10+ Best Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM) of 2020

The time has gone when it was possible to run an organization without an automated customer relationship management software’s. In the modern times an organization need to stay connected with the customers and also need highest level of coordination among different internal departments. Sales, marketing and customer support needs to be connected and aware of each and every step and automated reporting is a top requirement to know where they are standing. Well, this is the reason a best CRM software is required.

In most of modernly structured organizations CRM software serves as backbone.

The best CRM software connects your different departments and organizes their activities, matrics, and notes into a cohesive system. It provides direct access to users, and everyone in the system can access real-time data to support the decision-making process. It unlocks unparalleled coordination across departments and teams, while on the other side, it takes customer support to another level with one to one customer journey.

Before moving forward it is necessary to know how CRM software evolves, it will help you to understand what you will get in an automated toolbox.

You might also like our review on the best email marketing platforms that is available on a separate page.

How CRM Software’s Evolved?

The primary and parent CRM software did not look like the one today. With technology, marketing strategies shifted are a great deal since the parent CRM. We never read the term Social media marketer or influencer decade ago. But things are constantly changing, so is the face of CRM software. The first Ever face of CRM emerged in the ’60s, and the growth hasn’t stopped since. Let’s take a look into how CRM evolved over time.

• The manual records: the earliest CRM would be the pencil or handwritten records of the sales and customers. There was no elaborated analysis involved to get a better insight. Manual calculations were done. The systems for elaborated record keeping and data organization were not established.

• Shift from direct marketing: When the shift from direct market took place, the retail and sales reps got involved. It is called the requirement of all the customer data in one place. So the products can be marketed, and customers are provided with efficient sales experience. Thus, the customer database was developed to gain insight.

• Database marketing: in this era, companies started to store customer info on large mainframes that were also able to analyze these. With this came the helpdesk, where customers’ queries were recorded and cleared on a telephonic conversation. This communication was also helpful in getting new leads.

• The Incident of CRM: with an explosion in software making management tools were launched. They were complicated with hard to understand interface to get them working correctly. Examples are software by goldmine.

• Salesforce automation and CRM online: in the 90’s the software took more refined forms. Much new software were launched, and the trends shifted from customers to enterprise-based management systems. Helpdesk continues to grow in popularity, and in the late ’90s, the CRM went online, and the growth rate increased with internet facilitation.

• Mobile CRM and cloud systems: mobile CRMs were also launched but didn’t gain popularity due to a lack of sophisticated devices. The advent of the cloud-based system was deemed more affordable and accessible as compared to the premises-based. More such elegant software was launched. The initial picture of the modern-day CRM started to form with a little more clarity.  

• Dawn of modern CRM: marketing and sales saw automation and suggestions for more comprehensive tools. With the late 2000s, the cloud-based CRM was developed. Nearly all software went online. The features continue to add to the requirement. With the age of social media and interactive customer support systems, more features were integrated. With the improvement in internet and software evolution, the CRMs made it to the cell phone apps. Customer interaction, social media, and other models were included in the software. In the modern-day, CRM is the amalgam of all kinds of automation involved in the business as a whole, not just sales. 

What CRM Software‘s Offers? 

CRM software is much like task management software, except the task at hand is the management of customer relations. It provides automation in managing clients and customers.

In other words, it is a single repository that holds all the information you require.

It can include sales and marketing aspects of doing business. The in-depth analysis of some of the basic features of CRM software is as follows. 

1. Models According to the Business Requirements

CRM is commonly associated with sales, but that does not mean that other aspects of the business like marketing, clients’ info, and communication are not involved.

Most CRM allows you to organize everything according to the model. For example, all the clients are found under the model or category of customers.

2. Email Integration

CRM brings all your clients in one place. You can send emails and contact the clients using the CRM interface.

In addition to that, when you open contact to send an email, it shows all the relevant information about the client. Including potential opportunities and social media of the client.

3. Tasking and Reminders

CRM software also allows you to add tasks and reminders. For example, in Hubspot, when a client asks you to contact in a few weeks, you add it as a task.

So when the day arrives, Hubspot will notify through email that you need to follow up on the client. 

4. Organizer by Adding Filters

In business, all of the customers are not at the same spot. There are ones you need to follow up and the ones you need to keep in the loop.

You can add such filters to organizer the whole contact list. You can even arrange them by companies. You add any filter of choice for a convenient arrangement. 

5. Group Communication

Apart from emails, CRM also allows you to keep the team on the same page. You can assign tasks to them and leave a message or attached notes with the documents.

Like you address to some XYZ members to please add the company profile of ABC client. This allows the easy follow on communication.

6. Easy Interface

CRM software has easy and smooth interfaces that allow the member to navigate through the information. For example, Salesforce CRM has a page like the social page, so all the latest updates works and company are at the top.

This allows you to scroll through the important ones.

The dashboard views are also handy. They allow you to get an overview of the sales pipeline and all the targets.

7. Charts and Graphs

These are also fundamental when it comes to having a birds-eye view on the progress. It tells about the task at hand and the progress that is made.

Overall it shows the output of the company. Like how many new clients got involved with the company—the situation of revenue, etc.

Invoice and receipt results are also analyzed for graph generation.

What are the New Directions and Future of CRM Softwares?

The future of CRM and prevailing direction are promising with explosive growth potential. Sales and marketing trends are constantly shifting. With more and more small businesses and start-ups, the need for CRM is ever-growing.

With affordable pricing, big companies are relying on the CRM rather than premises-based systems. The dynamic of remote and virtual work options with the current situation is also an essential direction in CRM development.

Below are some of the fronts and define the current path and future of CRM.

AI involvement

AI-based automation like chatbots for customer services can be the new dawn of CRM. Even today, the CRM tech utilizes AI. Chatbots often cover automated responses.

With more problem-solving skills and elaborated task coverage by chatbots, CRM software can take an innovative face.

This will help save money and time—no need to hire great sales staff when AIs can do it for you. 

Cloud-based

CRMs had become cloud-based a long time ago. This does not mean there is no work required to be done in this area. CRMs with more storage options and extensive server storage are the future.

Moreover, the secure firewall for cloud storage is also one of the directions for CRM. Big companies are reluctant to put trust because of data theft and loss.

So complete no-log policy with cloud storage is also needed. 

Focus on Sales, Marketing and Services

CRM core values are also evolving. The main focus is to shift on the health of the business rather than customer services. This is because the overall improvement automatically focuses on customer services.

More modules and business aspects are being added to the CRM. With this, the business teams are better coordinated and informed with rapid changes in the business.

This, in return, enhances sales, marketing, and services.

Multi-Device CRMs

The multi-device interface of CRM is also another essential direction. With remote working the access from handheld devices is crucial. CRM software, with all of its features accessible on the phone, is a way to go.

There are a lot of areas that need to be explored when it comes to all features of access and small storage. Target mobile apps are critical.

Even marketers are targeting mobile devices more than desktops.

Continually changing and improving

Another new direction would be to grow as technology develops. We are introduced to new software and new gadgets each day. The modern era is rapidly changing and rapidly evolving.

CRMs fate is the same. Failure to comply with the changing market trends can bring down the providers.

Thus it is vital to keep an eye on the future and predicting the path of evolution beforehand.

Social media marketing

Modern CRM offers social media stats and integration. But it won’t be enough in the near future. Extensive integration and access are required as social media is becoming new market places. New businesses on Instagram and Facebook are blooming into the world of its own.

For example, small businesses on Instagram will need to tally the contact and customers in the inbox.

CRM may need to integrate these stats and potential opportunities as well.

Why Modern CRM Softwares are Cloud-Based?

Cloud storage has been a giant breakthrough in technology. It substantially modified the art of storing information and accessing it. At the same time, the transfer and transportation of the data became easy.

Like storage software, task managers, and several others, CRM software is cloud-based as well. Let’s look into the whys of this software that are cloud-based.

• Freedom from old ways of Software management: cloud-based software is the latest one. There is competition in the CRM market; thus, nearly all providers have gone cloud-based. Moreover, the IT management of large company servers and central systems is not required. Providers manage everything. This is why businesses are choosing cloud-based software.
• Convenient and secure: cloud-based mean easy access to all data files. You don’t need the IT team to make specialized software for you. You don’t even need to go down to the office to access the system files. What happens is the case of a dedicated company server. So cloud-based CRM is in high demand, and providers are meeting them. 
• Remote access: cloud-based systems offer remote access. Call of the customer who came in during lunchtime, and you are at the café? Cloud-based CRM has got you covered. You can access the files while lunching through a cloud-based system. All you need is to have the provider’s app installed on your phone. 
• Affordable solution: when you don’t invest in devising companies’ software, it saves your time and money. Both of which are essential assets in the business. With CRM software, there is no maintenance cost involved. The only investment is buying the software, and the rest is done for you.

Thus, most CRM software is going cloud-based to offer all the features their users require. Going online and using cloud-based systems is the need of time.

Moreover, with the characteristics of cloud-based software, the old technology will not sell or stand a chance. Hence, CRM is going cloud-based, as well.

9 Benefits of Using a CRM software

The thing about CRM software is that there are thousands of them available in the market, making it quite challenging to find the best one among them. However, some specific features contribute to making the best CRM software.

If you plan on finding the most advanced and effective CRM software, then you must look for the one that contains the following features.

1. Lead Tracking

The primary purpose of CRM software is to make things easier for you and help you enhance good relationships with customers and provide you with the prospects to drive sales along with the sustenance of long-term profitability.

To make it possible, you need to choose the kind of CRM software with the lead tracking system. This will enable you to find the lead source from where certain customers found or got to know about your company.

By knowing about the lead source, you will be able to plan targeted marketing campaigns, which will boost your business.

If any problematic traffic channel results in the decrease of new leads, you can quickly locate it and resolve the issue once and for all.

2. Integration with an Email Automation Tool

Running a business, be it a small one or a large one, is a very tiring and time-demanding task. That is why one is always trying to find something that will help in lightening the burden.

To achieve more in less time, CRM software offers integration with an email automation tool. This feature helps reduce the workload to a great extent and plays a remarkable role in the evaluation of your various business and marketing campaigns.

With its help, it will be a lot easier for you to find out how the customers responded to your newsletter, whether they opened it, clicked on it, or unsubscribed it.

The feature also helps in providing you with an overview of all the latest email campaigns that your clients have received. In other words, everything is just a single click away. One-click and all the data will be displayed on your screen.

Furthermore, the automated campaign lists will prevent you from continuously importing and exporting data from a CRM solution to email automation tools.

Instead, all you have to do is create customized contact lists in the CRM system and then synchronize them with the file present in your email service.

3. Reminders

No matter how hard you try, it is nearly impossible to manage hundreds and thousands of customers without any assistance. At some point, you are likely to get frustrated and forget about various meetings.

This is where the “reminder” feature of the CRM software comes to your rescue. This reminder feature acts as a knight in shining armor for you and notifies you if you haven’t contacted some certain customers for a certain amount of time.

In addition, if you find it hard to keep track of various meetings in your busy schedule, you can set up a reminder for each of them. These reminders will notify you two hours before the start time of your sessions.

Furthermore, it is not just a mere reminder but also a helpful notification box that provides you with all the information about the upcoming meeting. This includes the location, time, and additional data related to the respective clients.

This feature is precisely one of the most important features that should be present in good CRM software.

4. Customizable CRM System

This feature is especially beneficial for companies that possess large scale teams. Every salesperson has a different role to perform, and not all the information related to clients, customers, or products is relevant to them.

The person responsible for lead generation has nothing to do with the data related to the invoices or bills. The best way to make things easier is to give people access only to the essential tools for their assigned tasks.

Access to too many gadgets or data that does not concern them might confuse. In order to avoid confusion and any sorts of problems, it is best to set the role-based access to certain information.

There is some CRM software that lets you do that, and if you want to succeed in this fast-moving world, you must choose a CRM software with this feature.

5. Sales Forecasting

When running a specific business or a company, it is essential to manage the budget and be aware of the sales and profit you will make in the future.

No matter how much you rely on your instincts, there will always be errors as abilities are still not accurate. In addition, if you try to make predictions related to such an important task manually, it will be highly time-consuming.

In the world of business, the best thing you can do is get maximum benefits in the least amount of time. Some CRM software possesses a sales forecasting feature that can present the forecast for future sales and profits by going through the existing data present in the CRM system.

With the help of it, you will be able to set reasonable benchmarks for the future.

6. Customer Segmentation

In every aspect of life, organization and discipline are very important. If there is chaos all over, and there is no order, things are most likely to take a negative turn.

The same is the case when it comes to handling a large number of customers.

Marketing campaigns are often targeted at specific categories of customers. At times, you have to initiate campaigns for products that are specially designed for babies. At times, you have to initiate a marketing campaign that targets another group of people.

Now, the problem will arise if the company runs a campaign for every group of people. This will not produce the desired result.

This is why customer segmentation is essential for effective marketing campaigns.

Useful CRM software analyses the customer data and divides the customers into groups based on age, gender, geography, buying pattern, etc. This organization of data helps in boosting up the functionality of your campaign as well as your business.

7. Task Management

Another essential feature that you must keep in mind while buying CRM software is task management. If the customer is put on hold for too long, he is most likely to get frustrated and leave you.

In order to keep your customers intact and address their issues on time, task management within your company is essential.

In other words, it is essential to assign and complete tasks within time and budget so that the customer’s request does not put on hold for too long. Doing all these things manually can be very nerve-wracking, and this is where automated task management comes to save you from trouble.

Good CRM software has a built-in task management feature that creates and assigns tasks among employees based on their availability, geography, skillset, etc. In this way, every employee of your company will know about his job beforehand, and things will go on smoothly.

8. File Storage

To boost your business and your product marketing campaigns, it is essential to keep track of your customers’ information. As the number of customers can range from thousands to millions, it is not possible to remember all the data related to them.

Then, there must be a place where you can save all this data and use it from time to time.

The file storage feature present in the CRM software helps maximize the usefulness of data by storing it properly and then analyzing it from time to time. Not only this but with the help of this feature, you can also safeguard and back up your data without any hurdles.

Whenever you need to make use of this data, all you have to do is click, and everything will appear before your eyes.

9. Sales Performance Management

Human beings are prone to making mistakes, and almost nothing can stop them from it, but the good thing is that they eventually learn from them and improve from time to time.

When running a business or a company, the managers need to keep track of the sales teams’ performance and correct them if they make any mistakes.

The sales performance management feature present in CRM software enables the managers to keep track of sales team aspects. This helps in enlightening them about their performance. In this way, if they are doing well, the managers can appreciate them, and if they are making any sorts of mistakes, the managers can correct them.

By identifying problematic areas with the help of statistics, issues can be more efficiently addressed and resolved.

5 Competitive Advantages of Using CRM Softwares

CRM software is undoubtedly the well-placed investment any business can make. It is an excellent tool to get insight into the future prospects of a small or large business.

For a business, it’s imperative to gain competitive advantages for opponents in terms of spending and time management, especially when it comes to making money in a competing environment.

The following are the points that elaborate on the key advantages of using CRM software for business.

1. Give Customers the Service they Deserve

When the whole process of business in flowing from one place, it becomes highly efficient. With efficiency comes all the more time investment into services for the customer.

Even an outreach email can have a significant impact on clients. Customer services with compassion and understanding are beneficial in gaining more customers. CRM allows you to take out time for that. You can even automate the process of sending an email by arranging and categorizing the clients.

Simply addressing their complaints and satisfying their needs become easy.

2. Effective Utilization of Time and Assets

Cooperate world is fast-moving, and work needs to be done at a fast pace to gain the advantage, especially when it comes to know that at what stage you are?

As humans, we can only do so much and keep limited things organized in our minds. CRM effectively solves the time issues. Everything is taken care of automatically.

This lets you focus on strategizing and implementation rather than focusing on the profile making or organizing client data.

It can be a substantial competitive advantage over the opponents, as it lets you effectively arrange your day and rightfully spend your energies.

3. Enhanced Coordination

Another critical aspect of doing business the right way is the coordination among all the team members as well as among different departments. You can hardly progress in the right direction when your marketing team has devised a new policy, and the sales team is still on the old one.

It can lead to huge setbacks and miscommunication.

Using CRM, coordination is done efficiently.  All the team is on the same page can get you a huge competitive advantage.

Everything will be communicated on time, and no one will fall behind to drag the whole business down.

4. Streamline Sales and Marketing

marketing and sales are some of the essential aspects of doing the business. They are separate divisions but get the same job done. There is a flow of workload and information through the pipeline of sales and marketing.

CRM gives this whole flow a clearer picture. You will know in an instant about what is going on and what tasks are still not done. The entire workflow is streamlined and shown accurately.

This flow saves documentation time and energy, gives you a competitive advantage over the competitors.

5. One Place for the Whole Company

Everyone expanding the company develops a software base to streamline the work from one place. With CRM, there is no need to make this extra effort or spend extra bucks for IT development.

CRM brings the whole company home at a single spot. Everyone is able the access and control what they need. It essentially becomes the control center through which the data flows and distributes to the designated departments.

The perfect thing is that everyone stays on the same page.

There is no repetition of the same task or two people doing the same job. This gives a new direction of progress the company needs to excel.

 Best CRM Software

1. Less Annoying CRM

Key Features

• Universal subscription – less annoying CRM has a universal subscription everywhere, and it cost $10 per user per month.
• It’s easy to understand interface – unlike the sophisticated CRM software’s this one has an easy to understand interface that can even be understood by beginners.
• 30 day trial period – the most striking feature of this CRM software is its 30 day trial period. This feature is hardly available in other CRM software.
• Suitable for small businesses – the software is a wonderful asset for small businesses.
• Nothing Hidden – neither there are any hidden charges nor any unnecessary upgrades.
• Low-Cost Software –  Less annoying software is cost-effective.

Less annoying CRM is less annoying for users around the globe. This is probably the best low-cost CRM software available with one subscription tier of $10 per user, per month. It has been providing a fantastic customer relationship management solution for so many years and a class apart in so many ways.

The most striking feature of this CRM software is the implementation process. The dilemma with many CRM software is that they are not easy to understand and implement.

However, when it comes to less annoying CRM, then it is user friendly. It is an incredible CRM software for small businesses and is even economical.

One reason you should go for this CRM software is that it is non-confusing. You won’t have to battle with the subscription options because this CRM software provides a single all-inclusive subscription that costs just $10 per user, per month. This software also offers a 30 day trial period that is not to be seen in its competitors.

Neither there are any hidden charges nor any products or upgrades. It is a simple CRM software that provides you the best service.

The most pleasant thing about this CRM software is its simplicity. The software stays focused on classical CRM features and does not believe in unnecessary features and options.

It is effortless to create tasks in a less annoying CRM, and you can even add them automatically to the CRM built-in calendar. The CRM building calendar can be synced with the Google calendar.

Another beautiful thing about this CRM software is that it can be accessed from mobile as well. Though there is no offline version, this software can still be accessed through mobile devices along with laptops and tablets.

To make things easier for you, you can integrate an outside emailing service like mail chimp, so you won’t have to send emails to your clients directly from the CRM portal.

The software will instruct you to set up your Mailchimp sync without the requirement of any coding.

Unlike other CRM software, it does not require a professional software admin to figure out settings and permissions. This fantastic CRM software offers a simple point and clicks solution to keep tabs open. Another terrific thing about the CRM software is that the upgrades are automatically installed to the portal for all users, and there are no additional charges for these upgrades or services.

Less annoying CRM software offers a one-click export option for both XLS and CSV files to simplify the process further.

Pros

• Easy to understand interface.
• Suitable for beginners.
• One-click solution for effective customer management.

Cons

• Nothing found not to love

2. Apptivo

Key Features

• Brilliant sales management tool – Apptivo CRM software is a brilliant sales pipeline management tool with dashboards and reporting options.
• Workflow and marketing automation: There is an option to automate the marketing and workflow of this CRM software.
• Expense tracking – you can easily track the expenses through CRM software, and it is also helpful for invoicing.
• Software for everyone – Apptivo can be used by non-profit agencies, large enterprises, small businesses, and even freelancers.
• API – the software of an API for use.

CRM software makes things easy. As far as Apptivo CRM software is concerned, it is one of the best available in the market. The beautiful thing is that it is a comprehensive and flexible software that grows with your business.

There are not many CRM software that can help you close deals remotely. However, this particular one is the best in this regard. With its efficient workflow, you can close deals online by remote working.

It helps provide extensive collaboration on the task at hand, but it also enables you to achieve deadlines.

The most striking feature of having this CRM software means you can easily manage deadlines, task sheets, and reports from one place. Also, this software has an efficient billing system for invoicing, receiving, and sending payments from everywhere is in place.

The software will particularly help you build stellar customer support for building a long-lasting connection.

Teamwork can only be achieved with a productive workflow. You can rely on this CRM software because it can streamline the workflow of the whole company. You can generate reports and outputs to keep an eye on everything.

In a sense, this software also works as a task management software; however, it is much more productive than that.

It helps you in getting the job done fast by dispatching employees and dividing the whole workload. You can assign specific tasks to certain people in your team with the help of this CRM software.

This CRM software will help you better so you can keep track of the supply chain, purchasing, and everything in your inventory. With its communication capabilities and automation, you can focus on email marketing with a secure campaign management system.

Apps are available to be downloaded on a vast range of devices to access anything from anywhere. The availability of apps will save you time, and you will be able to access the CRM software from laptops, computers, and mobiles alike. The help desk offers a wide range of customer support and keeps them satisfied. 

Apptivo has different prices for small businesses and enterprises. However, the fundamental version starts at $10 per month for every user.

Pros

• CRM software offers a lot of integration options.
• It is useful and easy to use.

Cons

• only suitable for small to medium organizations

3. Zendesk Sell

Key Features

• The fantastic flow of communication – Zendesk allows smooth communication across all channels that leads to higher productivity and satisfaction.
• Stay connected with your employees – Through the CRM software, you can stay connected with your employees almost all the time.
• Something for everyone – CRM software has something for everyone, and small businesses and large enterprises can take advantage.
• Email integration – there is an option for email integration, and you can talk directly with your clients through the portal.
• User-friendly interface – there is nothing technical about this CRM software because it has a user-friendly interface.

Zendesk sell is another excellent CRM software you cannot afford to miss. This CRM software helps enhance the productivity, process, and pipeline visibility of any business. This CRM software is reliable because it has around 500 companies with 200000 people as users.

The CRM software is the leading online help desk software that is designed for better customer relationships.

It is equipped with multiple tools that are mainly used for sales management. If you are looking for that one software that will save you the hassle of managing things manually, then this is the one. The interactive and straightforward design makes it easy for all the sales reps to grasp the usage. 

With ZENDESK, you can access all kinds of sales data for the whole team. Indeed, CRM software does not have a free version. However, its pricing is very low. You can start using the CRM software with just $5 per month, per user.

In this way, everyone stays up to date to put their heads in the game. The software will allow you to effectively remove clutter and manage customer support queries easily from various devices.

With easy tracking and automatic capturing of data, you can get a holistic view of everything. Increase the output and lets you close business deals in a short time.

It provides you an efficient path of doing business. Using the stats, you can improve sales activity and productivity and redistribute the force as needed. It houses all the communication methods in one place.

Email call messages, client history, and profiles can be accessed without switching the window. While talking to a customer, you will have his full history in front of you, and this will enhance your relationship with your client.

This software also allows you to integrate the apps or build new ones. Graphs and stats show you all the output. Keep an eye on revenue and all the financial statements of the whole business. Take necessary actions based on predictive outcomes, and get the work done efficiently.

CRM software is straightforward to navigate between tickets and incidents. The software has a user-friendly interface and is not difficult to understand at all.

Real-time chat, network monitoring, multi-channel communication, interaction tracking, email integration, document storage, and IT asset management are a few features that stand apart in this CRM software.

Also, the software has full-time customer support that is willing to attend to your queries, if any.

Pros

• The software offers countless features
• Suitable for small businesses and large enterprises.

Cons

• Everything is up to standard

4. Insightly CRM

Key Features

• Productive – Insightly charge $29 per month, per user but it is incredibly useful because of the plethora of features.
• Marketing automation – the software is not all about project management and customer relationship; it also offers marketing automation for mid-sized businesses.
• Suitable for mid-sized businesses – the software targets mid-sized companies and a beneficial asset for them.
• Available on different devices – Insightly can be accessed from various devices that include Mac, tablet, and laptop.
• Professional tier – the professional tire is the most effective pricing plan of unsightly because it offers unlimited features.

Whenever we talk about Insightly CRM software, a visually attractive CRM comes into our mind. However, along with being extremely stunning, this CRM software is highly productive as well. Though it is relatively expensive than the competitors, it is more productive. It will cost you $29 per month, per user.

One of the best features of this CRM software is that it houses marketing sales and project management in a single platform.

It helps you in the fast building of lasting connections with your customers; it can also map out the whole journey at every step of the way.

You can engage everyone on the team and communicate with all departments as necessary. The CRM software allows you to make a project out of the task. You can create subtasks and deadlines for the timely delivery of the project.

Insightly offers you an efficient way of marketing and relationship management. Bringing your company on Insightly lets, you gain all the benefits it has to offer.

With this CRM software, you can easily do lead routing arrange the customers accordingly. You can even automate the workflow or integrate a vast number of apps. With its profile building abilities, you can know everything about your customer.

CRM software has handy tools, and they help you deliver the ultimate consumer experience. This also helps develop brand name, customer loyalty, and a healthy relationship. You can design your dashboard and track what you need. It helps save time.

Arrange everything using the same software, be it sales meetings, things to do, or projects. This is also effective in managing the sales pipeline.

It is one of the most evolved customer relationship management software that is mainly aimed at mid-sized businesses.

Not only is it visually dynamic, but it also has an initiative user interface. The software is not only good for project management, but it is also exceptional for marketing automation. As far as pricing is concerned, it has three pricing tiers. It also offers a 14 day free trial period to get an understanding of the interface. The best thing about a trial period is that it does not require your credit card information.

There is no risk of forgetting to cancel and being billed at all. However, if you intend to cancel, then Insightly will delete all your data.

Pros

• The software has a dynamic design.
• It has three pricing plans that suit the needs of different customers.

Cons

• Most Basic software while reporting is too good

5. Zoho

Key Features

• Launchpad – Zoho will not leave you alone when you log in for the very first time. It will direct you to a splash page that outlines all the steps you should take to figure out the software.
• Individual accounts for customers – the CRM software allows you to set up different accounts for each customer.
• Suitable for all business sizes – Zoho is the best CRM software for all businesses.
• Powerful email marketing tools – The software comes laced with powerful email marketing tools.
• Integration – CRM software allows the integration of many productivity tools.

Zoho CRM is the perfect mix of exceptional features. This CRM software has a stellar feature set with powerful email marketing tools. It is the most effective CRM choice for small to mid-sized businesses.

Zoho is a perfect CRM software if you are a growing company or a start-up. Its versatile and elaborate features have got all the ends covered, including analytics and general data management.

This software is a perfect package for sales because it offers Salesforce automation and contact management Omni-channel interactions with customers.

Through this CRM software, you can close the deals fast and manage the leads efficiently. You can even build a connection with your customers and communicate with them effectively.

With Zoho, there is an option to minimize the manual tasks and enhance the workflow to seek out the whole process by connecting with all the departments of your company in one place. Zoho allows the users to customize the layout and views according to their needs.

It will help you devise the process for all your sales reps to follow through. You can also handle telephone directories and emails from one place. Sync with social media to find out what is being said about the brand.

The software lets you keep an eye on the market so you can analyze the trends better. You can even make amends to the business plan accordingly.

With real-time reporting and comparison of everything, know when to expand. This software allows you to create creative portals for your customers to keep them in the loop. Keep up with the schedule by keeping an eye on meetings prioritize everything. It is also helpful in collaborating with your team efficiently.

Zoho is the Best CRM software because it stands out with its performance management. With the help of this software, users can make accurate forecasts and integrate territory management and even features gamification options.

Zoho is available for three users for free. As far as the customization is concerned, users require a fair amount of customization to get started.

You are likely to take some time to get used to custom fields, paper organization, and dashboards. However, it is a straightforward CRM software and does not require any technical assistance to understand.

Pros

• There is nothing very technical about it.
• It is the most competitive CRM software available in the market.

Cons

• I do not find any to discuss

6. Salesforce

Key Features

• Equally best for large and growing businesses, Salesforce offers many features that are equally best for large and growing companies.
• Transfer of huge files – the software is cloud-based and allows the transportation of massive data.
• Easy conversation with customers – Salesforce allows you to have a relaxed conversation with customers.
• Sell-fast and smart – with CRM software, you can sell fast and smart.
• Brilliant subscription plans – Salesforce has excellent subscription plans that cater to the needs of every person.

The best thing about CRM software is that it caters to the needs of every business. When it comes to Salesforce, this CRM software is ideal for small beginners. Salesforce CRM software is the perfect solution for small enterprises and start-ups.

The company houses over 150,000 companies of all shapes and sizes. Salesforce is an easy way to sell fast and sell smart. You can customize the interface; however, you please.

You do not require any technical help in setting up and customizing the CRM software because of its user-friendly interface. 

The software comes in four different subscription tires, and these are called essentials, professional, enterprise, and unlimited. The unlimited subscription is the best of all and costs $300 per user, per month. Also, there are plenty of options for optional add-ons and customizations.

The software also allows you to integrate brilliant business products to enhance productivity and effectiveness. There is also the option of importing data from Gmail, Google calendar, excel spreadsheets, and more.

The software helps you streamline everything. Thus, you can stay focused on establishing sales pipelines and generating revenue.

With the help of the CRM software, you can take good care of your customers and offer customer service and support from the world experience. Client facilitation has never failed once you have this software with you.

AI-powered chatbots are available to increase the agent response and scaling up support your customers demand. This feature allows companies to build a fantastic reputation with their customers. With Salesforce, you can channel routing of a problem to agents that are best equipped to solve it. You can also manage calls and messages using the same app—monitoring media channels of all kinds to look for business growth areas.

There is also an option of looking out for customers by generating reports. This software also let you organize your personalized dashboard. You can also offer video support and chat for the customers. You can start for free, and the pricing plans vary depending on what you require.

The only disadvantage of Salesforce is that it is princely. However, when it comes to productivity, then the CRM software tops it all.

Pros

• Secure options for the personalized dashboard.
• Plenty of tool integration options.

Cons

• It is an expensive CRM software.

7. Hubspot

Key Features

• Integration with Gmail and Microsoft Outlook – HubSpot offers easy integration with Gmail and Microsoft Outlook to have a smooth conversation with clients and customers.
• Twilio Integration – this fantastic CRM software can also be integrated with Twilio to make direct calls to our customers from the portal.
• Deals Tab – the deals tab allows you to see the pipeline deals.
• Fit for every budget – the CRM software does not have a universal plan. It has different plans for different users that fit every budget.
• Initiative user interface – Hubspot offers an initiative user interface, so everything is up and running without any trouble.

Hubspot is probably the most accommodative CRM available in the market. This online software offers you an opportunity for immense growth in your business as it is a useful CRM software, so things are likely to become very convenient with it. With Hubspot, you won’t have to compromise on anything.

Through this software, you can organize and provide state of the art customer facilities to all clients. It is suitable for both marketers and sales purposes.

Hubspot is a blend of several softwares to take care of each task required to be done in the business. 

Hubspot helps you with customers and allows you to make amends that are good for your business. You can now easily schedule a meeting and reach out to your customers through email automation. This fantastic CRM software saves you the trouble of manually doing the work because of its brilliant automation features.

The software provides fast customer service to generate brand loyalty. Customers are likely to return to a place where they are valued and answered. Hubspot is a beautiful software because it offers exceptional customer facilitating services. You can grow your business and your customers and keep an eye on everything.

This is an ever-growing platform with 86,000 employees from around the world in 120 different countries.

Chat support is available to work out what you need to know, and the plan will be useful for you. You can go for all in one package or choose a specialized cut-down package. All of them are designed to cater to your specific needs and requirements. Also, if you want to understand the software, there are plenty of options on the official website of Hubspot.

You can read blogs of other peoples’ experiences on the site. Also, you can start for free and upgrade as you grow.

Hubspot can also be integrated with Gmail and Microsoft Outlook to make things more convenient for you.

Pros

• The software offers an easy interface.
• There is nothing technical in understanding the software.

Cons

• As we upgrade, the prices of the plans get expensive.

8. Keap

Key Features

• A perfect CRM software for email campaigns – Keep is an excellent marketing tool and can be used effectively for email campaigns.
• Productive integration of business tools – there is an option of a fruitful combination of business tools that can be used to enhance your customer relationship.
• Free trial period – the CRM software does not have a free version; however, it has a free trial period that can be used to understand the software.
• It helps grow your business – CRM software is handy in growing your business and starting up.
• User-friendly – keap is mobile and user friendly and can be accessed from different devices.

One reason for choosing keap as a CRM software is its ability to offer excellent customer facilitation. It is a perfect sales and marketing tool to manage your business needs. CRM software has everything covered in all the ground, varying from the sale to the automated marketing solutions.

Like we rely on Google Chrome for some excellent extensions, we can depend on keap for some productive integration of business tools. Greet the new leads with the inclusion of emails in the warmest way possible.

Also, keep your old clients in the loop by keeping them in the loop through communication.

Through CRM software, you can keep tabs using automated reminders, texts, and emails. There is also the option of streamlining the connection and making the most out of your time. Additionally, CRM software makes payments and invoicing easy for you and your business.

With this CRM software, you can keep an eye while generating revenue and keeping a record of all of your payments. Also, you can organize the wholesale pipeline and keep everything up to date. On the dashboard, you can view all the contacts and projects in a single glance.

No need to copy and paste the promotional messages when you can make it automatic. Also, the CRM software makes time for the things that matter, works on projects and interacts with clients. You have the option to expand the company and increase loyal customers through proper management using this software.

You can also use the tutorials and customer support to get the insight you need to start using the software.

Keap is a wonderful marketing tool that can be used for email campaigns as well. It is well suited for businesses of any size and never lets you down.

Keap does not have a free version. However, it has a free trial. You can start using the CRM software in $79 per month, per user.

Pros

• Wonderful software for email campaigns.
• It has a free version that allows you to have an understanding of the software.

Cons

• For some users, it can be too expensive.

9. Creatio

Key Features

• Potential leads – Sales Creatio is a fantastic CRM software that can turn an audience into a potential client.
• Authoritative – the CRM software can be used for many things, including marketing, sales, and campaigns.
• Limited social media integration – one of its striking features is the limited social media integration feature.
• Email integration – the software allows powerful email integration, and you can send direct emails to the client from the CRM portal.
• An impressive selection of tools and features – the CRM software has an impressive range of tools and features that can be used to enhance businesses.

To run a business effectively, it is imperative to have CRM software that can handle things on your part. Sales Creatio is a wonderful CRM software that can help you in so many ways if you are a startup or even a large Enterprise.

This CMR software works by managing your complete sales cycle. It records everything and efficiently gets the job done by going automatically. With this CRM software, there is no hassle of setting things up manually because it will automate almost everything for you.

You can find the lead, organize, and repeat for an active generation of clientele. The company has the mission to let all kinds of businesses accelerate at a higher speed.

The CRM software is proficient at handling different tasks effectively. The software ensures that there is a smooth way paved for the whole business process.

You can easily enhance customer accusations, development, and retention. This software has all the necessary tools to keep the customers happy and answered.

Another striking feature of the CRM software is that you can use it for the sales teams or the expanding business. It uses Prince2 project methodology to excel and to improve overall communication. The CRM lets you work in an organized manner, specify the vision and execute the program. There is also an option to test-drive the whole process and look for amendments and improvements and then finalize it.

Through the CRM software, you can split the entire project into several different milestones for comfortable working. Sales Creatio offers technical support to the client and manages everything effectively. All of the plans start from the simple to large enterprises need. Keep an eye out for hot business trends.

You can manage your contacts, deals, and tasks from one place. Connect and access data from where ever you like with mobile apps.

The interface is user friendly, and there is nothing technical about it. Even if you are a beginner, you will face no difficulty understanding the different features of this wonderful CRM software.

Pros

• It is easy to understand and user-friendly.
• The software offers the most productive email campaigns.

Cons

• It is costly and may not suits the need of individual people.

10. Pipedrive

Key Features

• Code-free integration – Pipedrive CRM software allows you to have a code-free integration with productive business tools.
• Simple yet powerful – the interface of the CRM software is straightforward; however, it is a powerful CRM software that can enhance your business.
• Different payment options – The CRM software allows you to opt for different payment options. You can choose monthly or yearly packages of your choice.
• Visual – it is a visual CRM software that allows the users to view and track communication with clients.
• Availability of templates – the software has easy email templates that make the email marketing process very convenient.

For startups, CRM software is a must so everything can be handled effectively. Without CRM software, things need to be handled manually, and that is not a good idea at all. You can rely on Pipedrive CRM software to enhance your business and customer relationships.

This software allows you to manage new leads’ contacts and proposals all in one place. It is a perfect tool for all types of businesses. You can use it for small businesses, midsize businesses or even large enterprises.

This software offers you a visual representation of your entire sales process. It is flexible, and you can customize it according to your needs.

There are several predefined templates available; you can choose from there. Also, you can schedule the meetings, observe the whole activity, or close the deal. The software has got you covered in the marketing and customer facilitation area. You can activate notifications and receive reminders so you don’t miss out on anything. It allows easy tracking of the progress towards the goal.

You can generate charts and graphic representations of the outputs that you need. Through this software, there is an option to meet deadlines and never stay behind on anything.

Pipedrive CRM allows you to prioritize projects and predict revenues.

Through chat integration, you can communicate with clients or members of the team. There is also an option to generate web forms to make the process for your clients more streamlined. It keeps the whole view and all the data in one place for smooth business and sales. Several big names, including Amazon, use this software. It is spread in several countries worldwide.

You can start for free and see if this works for you. There is no credit card information is required.

Pros

• CRM software is straightforward to customize and has a lot of integration options.
• It is are responsive CRM software that makes things very easy for the users.

Cons

• It may not cater to the needs of individual businesses.

11. Scoro

Key Features

• All in one place – Scoro is a wonderful software that allows you to manage everything from one place.
• Visual overview of the sales funnel – users can have a visual overview of the sales funnel through this CRM software.
• Get to know your customers – the software offers a fantastic insight into every customer by viewing the contact details, invoices, linked projects, and meetings.
• Track results – there is also an option of tracking results through CRM software.
• Incomparable reporting capabilities – the software offers unmatched reporting capabilities.

Scoro is an excellent CRM software, and it stands apart because it effectively manages your customers and contacts. You can have everything you need to know about your customers in a single place through this CRM software.

It is also possible to get a visual overview of your sales to funnel and track so you can move from one step to another in an effective way.

As much as you like to think about it, Scoro is not a simple tool. In any given scenario, this CRM software not just manage your customers but your entire company in one place. The most striking feature of the CRM software is its reporting capabilities.

It is effortless to create and send quotes or invoices to existing and new clients with the help of this CRM software

The software also enables you to search, filter, and sort your contacts based on configurable tags, categories, and latest activities.

The CRM software allows you to oversee every aspect of your team’s sales performance on a single dashboard. There is also an option of viewing your sales funnel and

The best thing about the CRM software is that you can save over 50% of the time you are currently spending on double data entry meetings and reporting.

Pros

• Get a 360-degree overview of every client and deal.
• You can send and create quotes and invoices to existing and new customers.

Cons

• suitable for small and medium-sized organizations only.

12. Sugar CRM

Key Features

• Pricing – the pricing starts at $40 per month, per user.
• Marketing automation – sugar CRM allows marketing automation to attract more potential customers.
• A memorable experience with customers – as CRM is customer-friendly, you can have an unforgettable experience with your clients.
• Intelligent CRM – sugar CRM is smart and caters to the needs of so many people.
• Suitable for mid-size businesses – this fantastic CRM is ideal for midsize companies.

Let’s talk about the most beautiful CRM of all time that is called sugar CRM. This excellent CRM empowers your sales and marketing as a pro. With the help of this CRM, you can have the most meaningful and memorable experiences with your customers worldwide.

This splendid CRM is the best choice for mid-sized businesses to reach more audiences and potential customers.

The CRM software has built-in advertising and social tools that help drive more web traffic. The CRM can help you if you want your website to be discovered by combining social media management tools with a single solution.

Also, there is a possibility of creating killer campaigns through this CRM software. The software is mobile friendly and can be accessed from anywhere. Sugar CRM also enables users to analyze performance and visualize results.

You can have a bird’s eye view of your most important metrics to measure your marketing success.

Also, many productive business tools can be integrated into the CRM portal to attract more effective results. CRM software allows marketing automation, and it has user-friendly features. Each new customer gets a chance to have a one on one conversation with a dedicated onboarding expert to understand the software.

You can create multiple personalized dashboards to optimize your long terms and short term goals. Anyone can start using this CRM by paying just $40 per month per user.

Pros

• It is practical and has a user-friendly interface.
• Many productive business tools can be integrated with CRM.

Cons

• Expensive for small organizations

13. FreshDesk

Key Features

• Chat on and off the system – representatives have the option to toggle live chat on and off.
• Customize notifications – you can customize your notification settings so you won’t be bothered about repetitive pings.
• Gamification – Gamification is the most fantastic feature of FreshDesk.
• Ticket management – this software is well known for its ticket management feature.
• Easy Interface – the software has an easy interface, and there is nothing technical about it.

FreshDesk is a fantastic CRM software that is aimed at smaller businesses. This software has a straightforward interface, and that makes it class apart.

As far as the pricing of this excellent CRM software is concerned, it has four paid editions called blossom, garden, state, and forest. Blossom is the most basic package in the CRM software, and anyone can enjoy it for $15 per agent, per month.

Forest is the most progressive plan of the CRM software and most productive as well.

Through the dashboard, you can have easy access to your tickets, contacts, and companies. The panel also allows you to access user forums, reports, social networks, and administrator setups like gamification. It is so far the Best CRM software is effective for ticket management.

There is an option to work on tickets in a card or table view.

Also, this CRM software offers scenarios that are an easy way to increase ease and efficiency.

Pros

• The software has effective ticket management and gamification features.
• It has a user-friendly and mobile-friendly interface.

Do I Need a CRM Strategy?

To move forward you need a roadmap that will tell you how to move to achieve your goals. In simple words you need to make a strategy that is one size-fits-all. Depending on how big your company is, you have to tailor your CRM strategy to fit your company that serve best inside and outside customers.

While selecting a CRM software you also need to look into the user requirement while having just 10 users there is not need to pay for the 50 users. CRM strategies vary a lot from small to enterprises level. One CRM strategy cannot be used for all.

I always advise to my readers that make your CRM strategy first and then look for a appropriate software that can run your CRM strategy.

Tips to Make an Effective CRM Strategy

CRM software is sufficient to enhance business and grow sales because it houses your sales and customer data.

Also, the software helps significantly in improving customer service. While anyone can quickly get CRM software, it isn’t easy to develop an effective CRM strategy. However, it would be best if you remembered that there is not much success for you in business unless you have a CRM strategy.

A smart businessman knows that by incorporating a CRM strategy with an overall business strategy, he can achieve excellent customer service, marketing, and sales. Having an effective CRM strategy enhances the general procedure of sale and marketing.

If you are one such person who wants to make sure that your business is a success, then CRM strategy is a must. However, there are specific points that you need to keep in mind to devise an effective CRM strategy.

Be specific about your goals

Every business wants to achieve a particular purpose. Before devising an effective CRM strategy, it is essential to specify the purpose of your business. What do you want out of it?

Yes, increasing sales and customer satisfaction is on the list, but what else? Establish your goals, so you know how you want to achieve success. One way to be specific about your business goals is to picture your business’s state in the coming 5 to 10 years? You also need to imagine the current drawbacks in your business and how you can overcome them? Once you specify your business goals and be clear about the shortcomings, you are one step ahead.

The next step is all about finding a baseline

One reason why you are looking to build an effective CRM strategy is the fact that your business is not where it should be. The next step is all about finding a baseline and getting to know where your business is getting stuck and how CRM software can help.

Identify how many customers your local business gets each week. Also, inspect the lead sources and evaluate the conversion rates. You also need to identify where your team members are getting stuck and how the CRM software can help you out.

Understand the buyer persona

Every customer has an individual personality. To devise an effective CRM strategy, it is essential to understand the persona of your buyers. You can achieve the exact calculation by focusing on individual customers and understanding their personas. Single people may not need what married people are looking for. Maybe you are lagging in sales because you are not treating them according to their persona and psychology. Try to understand your buyers by studying everyone individually.

Understand customer journey

Understanding goes a long way, and if you want to be successful in sales, you need to understand your customer’s experience with you. For that, you can evaluate every call, text, email, website visit, or whatever action the customers have taken in the past. This way, you will understand your customers’ experience with you so you can make it better with the CRM software.

By putting yourself in your customers’ shoes, you will know right away what your team should be doing better.

Identify the areas you want to improve

Once you understand your customers better, it is time to identify the areas you want to improve. Be specific about the fact that you are lagging somewhere and that you need to improve it. Let’s say that you need to work more on the sales area with CRM software. Begin by accepting that this is indeed an area that needs improvement.

Devise an effective CRM strategy

Now that you have identified your business’s backdrop, it is time to devise an effective CRM strategy. It would help if you remembered that smart strategy could put you ahead millions; therefore, you have to be very careful.

The next step is all about highlighting the hiccups and benchmarks in your customer’s journey. You also need to identify how CRM software will correct them both externally and internally. You must remember that just a CRM software will not help you out. It would help if you also had time, money, talent, and resources to launch your strategy effectively.

The Best CRM software

This step is all about finding the best CRM software for your business. You must remember that effective CRM software can put you ahead hundreds in terms of sales and marketing. Therefore you have to be very careful while selecting one.

There is no point in compromising your budget by trying to get all the applications in one place. Go for CRM software that can best address your business issues. You can always start with the basic CRM software plan to get an adequate understanding of the software.

Make sure that you get the same CRM software that can

• Market your products.
• Establish an excellent reputation with customers.
• Manage all the conversations in one centralized place.
• Give your analytics to gain customer insight.
• Track the conversion of leads to sales.

Launch your CRM Strategy

Once you devise an effective CRM strategy and get yourself fantastic CRM software, it is time to launch it. Before the launch, it is essential to get all your team members on board so you all can discuss all the aspects. This step also involves a lot of discussion and training.

If the team members lag in the sales area, then it is time to train them with CRM software. Once the squad is fully trained you can launch the strategy and start working with your customers differently.

Document Everything

You will only be able to track your progress with your CRM strategy if you document everything from day one. It is also great if you maintain extensive documentation on standard operating procedures. This step will improve the existing and new employees a lot.

Revise

It will take some time, but things will start to improve a lot with the CRM strategy and CRM software before you know it. Even when things improve, make sure to revise your CRM strategy at least twice a year to get significant results.

• Without adequate planning, everything is just wishful thinking.
• Wishful thinking will bear no fruits and is of no use.

By devising an effective CRM strategy, you can be ahead of hundreds of people in no time. Also, the CRM strategy helps you in improving your areas of marketing and sales.

FAQs

Wrap Up

A new user or small organization may not find any difference between CRM software’s because nearly all of them provide same basic functionalities. But when it comes to diversification of functions and need to implement an in-depth CRM strategy then all the software’s do not serve equally.

I put my best efforts while using my experience to make this resource, at first consider the size of your organization and then select a right software from the above listed ones.