customer-database-software/
- https://www.tidio.com/blog/customer-database-software/
- https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/tools/client-database-tools/
- https://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-customer-database-software/