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Managing customer relationships is very important to 21st-century businesses, and that’s why they only go for the best CRM software. Top CRM software is the only way to ensure that leads are managed effectively and customers are kept happy. Nonetheless, choosing a good CRM is not easy, as no company would put its product down.
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Last Updated: Nov 29, 2023
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The best CRM products are those that provide the best customer relationship management experience for any business. Some of the best CRMs a business can use include Salesforce, Keap, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
These platforms were chosen because they offered reasonable pricing, numerous features, mobile apps, and reliable customer support.
Besides the information regarding the best customer relationship management programs, this article also covers other essential data. You’ll need this information if you’re interested in acquiring a CRM for your business.
Customer relationship management software is a tool that businesses use to unite all aspects of customer data.
This tool makes it easier to manage customer relationships, and it’s at the heart of any successful sales organization. Big companies use CRM tools to ensure all customer interaction aspects are documented and can be easily located when necessary.
This tool allows companies to store anything from customer contact information to customer locations and birthdays. All this information can be compiled for every single customer of that organization. This gives the sales team a holistic view of their interaction with each customer.
Some businesses have tried using spreadsheets to mimic the capabilities of CRM software, but it has never been successful.
The capabilities of a CRM program cannot be handled by a mere spreadsheet, especially when the customer list is in the thousands. That’s why it’s necessary for a business in this modern age to own a customer relationship management app.
Since every significant corporation employs the best CRM programs available, it is expected that there will be several CRM software tools available.
Nonetheless, all customer relationship management software can be grouped into two categories, and they include:
A company’s best customer relationship management software is one that’s customized to its specifications.
So, if the finance industry requires the best CRM tool, they’ll need to get financial service CRM software. If it’s a mortgage company, they’ll need mortgage CRM software, which is the case for other companies.
So, industry-specific CRM software comprises those tailored to serve a particular industry’s needs.
With the many industries in the world today, it’ll be difficult to name all the CRM tools that fall under this category. This type of CRM tool offers many features, such as user dashboards, advanced reporting tools, and other sales-related features.
Besides the industry-specific CRM tools, there are all-in-one CRM solutions that are meant to serve the needs of various businesses.
Unlike the industry-specific-variant, which can only serve a specific industry, the all-in-one version can serve any industry. If you consider an industry-specific CRM to be custom-made software, then an all-in-one CRM is a mass-produced tool.
Initially, the customer relationship management scene was home to only the industry-specific variants.
These industry-specific versions were also meant for large industries and massive conglomerates. However, there was an emerging need for CRM tools for small businesses, which necessitated the all-in-one version.
All-in-one CRM software is created to satisfy the needs of any small or medium-sized business. They offer many features, including email marketing, contact management, lead management, website management, and various sales-related features.
This CRM tool integrates various features used by specific features with varying degrees of complexity.
Unlike industry-specific CRM tools that only appear as standalone software, the all-in-one CRM can also appear as a series of modules.
These sales-centric modules can then be integrated to form one CRM solution. So, businesses can get marketing automation, customer support automation, and salesforce automation to put together their best CRM app.
Although many CRM platforms exist, a business can only reap the best benefits when it goes with the best. Below are some of the best CRM tools that a business can consider.
Salesforce is one of the oldest CRM packages and is currently an industry leader. As one of the best CRM management software solutions, Salesforce is suitable for start-ups and other growing businesses. It also offers features that can be customized to better meet the needs of a business.
Navigating the Salesforce dashboard is easy, as this software was designed with new users in mind. This CRM app also offers many in-app hints to help users get around.
Besides the essential tools that CRM software is supposed to provide, Salesforce comprises advanced tools that can be purchased.
Some of the advanced tools that a business can purchase later include artificial intelligence assistants and sales forecasting tools.
As one of the best customer relationship management software packages, Salesforce can integrate with various popular programs. Some of this software includes Dropbox, MailChimp, and Google Workspace.
This software also offers a workflow builder that can increase the efficiency of businesses by automating tasks.
For those periods when an employee might not be close to their desktop, Salesforce offers a mobile app. This mobile app offers many features that users will find on the desktop version of this software.
Its customization options make it possible for the software to fit the needs of every company.
With Salesforce, users can gain access to a customer data platform that offers them real-time data.
This platform is powered by Salesforce Genie, and it gets its data from MuleSoft, Salesforce AppExchange, and native connectors. Salesforce also offers a Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform (CDP) that uses AI to personalize consumer experiences on a company’s website.
Salesforce offers many different pricing structures that should fit the needs of any business. These pricing plans are as follows:
The remote workplace ideology is slowly taking center stage in many companies today. Therefore, Zoho might be your best CRM platform if you’re running a business with remote workers from many locations worldwide.
This CRM program offers many features that allow remote teams to coordinate their findings more easily.
With the gamification feature of the Zoho CRM app, it’ll be difficult for remote workers to get bored. That’s because this feature encourages workplace communication and friendly competition between workers.
One way this works is by turning every successful lead conversion into a trophy for that particular worker. That way, others can see it and get challenged to perform better.
This software also allows users to measure the performance of their business, increase leads, and accelerate sales.
Zoho also has an inbuilt AI called Zia. Zia can greatly help establishments that want to predict and identify leads for conversion into customers.
As one of the top CRM options for businesses, Zoho is no slouch regarding software integrations. This software also offers a flexible dashboard that can be customized to fit the company’s needs.
There’s also a feed notification feature that allows feeds to be highlighted in all users’ dashboards.
There’s also a SaleSignal feature that tracks all forms of customer interaction within the company. This feature also provides valuable leads that the sales team can work on to make a successful conversion.
Five pricing plans are available for Zoho CRM, and they are covered below.
The standard plan is priced at $20 monthly or $14 per month for an annual payment. So, companies that want to save on monthly payments can go for the annual payment.
This plan comes with a 30-day free trial period to allow customers to test out the paid version of this software.
This plan is available for $50 a month, but customers that want to enjoy discounts can go for the annual option. The annual plan makes it look like users are paying $40 a month.
Keap is one of the best CRM management software options for a business, as it makes managing customer relationships easier.
Founded in 2001 by Scott, Eric, and Clate, Keap is a cloud-based platform targeted at helping businesses grow. Although this software now possesses CRM capabilities, it started as a lead management program.
However, its long years in the sales industry have cemented its position as a CRM expert.
Unlike other customer relationship management options that are more widespread, Keap is mainly focused on small businesses. This helps them do an admirable job in their target niche.
Keap incorporates a user-friendly dashboard and easy controls, making navigating this app easy for newbies to customer relationship management software.
Besides this, this software also offers chatbox tips and in-app tutorials to help newbies learn the controls much faster.
Keap integrates well with several popular services, such as Outlook, Gmail, and AppointmentCare. This way, users can easily send personalized messages to their customers.
As one of the best customer relationship management software options, this software also offers essential features like email marketing, marketing automation, and report compilation.
Keap offers numerous pricing structures that businesses can use to access their services. These pricing structures are outlined below.
This plan costs $169 monthly; however, customers can enjoy a discount if they pay yearly. Yearly payments will make it seem like the customer is paying $129 a month, which is quite the difference.
Of course, annual subscriptions are also available at discounted prices. The cost of such subscriptions comes down to $199 a month.
This CRM program is one of the best regarding software integrations.
So, if a business works with data from numerous software providers, then HubSpot is the best choice for a CRM. These third-party tools can be integrated and synchronized with HubSpot to increase business efficiency.
HubSpot integrates well with inbound and outbound marketing consulting.
Such features can guide a business through its growth and take it to new heights. Businesses can also integrate other services like AgentAnalytics, Gmail, and WordPress into HubSpot.
HubSpot’s integration with third-party services is so good that it helps businesses centralize all their information in one place.
This way, regardless of where a customer interaction occurs, the business can organize everything in one spot. Such information is neatly organized on a timeline, making it simple for the sales team to find information.
This CRM program offers a reporting dashboard where users can find important information regarding a business. This information includes detailed reports on sales activity, performance, and productivity.
HubSpot is one of the best CRMs a business can use, especially if they have no money for a subscription.
This customer relationship management software has a free trial period with no expiration date. This free trial plan allows businesses to use essential software features, such as customer service workflows.
HubSpot is available under 4 pricing models, and they’re all depicted below:
The starter plan allows for a minimum of 2 paid users per plan. So, businesses that want to include more users can pay for it.
This plan includes all the free plan’s features and additional features. It also removes the HubSpot branding from the live chat, 1-to-1 emails, and meeting schedules.
The professional plan allows for a minimum of 5 users, with a $90 monthly charge for adding a new user. This plan offers 1:1 video messaging, custom reporting features, e-signature capabilities, phone support, sales automation, and other interesting features.
Companies can enjoy 10 users simultaneously, with a $120 monthly charge for adding a new user. It also includes playbooks, advanced administrative permissions, conversation intelligence, and predictive lead scoring.
A benefit of going with the paid plans is that they come with 1-on-1 technical support and extended contact storage.
Pipedrive is the best customer relationship management software choice companies can consider when they want the best sales option.
This software offers data visualizations and other analytical data that would be useful to any sales team.
The platform was designed with an easy-to-use interface that can be understood by new customers.
The software also uses a drag-and-drop interface, which simplifies the movement of tasks on its dashboard. The dashboards, fields, and pipelines in the software can also be easily customized to fit the needs of any company.
Another feature that shows Pipedrive’s ease of usage is its easy setup process. Even without a dedicated IT department in a company, this CRM can be set up to work.
Pipedrive offers an AI tool that can be a lifesaver for any business. This tool can calculate a company’s average conversion rates so that they can know what’s needed to meet their targets. It also indicates which areas a company might need to make improvements in.
Pipedrive comes with a 30-day free trial period for new software users. Nonetheless, when the free trial period is over, the customer must choose one of its pricing plans. Customers can choose from four pricing plans, and they’re all examined below.
However, a 17% discount is available for business owners that subscribe annually. Annual subscriptions are a one-time payment of $118.8, which comes down to $9.90 per month.
Monthly payments for this plan are $49.90, while annual payments are $478.8. The yearly payments come down to $39.90 monthly.
The best customer relationship management products are called the best because of their unique features.
These features are essential to running a business and maintaining good customer-client relationships within a company. You’ll see some of these features below.
This is one of the most important aspects of owning a customer relationship management tool.
It allows users to track sales opportunities through all stages of customer interaction, increasing the possibility of closing a deal. This feature allows businesses to take note of customers’ needs and pain points.
Opportunity management also allows businesses to mark deals at risk of being lost. It also allows sales team members to assign a call to action so that others can check on a customer’s concerns.
Sales team members can use this feature to assign percentages to a business deal. These percentages will show how close it is to being finalized.
The top CRM programs offer this feature, as it offers more accuracy in all aspects of closing a deal. With this feature, businesses can increase the likelihood of closing.
Leads are individuals who show interest in a company’s services and could become clients down the line. Turning a lead into a new customer is a feature that all good customer relationship management apps have to offer.
This feature works when someone visits a page on the company website or browses through specific pages.
A CRM can use this to indicate that the individual is interested in some products on that page. That way, it can store the individual’s contact information and other details that the sales team might require.
Not all CRM software features are sales-focused; others make managing a company much easier. An essential feature of a CRM is the ability to sort a company’s contact details.
With this, the company can easily find the phone numbers, email addresses, or other contact details of workers in the company.
Not all company executives can spend hours browsing through customer data in their offices. Some of them don’t like carrying laptops around, either.
So, the best CRM systems always come with cloud computing options, allowing users to access the software on the go.
This way, company executives and sales personnel can use their smartphones and tablets to work with the CRM. The mobile options of a good CRM will also offer similar features to their computer versions. Even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t lose much.
The best CRM systems have always been easy to use, with no complex instructions necessary. Before CRMs became prevalent in customer care, spreadsheets were commonplace and easy to use.
As customer relationship management apps took over, they also followed this concept.
So, if you get your hands on such software, you should be able to find your way around in minutes. Some apps also make this easier by providing hints, pop-up instructions, and help articles for the program.
When a company works with a CRM, they tend to have more time on its hands. That’s because this software automates most of the business’s processes when dealing with customers.
These CRM systems are very accurate, too, so many businesses can automate most of their customer interactions through them.
Some customization options are expected even when a business uses an all-in-one CRM app.
These options vary based on the CRM app, but they help the program better fit the business’s requirements. This ranges from simple things like changing color schemes to more complex ones like changing terms used in the app.
After a company acquires data, the next step is to interpret that data to get valuable information.
Ordinarily, this would take ages to get done because each customer’s data is vast and keeps changing over time. However, the CRM has a feature that automatically analyzes all this data to create helpful information that a company can use.
Companies can get analytical information from a CRM, including team performance data, profitability analysis data, etc.
Every good CRM app has numerous methods to integrate it into existing systems. For example, a business can connect its CRM to the company website to push employee data into it.
Businesses can also connect an email marketing app to the CRM program so that they can collect customer data in the app.
Not all customer relationship management apps offer the features that a customer might need. However, its third-party integration features allow its users to compensate for these deficiencies with other programs.
These days, it’s challenging to find a small or medium-sized business that doesn’t use CRM software. This is because of the benefits that this software provides, and these benefits are shown below:
Using a CRM app allows a business to stay updated on all aspects of customer interactions. It also allows various departments to harmonize their findings on a customer without any differences in data.
Simply put, a CRM allows a business to bring together all the information on a customer in one place.
So, a company can have different departments collect information regarding their customers, such as contact details, names, likes, dislikes, etc. After this, the CRM app will compile all the data about a single customer into an easy-to-understand format.
A company can go through different stages of customer interaction before turning a lead into a customer.
This includes phone calls and emails between both parties and the potential customer visiting the organization’s website. CRM software makes it easy to follow up on all these stages and offers insight into the thoughts of the lead.
This way, the company can know where the potential customer stands on the path to becoming a customer.
Even when the lead becomes a customer, CRM programs allow the company to know how close the customer’s relationship with them is. Sometimes, simple things like sending birthday or wedding anniversary emails can earn a business a lifelong customer.
However, a CRM app makes all these processes easy, as this software can easily automate most processes. So, the business doesn’t have to struggle to remember some inconvenient customer details, as the CRM program will handle it.
A company is in business to make a profit, and opportunities to make a profit come when they have customers. Using good CRM software increases company revenue since it allows the company to interact better with customers.
This way, the company can know what type of products a customer may want or understand their personality better. Even when the business only has a lead, CRM apps allow the business to turn them into customers.
With a good CRM program, it’s easy for a business to take a look at its past sales for a quarter. When they compare these past sales with recent sales performances, they’ll be able to predict future sales performances.
Although this process isn’t 100% accurate, it’s more than enough for most companies. This way, they’ll be able to anticipate customer needs and prepare adequately for them.
Every customer relationship management app displays the steps and processes involved in converting a lead into a customer.
Good CRM software tools can take this a step further and show businesses which steps are unnecessary. That way, the business would only invest in processes that show results.
If the company wants to scale up or improve its sales process, a good CRM app can help. The information provided by the app will provide a path toward improving already-existing sales processes.
Although customer relationship management software is one of the best innovations in business, it’s not without disadvantages. These disadvantages are covered below.
The average CRM app can be quite complex for many businesses that are new to customer relationship management apps. Sometimes a business owner might change their mind about a CRM because it looks too difficult to understand.
A single CRM can have many features, like sales forecasting, analytics, and marketing, while the business only uses one. In such cases, the business would be paying heavily for features it doesn’t need.
Most CRM software comes with tons of features, leading to a steep learning curve for users. As a result, if someone who has spent years mastering CRM software leaves, the company will be in trouble.
In such cases, some businesses may fall back to relying on spreadsheets. Others would decide to train new staff on how to use the CRM program.
Either way, the company won’t progress until another competent individual takes over operating the software.
Every business is out to choose the best customer relationship management software in the market. No one wants mediocre.
Many businesses type “Is x brand the best CRM?” into search engines to go about choosing CRM software. While this would offer the business access to some “A-grade” CRM apps, it wouldn’t offer the best options.
The best way to know which CRM is best for your business is to consider some crucial factors. These factors affect how every business functions, which are discussed below.
Today, data is one of the most critical assets of any business, online or offline. Customer data is one of the most important aspects of data, and not all CRM apps can present it well.
Sometimes, when these CRM systems import data from other connected systems, they don’t display it correctly either.
This is an essential factor that all businesses need to consider when they choose a CRM app. Data that isn’t displayed properly or correctly can lead to the company making the wrong decisions.
It can also cause the company to miss numerous opportunities to connect better with its customers.
Complexity is an issue that has caused many businesses to shy away from customer relationship management software.
Sure, a complex CRM app indicates many features available to help businesses. However, not all businesses require those features.
As a result, the best CRM management software options should be simple to use, with simple user interfaces.
There should also be a customization option that goes beyond simply changing the colour scheme. This way, businesses can customize the interface of the CRM to only display the essential features.
Before you choose a CRM app for your company, check to see if they offer a mobile option for the software.
Of course, most CRM developers never offer full-fledged mobile apps for their software. Nonetheless, their desktop platform should be easily accessible from a good smartphone.
This way, users can access the CRM software services even when they’re not near their computers. After ensuring that your chosen customer relationship management app has a mobile option, test this mobile version.
Some of the mobile apps for these CRM programs are poorly optimized, leading to hiccups when using the program.
In some cases, the core features of this mobile version might not even activate well when needed. So, besides owning a mobile version of CRM software, it’s essential to check that the mobile version works well.
The best CRM tool options are complex to a certain extent, so there is every chance that users will run into issues.
In such cases, it would be well-appreciated for the company behind the app to offer responsive customer support services. This way, their companies can receive solutions to their problems much faster and get back to business much faster.
So, before choosing a CRM program, ensure that its customer support channels are active. This way, you can ensure reliable support when you run into any issues.
Besides the customer support channel, some of these CRM apps also contain helpful content. This is usually in the form of a video or text, with images included. This content allows users to solve common issues they might encounter when using the software.
CRM programs have become popular in recent times, so there are lots of them to choose from. Regardless of the price or the available features, many CRM apps offer similar features. So, in such cases, it’s best not to rush but rather to take things slowly.
When there are many options to choose from, a business can put the two CRM apps side by side and compare. This way, they compare the features offered by the CRM apps and choose the best one for their business.
Most CRM programs come with a demo version that new users can try. This demo version might not have all the features and capabilities of the original, but it’s usually free.
In most cases, the demo version might only be available for a limited number of days before its features are locked.
Either way, the demo offers an opportunity for companies to test out the CRM app in real-world conditions. This way, they can ensure that the product is right for them before making a purchase.
Choosing a CRM is crucial to a business’s growth, as it affects how well it’ll be able to interact with customers.
That’s why some of the best CRMs for businesses were introduced in this article. Regardless of your business, one of the top CRM packages on our list would undoubtedly do the job.
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Salesforce is the answer people get when they ask, "What is the best CRM?" and it's well deserved. Of course, many people have also asked, "Is HubSpot the best CRM?" because it fills many sales roles nicely. Notwithstanding, Salesforce sits at the top spot because it's an all-rounded CRM solution and is even better at customizations.
Pipedrive is the best sales CRM a business can use, as it offers the best sales-related features. Besides offering a 30-day free trial period for new users, this software also uses a user-friendly interface. Although it might not offer too many features, its onboard functionalities are designed to enhance sales within a company.
Zoho CRM is the top CRM package for small businesses, as it offers everything that can help a business grow. It comes with a suite of essential apps that are also available in the free version. Besides this, Zoho CRM allows customers to register up to 3 users on the free version, which is more than others.
HubSpot is the top CRM option for real estate companies that want to grow their customer base. This is one of the best customer relationship management software options because it is good for sales-related jobs. HubSpot makes it easy for businesses to automate their tasks and utilize call-tracking tools and email templates.
HubSpot is the top CRM option for insurance companies since they rely on content marketing. This CRM software comes with other useful features such as content management, customer service aids, and sales management aids. With the customization capabilities of this software, users can modify it to better fit their insurance companies.
Keap provides good CRM software making it the best for mortgage companies. This software offers many features that make it easier for mortgage agents to capture and organize leads. It also is essential in sending targeted campaigns to leads that mortgage agents want to convert into customers.
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